Smoked Turkey Rub

This barbecue turkey rub is really simple to prepare and precisely balanced to enhance the taste of smoked turkey.

It might be difficult to get the correct balance for everyone, but this turkey rub very well nails it.

Why I make my own rubs

I’ve always enjoyed experimenting with taste profiles while creating my own rubs. I then went through the process of purchasing commercial rubs.

I felt if these folks were winning dishes in contests, they must be excellent.

They are, but I also know that most, if not all, of the items they utilize are easily accessible in my own cupboard.

So what’s in this turkey rub?

This is an excellent basic rub that can be tailored to your preferences and used on a variety of proteins.

Smoked paprika, brown sugar, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, mustard powder, garlic powder, and onion powder are all combined.

Here are a few tips on how to tweak it:

• This rub is great for both turkey and chicken; if you want to use it on pig, double the paprika and sugar amounts and add a little chile to taste, beginning with a teaspoon of cayenne at first.
• If you like a kick in the pants sort of heat, you may add some chili to it; however, I recommend beginning small and working your way up. When it comes to chili, a little goes a long way.
• If you don’t like the smoky flavor, use regular paprika instead, or sweet paprika for a little sweeter taste.
• If you wish to use this on beef, leave out the sugar, increase the salt and pepper levels, and cut the paprika in half.

Using The Rub

I believe the most prevalent error made by folks new to smoking, as well as others who have been doing it for a time, is to rub on their dry rubs.

Don’t do that; a dry rub should be properly dusted from about 12 inches above the protein to ensure consistent and equal covering.

If you shake the rub before each use, you’ll receive the same flavor every time.

In practice, you should take the meat out of the fridge, cut it if necessary, and apply the rub while it is still cold, then let it aside to get to room temperature, which normally takes about an hour.

This gives the rub plenty of time to activate, sucking moisture from the protein’s outermost layer to aid in binding the rub to it.

Storage

I move any residual rub into an airtight container for storage since the sugar content typically cakes up and the whole rub turns into a spice brick; you can loosen this up with a fork but by storing it appropriately, you prevent the need to loosen it the next time you need it.

We have a great range of homemade rubs you can try

• 7 delicious dry rubs for pulled pork and ribs
• Homemade brisket rub
• Homemade BBQ coffee rub