Criollo is the word Argentina uses for the things that became its own — the cattle, the horses, the cooking, the people. This is the rub in that spirit: paprika and garlic and oregano doing the work, cumin and mustard underneath, and nothing sweet anywhere in it. American barbecue rubs are built on brown sugar, which is why they burn and why everything ends up tasting like the rub instead of the meat. This one is built to disappear into what it is on.
A generous teaspoon per pound, rubbed on an hour ahead or the night before. Short ribs, skirt steak, pork shoulder, chicken thighs. Off the grill: work it into ground beef for burgers, dust it over provoleta before it goes in the pan, stir a spoonful into a pot of beans.
Sweet paprika, sea salt, granulated garlic, oregano, crushed red chili (ají molido), black pepper, mustard seed, cumin.
