Smoke'n Joe,
You are right, fresh spices make a world of difference!
Mallard,
Here is some info from the book concerning rubs:
Rubs Do's and Don'ts
Do's
1 Do use cane sugar for better flavor and texture
2 Do balance the amounts of sugar(cane) and salts(seasoned,like Lawerys,onion,garlic,and celery
3 Do use between 2 Tablespoons and 1/4 cup of chili powder and black pepper
4 Do add sweet Hungarian Paprika for color
5 Do add three different spices or herbs that you like or you think will enhance the meat that you intend to cook
Don'ts
1 Don't use brown sugar ,as it tends to clump
2 Don't use too many powders with different granular sizes, or the rub won't stay in suspension and you'll have to shake it every time you use it
3 Don't overpower your rub with one dominant flavor, which can easily happen if you use too much nutmeg,mace,clove,oregano,or rosemary
4 Don't put fresh product in a dry rub. for example, you don't want minced fresh garlic or chopped fresh parsley in a dry rub because the fresh ingredients will cause the rub to clump. A rub is supposed to be a seasoning blend that can be stored in a jar at room temperature. If you addfresh products you can't do that.
5 Don't use meat tenderizer in a rub. If you're not careful it will make the meat mushy
6 Don't keep a rub longer than a year,as the flavor will diminish over time.
HTH [
][8D][:p]
<i><font color="blue"><b>Jack</i></font id="blue"></b>
