We use spice mixes a fair amount these days. While most of them are simply sprinkled lightly over dishes to give them a little extra flavor, there are some that are worth highlighting as truly adding something extra to a meal. We had gotten a sample of this “Truckee” BBQ Rub recently, and thanks to the generosity of Darrell and Candy of Big Dawg Salsa, we were given some to try for our very own. Here is the description of the sauce from both the bottle and the website:

Big Dawg BBQ Rub is an amazing combination of flavors with an added dab of sweet followed by a slight tingle of heat. This rub will have you sloppin’ for more.

Rub on both sides of your favorite Pork, Beef, or Chicken. Let rub set in for about an hour and then throw on the smoker, grill or in the oven and cook low and slow. Can also sprinkle on your favorite recipes as a seasoning.

Trying a spice mix is not quite the same as trying a hot sauce right out of the bottle, but we gave it the ol’ college try anyway. We poured out a little to give it a little taste.

The written description is pretty much dead-on accurate for this product. You get that initially taste of the sweetness, followed by the salt-and-pepper flavor that the other ingredients provide. Sea salt can be a strong flavor, but it blends well with the mix of garlic and cayenne to give a smooth peppery flavor to this mix right out of the jar.

Ingredients: brown sugar, paprika, sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and other spices

For our culinary experimentation, we opted for a couple of meat entrees. Both selections, chicken and skirt steak, were essentially prepared the same way. We used this mix like a rub, and gave the meat a coating on both sides and let it sit in the fridge overnight to be cooked the next day. For the sake of simplicity, it doesn’t get much easier than that. We made the chicken on the grill and cooked the steak in the oven with indirect heat. While we don’t have pictures of the chicken, here’s how the steak looked after about 20 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees:

With the outside a nice golden brown, the steak cut easily into thin strips that were absolutely magnificent. Cooking does mellow the flavor a little, but the results are worth the effort. There’s a broad hint of sugary sweetness with each bite, and then you really get a feel for the cayenne pepper with a little tingle for your tastebuds. The meat cooked fairly evenly as well, with none of the meat getting at all scorched regardless of the method of cooking.

Overall recommendation: We’ve put this mix on our short list of BBQ rubs that we can use with nearly anything we put on the grill or cook in the oven. Mildly sweet and a little spicy, the description of the rub above pretty much says it all. You could probably get away with using this rub as a blackening seasoning or even spicing up your dinner veggies as well. Our only regret was not having more food to try it upon before writing this review. Another winner from Big Dawg Salsa. Enjoy!!