We Tried Kosmos Q's Cow Cover BBQ Rub. Here's What We Really Thought

I had just returned from a trip to Dallas, Texas when I was assigned to write a review of Kosmos Q's Cow Cover BBQ rub. Feeling particularly apt to assess the components of a barbecue, I awaited it's arrival with impatience. When it finally arrived, I instantly unboxed it and got to work. The product description states that the rub, which imbues a savory and smoky heat, is suitable for beef and poultry.

The spice jar label says chili pepper headlines its flavor, combined with garlic, onion, sugar, and paprika. Its spice level is ranked the lowest intensity on the brand's scale. When I first gave it a go on my finger, a front-of-the-mouth spice was the foremost flavor — the spice's heat was mild but its taste was rich. The spice then trickled into a mouth-coating smokiness and I could feel the rub components melding into a vibrant panorama on my tongue. A mellow sweetness nuanced the flavor, setting a pleasant foundation for the more piquant notes. Because this rub is marketed as Cow Cover, I decided to try it out on a cut of beef — I went with short ribs. The warm sweetness also piqued my interest, so I used the rub to make a BBQ simple syrup to flavor a barbecue old fashioned because flavored simple syrups are an easy way to amp up at-home cocktails.

I put a hefty layer of the barbecue rub on four short ribs and let them sit in my fridge for over 24 hours. With the goal of testing the beef rub on as blank of a slate as possible, I decided to bake the ribs. I preheated my oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit, sealed the ribs in a pocket of aluminum foil, and let them bake in the oven for 3½ hours with the meaty side down. After baking, I took out the ribs, switched the oven to a high broil, and put the ribs back in the oven meat-side up. Although most slow-baked short ribs recipes suggest brushing the ribs with barbecue sauce before broiling, I wanted to have as unbiased a taste as possible of the dry rub, so I only brushed two of the ribs with the rub. I took the ribs out of the oven once a slight char began to form.

To make the BBQ simple syrup, I first made a simple syrup with ½ cup of water and ½ cup of sugar. Once the sugar was fully dissolved, I stirred in a heaping tablespoon of the dry rub, stirring the spice into the syrup. The syrup almost instantly took on a bright orange hue, but I let it come to a simmer to let as much flavor infuse as possible. The final color was a deep rust, and I didn't strain the flecks of spice out of the syrup because I thought they added a rugged look.

When I bit into the crust of the ribs, I was met with a sweet and subtle spice. The smokiness of the rub was still there, but it was less smoke-forward than I had hoped. I attributed the lack of smokiness to my cooking method — I wonder if grilled meat, with more charred bits and fire exposure, would better support the rub's smoky elements. Thick short ribs have a deeply savory and hearty meat flavor and I think some of the rub's flavor got lost in the meat. Perhaps a thinner, less savory meat would serve as a better vessel to maximize the taste of the rub. As usual, I only tasted the rub when biting into the meat's crust, which was nonetheless a pleasurable experience. The rub added a subtle yet noticeable flavor enhancement that hit the spicy, sweet, and smoky components equally.

The BBQ simple syrup was the star of the show for me. It takes you on a similar journey as just a taste of the rub — a spice-forward flavor with a smoky ending — yet underlined by an enhanced sweetness. The rub itself has a deep, brown sugary sweetness, but because I used white sugar for the syrup, it had a brighter profile. It flavored the old fashioned well, though I had to add a considerable amount of the syrup to taste the barbecue along with the bourbon. There are other creative ways to use dry rubs, but a BBQ simple syrup can also be used as a glaze for cornbread (everyone knows it should be sweet and savory), bourbon-flavored baked goods, or barbecue sides.