Chiles
Senior Cook
Here's a general question and would love some honest feedback from the group.
I have tried many a good commercially available rubs and have even made my own. Same goes for the sauce. I have a loyal following of friends that are great about honest feedback on my practice cooks and I practice a LOT. At least twice a month on all four KCBS catagories.
I like Wolf, Dizzy Pig, Old Hickory's and some that I won't mention spice rubs and can say there are times when I would want to use one over the other. I have my favorites. My friends tell me that it's almost cheating using someone elses rub and i'm getting snubbed pretty hard for it.
Here is my defense in using a commercial rub:
1. I have enough going with my learning curve in proper cooking techniques, meat prep and presentation.
2. Spices are too subjective - just because I like something does not mean a group of 6 judges are going to. No six judges are alike either.
3. Buying spices in bulk and using them while they are fresh is a challenge. I buy the rubs when I'm going to use them and try not to stock pile them.
4. If I ever get really good, they may consider to sponser me.
5. A commercial rub (we hope) has been thru considerable R&D as well as a lot of quality control to make them consistant. To me, consistantcy is very important when you are trying to tweak your product in small increments.
Back to the question: How many of you use your own blend versus something you can order and especially for a competition.
-Chiles
I have tried many a good commercially available rubs and have even made my own. Same goes for the sauce. I have a loyal following of friends that are great about honest feedback on my practice cooks and I practice a LOT. At least twice a month on all four KCBS catagories.
I like Wolf, Dizzy Pig, Old Hickory's and some that I won't mention spice rubs and can say there are times when I would want to use one over the other. I have my favorites. My friends tell me that it's almost cheating using someone elses rub and i'm getting snubbed pretty hard for it.
Here is my defense in using a commercial rub:
1. I have enough going with my learning curve in proper cooking techniques, meat prep and presentation.
2. Spices are too subjective - just because I like something does not mean a group of 6 judges are going to. No six judges are alike either.
3. Buying spices in bulk and using them while they are fresh is a challenge. I buy the rubs when I'm going to use them and try not to stock pile them.
4. If I ever get really good, they may consider to sponser me.
5. A commercial rub (we hope) has been thru considerable R&D as well as a lot of quality control to make them consistant. To me, consistantcy is very important when you are trying to tweak your product in small increments.
Back to the question: How many of you use your own blend versus something you can order and especially for a competition.
-Chiles