Espresso Steak Rub Recipe

This bold espresso steak rub combines rich espresso flavor with smoky and spicy chipotle and ancho chili pepper. The two types of pepper add an earthy flavor that complements the intense espresso and keeps this rub from being one-dimensional. You need instant espresso powder, ancho, chipotle, brown sugar, garlic powder, thyme and salt to make it.

Recipe ingredients and notes:

• I recommend to use instant espresso powder and not ground espresso beans for this dry rub. Instant espresso powder is brewed espresso that has been dried into a fine powder. That means that you get the concentrated espresso flavor from it but without the grainy texture of hard, ground coffee beans.
• I added a touch of brown sugar to this rub just to counteract the slight bitterness of the espresso. The amount of brown sugar is not enough to actually make this dry rub taste sweet. I recommend to use light brown sugar (as opposed to dark brown sugar, which has itself a slightly bitter flavor.)

How to use it:

This dry rub is excellent on any cut of steak.

1. Dry steak well using paper towels.
2. Sprinkle the dry rub evenly onto the meat until coated on all sides.
3. Grill the steak or sear in a cast iron pan on the stovetop and finish in the oven.

More great steak spice rub recipes:

• For more smoky and spicy flavors try this cocoa steak rub.
• This brown sugar rub for steak balances sweet and savory flavors.