The dominant characteristics of our Applewood Chipotle Rub are smoke, from smoked salt and chipotle chiles, and sweetness from granulated honey. This rub, meant to turn into a luscious glaze during grilling, is full of exciting flavor contrasts. It is kept down to earth by the steady presence of paprika. Black pepper contributes its pine-forward burn and floral top notes, while garlic and onion deliver aromatic pungency.

Dry rubs, like this one, add an enormous amount of flavor to meat, but they also help to tenderize the meat they’re rubbed on thanks to the judicious use of salt. A lot of salt left on a piece of meat for a long period of time will create a dry, tough cut of meat. Salting was used as a method of preservation long before refrigeration became commonplace, and it works because salt draws moisture from meat, and with that the bacteria that lived in the moisture. But a small amount of salt, over a relatively short period of time, will cause the proteins in the meat to gelatinize. This permits the meat to retain moisture longer, creating a juicier piece of meat. The salt also penetrates the meat enough to cause diffusion, which brings flavor through the entire piece of meat and not just the surface.

This blend is excellent on the grill, particularly on pork, beef, and chicken. Use it in the slow cooker on pulled pork recipes, throw some on your baked ribs, or add it to burger meat before cooking. It's also good on vegetables! We love this applewood chipotle rub on sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, or on grilled asparagus. Use it on rice or on strongly flavored vegetables like brussels sprouts. As a rule of thumb, you should use about 1 tablespoon of dry rub per pound of chicken or pork. For fish, about ½ that amount would be enough to start out with. Rubs are patted into the meat on all sides before cooking begins, making a crust of tasty flavor on the meat.

Season both chicken and pork with this rub and let it sit in the refrigerator for 8-24 hours to allow the seasoning to work its way into the meat before smoking or grilling. For fish, let the seasoning sit for 30 minutes to 2 hours before cooking.

Our Applewood Chipotle Rub is blended from granulated honey, smoked apple wood sea salt, paprika, garlic, onion, chipotle powder, black pepper and chipotle flakes.

Slowcooker pulled pork

Pork chops are great on the grill, but as the weather starts getting cooler I really enjoy a pulled pork sandwich while wearing a sweater curled up by the fire. Pulled pork is also extremely delicious to eat at the dining room table with the family (and the dog begging close by). It's pretty safe to say that pulled pork is one of my favorite homemade comfort foods, and we even found a way to make it satisfying without adding extra inches to your waistline.For our slow cooker pulled pork I used pork loin instead of pork butt (the pig's shoulder). By changing just the type of meat that is used, you can decrease your calorie intake by up to 50g and your fat intake by up to 10g per 3 oz serving. That's a huge difference when it comes to a serving that will fill you up such as a pulled pork sandwich that takes full advantage of the nice big freshly baked bun. You may be asking yourself, "Isn't pork loin naturally drier than pork butt because of the lack of fat?" Technically yes, but there are ways to work around this fact and create a moist and flavorful cut of meat that is still healthier.In order to get the best of both worlds (crispy on the outside and thoroughly cooked but not dry on the inside) I used a combination of cooking styles. First, I took the meat and coated it in our Applewood Chipotle Rub and let it sit so the meat could absorb the delectable flavors that complement the pork so well. When it came time to cook the pork, I seared it on the stove which gave it a nice light, crispy outer layer (which also helped keep the moisture inside, where it belongs). After all of the sides were equally browned I placed the pork in the slow cooker with water and let it do its job.The results were a new style of pulled pork that we hadn't tried before but were very pleased with. The meat wasn't mushy or super chewy like you would expect from a slow cooker and we were even thrilled to eat the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Ingredients:

• 1 pork loin roast (2 1/2 to 3 lb)
• 2 Tablespoons Applewood Chipotle Rub
• 1 cup water

Instructions:

1. Rinse the pork loin and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Liberally rub the meat with the Applewood Chipotle Rub
3. Tightly wrap the meat in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour or as long as overnight.
4. Heat a dutch oven, large pot or cast iron skillet to medium high heat and sear meat on all sides, just until browned.
5. Add the 1 cup of water to the slow cooker and transfer the seared meat to the slow cooker.
6. Cover, set slow cooker to high and cook for 5-6 hours.
7. Carefully remove meat from slow cooker and transfer to a cutting board. Let meat rest about 5-10 minutes
8. Shred meat with 2 forks and transfer back to the slow cooker to combine with the liquid remaining from cooking.
9. Serve hot.