Spice rub the salt for flavor and the sugar for caramelization. The simplest rub is just coarsely ground black pepper as in steak au poivre. Spice rubs can also have ingredients such as herbs, crushed garlic or oil added to make a paste. Less common ingredients can include coffee beans. Spice rubs are mainly used for preparing meats and fish. There are many different recipes for rubs and most of them are targeted towards a specific kind of food. The exact combination of spices that makes a good rub for a particular kind of food varies from region to region and culture
Jerk (cooking) Jerk (cooking) Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica, in which meat is dry-rubbed or wet marinated with a hot spice mixture called Jamaican jerk spice. Some historians believe it was originally developed by African slaves who escaped into the wilds of Jamaica when the British captured the island from Spain in 1655. Adapting to their new surroundings, the former slaves made use of the natural food sources available to them, creating the spicy sauce and slowly cooking the meat over a smoking wood fire. Other historians argue the case for the practice of jerking originating with the