Spicy Coffee Dry Rub

This spicy coffee dry rub is super versatile. You can pretty much use it on any meat – barbecued or not!

But, because it’s a bit sweet with a heap of attitude, my favorite meat to use it on is pork.

Last week, I tried it out dry on a barbecued rack of ribs. I rubbed about half of the recipe over 3.5 pounds of pork ribs, slow-cooked them on the smoker for a couple of hours and then dipped them in the leftover spice mix before serving.

Amazing!

After my spicy coffee dry rub rib success, I then threw it in the slow-cooked with a pork shoulder with a can of tomatoes and sliced onions. The result was a delicious but not the normal pulled pork. The cayenne and black pepper made it quite spicy but the brown sugar and cinnamon cut through the meat nicely to create a well-rounded dish.

Although there’s a million ways you can serve up pulled pork, is there really anything better than some good old soft shell tacos? Serve it up with some slaw, avocado and yogurt, topped with roasted pepitas and you’ve got one mighty fine (and healthy) meal.

The other great thing about this spicy coffee dry rub is that it doesn’t have to be perfect! It doesn’t matter if you don’t have all the ingredients. Feel free to mix it up, change the portions or add something completely. This spicy coffee dry rub is great as is or as your inspiration…

• If you’re cooking for a crowd, reduce the cayenne a bit to make it more taste-bud friendly
• If you love a sweet meat, up the brown sugar a bit
• Or, for a paleo variation, leave the sugar out completely

Regardless, it’s gonna be tasty!

One last tip! If you’re not barbecuing with this dry rub, add some smoked paprika to give it that barbecued flavor.