By Dylan Clay
Grab a bottle of your favorite BBQ rub.
The ingredients list will likely say:
The key ingredient here is the oleoresin. This ingredient is primarily responsible for “red color” found in most BBQ rubs.
I’d urge you to open a new tab on your browser and search for this stuff online.
You’ll get a bunch of sketchy results from weird chemical suppliers.
It’s also very strong as it’s an oil extract so mixing it is tough. This is why commercial BBQ rubs use co-packers to make their rubs.
There’s also different “types” of paprika with different:
All of which matters.
Because when you make BBQ Rubs you’re told to add a boat load of Paprika but your favorite rubs don’t do this.
What’s really common for homemade recipes is a 1:1:1 of paprika, kosher salt, and sugar.
So say:
But in reality it’s more like 1-2 tsp of paprika or less and then they add Paprika oleoresin alongside a carrier (like vitamin E).
Here’s my Sweet and Smokey Rub with 1 tsp of Paprika and 1 tsp of ground annatto:
Paprika oleoresin is heavily concentrated – meaning it has a more vibrant color.
Powdered paprika is also stronger in taste.
So in the homemade rub we’re getting the color because we used a ton of paprika BUT we’re also throwing off our flavor at the same time because there’s so much.
The next time you follow a rub “recipe” – trust me – lower paprika and bump the sugar, and you’ll be surprised.
In my Char Sui recipe I tested all the “traditional” ways to make it red – while it can work, that stuff takes up space in your fridge because you likely won’t use it fast enough.
It also doesn’t taste like the stuff at your local Chinese restaurant.
Rather, they’re using red food coloring or are buying a marinade that uses one.
The result? A wicked red color:
This spice basically has NO TASTE and it has a deep red color.
The ribs below used 1.5 tsp of achiote (ground annatto) – which is minimal.
To me, that’s a deep red and again, you literally can’t taste it – at all.
In a homemade rub you could add some Paprika for taste and then add equal parts ground annatto for color.
Here’s a rack of baby backs smoked on my Barrel cooker with Cherry wood smoke for 2 hours.
The rub? Kosher salt and black pepper – yet we have this wicked red color.
I think cherry wood works particularly well for adding a red hue to smoked meat.
It also offers a lighter smoke flavor so people tend to pair it with something like pecan which is stronger.
There’s really 3 types you’ll find for bbq:
You can then start getting SUPER nuanced and look for things like ASTA (American Spice Trade Association) rating.
This rating tells us the color and will range from 60-180.
So from above, the “cheap” stuff is low grade – it’s dark, taste is basically non-existent.
The “expensive” stuff is bright red, leaning towards orange and has a taste (sweet or smokey).
Also above is annatto just to show it side-by-side with paprika.
Often the paprika that’s in BBQ rubs is around 110 for taste and color.
Mixed into the rub in some fashion is the paprika oleoresin.
Most paprika is made from sweet or spicy red peppers – they can also be smoky.
Overall the flavor is fairly neutral and is just used for color.
BUT there’s other types of peppers that offer more flavor and similarly can offer color, spice, etc.
| Pepper | Taste/Color |
|---|---|
| Ancho Chili (Pablano) | sweet, smoky, fruity dark, reddish-brown |
| Chipotle (Jalapeno) | smoky, slight heat, can be sweet dark brown-ish with a red undertone |
There’s obviously others but you’d have to experiment and most peppers start getting rather spicy and are using sparingly – like cayenne – which is used for heat, not color.
Here’s some chicken thighs that use Ancho chili and Chipotle:
