Spice Rubs for Holiday Roasts and Steaks

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A rub can add amazing flavor to even your every day roasts and steaks. I’m sharing some spice rubs for holiday roasts and steaks from some of my friends.

There are traditional meats we ate at certain holidays.  Turkey at Thanksgiving; that’s a no brainer.  We have ham for New Year’s and Easter.  Only because black eyes peas don’t really go with anything else but ham.  Then there’s Christmas.

Now, when I was growing up, we used to have ham and turkey for Christmas.  That’s only because we always had orphans over for dinner.  You know, those friends that don’t have family close and cannot travel home for the holidays?  Needless to say, our table(s) were always full and there wasn’t an empty chair in the house.

Now, it’s my turn to determine what the holiday traditions are.

And, since about 2002 or so I’ve determined that a rib roast is our Christmas dinner.  I’ve served it every year since.  One year, we were lucky enough to have Certified Angus Beef brand rib roast for dinner.  It was the BEST Christmas dinner ever.  Since then I’ve vowed to go the extra mile and get their roast for Christmas dinner.  Nothing compares.

My sister asked me recently what rub I put on the roast.  I said, and I quote, “Made up shit.”  Meaning, whatever strikes my fancy that year.  Sometimes it’s a Chicago steak rub with a prime rib rub blend.  Most times it’s a strong rosemary blend that is on the roast along with garlic and some onion.  Then there was the one year I did a roasted shallot rub for our roast.

That’s what prompted this round up of rub recipes for holiday roasts and steaks.  She’s such an inspiration sometimes without even knowing it.  I make rubs all the time, but rarely capture and share the recipe.

Since I have relationships with some of those in the know about how to season and flavor beef, I reached out to them for their best recipes.  Be prepared to take notes and pin your little life away with these delicious roast and steak rub recipes.  I know I have some new recipes in my little recipe box to try next time I’m hankering for a hunk of beef.

Spice Rubs for Holiday Roasts and Steaks

1. I heard all about this rub from my #SundaySupper family who went to the Blythe Angus Ranch.  I met Debbie Lyons-Blythe at the last Food Wine Conference.  It was a pleasure to hear speak about sustainable farming.  And she was even more pleasant to chat with outside of the conference room before breakfast that Sunday.  I didn’t have the recipe until now, but you can bet this one will be a pantry staple from now on.

2. I love using rubs that feature different ethnic flavors.  Next is this French Rub from Certified Angus Beef has delicious thyme and tarragon in it.  I think tarragon is one herb that’s underused but so full of flavor.  This would be a perfect rub for a delicious steak nicoise salad.  Or a roast with some pommes anna and haricots verts.

3. Roast shallot and herb roast has amazing flavor.  There’s the sweetness of the roasted shallots.  Then the herbs that are combined and spread on the outside of the roast.  And finally, the roast itself.  You can’t go wrong with an amazing Certified Angus Beef brand roast.

4. In a similar fashion, Life Tastes Good prepared a Garlic Crusted Prime Rib Roast for dinner.  It’s packed with delicious garlic and thyme flavors.  So simple yet perfectly seasoned for this delicious roast.

5. The simplicity of this rub from Wishes and Dishes highlights the rich flavor of the roast.  With just a little salt, pepper, thyme, garlic, and onion powder, you can have an amazing roast on your holiday table.

6. Julie’s Spice Rub Recipe from Hostess at Heart is a kicked up rub for your holiday roast.  This definitely lends itself to more cowboy style flavors for the holidays.  I see this rub on a roast that’s grilled along side some fluffy biscuits, green beans, and scalloped potatoes.

7. You can’t talk about rubs without mentioning the delicious Santa Maria rub.  Certified Angus Beef brand had a make your own rub station at the Food Wine Conference 2016.  This was my first introduction to this fabulous rub.  It’s good on every meat known to man.  We’ve put it on steaks, pork chops, and chicken.  I’ve put this in burgers, too.  It’s truly an all around good pantry staple to have on hand.

8. My mother cooks brisket for the holidays.  My step-dad is Jewish and they keep to a kosher-ish lifestyle.  It’s a little hard to be completely kosher where they live, but they try.  They always have brisket for Hanukkah and other Jewish meals.  If you’re cooking a brisket, then this rub from Spiced would be perfect!  I love the flavors and smokiness it gives the brisket.

9. This amazing rub from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings has a sweet and savory combination to it.  She added honey, but she also added an ingredient that I put in almost all of my rubs.  Mustard powder.  It has that little oomph that some will not recognize, but all will love.

10. If you don’t want to kick up the oven, but still want an amazing brisket, then try this rub.  Soulfully Made slow cooked her brisket to fork tender perfection.  This recipe also has an amazing barbecue sauce to top your brisket with.  It makes an amazing sandwich, too.

11.  Pook’s Pantry combines all my favorite rub flavors into one.  Here’s the Rub marries mustard powder with coffee and chili pepper for an ultimate rub.  It’s delicious on roasts, steaks, and even burgers.

12. I have very few cookbooks.  I’ve never been one to really go through and cook a recipe from a cook book.  However, here are a few exceptions, of course.  I think I bought this one in Texas.  If not, then I have no idea where I got it.  However, what I do know is that Texas Cowboy Cooking has the most amazing rub recipe for brisket.  It’s from Perini Ranch and one that I use often.  I keep it on hand for a quick addition of flavor to steaks and roast like a flat-iron.  It’s no wonder that Texas Highways shared this recipe from the Perini Ranch and now I’m sharing it in this roundup.

13. You couldn’t expect me to omit a rub recipe that has bourbon in the title could you?  Of course not!  Bourbon is in my blood!  Palatable Pastime uses a special type of smoked paprika in her recipe.  It’s smoked with bourbon barrels for an added layer of flavor to their paprika and this rub recipe.

14.  Because you can never have enough rub recipes, here’s an all purpose one from Take Two Tapas.  Her All Purpose Steak Spice Mix is full of steakhouse flavor that you can use on any meat.

15.  And to round this recipe round up out, here’s a delicious rub from Eat Picks that they use on a top round roast.  This Coffee Rubbed Roast Beef is rich and perfect for any roast.

 

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