Dry Rub

When I was first learning to cook, grilling seemed to me like the best way to cook meat.  Something about a hunk of meat over an open flame, spitting, crackling….

…..actually, my family has been blessed with more than one grill master, with my Uncle M probably taking the overall title. There is this taste, this  juicy, succulent bite, that takes me back to the woven placements and PortMeirion of my grandmother’s dining room table, the best place in my mind to enjoy a steak.  Not a white tablecloth in sight! I can’t remember the last time I even considered dining at a steakhouse. Why would I ever when my family dinners are the finest meat show going?

 Anyway—back to that bite.  It’s like a phantom. I have achieved it only a few times in my grilling adventures but it shows up without fail whenever Uncle M is on the grill. Like, there could be an assortment of ziploc bags stuff with leftover prime rib (because how else would you store leftovers? that’s how we do it in my family) in an unmarked fridge and I would know right away which one my Uncle was responsible for.  It’s incredible.

The seasoning is always simple---salt and pepper, or a really basic spice blend. Uncle M would probably tell you it has to do with timing, and I believe he mentioned something about how the meet feels if you roll your knuckles over it, but I have never really pursued the grillmaster (mistress?) role and I am happy just being a grilled meat eater for the most part. 

I don’t think I ever saw anyone in my family dump a bottle of Italian dressing on a hunk of meat and call it a day, but for whatever reason, the first couple times I grilled, that was as a far as I went. Perhaps some Montreal Steak Seasoning made its way onto the beef and I let it reach room temperature, but I really didn’t do much research. I did make delicious steak tacos once that came from a piece of flank steak that sat overnight in a bath of lime juice, cilantro, vegetable oil, and chili powder, but not much experimenting beyond that.

Dried and rubbed...uhhh

I was inspired to try a dry rub because the steak went with a salad of sorts called Bloody Mary Salad. The dry rub was so simple, too, no exotics spices, just light brown sugar, paprika, cayenne, salt, pepper.

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/flank-steak-with-bloody-mary-tomato-salad

I made this a few weekends ago when I was home for my parents because of course my mother just happened to have a flank steak in the freezer that was begging to be dry rubbed and consumed.

Gentle!

brown sugar babe, I get high off your love

Not long after, the NY times featured this article, so I’m pleased to be on trend.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/21/dining/welcome-to-the-post-marinade-era-of-grilling.html?smid=tw-nytdining&_r=0

ah, brown sugar! how come you taste so good?!

The salad was easy, too. In fact, I’m pretty sure there was no need to go out and purchase anything for this meal.   I think this rub is a great place to start and you probably have all the ingredients on your spice rack and in your pantry.  It was easy, and there was one more bottle of reduced fat Italian on the shelf to be purchased and make its way to sit room temperature on the table at a super lame pasta party.

Complete with Bloody Mary Salad

Rub on!