Review: Give 'em some Love. Socks' Love Rub

Creator: Socks' Love Rub Co

Location: Duluth, GA

Cost: 5oz Shaker $5.50 + shipping and handling

Link:  Socks' Love Rub

I decided I needed to post something on Valentines Day and thought that Socks’ Love Rub would be appropriate. A friend (@bbqpairadise) shared the love and sent me a bottle of Socks’ Love Rub to try out. I had heard good things about it and had wanted to try it. I was wondering what to try it on and decided that since I received it right before the Super Bowl I would try it on the ribs I planned to make. I’m glad I did.



The Rub
Before I try a rub on meat I always pour some into my hand to taste. I tasted Socks’ Love Rub and immediately tasted the black pepper in it with hints of some red pepper but it had a sweet finish at the end. It was an interesting flavor.

You can see the pepper and sugar crystals in it along with other spices. It has a nice peppery scent to it that’s not overpowering with hints of paprika. It is a nice course ground rub that really grabs onto the meat.

The dry rub.

The Tests
For the Super Bowl I smoked some country ribs, and rib tips with Socks’ Love Rub. About an hour before I put the meat on the cooker I coated the ribs liberally with the rub and let them sit. I heated the cooker up to 250º and put the ribs on. I wanted a nice slow cook to render much of the fat out of the country ribs and make them tender. The last ones I did were a bit tough.

Ribs rubbed and ready to cook.

The ribs cooked for about five hours. The rib tips I foiled after three hours of cooking putting strawberry jelly and butter on them. The last hour I unfoiled the ribs and spread some Horn Dawgs sauce on both the ribs and the country ribs. They were a big hit.

Slow cooking.

The rub brought a nice sweet peppery flavor to the meat. It married well with the sauce for a great flavor.

Ready to come off the cooker.

I also used the rub on some pork-chops a couple days later. I had wanted to grill them but the wind was very strong and it was very cold out so I decided to broil them. I put the rub on the pork-chops and let them rest for about an hour.

Pork-chops rubbed and waiting. 

I then put them in the oven and flipped them after about 10 minutes and cooked them for another 10 minutes. I couldn’t let the drippings go to waste so I made gravy with them for some rice.

Resting.

The pork-chops were a hit. I used nothing else on them and they had an awesome black pepper flavor with a sweet finish that paired so well with the pork. The gravy was so good I had to drink the last little bit of it. Is it wrong to drink gravy?

Dinner is served.

The Verdict
Socks’ Love Rub gives your meat the love it needs. It is a very good rub and imparts great flavor to the meat it is on, not to mention the gravy you can make with it. On the Gibbs’ Ribs Scale* I give this rub a solid full rack of ribs. I might have to get some more in the near future as the bottle I have may not be enough.

*When I do reviews, books or otherwise, I rate the items with ribs (they are my favorite BBQ dish). A full rack is great and a single rib is poor. I will tend to stick to a full rack, half rack or one rib.