Grilling Rubs (in a cool gift box)

Over the years, I have cobbled together different spice rub recipes.   They are copied on envelopes, written on receipts, torn from some long ago published magazine.    Some are emailed to me from family and friends.

My point is, I have no idea where these rubs originated.   If you recognize any, please, please, please comment below and tell me the origins.   I only have a single lead that one of these is from The Mansion, but I just perused their menus and I saw no BBQ in sight.  🙂

BBQ Spice (allegedly from The Mansion)
Yields:  about 1/3 cup

2 T. smoked paprika
1/2 t.  curry powder
1 T.  chili powder
1/2 t.  dry mustard
1 t.  ground coriander
1/2 t. fresh ground black pepper
1 t. sugar
1/2 t. dried thyme leaves*

From the top: Cajun Spice, Green Chili Rub, Mansion BBQ Spice, Chipotle Dry Rub, and BBQ Spice for Pulled Pork

 BBQ Rub for Pulled Pork
Yields:   About 4 oz.

1/4 c. brown sugar*
1/4 c. smoked paprika
3 T. salt
2 T. black pepper
1 T. cayenne
2 t. dry mustard

Please reuse and re-purpose containers.   Wash out empty spice containers or interesting jars.  You can always make new labels.

Cajun Seasoning
Yields:  About 3/4 cup

5 t. paprika
4 t. fine sea salt
4 t. garlic powder
4 t. onion powder
2 t. ground black pepper
1 t. cayenne pepper
2 t. dried oregano*
2 t. dried thyme*

Ah, how I miss visiting New Mexico.   On our last trip, we just made two quick stops in Albequrque, one coming and one going.   It was very hard for us not to turn north off of I-40 at Cline’s Corner to head to Santa Fe.

New Mexico Green Chili Rub
Yields: About 1 cup

1/2 c. green chili powder
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
1 T. granulated garlic
2 t. fine sea salt
1/4 t. cumin
1/2 t. Mexican oregano, crushed*

I definitely wanted to try out a rub made from our own smoked jalapenos.   And, please note, I have given credit where credit is due here.

Chipotle Dry Rub
from Old World Garden Farms

1/4 c. chipotle powder (To make your own, click here.)
2 t. sweet paprika
1 t. onion powder
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. ground coriander
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. fine sea salt
1  t. freshly ground black pepper

There is a great baked chipotle hot wing recipe that uses this rub here.

*For recipes that include dried herbs or brown sugar, I throw the ingredients in a blender to incorporate fully.   Any other time, I just use a whisk to mix the ingredients.

If we get really ambitious, I want (with The Hubs help) to make a rack for our spices like this.   (I think I can order tubes like this from Amazon.)

This is a set of “Flavors of America Salt Collection” from Uncommon Goods. (I love that catalog.)

Don’t you think this would make a great gift.    I would love to have time to make a block of wood for these glass tubes and put in a whole set of homemade spice concoctions.    Maybe next year….

But, this year the B-i-L is getting a set of recycled beer yeast vials filled with the spices above plus some garam masala.    (He is also getting some Spicy Herb Salt but I had to put that in another container—ran out of vials).

Re-purposed yeast vials for spices.

I am continuing the recycling theme and putting his spices in a cigar box.

Re-purposed cigar box for a spice holder and gift box.

Aside:   Did you know that you can buy cigar boxes cheap (usually $2-$3) at cigar stores?    Just do a Pinterest search.  You can recycle them into all sorts of cool things.

Currently, The Hubs is making CBGs (Cigar Box Guitars).

The guitar the 7-year-old made with his Unc. How appropriate.

He, the B-i-L and the two nephews whipped out two guitars over Thanksgiving.

Here is the box of the 12-year-old’s project. Really, we didn’t plan this. It was a happy accident that we had “Aged 7 Years” and “Aged 12 Years” boxes for this project.

Hope this post left you with at least one gift-giving idea today because it is only FIVE days until Christmas.   (Good grief, Charlie Brown.)

 If you have never heard this bluesy tramp-art musical instrument, please click on the link below.  You will be amazed.   (And, you can make these for about fifteen bucks.)

Only five more days left!