Taste Test: Rubs


 
S

Steve Petrone

TVWBB Platinum Member
Have you done a taste test of two different rubs cooked at the same time? I am thinking 12 hour butt cook (Ribs would be different).

I pride myself in noticing nuances of flavor. It was VERY difficult to tell the difference between rubs based on a recent experiment.

It has me wondering if some of us have gone overboard with rub concoctions. Perhaps salt the meat then rub with black pepper, onion and/or garlic, pepper with color and a spice.

Any thoughts?
 
my knowledge is pretty poor and I want you to trust that whole heartedly as you read this next bit, BUT I do have a comment:

I know your absolutely correct. At least I think you are. I can't (as you note) tell the difference in most (i didn't say all) rubs i make from magazines, books, internet, etc. Also have trouble making them up....mostly in a sense of exactly what you said, they are just to similar. I can taste big differences in grilled food (short cook time).
I have great interest in Shawn W's. post on "bark/rub enhancing, and completely agree that basting can help to bring back lost flavors.
I just think a long smoke is hard on those ingredients (depending on what those ingredients are.
Texas BBQ Blend #2 brisket rub holds up well for me, on the other hand. (I think anyway)
I have an easy time identifying smoke/type of wood used, salt levels, chili's/chili pwdrs, and sugar.
personally i've stopped putting mustard pwdrs and cinnimon etc. on my bbq... just isn't there in the end for me, and i felt its a waste of seasoning that could go better in sauces etc. This is completely, and understandably arguable, but i've seen a lot of recipies w/ exotic things in puny amounts, or strange "iron chef" combos go into rubs... just not my style I guess. slap me w/ a wet towel if i ever lemon zest my brisket.
icon_biggrin.gif
!!
 
I know in competition many cooks will just use the same rub to sprinkle and season the meat after pulling since most of the delicate flavors are lost during the long cook.

For me, the taste I look for in the end product, bark and all, comes from applying a finishing sauce and more rub. I like my bark to be thick and crunchy so that it provides a contrast in texture.I don't expect to get much flavor out of it. Very rarely can I even think of a time when the taste of the bark varied unless I applied a mop to the finishing cook, which I hardly do.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I pride myself in noticing nuances of flavor. It was VERY difficult to tell the difference between rubs based on a recent experiment. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Were the rubs very similar?

I think I have lousy sense of taste, I can take heat that makes others swell up or cry and I have a hard time picking out subtle tastes (this might explain a lot when you are looking at my recipes
icon_biggrin.gif
).

Anyway, even I can tell the differnce between the rubs I use, but they are quite dissimilar.

I as well liked the link that Dave provided.
 
Great link! My hat is off to that guy. I can tell a difference in the various rubs that I have used. The only thing I have tried that I couldn't see a difference was putting mustard on the ribs and then adding rub.
 
thats why i like using mustard. it helps dry rubs cling to the meat and adds a crust without altering the taste. i'm one of those that likes things simple thus i keep it in the salt, pepper and maybe one or two other things.


<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Rick Reynolds:
Great link! My hat is off to that guy. I can tell a difference in the various rubs that I have used. The only thing I have tried that I couldn't see a difference was putting mustard on the ribs and then adding rub. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
 
I loved the link.

I don't have much to add but this thread is certainly where I'm at. Since I figured out the wsm and can reliably crank out decent meat, I'm looking into other areas to work on, mainly spice rubs and meat choices.


Count me as one who likes to add rub near the end of the cook.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Shawn W:
Anyway, even I can tell the differnce between the rubs I use, but they are quite dissimilar.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

same here. i tend to use rubs that are quite different from one another. and great link, dave!
 
David, excellent info-Thanks!

What is missing in this test??? S M O K E ! ! !

Yep, those flavors, the spices, were mostly intact and not burnt. But, this test is a good start. How will those spices hold up under 12 hours of smoke? That's an entirely different question.

I wonder out loud if flavor development is the goal, perhaps we should consider applying a rub or marinade the day before or injecting or applying the rub late in the cook or mixing in post cook.

My taste buds tell me little of those spices remain after the assault of 12 hours of smoke.
Perhaps I am using too much smoke???

There are more questions than answers it seems.
 
now that you mention it, if you hold to the theory that too much time in the smoke dullens the cooks sense of taste try to mitigate that somehow ... like get someone else to cook it for you (I would have said evaluate the next day but that's a bit different again)
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Steve Petrone:
Smoke certainly does affect the taste buds but I think the bigger issue is does it mask a lot of the flavor of the rub? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes Steve it does. One sure fire way to really see how the long low smoke affects the rub, verses a shorter high heat cook, is to use the same rub on a low and slow brisket, then use the same rub and do a high heater. Yes you do loose some bark texture on a high heat brisket, but the rub really comes through/stands up on the high heat brisket cook.
icon_wink.gif
 
A few side-by-side, simultaneous cooks comparing different rubs (not wildly different) has proven that both my wife and I can tell the difference, even after a long smoke. All of it was good but we invariably prefer one over the other.

The differences are subtle and I wouldn't hesitate to cook with substitute rub ingredients or a commercial rub, knowing that it will still turn out great, but part of the attraction of this is playing with all of the variables.
 
I think this really goes for all aspects of cooking, but the addition of a mild spice to a stronger flavor usually yeilds minimal to non-existent results.

If your meat is going to have a strong hickory smoke taste then clearly mild flavours will not be able to appear unless they are added in a disproportionate amount. If your rub is like most with a base of salt, pepper, paprika/chili powder and sugar with some sort of accents (garlic, onion, cumin.. etc) then it would be silly to think you are going to taste a 1/2 teaspoon of parsley in cup of rub.

I have used cinamon, ginger and allspice with decent sucess, but you have to play around to get up to an amount you can taste without it becoming a dominant flavor.

All that said, with pulled pork I always add some rub while I'm pulling.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top