On Saturday I had the privilege of cooking for a small get-together about an hour from my house. I cooked 12 racks of ribs on my Meadow Creek SQ36 Offset Smoker and 10 pounds of shrimp on my Weber Kettle Grill.
I’ll tell you more about the cook in my next blog post later this week, but first, let’s talk about the rub.
My favorite seasoning to use on ribs is Meadow Creek Brisket Rub. The evening before the cook, I realized that I have no where nearly enough for a dozen racks of ribs. I have various kinds of seasonings sitting around, but I wanted them all to be the same, and I wanted a certain flavor. Time was running out, so the only thing left to do was completely freak out or mix my own.
Thankfully, I had a good idea of where to start since I had a recipe that was supposed to be close to the Meadow Creek Brisket Rub. However, it had been years since I used this recipe, and when I mixed up a batch, it certainly didn’t have the flavor profile I was looking for.
We kept mixing and tweaking the recipe until we found a combination that’s pretty amazing on ribs!
One way to try your seasoning on food quickly is on a fried egg.
I am calling this recipe “version 1” and look forward to tweaking it the next time I cook ribs. I used Real Salt, so I went easy on the salt, but I’m thinking it would be good to increase the salt to 3 or 4 tablespoons, especially if you are not using sea salt. The cumin could be a little stronger but too much cumin ruins the whole thing, so I was very cautious with it. I was aiming for 2 tablespoons each of peppercorn and ground mustard, but ran out so I cut it back to 4 teaspoons.
Having said that, this recipe is pretty amazing the way it stands now.
Rib Rub:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 4 teaspoons peppercorn, whole
- 4 teaspoons ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Grind the peppercorns (I used a coffee grinder) and mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl with your fingers or in your food processor. One batch of rub will do several racks of ribs. I made six batches and it would probably have seasoned 18 racks.
Pour it into a shaker for sprinkling over meat or even eggs and popcorn. (It really is good enough to put on your Cheerios.) Store any leftover seasoning in an airtight container.
Once you start making your own seasonings, you will get hooked with the intense fragrance and flavor of the freshly ground and mixed spices. Mix up some rib rub for your next batch of ribs and discover how easy and fun a homemade rub can be!
Stay tuned for my next blog post on how I cooked 12 racks of ribs on my backyard Meadow Creek SQ36 Smoker, including a mistake I made that burned up some of the ribs.
…also watch for my brand new smoked pork ribs recipe with tips, tricks, and mouth-watering photos to help you master smoked ribs.
Sizzling regards,
Lavern Gingerich
