Spotlight Spice: Espresso Rub

You’ll often find AllSpicer Rory wandering around the shop with a cup of coffee or an espresso drink in-hand, regardless of the time of day. He loves his coffee! So it comes as no surprise to us that this week’s Spotlight Spice is one of his favorites from our collection of spice rubs and blends – our Espresso Rub.

We asked Rory to tell us a bit more about this rub, including what he loves about it and how he likes to use it. Here’s what he had to say:

“Our Espresso Rub is made by grinding espresso beans into a powder. The powder is then combined with herbs and spices like salt, pepper, paprika, and onion. The rub also contains a bit of cayenne for a touch of heat which is nicely balanced by a dash sugar for sweetness."

He went on to share that the rub is great on veal, chicken, pork, beef, and is excellent on tuna steaks. He loves to add a tablespoon or two to his pot of chili too. He says the espresso gives the chili a dark, rich flavor, while the sweetness cuts the acidity of the tomatoes.

“You’d often apply a rub to meat an hour or two before cooking, but you can apply the Espresso Rub within a half hour or so of putting your meat on the grill or in the smoker,” said Rory. “I enjoy this blend most on beef and like to apply it right before I load it into the smoker to cook low and slow until the beef is cooked to temperature.”

Rory also loves to mix the Espresso Rub with the Mo’Rub Blend in equal parts to season brisket or pork ribs to smoke.

Other members of the AllSpice team shared they like to use the Espresso Rub on roasted root vegetables, something Rory hadn’t tried but agreed sounded delicious. 

Pick up a jar and fire up the grill or smoker!