• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Devour.Asia

Devour.Asia

Better Asian recipes for home cooks

  • Recipes
    • Cuisine
      • Chinese
      • Japanese
      • Korean
      • Thai
      • Vietnamese
      • Taiwanese
      • Filipino
      • Indonesian
      • Malaysian
      • South Asian
      • Fusion
      • Street Food
    • Ingredient
      • Poultry
      • Seafood
      • Meat
      • Rice & Grains
      • Noodles
      • Vegetables
      • Tofu
      • Mushrooms
      • Bread
      • Eggs
      • Fruits
    • Course
      • Breakfast
      • Snacks
      • Salads
      • Soups
      • Main Courses
      • Side Dishes
      • Sweets
      • Drinks
  • Kitchen
  • Stories
  • Cuisine
    • Chinese
    • Japanese
    • Korean
    • Thai
    • Taiwanese
    • Filipino
    • Indonesian
    • Malaysian
    • South Asian
    • Fusion
  • Main Ingredient
    • Poultry
    • Seafood
    • Meat
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
      • Noodle Soups
      • Noodles Stir Fry
      • Instant Noodles (Ramen)
    • Vegetables
    • Mushrooms
    • Tofu
    • Bread
    • Eggs
    • Fruits
  • Course
    • Breakfast
    • Snacks
    • Salads
    • Soups
    • Main Courses
    • Side Dishes
    • Sweets
    • Drinks
  • Street Food
  • Kitchen Tales
  • Food Tales
  • About
  • Privacy
You are here: Home / Kitchen Tales / Cooking Techniques / What is a Dry Rub? Or is it Dry Spice Rub?

What is a Dry Rub? Or is it Dry Spice Rub?

When you marinate meat, what do you use? Chances are, a liquid marinade. That was what I did most of the time. Until I discovered the advantages of dry rubs.

Pork belly with dry spice rub

What it a dry rub? It means a mixture of dried spices, often with salt and sugar, that is rubbed directly into meat.

Like so. If the rub contains spices only and no herbs, it is a dry spice rub.

If the mixture contains chopped herbs, then the generic “dry rub” is the more appropriate term.

What do I mean by dried spices?

Dried herbs and spices

Dried spices can mean anything from seeds crushed manually with a mortar and pestle to ground spices in powder form that are widely available in supermarkets and groceries.

The secret is in the proper mix-and-match. Some people guard their dry rub recipes very seriously.

So what’s the advantage of a dry rub over a liquid marinade? Is it more effective? It depends.

One disadvantage of a liquid marinade is that, in a container, the pieces (or portion, in case of meat slabs) of meat that touch the bottom catch the marinade while those on top don’t. So, you have to mix everything occasionally to make sure that every piece gets seasoned.

With a dry rub, occasional mixing is not necessary. Once you mix the meat with the spice (or spice-and-herb) mixture, every piece gets its share. And what sticks on each piece of meat does not fall off during the marinating time.

But which results in more tender and moist meat — liquid marinade or dry rub?

Pork belly

That depends on the size of the meat and the amount of fat in it. From experience, very lean meat, and any meat cut into very small pieces whether lean or not, do not do well with spice rubs as the salt (or anything salty) draws out moisture and there is no other liquid that can be absorbed by the meat.

But if you’re dealing with meat with substantial amounts of fat, so long as the meat isn’t cut too small, dry rubs are perfect.

In terms of marinating time, dry rubs seem to permeate the meat faster than liquid marinade. The country-style ribs in the second photo above were grilled after only two hours of marinating and they were very, very tasty, having absorbed the flavors in the spice rub in such a short time. With liquid marinades, the marinating time required is longer.

So, I’m at that point when I’m experimenting with different combinations of spices and herbs that should go perfectly with different kinds of meat, and different cuts of meat. The first photo in this post… That sat in the fridge overnight then I cooked the pork for lunch today. The recipe will be posted next.

Published: July 13, 2011 • Last modified: May 13, 2020 ♥ Cooking Techniques Kitchen Tales, Seasonings & Condiments
Further Reading
Chinese-style fried rice in white ramekin

How To Cook Chinese-style Fried Rice

Fried and skewered quail eggs. Tamsui Old Street, Taiwan

Quail Eggs in Asian Cuisines

Mandarin oranges

Symbolic Food for the Lunar New Year

Sidebar

Experience Asia

Thai Hot and Sour Soup (Tom Saap) Garnished with Chili

Thai Hot and Sour Soup (Tom Saap)

Thai cucumber salad garnished with peanuts and cilantro

Thai Cucumber Salad with Sweet and Tangy Chili Dressing

Japanese sakura rice bowls

Two Reasons to Go Back to Japan

Sam Veneracion making pottery. Bat Trang Village, Vietnam.

The Authentic Bat Trang Ceramic Village Tour and Pottery Class

Thai meatballs in curry sauce

Thai-style Meatballs in Coconut Curry Sauce

  • About
  • Privacy
  • Archive

Inspiration

“A full belly conquers all.”

From the film Saving Face
Popular Posts
  • A Guide To Ramen Broth: Shio, Shoyu, Miso and Tonkotsu
  • 3 Soy Sauce Braised Pork Belly
  • Steamed Pompano With Ginger Sauce
  • Tofu in Oyster Sauce
  • Slow Cooker Chinese-style Beef Tendon
Not So Fine Print

Devour Asia does NOT work with “brands”.

Devour Asia does NOT accept guest posts.

Devour Asia does NOT outsource recipe development, writing, photography and videography.

Except for the occasional stock photo and blockquote, everything © Devour Asia. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.