Brisket rub questions

pretzelb · March 2014

The wife wants me to try again at brisket and I have some questions on rub. First, I found a 50/50 salt pepper rub to be too strong. Is kosher salt not a good idea? Seems like I read somewhere kosher salt should be less salty. Second, I don't see recommendations to apply the rub and let it sit overnight like I do with pork shoulder. Is it best to just apply right before putting it on?

hapster · March 2014

Kosher salt is perfect... Maybe go a little lighter? Use oak for smoke and you should be good.

Griffin · March 2014

By weight not volume. Different salts have different weight. Stuck 'em both in a coffee grinder.

Eggcelsior · March 2014

Go 70/30 pepper to salt. I tried that on something else and it was much more tolerable than 50/50 if you just eyeball it.

nolaegghead · March 2014

Kosher salt is sodium chloride, same as any other regular salt. If it's too salty, use less salt. Too spicy, less pepper. Eggcelsior's onto something with the ratio change.

nolaegghead · March 2014

Good point @griffin - the kosher salt is usually in a bigger grain size, different grain sizes have different densities. It's generally a good idea to measure salt by weight, but I think you have a pretty big latitude on how much salt you can put on a brisket - it's almost impossible to over-salt.

gerhardk · March 2014

I don't think 50/50 is the right ratio for salt to pepper, I would think 20/80 would be more to my liking. Table salt has much smaller crystals so you have many more contact points for you taste buds so even if it isn't more salty regular salt will seem more salty.

Gerhard

nolaegghead · March 2014

Aaron Franklin "claims" he uses a 50/50 ratio salt/pepper. I don't know if that's weight/weight or volume/volume, etc. However, it really doesn't matter. The amount of salt sets a major flavor component, and the pepper, however much you add, just makes it a little peppery or a little more peppery. Not that much of an impact compared to salt. So the ratio isn't that important, really, unless you're superstitious.

cazzy · March 2014

S&P should be measured by weight.

nolaegghead · March 2014

Yeah, I agree. But my philosophy here is if you mix your spices with salt, the proper salt amount is the most important thing. The ratio just determines, if you follow this philosophy, if more or less spice (and I'm including sugar there because too much sugar ain't like too much salt - insofar as making it inedible) will be added with the "proper" amount of salt.

That said, putting the rub on is an art form. Less rub on the flat, more on the point. It should be applied as a function of the thickness or ratio of meat to surface area. Now that sounds like a dorky explanation, but that's exactly how it's been explained to me, where it's really critical - curing salmon. And it makes a lot of sense, although there's no making it completely equal because that salt takes a long time to permeate the meat.

nolaegghead · March 2014

Contrast the shape of a brisket with that of a boston butt. The but is more or less a sphere. So an even application of rub is the way to go (except for perhaps some compensation for juice washout).

pretzelb · March 2014

I do think one issue was the size of the salt crystal not mixing evenly with the ground pepper. I tried to swish it as I applied but I must have failed at times. That was one reason I thought regular salt might work better since the granule sizes would be more similar. But, I did go by volume and not weight so that could also be a factor. I might mix in some sugar next time and maybe something else to take salt out of the equation a bit.

STBS · March 2014

If in Texas, salt & pepper is it !! Ratios may vary, but.. On the Eastern Seaboard though, a brisket "rub" is more common than the Texas salt & pepper. For brisket, I use a modification of Myron Mixon's rub; however, the internet is loaded with good rub recipes. Moreover, to constantly cook a good brisket one must have a good understanding of what transpires during a "low & slow" cook. You can have the undisputed best rub in the nation, but if not cooked properly, you wind up with shoe leather. Anyway, I wish you luck, and don't give up..

jls9595 · March 2014

I thought this was interesting from John Lewis:

DV: Is there anything about La Barbecue or your history in barbecue that we didn’t cover?

JL: I did want to add that I’ve never cooked a brisket in my life whether it be at La Barbecue, at Franklin Barbecue or on the competition circuit with just salt and pepper. I have yet to do that.

DV: What do you use for seasoning at La Barbecue?

JL: Lawry’s seasoned salt, black pepper, garlic powder, mustard and pickle juice.

DV: Is that the rub you used at Franklin?

JL: I can’t say.

Here is a link to the whole interview, Lewis also replied to a couple comments below the article.

smokesniffer · March 2014

Interesting post lots of info here. Thanks

andres1987 · March 2014

jls9595 said:

I thought this was interesting from John Lewis:

DV: Is there anything about La Barbecue or your history in barbecue that we didn’t cover?
JL: I did want to add that I’ve never cooked a brisket in my life whether it be at La Barbecue, at Franklin Barbecue or on the competition circuit with just salt and pepper. I have yet to do that.
DV: What do you use for seasoning at La Barbecue?
JL: Lawry’s seasoned salt, black pepper, garlic powder, mustard and pickle juice.
DV: Is that the rub you used at Franklin?
JL: I can’t say.

Here is a link to the whole interview, Lewis also replied to a couple comments below the article.

as a Texan, i've always done S&P. However, when eating Franklin I just know there has to be more to it, not just S&P. Since this guy worked with franklin for 2+ years i imagine his rub has to be very close to what Franklin does. I'll give it a try soon and report back

MaskedMarvel · March 2014

nolaegghead said:

Aaron Franklin "claims" he uses a 50/50 ratio salt/pepper. I don't know if that's weight/weight or volume/volume, etc. However, it really doesn't matter. The amount of salt sets a major flavor component, and the pepper, however much you add, just makes it a little peppery or a little more peppery. Not that much of an impact compared to salt. So the ratio isn't that important, really, unless you're superstitious.

In the video, he says 50/50 s&p, but uses 100% of the pepper and only around 50% of the salt in equal volumes "mis en place" before he mixes and says a shaker would be cool...

SmokeyPitt · March 2014

pretzelb said:

The wife wants me to try again at brisket and I have some questions on rub. First, I found a 50/50 salt pepper rub to be too strong. Is kosher salt not a good idea? Seems like I read somewhere kosher salt should be less salty. Second, I don't see recommendations to apply the rub and let it sit overnight like I do with pork shoulder. Is it best to just apply right before putting it on?

Just to add my $.02 on the overnight rub...I would contend that using any dry rub and letting it sit overnight is not necessary. I could be wrong, but I can't tell any difference if I rub a butt the night before or just before I throw it on the egg.

NibbleMeThis · March 2014

Another thing, if it gets "too peppery" for you, try using green peppercorns or a tri-colored pepper mix. That removes some of the back of the tongue bitterness that black pepper can impart.

TexanOfTheNorth · March 2014

SmokeyPitt said:

pretzelb said:

The wife wants me to try again at brisket and I have some questions on rub. First, I found a 50/50 salt pepper rub to be too strong. Is kosher salt not a good idea? Seems like I read somewhere kosher salt should be less salty. Second, I don't see recommendations to apply the rub and let it sit overnight like I do with pork shoulder. Is it best to just apply right before putting it on?

Just to add my $.02 on the overnight rub...I would contend that using any dry rub and letting it sit overnight is not necessary. I could be wrong, but I can't tell any difference if I rub a butt the night before or just before I throw it on the egg.

+1. I only apply rub (to any meat) shortly before I put it on the egg.

Brisket rub questions

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