have any of you guys tried just salt and pepper on a butt as the rub?

I have always used mr. brown or a BRITU/Brown hybrid.

Thinking about trying something simple and or different for a change, just wondering before i do it

Thanks

I find salt-and-pepper-only too uninteresting for words but there are several here that like the plainer style. Try it and see what you think?

I find neither the BRITU rub nor Mr Brown very appealing. What are you looking for?

k krueger, i am looking for something different i am cooking next weekend for my sons 3rd birthday and i want it to be jam up, what do you have that i might find interesting

Try this. You can sub a milder chile like guajillo - or even just more ancho - for the hot NM chile, if you wish, but avoid paprika. It's not a hot rub though. Or this. Or, simpler, this.

I do something close on brisket. I first tried it as an homage to central Texas-style brisket.

Season cap side with salt and black pepper only. Season non-cap side with salt, thyme, black pepper and home made chile powder (2 ancho, 1 guajilla, 1 New Mexico)

thanks guys

steve what are your ballpark ratios for salt to pepper

how much thyme?

thanks

I don't actually mix a rub, I apply each part to the brisket individually. I pretty much go by eye; I don't have proportions.

I start with the brisket blotted dry with paper towels. I use Kevin's method for the salt, and I do that first. I do a dry brine on turkey, and when I read about Kevin's method of pre-salting instead of adding salt to his rubs it seemed similar in concept. After the salt has had a chance to react with the surface, it will moisten a bit that holds the other spices.

I would describe the kosher salt, black pepper and thyme amounts as enough of each to well cover the surface. (I don't do thyme or powdered chiles on the cap side.) Not opaque or anything close to that, but more than I would on a steak. It may seem pretty heavy handed to use basically as much thyme as salt and pepper, but I like how it adds high notes to the finished brisket, and I want it heavy enough to be there after the cook. The powdered chiles are to taste. Maybe about 1/4 to 1/3 of the amount of black pepper.

I know this is vague, but I'm really going by eye, and I'm having trouble figuring out how to describe it. When I do a butt, I do a traditional rub (again sans salt) and then apply it to the meat. This brisket method is more like how I apply spices when I'm grilling.

steve, what do you apply to a butt? the same thing

Don't know about using it on butts / shoulder for Pulled Pork...

But I did try it once on Brisket, and thought that it was quite good (kosher flake salt and coarse, cracked tri-color pepper) Patted a flat down good on both sides.