Coffee and Cocoa Rub

You all know that I love a good rub down. Personally I’ll take a well rubbed hunk of animal over a marinated one any day of the week.

And twice on Sundays please.

Because of this I’m constantly creating new rubs and trying out different seasoning combos.

One that I couldn’t get out of my head was using coffee grounds in the rub.

If we had a compost pile or actually planted things around the house, those coffee grinds would be put to good use.  For now they end up getting tossed and I feel like that is such a waste.  I’ve been looking for new uses for them.

Some are to eat and some are for the body.

I decided to try out some of the grounds in a rub and both of us were pretty pleased with the results.

Andrea’s Coffee and Cocoa Dry Rub

  • 1TBSP Coffee Grounds (whatever you used that morning is fine)
  • 1TBSP Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 2tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1TBSP Brown Sugar
  • 3tsp Chili Powder
  • 2tsp Smoked Paprika
  • Pinch Salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and use on chicken, beef, or pork.  You can even use this on veggies or tofu!

I’ve used this rub on a rack of ribs and also on some flank steak.  I prefer it on the steak!  It gave the steak an very lovely deep color as it grilled, along with providing a nice crust on the outside.

I fought Scott over the crispy ends!  We made tacos with the flank steak, grilling up some onions and peppers on the side.

You can also add a bit of oil to the rub to make a paste and use that on veggies or tofu, cooking them however you choose.

The coffee provided more color than it did flavor but the combo of coffee and cocoa did provide a more intense beef taste.

If you drink coffee, try using the grounds in recipes and experiment a little.

And if you’re going to be getting in some grilling because you’re not ready to let that go just yet, give this rub a try!

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food! Enjoy!

8 thoughts on “Coffee and Cocoa Rub

  1. Sounds yummy. I’ll have to try that the next time I do chicken. And that bowl it’s in? Vintage Pyrex? My mom used to have some with that design on it. I may have to scavenge through the house the next time I’m down there.

  2. I used this with some chicken thighs I baked tonight. It was good but I think it’s more suited to steaks, chops or boneless, skinless chicken that’s grilled or pan-fried so that it can develop a tasty crispy crust.

    • Mike, it definitely works best with grilling I think though I haven’t tried it on roasting chicken. Maybe making it into a marinade first would work?

  3. I use coffee cocoa rubs for my ribs and ribeyes. I definitely taste the coffee (in a good way) but I use fresh ground coffee or espresso – not leftover coffee grounds – big difference, I believe. I’ve tried other rib rubs and don’t know that I could go back after having the coffee cocoa. I make my own sauce when I do ribs but I don’t even use it.

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