Spice Rubs Create Crunchy Coatings On Meats

It’s 6 o’clock, the grill is heating up and those boneless chicken breasts are beginning to look pretty boring. A marinade is out of the question - it needs an hour or two to work its magic. Barbecue sauce seems too messy.

What’s left? Spices. Herbs. Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Grab your favorite spices, mix up a pinch here and a dash there, and rub the mixture with your finger tips on the surface of the meat. In a few minutes, those chicken breasts are headed for the grill with a whole new look and flavor.

“When food that has been rubbed with a spice mixture is cooked, the rub creates a super-flavorful, slightly crunchy crust on the outside, while the interior retains its own distinct flavor,” writes Chris Schlesinger, co-author with John Willoughby of “Big Flavors of the Hot Sun” (Morrow.) “To me, there is no better way to achieve big flavor.”

During his travels to countries around the world, Schlesinger became aware of the potent spice mixtures used in hot-weather cuisines. The chef devised his own method of using these blends as dry rubs for meat, fish and poultry.

Dry spice rubs are closely identified with barbecue - meat that is seasoned and slow-cooked in a smoker or by indirect heat.

“These rubs were designed for long, slow cooking, for cooking by smoke, ” says Jay Ginewsky, owner of The Whisk caterers in Canton, Conn. “The rub was intended to impart flavor and seal in all those juices.”

But Ginewsky acknowledges that chefs such as Schlesinger are experimenting with rubs for grilled foods. With care, the results can be subtle or powerful, depending on the spices, but charring and bitterness lurk with every flare-up of the grill.

“If you really tend your fire, and tend to your grill, that’s fine,” he says. “You can watch the meat and watch your flame. Then the rub will impart a nice flavor and won’t burn.”

He likes using a rub on chicken breasts, lifting up the skin and applying the rub directly to the meat. The skin stands between the grill’s heat and the spices, and there is less chance of burning.

Sometimes, however, a charred exterior is exactly the effect the chef is after. Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme popularized the method of blackening catfish by rubbing a pungent spice mixture on the fish and searing it in a super-hot pan.

Dry spice mixtures can be rubbed on the meat just before grilling. If a rub has any kind of moist ingredient mixed in - pureed roasted garlic, pureed sun-dried tomatoes or a touch of olive oil - it can be left for a few hours to allow the flavors to permeate the meat.

Prepared rubs are available in supermarkets and specialty food shops. Prudhomme’s name appears on some Cajun and Creole spices, while Schlesinger recently introduced a line of dry spice rubs marketed under the Inner Beauty label.

But these rubs are as easy to make at home as they are to apply. Work with spices that appeal to your palate and complement the type of meat, poultry or fish they will season. Use salt judiciously, but don’t oversalt.

For big flavor with a Mexican accent, a blend of cumin, chili powder, coriander, cayenne, black pepper, cinnamon and salt packs a punch. Coriander, five-spice, garlic, dried chili and brown sugar suggest the exotic and pungent flavors of the Far East. Mediterranean herbs are more subtle: oregano, basil, fennel seed, garlic, lemon peel and pepper.

Other suggestions include the following:

Bombay-Style Rub

3 teaspoons ground coriander

3 teaspoons ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

Mix together spices, adding about 1/2 teaspoon salt, if desired. Rub mixture evenly over surface of meat or poultry.

Spicy Latin Back Ribs

1/4 cup ground cumin

1/4 cup chili powder

2 tablespoons ground coriander

1 tablespoons cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons ground black pepper

1 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoons brown sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

3 slabs pork baby back ribs (about 6 pounds total)

Combine the spices, brown sugar and salt in a large jar with a tight-fitting lid. Put lid on jar, and shake well until blended thoroughly. Pat ribs dry with paper towels. Rub spice mixture generously over surfaces of ribs; cover and refrigerate up to 12 hours, or cook immediately.

Prepare a banked, medium-hot fire on one side of a kettle-style grill. Place ribs, not overlapping, on the opposite side of the grill. Cover grill and roast 1 hours, or until ribs are tender. (Ribs also may be cooked on a rack in a shallow pan in a 350-degree oven for 1-1/2 hours.)

Remove ribs from grill, wrap securely in heavy aluminum foil and let rest in closed brown paper bags for up to 1 hour. Unwrap and cut into serving size portions.

Yield: 6 servings.

Spice Rub for Lamb

3 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed

2 garlic cloves, minced

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon each salt, black pepper

Mix together all ingredients until well blended. Rub mixture on lamb steaks or kebabs.

Yield: Makes enough rub for about 1 pound of meat.

Jerk Spice Rub

2 tablespoons dried minced onion

1 tablespoon onion powder

4 teaspoons ground thyme

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne

Mix together all ingredients until well blended. Rub mixture on surfaces of pork or poultry.

Yield: Makes enough rub for about 2 pounds of meat or poultry.