When my husband and I first started dating life was a little hectic. I was working long hours and to be honest cooking a full meal for myself was not something I had a lot of time or energy to do.
Thankfully, one of the first things I learned about that man is that he can totally hold his own in the kitchen. I would get home from work after dark and he would bring over food.
Not like, "Hey, I'm running by Taco Bell, want me to grab you something?" food, but real food. Things like scallops. He won me over with his scallops and roasted red pepper sauce.
He'd get everything prepped at his place and then show up on my doorstep with coolers and bags and finish everything in my kitchen while I unwound after work.
:-) I married a good one, ladies.
Anyway, to be honest these days I do almost all of the cooking. It just makes sense now that I'm home with the kids. The exception to that is that my husband is the King of the Grill. I may make the side dishes, dry rubs, and sauces but that man works magic with his grill(s). It's so much fun to create together, after all of these years. :-) Together we do awesome things.
We grill out a lot during the summer. Most weekends we grill a bunch of meats...sausages, tri-tip, pork loin, whatever I've stocked the freezer with...and work our way through it during the week. This pleases my carnivorous family for obvious reasons and it pleases me because 1) I get to make sides to go with our grilling adventures almost every weekend and 2) I have food at the ready most of the week no matter how busy my day has been.
Generally speaking, with the exception of the trip-tip rub I use without fail, I tend to just throw things together from the spice cabinet for my dry rubs without really measuring. Most of the time I just wing it.
When I saw this recipe for BBQ Spice Rub I thought I might as well give a real recipe a try on our pork loin this weekend. The ingredients are honestly fairly similar to the rub from those Spicy Ribs with Maple Glaze we love so much around here, but in different proportions- this recipe is definitely heavier on the paprika. I used a combination of some cheap generic paprika I had leftover from another cooking adventure and Penzey's Smoked Paprika- I love the flavor of smoked paprika!
Speaking of paprika, did you know there are different varieties? Sweet and Smoky? I know most of the time the grocery store just has it labeled as "Paprika" without clarifying, which can get a little confusing when a recipe calls for one or the other. I have to say, much like with pretty much every other spice in my cabinet, I prefer Penzey's for both kinds. Even if you don't have a Penzey's near you they have great coupons and shipping deals all the time, so I definitely recommend checking them out. :-) Those people should pay me a commission I recommend them so often...
Anyway, back to the BBQ Spice Rub, I got a little sidetracked there for a second!
So this rub is pretty basic and doesn't have include anything weird that most of us don't already have in our cabinets- which is always nice, especially for those times we decide to throw something together at the last minute!
I really enjoyed the flavor of this rub and the paprika wasn't as overwhelming as I was worried it might be. My daughter and husband absolutely raved about the flavor! I was able to rub two pork loins and I still have plenty left over for next time. Definitely a keeper!
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C paprika
1 Tbsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1. Mix brown sugar, paprika, black pepper, salt, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper in a bowl. Store in an air-tight container or keep in the freezer in a sealable plastic bag.
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