After a long, hard day at the office, nothings better than a nice quality slab of beef cooked to your liking. I like a good steak almost any way it comes.
But since I purchased a nice cut of Angus KC strip last weekend, I’ve been waiting patiently to test out a good rub to spice things up a bit. With the arrival of my Memphis Sweet Heat Dry rub, the wait was finally over.
Ingredients: Garlic Salt, Ancho Chile Peppers, Molasses, Coffee, Onions, and Natural Spices
Nothing too fancy. The coffee was unexpected, and the garlic salt had promise. I applied a generous amount to my steak, then set it off cooking. I broiled it for 10 minutes on one side and 3 minutes on the other, to a perfect medium.
Before Rub
Plain No More
Ready to Eat!
Overall the taste was pretty good. There was a lot of garlic, but it wasn’t overpowering. No roasty coffee tones to be found, and gosh did I look. It was mildly sweet, but nowhere near the Memphis sweet sauces I’m used to. And the heat was non-existant.
The label states “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” Well, with the lack of heat, this rub won’t have anyone running away anytime soon. It tastes decent and makes a nice addition to a meal, but it’s neither sweet enough nor hot enough to wear the label it does.
Aside from the lack of heat, there’s nothing bad about this rub. So, if you’re looking for flavor, Memphis Sweet Heat Dry Rub will get the job done.
Overall Rating: 6.0 out of 10
Written by John
Nick Lindauer founded Hot Sauce Blog in 2004, making it one of the internet's very first hot sauce review sites. After 20+ years of tasting, reviewing, and attending every major fiery foods event in the country, he's back behind the keyboard covering the hot sauce world he helped build.
32 responses to “Review: Memphis Sweet Heat Dry Rub”
COFFEE???? Never heard of that in a rub before. Wondering why it was there if you could not taste it? Definitely a strange one.
I’ve had several people submit stuff to me for review that inlcuded coffee in the rubs. They were actually quite good, especially on a hearty steak! I think one was called Steak Dance out of southern Indiana. Can’t remember some of the others.
Who produces this rub?
[Comment ID #22119 Quote]
Bodines
Good Review. Hummm Coffee & steak? Sounds ok. I love garlic on steak. Very Interesting – but no heat 🙁
Sorry John
I forgot to say “good review”!
I should have known…
[Comment ID #22129 Quote]
You going to elaborate on that? 🙂
I like a little coffee in rubs, I think it enhances certain aspects of other spices and is a good combination with tougher more flavorful cut of beef. Try a little expresso and your favorite rub and marinate a flank steak overnight and then grill it, I promise you won’t be dissapointed.
I agree with you Cheffy- so long as they’re not over done. Had one come to me that could have been brewed better than sprinkled!
Coffee rubs are definately up-and-coming in the trendy food scene right now. If you get a chance – try “Velvet Hammer” Rubs – the Columbian Chicken Rub is fantastic!
Good review, the coffee would be a nice addition to some rubs. I work in a restaurant and have talked with the executive-chef discussing different seasons we use and it would be very interesting to try that.
[Comment ID #22213 Quote]
I’m certainly going to try it! If I don’t get stuck working Sunday – I think I fire up the grill and do up some nice roasts and chickens on the rotisserie!
(Notice I didn’t say Saturday – definitely have plans that day!)
Hay,
I believe garlic powder/salt to be The Devil. Nasty stuff that sticks to your mowf and guts for hours. There hasn’t been any in my cabinet for years and years and years. Shudder.
Although, am a huge fan of the coffee both in rubs and meat gravies, oh yes. Leftover morning’s coffee has produced some of the best gravy EVER.
Biggles
yeah coffee is really odd – never heard of that either. Steak looks gorgeous though!! There’s nothing like a good steak
Speaking of good steaks. Anyone ever had a steak made from Kobe beef? I know it is expensive but it is the single best cut of meat/steak I have ever had.
[Comment ID #22236 Quote]
is that the beef where they feed it stella artois and massage it? or is that just my imagination? I’ve heard of it but never had any
Welsh Black steak is meant to be really nice too…. obviously I don’t know if you can get it over there – I haven’t really seen it for sale and I’m in Wales
[Comment ID #22239 Quote]
Well it use to come only from the island of Kobe, Japan. But the demand has become too great. The cows are bottle fed from birth and this gives the beer an extremely high amount of marbling. So this makes it extra tender and TAS T
[Comment ID #22241 Quote]
Sounds really nice. Think I’ll stick to the cheaper ones though while I’m at uni. Save some good stuff for when I get a job – as otherwise I’ll end up loving it and not eating anything else as it’ll eat my food (and sauce) £ up.lol
Thats a good looking striploin!
I know Toronto and New York have Kobe Beef burgers with truffles! Haven’t tried it yet but at $37 a burger………..
[Comment ID #22241 Quote]
“gives the beer an extremely high amount of marbling” hehe
I think he meant BEEF!!! not BEER, put down the bottle and repeat after me, I am not drunk. I do not have a craving, I am not an alcoholic. 🙂
Yeah my steak was $75!! I would never have gotten it but someone else was paying for it and they said to get it. I did not ask twice cause I wanted to try it 😀
[Comment ID #22282 Quote]
HAHAHAHAHA I never even saw that. That is pretty funny stuff. I do think most got my point…I hope! I cannot stop laughing now, thanks for noticing it
Glad to make ya LOL ! 🙂
Hey I love my BEER Marbled 🙂
How about a steak flavored coffee…now your speaking my language 🙂
I may have to buy some folks some marbled beer if they show up at Zest Fest. Hope I can find some
[Comment ID #22130 Quote]
No…Jim knows what I mean.
For nyone interested – For dinner tonight, I mixed 1 part ground cayenne pepper with 2 parts Memphis Sweet Heat, and rubbed it on center cut porkchops. 12 minutes in the broiler, and done.
The addition of cayenne took the flavor from good to great, and provided the heat that was lacking. I highly trying it this way.
I had to respond to this one again because I still feel very strongly about the great addition that Coffee can make to a rub. We tried some coffee and some cocoa powder in our rub here at the restaurant on some flank steak and then smoked it. It was remarkable, I am thinking about adding it as a special to the menu with a nice mole sauce.
For those who might still read this, I used to work for Bodine Etc Foods, the company that made these rubs. To answer the coffee question – Coffee is a taste palette neutralizer. When using two competing flavors like this rub’s molasses & any spicy pepper or saltiness, the coffee kicks in after a moment so you get 2 distinct flavors. Can you taste the coffee? Not at all but you’ll definitely notice the change of the flavors with each bite.