Coffee Rub for Beef

I've read about coffee rubs for beef... but in the context of smoked or grilled; my question is with regard to a slow cooker.

The meat? Beef cheek -- it's a cheap cut (I've cooked it before... in a slow cooker) that softens nicely in a "low 'n slow" environment.

The rub? See here.

The question? Do I really need to "sear-in the flavor" with the skillet thing?

I'll be cooking a 2.5lb piece in a 4qt crockpot, on top of some red potatoes, yellow onions, and carrots. Previous cooking time was 16 hours, and it was delicious.

Cooking will commence early Wednesday morning (3AM), for a 7:30PM "chow-down".

Thoughts? Suggestions? Don't be shy.
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Jonathan

I wouldn't hurt but I don't see an advantage if cooking it in a crock pot that long.

If you want a bit of color you could sear in a crust.
Other than that it wouldn't matter much.

Let us know how the coffee rub turns out.

Yes, please do let us know. I'd be interested to hear how that turns out.
I've never heard of using coffee as a rub but I have heard of using tea. In fact I personally use brewed tea as a marinade for game meats and other less marbled meats like goat. It helps to tenderize the meat without adding a flavor like citrus or other kinds of marinades can.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 32t

Let us know how the coffee rub turns out.

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Aye... and that's the rub. The coffee.

Am I too smart for my own good? See, what the recipe I'd used wrote was: "2 tablespoons coffee, grounds", but no mention of grind -- coarse? medium? fine? (we think of "grind" together with "honing", am I right?) Anyway, I went Googling "coffee rub grind" (and variations), and came up with this: "The same size as kosher salt." OK... sounds kosher, to me; so that's what I did... I ground 40g of medium-roast, Eight O'Clock 100% Colombian Peaks to that approximate size. Result? It was too coarse. That is, although not submerged in liquid, over the course of 16 hours the grounds did absorb moisture and expanded, making them "gritty" when consumed. The meat, itself, however, was softer and tastier than any pot-roast my "sainted" mother ever cooked.

So. Next time (probably next weekend, since I only used half of that 2.6lb beef cheek) I'll use a mix of espresso-grind Lavazza Cremo e Gusto and Qualita Rossa (both of which I use, 50:50, in my daily moka-pot brew), together with the rest of the original recipe. And yes, I'll report back... Sir!

That Lavazza is good coffee. I used to be all about 8 O'clock. Not any more.

I think I'd grind it as fine as possible, to use for cooking. My mother used to put a pinch in her homemade chocolate icing.