Hot take: Coffee rubs on meat are becoming a cliché in upscale restaurants.

I've noticed more chefs defaulting to coffee grounds for crusts without considering flavor balance. It often overpowers the protein instead of complementing it.

3 comments

3 Comments

brooke_singh117h ago

The New York Times food section last month criticized coffee rubs for becoming a lazy shortcut in fine dining.

burns.wade9h ago

Ugh, I tried a coffee rub once and it was a disaster. What worked for me was balancing it with brown sugar and paprika to let the meat shine.

jana_sanchez9616h ago

Seriously, it's not just lazy, it's a crutch for chefs who can't develop real depth of flavor. Coffee overpowers everything so they don't have to work with the meat's natural qualities. At this point, it's just signaling pretentiousness rather than skill.