Rub Rules!

[Kitchen Witch]

Rubs are great for flavoring and tenderizing meats. All those flavors permeate the meat as it is sitting overnight in the refrigerator. I absolutely love rubbed meats on the grill. Here's a few tips to help you:

Rub the dry mix over the raw meat and place in refrigerator. I always use a glass pan and cover with plastic wrap.

The moisture in the meat will cause the rub to stick to your hands so sometimes it is best to sprinkle the rub on instead of trying to rub it in.

You can use any rub you want - commercial or homemade. Some ingredients are black pepper, chili powder, cumin, crushed red pepper, celery seed, garlic powder or minced garlic, salt, thyme, rosemary, grated lemon, lime or orange peel, ground mustard and even brown sugar.

To make a paste-type rub, add a small amount of liquid to the dry mixture forming a dry paste. This can be vinegar, cider vinegar, wine, fruit juice.

Try to use sugar very sparingly in rubs. Sugar will melt and cause flare-ups on grills and in broilers. Burnt sugar has an awful taste as well. You don't need a lot of sugar for flavor anyway.