Spice
rub is another method on marinating meat. Using coarsely ground spice,
salt and a bit of sugar, it will caramelize throughout cooking process,
forming an aromatic coat that waft deliciously across the kitchen.
Simplest of spice rubs are black pepper and salt. Experimenting
different combination of spices, finally I came out with spice rubs that
are great on palate. I added an ample of NesCafe into the mix, and belief me, throughout cooking period, my cooking area smell like Star Bucks restaurant. To get the best of the flavor, ideally spice rubs were applied for hours prior cooking or grilling. This will ensure the flavor seeps well through the meat as without water or wet marinade, the flavor from the spice taking longer time to diffuse into the meat.
While cooking meat with dry spice rubs, normally we employ direct cooking method. Direct heat will make the outer spice coating caramelize, thus coating the meat well while preserving juicy meat underneath. My version of spice rubs are mixture of
- cinnamon bark
- cumin seed
- pepper corn
- star anise
- dry chilli flake
- curry powder
- coffee ground (NesCafe)
- salt, sugar and MSG for seasoning
p/s: take careful eye while cooking meat marinated with spice rub as it tend to get burned if exposed to direct heat for prolong time
