Dry Rubs and Marinades, What’s The Difference?

There are several different ways to prepare and season your meats and vegetables before barbecuing them. The top two of these are dry rubs and marinades, both of which are good in different ways. On top off that, are you confident in which type of meats below with certain marinades or dry rubs? Here are the pros and cons (and a breakdown) of each:

The Difference between Dry Rubs and Marinades

Dry Rub

A dry rub is literally a handful (or more) of dry seasonings that are rubbed onto the meat before it is barbecued. There are pre-made dry rubs that can be purchased, or you can make your own from scratch, simply by mixing various seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, parsley flakes, paprika, rosemary, sage, thyme and others. The type of rub that you use is dependant entirely on the type of meat that you plan on cooking. A dry rub cannot be used on vegetables, because it creates a crispy seasoned “skin” that simply will not work on them.

Pros:

• Good for sealing in the meats’ heat and juiciness, which is handy if you’re an unexperienced barbecuer, since you may overcook the meat.
• Works on beef, chicken, lamb, shellfish, pork and turkey.
• Add both flavor and texture.
• Extremely portable, since it is made from dry ingredients, which makes it useful for camping trips or tailgating.
• No waiting period for the seasonings to sink in, so the meat can be placed on the barbecue right away.

Cons:

• Cannot be used on vegetables.
• Has to be applied (rubbed in) with your hands, which may turn off the squeamish.
• When done wrong, can ruin meat.

Marinades

A marinade is either a pre-made or a homemade liquid based solution that the meat or vegetables literally “sit in” before they are put onto the barbecue and grilled. Since they are made of liquid, the meat has to be placed into a plastic zip lock bag or plastic container with a lid along with the marinade for a period of time so that the flavoring has a chance to sink into the meat. Marinating meat makes it more tender, so if you have a tougher cut, this is the way to go. Many different types of meat can be marinated, and even vegetables can be soaked in a marinade, which makes it very versatile.

Pros:

• Good for vegetables, beef, chicken, lamb, turkey, pork, and shellfish. Even standard fish can be marinated if necessary.
• Can make a tougher piece of meat more tender.
• Far more diversified: there are literally hundreds of different types of marinades available.
• If you love intense flavors, then you’ll love a marinaded piece of meat.
• You can always add more of the marinade as the meat is cooking, if necessary.

Cons:

• Since it is liquid, a marinade is less portable, and therefore cannot really be taken on a camping trip.
• The liquid spills easily, making marinades far messier than dry rubs.
• The marinade needs to sink into the meat, so it must be prepared several hours before cooking.
• A marinade doesn’t create a thick crust on the meat, so you need to be careful not to overcook it.

One thing that we love to do is test a variety of rubs and even try a few different combinations. One thing that we recommend is that you save your results on a site like ZipList so that you can go back and see what worked well and what didn’t.

If you have any feedback on our list of dry rubs and marinades, make sure you let us know below in the comments.