Low Salt

DaveRichardson

Brothers and Sisters of the Egg-

I have some friends who recently got married.  They have asked if I could come by a few times here and there to help teach them how to use their new XL.  He's a paramedic and is an accomplished griller on the weber and gassers.  She is disabled - heart condition.  She specifically asked for me to help him learn how to smoke on the egg.  But there is a curveball - since she has such a low profusion rate (poor pumping rate; inefficiency), I need to keep the seasonings low sodium.

I know a lot of the commercial rubs are fairly high in sodium, so I am asking for your input.  Salt substitutes are ok to use, but I've never really used them smoking.  He wants the traditional pulled pork type stuff. 

Anyone out there do low sodium?

Matt @meatchurch, I'm a big time user of your stuff, my kids like the Honey Hog, and I like the Deez Nuts on dang near everything.  Got any input?  Really enjoyed talking to you at Eggfest over a Tomahawk steak...

I know that chicken will also be a great think to do.  I typically will grill breasts direct high in the dome.  Recently had to do something with some frozen chicken breasts because I forgot to pull them out the night before.  Went indirect till they thawed out, cubed and sauced and finished like chicken burnt ends (channeled @SGH)- the kids went crazy for them. 

I am open to suggestions.  He know of our family here, just hasn't jumped into the pool yet.  That will change....  He's getting a Spider and a Thermapen from me.  Might also get an iGrill from me too.  Yes, they are like family to me!

HeavyG

Easy enough to make your own rubs and just leave out the salt.

I make a big batch of Amazing Ribs Memphis Dust each year. It is sodium free. I use it mainly on baby back ribs but it should be good on pulled pork. 

http://amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_pastes_marinades_and_brines/meatheads_memphis_dust.html

I really like Dizzy Pigs Dizzy Dust and Raging River blends. They do sell  sodium free versions of those, however, they only sell it in the 8 ounce shakers. I wish I could get that stuff in the quart size bottles.

gdenby

Dizzy Pig offers Dizzy Dist and Ragin' River salt free.

I've had some decent meals using some of Mrs. Dash's salt free.

There is a Japanese blend, Togarishi," literally "7 spice," that has quite a zing, and no salt unless there is a trace in the bit of seaweed it has. Both Dash and Togarishi mix well w. brown sugar fora more traditional BBQ flavor.

Carolina Q

I never buy commercial rubs. Sodium is one reason. It's very easy to mix up a seasoning blend, either your own concoction or a recipe found somewhere. If it has salt,either leave it out or use less. Just search for "chicken seasoning" or "low sodium pork seasoning", etc.

There are recipes out there for stuff you've heard of too. Look for Montreal Steak Seasoning, Paul Prudhomme's Blackened Redfish or Poultry Magic, for example. Lemon Pepper is very good with just lemon and pepper (hard to find without salt, so I make my own). Herbes de Provence is delicious too, especially on chicken or pork. Plenty of recipes for that out there. 

I use a rub similar to Elder Ward's for pulled pork. These days, I just cut WAY back on the salt when I mix up a batch. Can't say I've ever left it out completely, but I'll use 1 teaspoon instead of 2 TABLESPOONS! With that much of a reduction, I might as well leave out.

I find that it is less noticeable to reduce sodium for a meat seasoning than it is for vegetables. Just my own taste buds I guess. Bread is another tough one. If a recipe calls for a teaspoon of salt, using a half teaspoon will still make bread, it's just not as good. Also, if you reduce the salt, you need to reduce the yeast too.

Never buy canned soup or vegetables, or most processed foods for that matter  - LOADED with sodium! Goya makes a few low sodium canned beans that are pretty good. I mostly just buy dried beans and pressure cook them. Except for a few veggies, I stay away from the frozen food section. For the most part, if it comes in a box or a can, I don't buy it.

Oh, and Costco sells a salt free seasoning blend that's quite good too. Smells wonderful! Never tried it on pork butt though. I imagine it would be good - just different.


The nice thing about a low sodium diet is, you get used to it fairly quickly. Good luck to your friend. I hope this helps some.

Eggcelsior

I use that KS No-Salt seasoning quite a bit. It's quite good.

fishlessman

citrus is a good substitute for salt in alot of dishes, chicken fish and pork and veggies as well. lemons limes at the table, in the marinade. board sauces for beef and lamb

caliking

+1 for the Costco no salt seasoning and for DP no salt rubs. I found that DP rubs have less salt than most commercial rubs to begin with. 

Of of course the best solution is to make your own rubs and tweak to your taste. 

OhioEgger

HeavyG said:

I make a big batch of Amazing Ribs Memphis Dust each year. It is sodium free. I use it mainly on baby back ribs but it should be good on pulled pork. 

+1
Memphis Dust is my choice for both ribs and butts. SWMBO loves it too, so that's the end of that discussion. No salt in it, although I dry brine the butt for a day beforehand.

Another point is that if you use a "no sodium" salt substitute, give it a try in a small way before committing to a butt cook with it. They mostly substitute potassium for the sodium in regular salt, and some people don't care for the aftertaste.

Little Steven

Carolina Q said:

I never buy commercial rubs. Sodium is one reason. It's very easy to mix up a seasoning blend, either your own concoction or a recipe found somewhere. If it has salt,either leave it out or use less. Just search for "chicken seasoning" or "low sodium pork seasoning", etc.

There are recipes out there for stuff you've heard of too. Look for Montreal Steak Seasoning, Paul Prudhomme's Blackened Redfish or Poultry Magic, for example. Lemon Pepper is very good with just lemon and pepper (hard to find without salt, so I make my own). Herbes de Provence is delicious too, especially on chicken or pork. Plenty of recipes for that out there. 

I use a rub similar to Elder Ward's for pulled pork. These days, I just cut WAY back on the salt when I mix up a batch. Can't say I've ever left it out completely, but I'll use 1 teaspoon instead of 2 TABLESPOONS! With that much of a reduction, I might as well leave out.

I find that it is less noticeable to reduce sodium for a meat seasoning than it is for vegetables. Just my own taste buds I guess. Bread is another tough one. If a recipe calls for a teaspoon of salt, using a half teaspoon will still make bread, it's just not as good. Also, if you reduce the salt, you need to reduce the yeast too.

Never buy canned soup or vegetables, or most processed foods for that matter  - LOADED with sodium! Goya makes a few low sodium canned beans that are pretty good. I mostly just buy dried beans and pressure cook them. Except for a few veggies, I stay away from the frozen food section. For the most part, if it comes in a box or a can, I don't buy it.

Oh, and Costco sells a salt free seasoning blend that's quite good too. Smells wonderful! Never tried it on pork butt though. I imagine it would be good - just different.


The nice thing about a low sodium diet is, you get used to it fairly quickly. Good luck to your friend. I hope this helps some.

That's kind of like the colour white