Brown Sugar Dry Rubs - Game Changer

Many years ago, I discovered a brown sugared dry rub in Lowville NY at a meat market known as Millers. Oh my goodness, if you ever drive up north to Lowville NY, stop by Millers. Their meats and seasonings inspired by local customs is incredible.

I moved away from Upstate NY a few years ago and I could not find the dry rub mix from Millers. I tried to make my own and it was much more difficult than I thought. I searched the internet and quickly learned, Amish inspired recipes and the lack of electricity kind of prevent you from finding out their secret to making a dry rub.

After exhaustive efforts, and some failures, I discovered how to not only replicate the dry rub, I can make my own variations. Here is the base recipe and some suggestions for changing things up a bit.

Basic Dry Rub

2 cups Brown Sugar

4 Tablespoons of Salt

3 Tsps of Cracked Pepper

3 Tsps Garlic Powder

1 Tsp of Onion Powder

1 tsp Cumin

1tsp Paprika

3 tsps of Parsley Flakes

Mix half the ingredients in a shakeable container. Shake the ingredients vigorously. Add the rest of of your ingredients and repeat. For meats, you may want to add more salt to your liking. The salt allows for the meat to cure longer. This dry rub mixture only get's better the more time you give it to marinate with your meats. 

BBQ is one use for dry rubs. I also use it on bacon, Chinese Pork Belly, and my hamburgers The cure gives them a caramelized flavor you will truly appreciate. 

Variations (Turn it up a notch)

Hot, sweet, and tangy. The 3 variations I love most about this dry rub. Here are some suggestions you can add or replace ingredients. As I always suggest, make it your own.

Sazon seasoning - this gives a a slight kick and subtle change to the flavor.

Cayenne Pepper - 1-3 tsps can change the heat level and make all the difference for your ribs.

Jerk Seasoning -  1-3 tsps give it a Caribbean feel that is unique for your meats. 

Time and Curing

The key for curing is time. A brown sugar rub will immerse itself into the meats working in partnership with the salt. This allows the other ingredients to permeate the food with flavor. If you feel comfortable, 24-48 hours of curing will create a very good brine. 

Quick Rub - I also use the rub for meats immediately. The brown sugar base in a skillet will caramelize quickly. You have to monitor your heat levels and cooking to avoid burning. However, once you get use to the adjustments, the rub works quite well.  

Don't forget the Chicken Wings! 

A great chicken wing recipe I discovered was to dry rub and charbroil the wings on the grill. You can eat them off the grill or my favorite is to add your favorite sauce after the wings are finished.