By far our most popular meat rub is Canandaigua Coffee Rub. There is an interesting story behind it. We have a friend that moved to NY from the south and he was lamenting one day that he hasn't experienced a great pork butt soaked in coffee grounds and roasted over the BBQ since he moved north. Upon talking with him further, he told us that at barbeques in the south it is common to save old coffee grounds drop a piece of meat into them, coat all sides and then cook the meat on the grill. This got us thinking, that with a few other herbs and spices, this might be an interesting meat rub that hasn't been 'overdone' in the spice world just yet.
So I started thinking about what other flavors would compliment coffee. The first thought was sugar, as dark brown as we could find, then we tried some of the sweet spices - nutmeg, ginger, allspice. To give the rub depth of character we added a bit of heat - cayenne, chili powder, cumin. After a few tries we feel we have come up with the most savory blend of coffee, herbs and spices that compliment a full range of meats.
We have tried our Canandaigua Coffee Rub on all meats: steak, roast, pork, duck, chicken, and venison. We have enjoyed the succulent, rich, slightly spicy flavor on all of these selections. Truely, you wouldn't know the base of the rub is coffee if you didn't read the packaging. The sweetness of the brown sugar brings out the richness of each meat, and locks in the juices.
I would encourage anyone to try our Coffee Rub, or do what the southerners do, save your old grounds in a tin and dip your meats into them before grilling. This is a flvor enrichement that is worth experimenting with.
2 comments:
This sounds very, very good; I'll pick some up soon.
I'm wondering, however, what sides might be paired with meat coated with this rub. Come summer, I'm sure grilled corn on the cob would be great, but what about roasted sweet potatoes? (Or would that be too much sweetness when paired with the brown sugar in the rub?) Maybe a creamed spinach?
Hi Laura,
Sweet potatoes would be a great side. Creamed spinach from a textural perspective wouldn't be my first choice. We have done grilled vegetables, homefries, sesame noodles, or even couscous! Thanks for commenting!
Michelle
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