Cowboy Spice Rub

I’m not sure what makes this “cowboy spice,” exactly. I mean, if you think about it, the cowboys out there herding cattle across Texas probably don’t carry around a menagerie of spices in their saddle bags. Gotta think salt and pepper are pretty much it. But name aside, this spice rub is pretty delicious.

This makes more spice rub than you’ll need, but you’ll probably want to make it and save the rest for another meal. Apparently it’s pretty good on other meats too. I got this one from a blog called “Choosy Beggars.”

1.5 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp chipotle chili powder

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1.5 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

3/4 tsp kosher salt, or to taste

Pretty much the only change I would recommend to this is to cut back on the cinnamon a little. The next time I might add a little cayenne to it as well (which I add to almost any recipe, actually). Just mix up the spices, making sure they are uniformly mixed, and rub generously into whatever meat you want (we used pork tenderloin), then let it rest in the fridge for about 30-45 minutes. You could probably let it sit in the rub even longer for stronger flavor, but it worked for us pretty quickly. Then you simply cook it, and eat it! We broiled ours and served it with a nice arugula salad. But I think grilling would put a nice tasty caramelized char on it with that brown sugar. Or you could do it the cowboy way and throw it over an open campfire and eat it with your bare hands. Totally up to you.

(Click here for printable recipe)