# Rub without taste



## skychief12 (Mar 18, 2019)

Did a couple of brisket flats lately. Finally got things where I want them. However I made up a couple different runs but none of them seem to add any taste. I think I added enough but any suggestions?


----------



## chilerelleno (Mar 18, 2019)

Are you basting, mopping or spritzing?
Very easy to wash/wipe away your rub.
How fresh are your spices?
Old and/or improperly stored spices lose a lot of flavor.
Overcooked and/burnt spices lose or change flavor


----------



## chilerelleno (Mar 18, 2019)

All I generally use for brisket is kosher salt and a blend of pepper corns freshly cracked.
Maybe sometimes some ground (cayenne) or crushed red pepper.


----------



## skychief12 (Mar 18, 2019)

chilerelleno said:


> Are you basting, mopping or spritzing?
> Very easy to wash/wipe away your rub.
> How fresh are your spices?
> Old and/or improperly stored spices lose a lot of flavor.
> Overcooked and/burnt spices lose or change flavor



No I only use the rub. I cover it pretty well but not too thick. I do use the Texas Crutch when it hits 160. I wonder if that is causing steam to wash away some of the rub? What do you guys think?


----------



## noboundaries (Mar 18, 2019)

skychief12 said:


> I do use the Texas Crutch when it hits 160. I wonder if that is causing steam to wash away some of the rub? What do you guys think?



Yep. Let's assume you're crutching with foil, not butcher paper.

There's a reason the competition guys add a BUNCH more rub and other crap to their crutches, then flavor the meat with the drippings. All the flavor is in the drippings, not on the meat.


----------



## johnmeyer (Mar 18, 2019)

I have found that both rubs and marinades lose a huge amount of potency during the cook. I don't think this happens because they get washed off, but because many of the volatile compounds cook off. 

The best example is hot sauces. When I marinade or baste, I often use a hot sauce as part of the liquid (this same thing applies to rubs). I love hot sauces, so many people give them to me as gifts. My daughter gave me some "Nando's Extra Hot Peri-Peri Sauce" when she came back from Kenya. It is almost as stupidly hot as "Dave's Insanity Sauce." Both of these are too hot for use as a condiment. However, what I found is that I can add several tablespoons of this stuff to a marinade or rub, and by the time the food has cooked, the spice heat is virtually gone, and even the flavor has muted.

So, I think much of what you are experiencing is due to the cooking itself.


----------



## bbqbrett (Mar 18, 2019)

johnmeyer said:


> I have found that both rubs and marinades lose a huge amount of potency during the cook. I don't think this happens because they get washed off, but because many of the volatile compounds cook off.
> 
> The best example is hot sauces. When I marinade or baste, I often use a hot sauce as part of the liquid (this same thing applies to rubs). I love hot sauces, so many people give them to me as gifts. My daughter gave me some "Nando's Extra Hot Peri-Peri Sauce" when she came back from Kenya.* It is almost as stupidly hot as "Dave's Insanity Sauce." Both of these are too hot for use as a condiment*. However, what I found is that I can add several tablespoons of this stuff to a marinade or rub, and by the time the food has cooked, the spice heat is virtually gone, and even the flavor has muted.
> 
> So, I think much of what you are experiencing is due to the cooking itself.



Actually have a friend who put quite a bit of Dave's Insanity Sauce directly on his ribs.  He asked me if I wanted some.  At that time I had never heard of it.  I took the bottle and smelled it and passed.  Then I read the back and it said to add a few drops to soups etc. for flavor.  My buddy pretty much doused his food with it.  Yes, he is still alive.


----------



## johnmeyer (Mar 18, 2019)

Holly2015 said:


> Same thing happened when dehydrating things like jerky. The last 5lb batch of I used 19 Ghost peppers (that's all I had) + 1/2 cup of hot sauce and its hot but not overly.


Nineteen ghost peppers??? I'm surprised you're still alive.


----------



## johnmeyer (Mar 19, 2019)

It sounds like maybe you burned out your circuits.

I'll never forget when someone gave me one of those super-hot peppers to try. I went into a fit of hiccups, as did the other two people who tried them. The burning hot sensation would have been OK, but the hiccups were a little like convulsions, and not something I would want to experience again. 

At this point I use mostly Franks and the local favorite with our Mexican neighbors, Valentina. There were a dozen others we used regularly when my son was still at home, but my days of buying hot sauce via mail order from peppers.com and hotshoppe.com, a dozen bottles at a time, are over.


----------



## chilerelleno (Mar 19, 2019)

Y'all are cracking me up.


----------



## skychief12 (Mar 19, 2019)

Thanks for the good advise


----------



## zwiller (Mar 19, 2019)

I am of the belief most rubs basically wash off.  If you do an overnight rest, you get some penetration but no where as good as injecting.  Injecting is best.  For some reason people are averse to it, like it's cheating, but not me.


----------



## banderson7474 (Mar 19, 2019)

skychief12 said:


> Did a couple of brisket flats lately. Finally got things where I want them. However I made up a couple different runs but none of them seem to add any taste. I think I added enough but any suggestions?



How long before the cook are you putting the rub on?  I've seen people stopped putting it on the night before b/c they wanted to get more of the meat taste instead of the rub.  Also, I've never heard or read someone that uses rub and doesn't taste it.  Can you explain your process and what your rub is made of?


----------



## skychief12 (Mar 19, 2019)

banderson7474 said:


> How long before the cook are you putting the rub on?  I've seen people stopped putting it on the night before b/c they wanted to get more of the meat taste instead of the rub.  Also, I've never heard or read someone that uses rub and doesn't taste it.  Can you explain your process and what your rub is made of?



The rub goes on the day before (afternoon). equal parts pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder + cayenne & paprika. I do use foil for crutch.


----------



## banderson7474 (Mar 19, 2019)

Hmm strange.  I've never heard anyone lose taste from using foil and you let it sit for 24hrs so it should be well in it.  My only suggestion is to use more.

You can try doing everything but foiling it to see if there's a difference but I think the only diff is will be the amount of bark which you may like. 

That's basically a SPOG rub which I think highlights the meat taste to begin with so another option is to try a bolder rub.


----------



## skychief12 (Mar 19, 2019)

banderson7474 said:


> Hmm strange.  I've never heard anyone lose taste from using foil and you let it sit for 24hrs so it should be well in it.  My only suggestion is to use more.
> 
> You can try doing everything but foiling it to see if there's a difference but I think the only diff is will be the amount of bark which you may like.
> 
> That's basically a SPOG rub which I think highlights the meat taste to begin with so another option is to try a bolder rub.



That's my best guess too. I'll try adding more.


----------



## banderson7474 (Mar 19, 2019)

Do you smoke or dip?  I dipped for many years and noticed once I quit, I tasted things a lot more.


----------



## skychief12 (Mar 19, 2019)

banderson7474 said:


> Do you smoke or dip?  I dipped for many years and noticed once I quit, I tasted things a lot more.



neither one.


----------

