Sugar, please...


 

T Bounds

TVWBB Super Fan
Friends,

I'm using my WSM tonight to cook two Boston Butts, 6 lbs each. I'm new the game, but in the past month I've twice cooked excellent ribs, and once done chicken; besides, I've worked magic on a Kettle for 10 years. So tonight I'm using the Renowned Mr. Brown deal, but the problem is this: I mixed everything as printed, went to rub the mean and watched as 90% of the sugar fell right off onto the pan. I then improvised, rubbing the remaining sides with mustard, since that did wonders on the ribs, but still all the rub adhered but most of the sugar fell right off.

It's not about being cheap, wasting sugar, that bothers me, but instead the thought that the finished product will lack the needed sugar flavor. Has anyone else had this problem, and if so, how in the world did you solve it?

By the way, Lowes grocery, at least in the Raleigh area, is selling baby backs for 2.99 per pound, yes frozen but I just transferred them from store to my freezer, ready to defrost to have a treat. Curiously, most customers seem to gravitate to the larger cuts, leaving the 2+ pounders easy to find. Catch some if you can.

Thomas
 
At first I read the start of your post and thought "he should try mustard"... but then you said even that wasn't working.
Honestly I don't know why your sugar won't stick. There is no reason for sugar crystals NOT to stick to a wet surface like mustard. Only thing i can think of is maybe you are applying your rub too quickly (heavy sprinkle) or from 6 ft above your meat!! haha

I guess on solution would be to roll the butt in the sugar left on the pan to try to pick it up. If that doesn't work.... throw out the sugar because it has mutant properties!!
 
Thanks for the replies, Scooter and Dan.

I'm using the Turbinado sugar called for in the recipe, in this case the "Sugar in the Raw" brand.

I'm going to be putting these on at 4 this morning, shooting for a 12 hour cook, as they are. I may add a couple of apple juice sprays in addition to the mops in the recipe to try to get some sweetness, but who knows. This being my first BB try I'm prepared for anything, really just trying to learn from each effort. Thanks again for your insights.
 
T,
Are you saying all the other spices stuck to the meat and ONLY the sugar fell off?
With a certain amount of moisture, everything should stick. The salt in the rub should draw sufficient moisture out for that.
That's a strange one.
 

 

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