Brisket Rub recipe proportions


 

PeterD

TVWBB Super Fan
I seem to have lost my brisket rub recipe. I know the ingredients that I've been using for years but I honestly forgot the proportions. Here's what I remember:
  • Morton's kosher salt
  • 16-mesh coarse grind black pepper (S&P mixed 50-50 -- 4 Tbsp of each if memory serves).
  • Celery salt (for added smoke ring, per Harry Soo's videos)
  • Ancho chili powder
  • Cayenne pepper - I don't like it too spicy but a bit of cayenne seems to help
  • Espresso-grind coffee.
I know I've probably put other stuff in there over the years (cumin, perhaps? Coriander??) but I just can't remember any more. I just followed the recipe I had printed out, but it got lost in a hard drive crash two years ago. I've just been using S&P and a dash of cayenne and ancho ever since, and it's never tasted the same. I usually like to make enough for four or five briskets, which is about what I smoke every season. IIRC the starting point is 4 TBSP of salt and 4 TBSP of pepper (I'm probably going to add an extra tablespoon or two of pepper next batch).
 
Same here. 50/50 kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. I wasn't sure I would like it after using so many store bought mixes but I like it better than any of them.
 
S&P was my default for years but I wanted a bit more to it than that. A bit of smokiness from the ancho, and heat from the cayenne, but just enough to notice, not enough to burn.
 
Now I wish I had! I haven't changed the process for years and most briskets turn out great. The WSM really drives me crazy, though. I think this will end up having been its final cool. I'm torn between a Camp Chef Woodwind and a Yoder 640S. I can't with the all-nighters anymore.

As for the rub recipe, yeah I've checked all my folders, etc. I have all my pork rub recipes--which I don't use anymore. I started using a two-layer commercial rub for ribs and butts (Butcher's honey rub and premium rub). For brisket I want the beef, salt, and pepper to shine, but I want some extra oompf.
 
I’ve given up on store bought rubs and sauce - too many disappointments.
Butcher's (for pork) is just amazing. I used Meathead's Magic Dust from the Amazing Ribs website for a while and it was OK, but it just wasn't to my taste. Butcher's two rubs (premium and honey) layered is just bloody fantastic. That's a flavor profile on pork that hits my on button. Brisket, however, is something I'd like to have my S&P-centric rub. Just need to work out the proportions as asked above.
 

 

Back
Top