Beef rib rub my wife will eat?


 
Grant Cunningham

Grant Cunningham

TVWBB Pro
My wife is a notoriously picky eater. She grew up eating bland food, and finds even moderately (in my opinion) seasoned food to be “too hot”, “too spicy”, “too salty”, or “too sharp”. (She’s also not overly fond of smoke flavor, but is at least a little flexible in that department — thank goodness!)

I’m planning on doing some beef short ribs soon, and this will be her first taste of “real” low-and-slow BBQ. If it were up to me I’d do them in the Central Texas (Louie Mueller) style, but that amount of pepper in the crust is definitely NOT going to make my wife happy. She won’t do the logical thing and cut or scrape the crust off, she’ll just not eat. Crazy, I know, but after 36 years I’m not going to change her much!

So, I need a beef rub that isn’t too hot or spicy. Sweet, smoky, and/or savory would be okay, but not too much pepper (and anything hotter, even cayenne, is completely out.)

Anyone have ideas for “Picky Eater BBQ Rub” that would be good for beef?
 
My only suggestion is, to use just salt and pepper, but dial it way back and let the smokey beef shine through. You can always ramp yours up a bit if you want.
 
ChuckH said:
My only suggestion is, to use just salt and pepper, but dial it way back and let the smokey beef shine through. You can always ramp yours up a bit if you want.
Click to expand...

I was thinking of just using my normal steak seasoning (SPOG, in equal proportions), which she likes, but didn't know what it would taste like after hours of smoking.
 
SPOG is a pretty basic and often used seasoning when smoking beef, whether ribs, or brisket. You should be just fine using it. Let your wife apply it as she sees fit. Than smoke away.
 
How about salt, pepper, sweet paprika, cumin, granulated garlic and a touch of sugar?

Alternatively, switch out the paprika and cumin for gentle herbs such a thyme, oregano, and rosemary.
 
I’ve been on a “less is more” kick comes to beef. I’d start with the SPOG blend you have on hand. Then branch out a little, Darren’s list in post #5 sound pretty light but flavorful!
 
Grant Cunningham said:
My wife is a notoriously picky eater. She grew up eating bland food, and finds even moderately (in my opinion) seasoned food to be “too hot”, “too spicy”, “too salty”, or “too sharp”. (She’s also not overly fond of smoke flavor, but is at least a little flexible in that department — thank goodness!)

I’m planning on doing some beef short ribs soon, and this will be her first taste of “real” low-and-slow BBQ. If it were up to me I’d do them in the Central Texas (Louie Mueller) style, but that amount of pepper in the crust is definitely NOT going to make my wife happy. She won’t do the logical thing and cut or scrape the crust off, she’ll just not eat. Crazy, I know, but after 36 years I’m not going to change her much!

So, I need a beef rub that isn’t too hot or spicy. Sweet, smoky, and/or savory would be okay, but not too much pepper (and anything hotter, even cayenne, is completely out.)

Anyone have ideas for “Picky Eater BBQ Rub” that would be good for beef?
Click to expand...
Welcome to the club.
The MRS at my place was similar but open to new things.
We got past the too smoky flavor simply by me switching to a different smoking wood.
I bought all the wood flavors I could find and now use peach for most of my cooks. Especially ones that really seem to soak up the flavor of smoke.
Pork chops, chicken.........queso ect.
For thicker more bold cuts like brisket I will use something along the lines of 1 or 2 pieces of hickory and 1 piece of peach.
Beef short ribs sounds impossible to please you both. In my opinion they need pepper on them, its just how it taste's good.
Sometimes I will use a pre made rub and then use more pepper because of what I am cooking.
A possible recommendation is one cook I made before with a vegetable, tomato paste and red wine reduction. I basically followed this recipe here, from our friend Malcom with very good results. Lots of favor but not overly spicy I guess you could say.

howtobbqright.com

Smoked Beef Short Ribs Recipe on Ole Hickory Smoker

Smoked Beef Short Ribs recipe using a smoker to cook these delicious and decadent meal served with a reduction sauce.
howtobbqright.com howtobbqright.com

You could also make your own changes to accommodate. I served mine to my parents over mashed potatoes. It was a hit.
Malcom's AP rub is basically 4, 3 ,2, 1 of salt, garlic, pepper, onion I believe.
The real recipe is found online but I don't have a quick link right now.
So its a basic beef rub, but heavy on the salt end so you have to be careful, I use more pepper on top because it's beef.
I use to use this rub a lot but maybe once in the last 6 months....it's good on burgers believe it or not. Not mixed in the beef but just lightly topped on both sides.
That recipe above I would make again, came out very tasty, like a real fancy plate at a nice restaurant. The reduced juice with all the veggie, tomato and wine flavor was nice and bold.
 
Not to beat the horse to death, but I agree that SPG or SPOG would be the way to go. To be honest, SPG would be my go to anyway, but you can tell your wife you're doing it for her :)
 
Get good quality beef, and only the lightest touch of salt. Good beef NEEDS nothing more. All the other seasonings are just more layers.
 
How about a very light dusting of just seasoning salt like Jonnies or Lawrey’s or nothing as Anne suggests.
 
Some times I will use a product called “Mignionette pepper” which is coarse black pepper, cracked coriander and cracked white pepper (if memory is correct) it’s pretty coarse and on a steak it makes a nice crust! I’ve got some ribs down in the freezer, I should do some!
 
Well, I went with SPOG, moderately applied, and they're on the smoker now. Using maple for smoke; it's nice and mild, since my wife complains when I use heavier woods.

These were from a cow we had butchered this summer, and the slaughterhouse didn't do the ribs the way I asked. I wanted plate ribs, and I ended up with individual short ribs. On the plus side, they'll cook a whole lot faster!
 
And the results! Pulled at 195 deg, but I should have let them go to 200 or 205...fat was only partially rendered. Nice bark, good smoke ring. I didn't wrap or spritz; I don't think they needed wrapping, but next time I'll spritz to get a little tang to the bark.

Oh, and she didn't hate them — that's a win in my book!
 

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Try this, it's available in every grocery store I have seen and there is a lower sodium version if you desire. I haven't met anyone that didn't like it.
 

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Grant Cunningham said:
My wife is a notoriously picky eater. She grew up eating bland food, and finds even moderately (in my opinion) seasoned food to be “too hot”, “too spicy”, “too salty”, or “too sharp”. (She’s also not overly fond of smoke flavor, but is at least a little flexible in that department — thank goodness!)

I’m planning on doing some beef short ribs soon, and this will be her first taste of “real” low-and-slow BBQ. If it were up to me I’d do them in the Central Texas (Louie Mueller) style, but that amount of pepper in the crust is definitely NOT going to make my wife happy. She won’t do the logical thing and cut or scrape the crust off, she’ll just not eat. Crazy, I know, but after 36 years I’m not going to change her much!

So, I need a beef rub that isn’t too hot or spicy. Sweet, smoky, and/or savory would be okay, but not too much pepper (and anything hotter, even cayenne, is completely out.)

Anyone have ideas for “Picky Eater BBQ Rub” that would be good for beef?
Click to expand...
My wife can not handle spice at all. She does not like it and it upsets her stomach. I use salt and pepper as a rub on my Beef Short Ribs and this is one of her favorite meals that I smoke.
 
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