Smokey n' Sweet Steak & Everything Else Rub

Recently I've gotten into rubs and wanted to come up with my own personal rub mix. After a few hits and misses I finally got the right combination of each spice to get the smokey, sweet and a little heat balance I wanted in my rub. The chili powder and paprika give it a deep smokey flavor, the brown sugar adds just the right degree of sweetness, the cinnamon adds warmth and cocoa powder, provides a richer color when it hits the grill, broiler or pan. If you like heat (which is optional) in your rub I've got you covered there too!

Enough rub to generously cover two beef loin, NY strip steaks, 1" thick and about 3/4 pounds each.

1 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoons sweet, smoked paprika
1 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1-2 dried chilies*, such as ancho, poblano, chipotle, guajillos, chopped. (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper

Place all the ingredients into a spice grinder (a.k.a. coffee grinder) or food processor and grind/pulse till all the ingredients are pulverized and well blended.

Generously sprinkle mix over top of steaks. Using cleaning hands, massage and rub in mix. Turn steaks over and repeat. You should have a nice coat of mix on each side and along the sides of the steaks.  Grill, broil or pan fry to preferred doneness.
TIP: Always let your steak rest, with tented foil over it for at least 5 minutes.  This gives the steak time to redistribute all the juices, that tend to gather towards the center while cooking, throughout the rest of the meat.  Allowing for a juicer, more flavorful bite.

Serve with my Sweet and Savory Roasted and Grilled Corn on the Cob or with my  Hot Bacon Mustard Potato Salad to round out the meal.  ENJOY!

Recipe Notes:
*The addition of dried chilies is totally optional. If you don't want the heat in your mix, feel free to leave it out. If you do want the heat, add as little or as much of the dried chilies as you want.
This rub is great on just about any type of protein, including seafood such as fish and scallops. Aside from absolutely loving it on any cut of steak, I especially love it on chicken and turkey. That's why I named this rub "... steak & everything else rub".