So who else buys their spices in bulk and makes their own rubs?
I started out using Meathead's Memphis Dust recipe, and made a few modifications over the years – mainly adding ancho chilies.
by Brythephotoguy
34 Comments
Grammar-Unit-28
Yep. Been doing it that way for 20 years.
Flywel
This is the way.
AwarenessGreat282
Same here. I’d much rather make my own so I can dry brine with salt.
vandasian
I also use Memphis Dust with spices from Sam’s or a local international market. Any favorite supplier, and do you grind the anchos yourself?
docsjs123
Yes!
EnterTheBlueTang
100%. Making my own is one of the only ways to control the salt levels. I usually dry brine anyway salting the night before so salted rubs make that hard.
MaxFury80
I have my own recipe for my universal bulk rub and add stuff depending on what I am cooking.
Living-Metal-9698
As a father of 5 I definitely recognize that bottle. I love using reusable baby food containers for spices & ingredients on camping trips & weekend getaways. I love doing this, how does everyone stop them from caking up? I usually shake them up weekly, if anyone has any suggestions I’d love to know
DancesWithElectrons
I make my own. Most commercial rub mixes have way too much sugar
KilljoyZero1
That’s part of my rules. If you use a store bought rub they may not sell it/make it in five years but if you buy the raw spices and do it yourself you don’t have to worry about it.
BougieHole
Me, I make a bbq and a cajun rub without salt. I salt separately.
raq_shaq_n_benny
I have perfected my rib rub to the point that my wife gets mad if I deviate from it. I make it in bulk for our personal use.
Chuckobofish123
🙋🏻♂️ I don’t add salt to my ribs either. Salt the meat first, then add rub
David77860310
Yep! I just started doing this myself. Got tired of buying expensive ass name brand special rubs, and if you look at the ingredients they all have pretty much the same shit in them!
midwest73
Thanks to Costco and Gordon’s.
dab745
Always.
ccagan
I make my own seafood seasoning.
Lowrey’s Garlic Salt, white cap Tajin, black pepper. 50/30/20 by volume.
manliness-dot-space
Yeah but the concern I have is in how to store it all lol
Martin_TheRed
Who’s been rubbing it out with the premixed rubs?
Bubbly_Roof
Yes but I just started.
Soundwave234
I made this harissa, saffron, curry situation that is good on everything but goes crazy on whole chickens. Only thing is i didn’t measure each ingredient lol
tsoplj
It’s the only way. Store-bought rubs are trash.
Blasian_TJ
I’ve done it randomly through the years. After the last couple commercial seasonings, I think I’m just going to make my own from now on. Too many “that one was just ok’s” on expensive meat. Might as well do it myself.
Various_Procedure_11
Anyone who doesn’t make their own rub is
beachfun13
I make my own rib and butt rub …. It’s a family recipe that’s about 40yrs old and took over 30 years to get handed down to me….as of now there’s only 3 of us who knows the recipe….I’m hoping to have one of the younger generation show enough interest to pass it on to in about 10 years when I’m ready to cut back on doing the cooking
jim_br
When I started smoking, my wife bought me a cookbook on rubs and sauces. Since then, I’ve never bought a rub and have modified most of the recipes to suite our tastes.
superspeck
We have a spice shop called “Savory Spice” near us, it’s nice because they’re a bit cheaper than Penzey’s and the quality is the same or better. Using the spices in rubs means we go through them fast enough that they don’t get oxidized and stale.
Anabeer
Adding a little history from a Southern Food Alliance thing I read years ago:
Back in the day the slaves cooked the scraps they were allowed in the forerunner of what we call BBQ and it was the house slaves who snuck a bit of this, a bit of that out to the communal cook. So, the beginning of what we now call the rub and spend brazillians of dollars on for what is, in most cases, majority salt.
My all purpose rub that I use on pork and chicken is simply two tablespoons of all the usual subjects except cayenne which is 2 teaspoons and paprika which varies in amount depending on the colour I want. Easy, inexpensive and total control over salt, sugar and heat.
Weary_Necessary_2434
I’ve been doing it that way for years. The seasoning tends to be fresher that way, too.
SquallZ34
I mix my rubs each time. I like to experiment.
ProtectionSimilar151
How do you keep the rubs from caking? I want to make in bulk but struggle with storing them
Dnm3k
Yep.
Same.
Why pay some factory to make a general run when I can tweak my own blend over the years?
Outside of binders like mustard or ketchup, BBQ is best from scratch made with your hands and time.
Your own blends, hand tending to a fire for hours, making your own sauces so after 24 hours, that is all you and your energy on that plate you’re feeding your family. Nothing better
auld-guy
When I started I did this first with SPG, and I still do that one (for lots of people, it turns out). I tried other rubs but mine were never as good as those I could buy off the shelf, so I quit and decided it was just as fun to try other rubs that I could buy rather than having to keep a whole inventory of single spices. But I have props for anyone who does this and is good at it.
samo_flange
I take it up a notch and grow/dry/smoke many of my own spices that end up in the rubs. light years better!
The stuff some fool just paid $15 per bottle was probably grown years ago, industrially dried, sat in a barrel for 6 months or years then was mixed into rub which may have sat around for a year or more before a home cook even opened it.
34 Comments
Yep. Been doing it that way for 20 years.
This is the way.
Same here. I’d much rather make my own so I can dry brine with salt.
I also use Memphis Dust with spices from Sam’s or a local international market. Any favorite supplier, and do you grind the anchos yourself?
Yes!
100%. Making my own is one of the only ways to control the salt levels. I usually dry brine anyway salting the night before so salted rubs make that hard.
I have my own recipe for my universal bulk rub and add stuff depending on what I am cooking.
As a father of 5 I definitely recognize that bottle. I love using reusable baby food containers for spices & ingredients on camping trips & weekend getaways. I love doing this, how does everyone stop them from caking up? I usually shake them up weekly, if anyone has any suggestions I’d love to know
I make my own. Most commercial rub mixes have way too much sugar
That’s part of my rules. If you use a store bought rub they may not sell it/make it in five years but if you buy the raw spices and do it yourself you don’t have to worry about it.
Me, I make a bbq and a cajun rub without salt. I salt separately.
I have perfected my rib rub to the point that my wife gets mad if I deviate from it. I make it in bulk for our personal use.
🙋🏻♂️ I don’t add salt to my ribs either. Salt the meat first, then add rub
Yep! I just started doing this myself. Got tired of buying expensive ass name brand special rubs, and if you look at the ingredients they all have pretty much the same shit in them!
Thanks to Costco and Gordon’s.
Always.
I make my own seafood seasoning.
Lowrey’s Garlic Salt, white cap Tajin, black pepper. 50/30/20 by volume.
Yeah but the concern I have is in how to store it all lol
Who’s been rubbing it out with the premixed rubs?
Yes but I just started.
I made this harissa, saffron, curry situation that is good on everything but goes crazy on whole chickens. Only thing is i didn’t measure each ingredient lol
It’s the only way. Store-bought rubs are trash.
I’ve done it randomly through the years. After the last couple commercial seasonings, I think I’m just going to make my own from now on. Too many “that one was just ok’s” on expensive meat. Might as well do it myself.
Anyone who doesn’t make their own rub is
I make my own rib and butt rub …. It’s a family recipe that’s about 40yrs old and took over 30 years to get handed down to me….as of now there’s only 3 of us who knows the recipe….I’m hoping to have one of the younger generation show enough interest to pass it on to in about 10 years when I’m ready to cut back on doing the cooking
When I started smoking, my wife bought me a cookbook on rubs and sauces. Since then, I’ve never bought a rub and have modified most of the recipes to suite our tastes.
We have a spice shop called “Savory Spice” near us, it’s nice because they’re a bit cheaper than Penzey’s and the quality is the same or better. Using the spices in rubs means we go through them fast enough that they don’t get oxidized and stale.
Adding a little history from a Southern Food Alliance thing I read years ago:
Back in the day the slaves cooked the scraps they were allowed in the forerunner of what we call BBQ and it was the house slaves who snuck a bit of this, a bit of that out to the communal cook. So, the beginning of what we now call the rub and spend brazillians of dollars on for what is, in most cases, majority salt.
My all purpose rub that I use on pork and chicken is simply two tablespoons of all the usual subjects except cayenne which is 2 teaspoons and paprika which varies in amount depending on the colour I want. Easy, inexpensive and total control over salt, sugar and heat.
I’ve been doing it that way for years. The seasoning tends to be fresher that way, too.
I mix my rubs each time. I like to experiment.
How do you keep the rubs from caking? I want to make in bulk but struggle with storing them
Yep.
Same.
Why pay some factory to make a general run when I can tweak my own blend over the years?
Outside of binders like mustard or ketchup, BBQ is best from scratch made with your hands and time.
Your own blends, hand tending to a fire for hours, making your own sauces so after 24 hours, that is all you and your energy on that plate you’re feeding your family. Nothing better
When I started I did this first with SPG, and I still do that one (for lots of people, it turns out). I tried other rubs but mine were never as good as those I could buy off the shelf, so I quit and decided it was just as fun to try other rubs that I could buy rather than having to keep a whole inventory of single spices. But I have props for anyone who does this and is good at it.
I take it up a notch and grow/dry/smoke many of my own spices that end up in the rubs. light years better!
The stuff some fool just paid $15 per bottle was probably grown years ago, industrially dried, sat in a barrel for 6 months or years then was mixed into rub which may have sat around for a year or more before a home cook even opened it.