What is a spice rub?
A spice rub is a mixture made with ground spices used to rub on raw food before the food is cooked. A coating rubbed on the food is formed by the spice rub.
Food can be marinated with a spice rub for few minutes so that the flavors can get incorporated into the food or the food can be cooked at once just after it is coated with the spice rub. These spices are generally thickly grounded.
Along with the spices, one can also add sugar and salt to the rub. Sugar can be added for caramelization purposes whereas salt can be added for flavor. The simplest spice rub is thickly grounded black pepper in making the recipe of Steak au Poivre.
Spice rubs include ingredients such as crushed garlic, herbs or oil that are added to make a paste. You can leave the spice rub on the food or partially remove it before cooking.
Use of spice rubs
The use of spice rubs are mainly in the preparation of fish and meats. There are various recipes for spice rubs and many of them are focused on a particular kind of food. The particular combination of spices in making a good rub for a specific type of food differs from culture to culture and region to region.
Methods of cooking
The method of cooking when using spice rubs is generally cooking with a dry heat method. In this type of cooking no water based liquid is used. Grilling is one of the most famous methods of cooking foods with a spice rub. The other dry methods of cooking with spice rubs are pan roasting and baking. In some cases bread crumbs or flour are used along with spice rubs in the preparation of food, then the sauteing method of cooking is used.
Culture and spice rubs
Spice rubs are very personal and in some cultures a secret recipe. In the south of the United States, masters of the grill enviously protect their secret recipes and use secret ingredients which they do not share with anyone. But in a few cultures, the recipes to make a spice rubs and to use them in the preparation of food is shared from the head of the family to each family member and each family has a slightly varied recipe.
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