Dave's Barbecue Rub

For Christmas this year I made some barbecue rub to give to a few friends as presents.  Most of them have run out of it and asked me for the recipe.  I never write anything down so I'm going to try and duplicate it by memory:

1 part Brown Sugar

1 part Paprika

1 part Kosher or coarse salt

1/2 part garlic powder

1/2 part black pepper

1/2 part instant coffee

Cayenne Pepper to taste

Cajun Seasoning to taste

Mix all your ingredients well.  I use a rinsed out spaghetti jar (make sure it's completely dry).  Just pour them from your measuring device (1 part = 1 cup will fill your jar) into the jar and shake it as you add ingredients.

You can put this rub on anything you barbecue.  I've used it to make a crust around smoked meats, to add to the flavor of liquid marinades or as a stand-alone enhancer for hamburgers, chicken and fish (go easy on the fish as the flavors are very robust).  I even use it when cooking a roast in the crock pot.

I ripped this off from Steve Raichlen, it started out as his "Basic Barbecue Rub" that he uses for his famous "Beer Can Chicken", but I've added so much to it that I think I can call it my own at this point.  My wife got me his book for Christmas and I highly recommend it.  The nice thing is that instead of being just a collection of recipe's  it is more a book on different grilling techniques.  Raichlen encourages creativity and experimentation.