When do you rub your ribs?


 
B

Brad Morrell

TVWBB Member
Just curious as to how others do this...

When do you put your rub on your ribs?

Do you put it on right before you throw them on the cooker?

Or do you put the rub on ahead of time and let them marinate?

If you put the rub on ahead of time, how long ahead of time do you do it?

Also, if you put the rub on ahead of time, do you put MORE rub on before you throw them on the smoker - or are they good to go right out of the cooler?

I have done it both ways, but am finding myself torn between which way to go on a regular basis- and would just like some input.

From what I have experienced on my own, some of the spices get "lost" by putting the rub on ahead of time. But, I tried to solve this by putting MORE rub on before I put the ribs on the grill - but they came out TOO spicy.

However, my thinking is that by NOT putting the rub on ahead of time, am I losing by not allowing the spices to work down into the meat?

Thanks for the comments and suggestions ahead of time!
 
The only ribs I've cooked on my WSM have been the BRITU method which I have followed to the 'T'. I've always put the rub on the ribs while the coals were getting hot. As soon as the coals are hot, the smoker gets assembled and the ribs go on. So far NOBODY has complained, and I ain't messin' with success !
 
I rub them the night before, usually right before I go to bed. I have heard people say that if you wait to long they can become "hammy" which I believes has something to do with the salt content, but I'm not sure. I have never experienced this before and have always had great results.
 
I rub them when I take them out of the fridge an hour or two (3 if spares) ... before the cook.

There's little salt in my rub, so that's not why I do it right before. It's just a preference and I haven't noticed any advantage in rubbing any earlier on the times I've tried it.
 
I rub ribs a couple hours before I cook so the ribs are at room temp. Often I reapply a little rub right before going into the WSM.
 
I salt my ribs about 15-20 min before cooking. About 10 min after salting, when the surface moisture is nicely visible, I apply the rub (which I make without salt). 5 or so min later they're in the cooker.
 
I normally rub my spare ribs the night before with excellent results. Once I rubbed the ribs the night before and I was not able to put them on the WSM the next day as planned. They ended up sitting in the fridge for a day and half before I was able to get them on the smoker. They were Hammy for sure. My next couple of slabs I am going to try to apply the rub about 30mins before cook time and see how they come out.

Anyone apply a second coat of rub during the cook?
 
Ribs out of the fridge, rub 'em, set up smoker, put 'em on. I'd say they have rub on for about an hour before they actually hit the grate.
 
Brad, I guess my reply is mainly an alternative reply to your original question.

My last side ribs were S&P only. Everyone loved them, including me.

I found S&P side ribs to be quite tasty and a refreshing change from rubbed & sauced ribs. I smoked them for 3 hours, then foiled without liquid for an hour then finished quickly on the grill.

If you would like to see pics of these ribs please click this link and click the link entitled 2005-02-28 Salt 'n Pepper Side Ribs.

To directly answer your question I have preferred rubbing prepped ribs a couple of hours prior to cooking.
 
Question for all you rubbers, does it make a difference if you use a mustard slather and a rub the night before? I've used this technique once before while experimenting and the ribs were pretty good. I'm not sure if it was a fluke or not, but no hammy-ness. Thanks for the input.
 
Darrell,

If I rub my ribs ahead of time, I try not to do it more than 5 hours before - AT THE MOST!

Typically what I do is rub them while the chimney is lighting and the WSM gets up to temp. They end up being rubbed for about 30 - 45 minutes before I put them on.

As far as the mustard, some other binders that I've used and liked are apple juice, apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegrete, and worchester (sp?) sauce. I am using worchester sauce right now in my cooking. It's worked well for me so far.
 
Cool, I'll have to try the same day rub technique again. I've tried it before, but w/o the binders and I found that I had trouble getting the rub to stick. I'll try it with my slather for next time.
 
Darrell,

Do you wash the ribs before you pull off the membrane?
I always wash them and then blot it with a towel. There inherent moisture makes it easy for the rub to stick.
 
...maybe that's what I'm missing. Well, I'm gonna break in the smoker next weekend with some Spares, pecan wood, no foil (wife prefers the bark), and some doctored up Head Country. Also, picked up some Texas Best rib rub. I'll let you know how the rib wash goes.
 
Rub MY ribs?

Usually after I say something inappropriate and my wife elbows me.
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Spare ribs?

Just before firing up the WSM. I put a lot of rub on 'em. All that will stick. Put 'em back in the frig while firing up the WSM. When I take 'em out of the frig, the rub has turned into a nice, sticky BBQ sauce kind of coating. No additional rub added after that.
 
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