Optimizing different rubs for same ribs?

I made a batch of ribs this weekend and had an idea: why not different rubs for different purposes?

For example one rub for the meat side which might have more aromatic herbs and sugar, another for the bone side which might have more heat. The before-cooking rubs would be optimized to taste good after being smoked, with the knowledge that much of it comes of with the rendering fat during cooking. Possibly a post-cook third rub for finishing where you'd mist the rack with apple juice then sprinkle on a rub for stuff that tastes good when it hits the mouth, my idea was for this one to have coarse sea salt in it.

Just like we use different baste and marinade and finishing sauces on the same meat, why not use different rubs and seasoning mixes?

You gotta get a life.... /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif


(just kidding)

.... /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif ......... /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif .. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Hi, Jason!

BRUCE is supposed to be the one with all this time on his hands!! LOL

My thoughts....

I no longer season the bone side of my ribs...I just don't see any advantage. I cook mine bone side down and I believe the rendering of the fat simply carries it away.

I also no longer season the back because of the following....

Many of the great BBQ teams will layer their rubs...apply a rub each hour while cooking or applying more rub after mopping. I like doing this myself and it has served me well. I also use my rub in my mops..so I'm not really using different rubs and mops. the mops are very simply......oil, juice and some vinegar plus some rub.

One of the problems with making different rubs is getting everything to match up and taste good. This is especially true if you are adding a sauce or glaze. ALL the spices must marry properly and by adding too many you run the risk of blurring the distinction.

An example....

Try making your ribs and use one of the comp teams sauces along with your rub. It most likely will not work(don't get me wrong, it will be good, just not superb). Next, try using a competition teams rub AND sauce and see the differnce. Evrything matches quite well.

Go over to Hawgeyes BBQ site and buy some Head Country Rub and Sauce. These folks worked for years to get this combo to match just right and it is noticeable. Most of the other teams have done this as well.

As to marinades and mops...I always use the same marinade to mop...again I don't want any conflicting tastes to be entered. Now, I don't marinade many things but when I do it is always the same for mopping.

The biggest risk with using too many rubs, mops and sauces/glazes is that you will have far too many spices and they all become a mish mash of blurring flavors.

Just my thoughts.

If Jason decides to divert some of that energy in another direction, we may be trading posts with the next Bill Gates !

Paul

Good points Kevin, but maybe there's a midle ground between your cautions and my theory. For example marinades tend to be heavier on the acids, while glazes tend towards the sweet but the overall mix of ingredients is often similar. Maybe rubs could be altered in a similar strategy: similar or the same ingredients, but alter the ratios.

I'm going to fool with this.

Well I have done something similar in that I used Willinghams rub overnight and then I rub again before they go on with Texas rib rangers.
The Whams has a bite and the rangers a complex sweetness.