# Why are commercial rubs so salty?



## forktender (Jan 14, 2022)

I've seen so many comp guy's absolutely loading heavy layers of their rub onto ribs, chicken and butts. I used 1/3 rd of what they use and I destroyed three racks of St Louis ribs last night. I tasted the rub before I used it and it didn't taste overly salty, I guess the moisture of the ribs activated the salt flavor, and yuck they turned out unedible. They were total salt licks, I was so pissed that I sh!t canned all three racks.
I don't really want to go into who's rub it was but I will say that he is a BIG youtube guy.
These ribs were one of my biggest failures in a LONG time, I was so embarrassed that I distroyed supper and wasted the money spent on the ribs, rub and pellets. What a bummer!!!

Have any of you noticed the same with commercial rubs?

I'll stick with making my own rubs from hear on out.

The ribs looked great and the texture was spot on, what a complete downer.

To top it all off my Camp Chef caught on fire when I was burning off the grates after the cook. I hav no idea how it happened as I burn it off after each use. It was not my day yesterday, but it taught me a valuable lesson, never use these grills without a high/low alarm.....NEVER!!!!!!!
I was lucky and caught it right away and unplugged it and doused the flames with the  hose before it became fully engulfed in flames. 

Be careful and never use these grills without a high/low alarm set. Truth be told all pellet grills should come stock with a power shut off high temperature sensor, be warned they are like blow torches and things can go wrong in a hurry.

Unplug them and DO NOT LIFT THE LID UNTIL THEY ARE COOLED DOWN!!!!!! ACTUALLY CUT THE POWER AND HIT THEM WITH THE HOSE. 
I have a nice burn on the palm of my hand  from grabbing the door handle to pull the cooker away from the wooden deck railing, not too smart on my part.

What a  sh!tty cook yesterday!!!!!!

Today the grill will get a good power washing and a new motherboard and temperature sensor installed in it just for safety reasons.

Please learn from my mistakes, this could've been really bad if I hadn't caught it before the hopper caught fire.

And trust me when I say that my grill wasn't that dirty inside.
From now on it will get cleaned much better after each use.

That was a close call!!!!

Dan.


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## mr_whipple (Jan 14, 2022)

Damn.   I've burned the hell out of my hands many times over the years. I feel your pain. What caught on fire? Did you have an auger burn back or what??

As to rubs, I almost always make my own but when I do buy, the first thing I do is look at the list of ingredients. If salt is listed first or second, I run away.


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## SmokinVOLfan (Jan 14, 2022)

Man I am with you on the salt in rubs. Most of the time its just not needed. My wife cant eat much salt due to medical stuff so I don't cook with it much and to be honest I dont miss it either. Crazy that 90% of commercial rubs list salt as the # 1 ingredient. Sorry to hear about the loss of the ribs. And your grill too man. Sounds like just a shit day all around. Couple beers and a peanut butter sandwich ftw. We have all been there! 

John


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## JCAP (Jan 14, 2022)

Yea, agreed on some of the rubs. I find this particularly true with the all-purpose rubs and a brisket rub from one big name. I've had some good luck though. I like the Hardcore Carnivore and Heath Riles rubs a lot.

But nothing beats a good homemade rub for sure.


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## tallbm (Jan 14, 2022)

forktender said:


> I've seen so many compilation guy's absolutely loading heavy layers of their rub onto ribs, chicken and butts. I used 1/3 rd of what they use and I destroyed three racks of St Louis ribs last night. I tasted the rub before I used it and it didn't taste overly salty, I guess the moisture of the ribs activated the salt flavor, and yuck they turned out unedible. They were total salt licks, I was so pissed that I sh!t canned all three racks.
> I don't really want to go into who's rub it was but I will say that he is a BIG youtube guy.
> These ribs were one of my biggest failures in a LONG time, I was so embarrassed that I distroyed supper and wasted the money spent on the ribs, rub and pellets. What a bummer!!!
> 
> ...



Damn, sound like a rough day for sure.  Wish it had been better.
If you didn't throw out the ribs there may be a way to save the meat but I understand if you tossed em, it's frustratting.

HUGE thing I read about and learned personally is that RIBS are possibly the easiest cut to over salt!!!
Because of this I have a POG+Paprika mix of spices which as u can see has no salt in it.
I shake the salt on my ribs separately because ribs are SOOOOO easy to over salt.  Stupid easy to over salt.

Believe it or not you CAN over salt a whole packer brisket easier than you think.  The flat muscle can also be long and thin like a rack of ribs.  I ran into that before and now I just go lighter on the flat only area and I'm good to go.  I also now stick to buying 15lb and heavier briskets so the flat is always thicker.  This helps too.

As for commercial rubs and seasoning.  Once I read labels and learned they were mostly SPOG and I had already learned the magic of seasoning with SPOG I just started going my own seasoning and never bought commercial again.
NOW, I will look at the ingredients of a commercial seasoning/rub I liked and look at what is in it and in what order and then I will try and mimic it at home and i usually get about 75% of the way there.  It's not always the same but still damn good enough for me to stop trying.

For those that don't know, our US food laws state that the ingredients label must list ingredients from most used to least used.  
This can help you try to reverse engineer a seasoning/rub you like.  It's hard to nail but often you get close enough or find a combo u really like along the way and stick with that.  

Screw buying commercial seasoning and rubs.  
Commercial sausage, jerky, etc. mix I have no issues with but often don't like a lot of them and have to properly figure out how much to add by weight, but it is nice to get binder, seasoning, cure, etc. all in 1 package.


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## DougE (Jan 14, 2022)

Sounds like a really lousy day. I bought Jeff's recipes a long time ago because of the high salt content in about all commercial rubs. His original rub is light on salt, and that lets you really pack it on for a nice bark.


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## smokeymose (Jan 14, 2022)

Bad day for sure!!
As for the salt, a year ago the Mrs. had a COPD/Heart issue that sent her on an ambulance ride and a week in the hospital.
She was put on a 2,000mg a day sodium diet. That's when I really started reading labels. What an eye opener!
As for the salt content in rubs (and literally all processed foods), I think a lot of it is about people's inherent like of salt.
If you gave a taste test between a product with salt and one without the one with salt would always win.
Funny thing is that when I started making my rubs without salt and sausage with just the barest minimum (1%) we found we don't miss it at all.
I've never used a commercial rub so I can't answer to that, but the last time I made tacos using the packaged seasoning mix it seemed all I tasted was salt. Made my own today.
It's in every recipe for everything, but not really needed. I've done Sourdough, pizza crust and regular bread without salt and it comes out fine.
Sorry to hear about the smoker fire. Icing on the cake for your lousy day and just another reason for me not to want a pellet smoker....


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## jcam222 (Jan 14, 2022)

I truly think the answer is cost management. Salt is cheap. You have to wonder if the guys who pump them out actually use the same formula on their own food.


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## Fueling Around (Jan 14, 2022)

Good luck on the hand.  Blisters in the working meat of the hand need extra care to avoid getting more inflamed or infected.
Luckily you didn't burn more on your or dwelling.

Between salt and sugar I will use very little commercial rubs or seasoning blends.
Were the ribs by any chance "enhanced"?  Enhanced is a fancy term for loading them with salt, water, and phosphates.
Once in awhile, I get really good deals on Hormel "Always Tender" ribs which has added: Water, Potassium Lactate, Sodium Phosphates, Salt, Sodium Diacetate. 
I soak them in a lot of clear water to dilute the salts.



jcam222 said:


> I truly think the answer is cost management. Salt is cheap. You have to wonder if the guys who pump them out actually use the same formula on their own food.


My guess is no, they don't sell the same rubs/spices especially for those on the comp circuit..
Read the attached thread on use of MSG and comments by 

 thirdeye






						MSG or Accent Rub Question
					

I dipped a toe in a local BBQ contest last fall and we did ok, some of the teams had meat that I’d consider exceptional. Not taking anything away from their skill and choice of meat, but a few of them told me they included MSG in the rub and they felt it helped “Accent” more subtle flavors. My...




					www.smokingmeatforums.com


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## pineywoods (Jan 14, 2022)

Dan sorry about that hand and the ribs and the fire. I don't buy any commercial rubs anymore because of the salt. I use a lot of salt on my food I put it on once it's on my plate so other people don't have to eat it. That being said a good many of the commercial rubs I have bought and used were to salty for me.


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## mneeley490 (Jan 14, 2022)

Fueling Around said:


> My guess is no, they don't sell the same rubs/spices especially for those on the comp circuit..
> Read the attached thread on use of MSG and comments by
> 
> thirdeye
> ...


Not a perfect solution, but it seems you could replace salt with MSG to lower the sodium content by 2/3.
Replacing Salt with MSG


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## BaxtersBBQ (Jan 14, 2022)

The problem might actually be the meat itself. I ran into the EXACT same problem when I bought some ribs from Walmart. Some brands brine their meat in a salt solution to keep them fresh longer. Check the labels for sodium content. You’d be surprised home much salt is already pumped into some. I use zero salt on my ribs if they’ve already been brined.
	

		
			
		

		
	






This is a pretty popular brand at my store. Already has 340mg sodium added per serving.


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## Nefarious (Jan 14, 2022)

I wonder why we need so much salt anyway.  I have not considered using anyone else's rub but ones I make.  My wife is extremely sensitive to salt and once you don't really use it for 33 years, you get used to it.  We only slightly sprinkle salt on the meat I cook.  For the brisket I just did I used 2 teaspoons of salt on the non fat side.  I know she will notice it.


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## thirdeye (Jan 14, 2022)

Seeing 'salt' as the first ingredient is a good indicator, but when you are still looking at the label, look at the sodium in mg.  The 1/4 teaspoon amount is somewhat universal and here are some examples of sodium amounts in competition rubs *where salt is listed first*:
Birds and Bones - 115mg
Yardbird - 170mg
Smokin' Guns Hot - 160mg
Another competition rub I use a lot of is Cimarron Docs, it lists 'sugar' first on the label and only has 65mg of sodium.  So, you can see what my first choices are.

I have some favorite rubs for my backyard cooking (Dizzy Pig is a good example) because I could never duplicate some of their unique flavor profiles. Two of my favorites are Dizzy Dust and Raging River, they have 133mg and 138mg of sodium, BUT they both come in salt-free versions.  I can buy those and just add a couple pinches of sea salt and roll....



forktender said:


> I used 1/3 rd of what they use and I destroyed three racks of St Louis ribs last night. I tasted the rub before I used it and it didn't taste overly salty, I guess the moisture of the ribs activated the salt flavor, and yuck they turned out unedible.


Those TV BBQ guys really like to load up the seasonings don't they?  I use less than the 1/3 you mentioned.  But my rub method involves *layering* rubs, or seasonings.  First, I have these two seasoning blends on hand and use them as my base rub. If I recall correctly there are ~60mg of sodium in 1/4 teaspoon of the Sweet version.

*thirdeye's Sweet Garlic Pepper Seasoning for Pork*
Ingredients:
3 teaspoons Garlic Powder
3 teaspoons Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Canning Salt
1/2 teaspoon Toasted Onion Powder
1/4 teaspoon Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Red Bell Pepper (ground)

*thirdeye's All-Purpose Garlic Pepper Seasoning*
Ingredients:
3 teaspoons Garlic Powder
3 teaspoons Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Canning Salt
1/2 teaspoon Toasted Onion Powder
1/4 teaspoon Paprika

Next, I pick out a second rub and add a layer of that.


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## JckDanls 07 (Jan 14, 2022)

Only two times I use a salt shaker.. on a nice buttery ear of corn ...  or french fries... My own rub with next to no salt ...


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## WaterinHoleBrew (Jan 14, 2022)

Sorry man for your bad day, I’ve had them as well!  Other than Jeff’s or homemade rubs… I’d suggest two rubs that are tasty, lower sodium and Veteran owned or supported.  Frag Out and Code 3.


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## daspyknows (Jan 14, 2022)

I am also in the group who makes their own rubs with very little salt.  My brisket rub has a bit more than my rub I use for pork, chicken and other stuff.  I have commercial rubs here but rarely use them any more.  Same with my bacon.  Just enough salt to get the job done which isn't that much.


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## Nefarious (Jan 14, 2022)

JckDanls 07 said:


> Only two times I use a salt shaker.. on a nice buttery ear of corn ...  or french fries... My own rub with next to no salt ...


I thought you would have added a third, a wedge of lime and a shot of tequila?


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## JckDanls 07 (Jan 14, 2022)

Nefarious said:


> I thought you would have added a third, a wedge of lime and a shot of tequila?




Naaaa...  Never was a "To-kil-ya" fan ...


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## DougE (Jan 14, 2022)

Nefarious said:


> I thought you would have added a third, a wedge of lime and a shot of tequila?


I'm not a fan of citrus fruits, nor am I a fan of extremely salty stuff. I'd take the shot straight up.


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## BrianGSDTexoma (Jan 14, 2022)

Jeff Campbell's sweet heat rub good on just about everything!  When buying seasonings if salt is first ingredient I usually pass.


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## JckDanls 07 (Jan 14, 2022)

Ya know what...  had me thinking about this...  Then remembered...  I do use a store bought rub..  Everglades with heat for my home made pork rinds ... 

Old timers disease was kicking in ...


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## forktender (Jan 14, 2022)

Man, I had intended on dropping the hopper to  pressure to wash my grill, but there is no way in hell thar it needs it. It did have a little more grease than usual on the drip gutter. My guess is that a small piece of a burning was blo n into the drip gutter, which then caught the grease bucket on fire. The burning grease bucket is the first place that I noticed the flames.  It wasn't anywhere near full, there was maybe 1 1/2" of solidified grease in it from my last cook.

I just can't wrap my head around this fire.

All I know is everyone needs to keep a decent size fire extinguisher close by, but not to close. LOL!!!! 

And at the first sign of heavier than usual smoke, sparks or flames, unplug that S. O. B in a hurry. Because the fire went from a 3" flame to a Roman candle shooting out of the grease drain and smoke stack in a hurry, and I mean like within seconds.

Be safe.
Dan.


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## DougE (Jan 14, 2022)

I just about always place my meat on the top rack of my Camp Chef, with a foil pan below it on the bottom rack. Yea, I know Camp Chef has that drip tray below the grate that is supposed to channel all the grease into the bucket, but it doesn't all make it there. I aim to get some of those SS pans with a rack like 

 TulsaJeff
 uses in his pellet grills, to keep the grease from ending up in the bottom of the grill and becoming a problem.


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## texomakid (Jan 14, 2022)

Wow! That pellet grill fire ain't no joke! Fire extinguishers are great advice and I too strongly recommend having them close to where you're cooking as well as other locations of your house/property.

Commercial rubs can sure be tricky and at times inconsistent, especially when it comes to salt. I like salt so much I could lick a salt block (but I don't .) Any of the rubs I've found with the higher salt (and I've found several) I use accordingly. I'd bet most of our gang makes/mixes their own rubs and while I do some myself I'm lazy plus I love tasting different rub recipes.

That burn looks nasty - appreciate the heads up.


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## forktender (Jan 15, 2022)

I make my own rubs as well, but every now and then I like to try something different.

We have a local bbq joint that started life as a butcher shop. I bet you've seen their rubs at uour local Costco. Kinder's they are a little bit salty but, I know that going in and use them accordingly. It's pretty cool seeing a local Mom qnd Pop shop that you grew up with making it big time across the USA especially these days in the covid era.
The rub that I messed up these ribs with didn't taste overly salty when I tasted it.
I swear the stuff got saltier when it hit the meat 
My guest is the moisture activated the salt crystals. It was strange.


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## Steve H (Jan 15, 2022)

Thank God it wasn't worse!


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## mike243 (Jan 15, 2022)

Only time I have had a grease fire was 20lb of leg 1/4's on and ramped the temp up to crisp it, was watching closely and caught it quick and didn't ruin any meat but if I hadn't been paying attention and knew it was possible/likely it would have been very bad. thanks for sharing as it's better to learn from somebody else than personally, it can happen to all of us no matter how many times we've done something.  We get complacent a lot of times. Hope you heal quickly


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## Buckeye1 (Jan 15, 2022)

Recently bought a few salt free rubs from 2 local BBQ tv guys who had a booth at the mall this Christmas. They are Mad Dog &Merrill. We have used the citrus rub quite a bit on fish and pork. It really packs some flavor.


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## Inscrutable (Jan 16, 2022)

Sorry about your horrible trifecta!

I’m with the majority here … mostly make my own with little or no salt (especially since wife’s BP has gotten high). I get gifted some commercial rubs, or occasionally got suckered into one for some reason … usually the names are much better than the product, and almost always WAY too much salt. If I still get tempted, I will look at contents and pass if salt in top 2 ingredients.


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## Fueling Around (Jan 16, 2022)

How's the hand?


forktender said:


> ...
> I just can't wrap my head around this fire.
> ...
> And at the first sign of heavier than usual smoke, sparks or flames, unplug that S. O. B in a hurry. Because the fire went from a 3" flame to a Roman candle shooting out of the grease drain and smoke stack in a hurry, and I mean like within seconds.
> ...


Well, I guess that is why the manual has warning to keep away from combustible elements?


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## Fueling Around (Jan 16, 2022)

Buckeye1 said:


> Recently bought a few salt free rubs from 2 local BBQ tv guys who had a booth at the mall this Christmas. They are Mad Dog &Merrill. We have used the citrus rub quite a bit on fish and pork. It really packs some flavor.


I get a kick out of watching Midwest Grilling with Mad Dog & Merrill.  I haven't tried their no salt lineup.


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## forktender (Jan 17, 2022)

Fueling Around said:


> How's the hand?
> Well, I guess that is why the manual has warning to keep away from combustible elements?


Blistered, but doing well, no pain or infection, I actually thought it was going to be a lot worse than it is, I got lucky.


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## forktender (Jan 17, 2022)

Buckeye1 said:


> Recently bought a few salt free rubs from 2 local BBQ tv guys who had a booth at the mall this Christmas. They are Mad Dog &Merrill. We have used the citrus rub quite a bit on fish and pork. It really packs some flavor.


I'm going to order a bottle to try, thank you.
Dan.


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## Buckeye1 (Jan 17, 2022)

Fueling Around said:


> I get a kick out of watching Midwest Grilling with Mad Dog & Merrill.  I haven't tried their no salt lineup.


They are entertaining to say the least . I get a kick out of their precise measurements!!


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## Buckeye1 (Jan 17, 2022)

forktender said:


> Blistered, but doing well, no pain or infection, I actually thought it was going to be a lot worse than it is, I got lucky.


Glad your hand is doing ok. A lot of good advice on this thread from a safety stand point.


forktender said:


> I'm going to order a bottle to try, thank you.
> Dan.


Hope you enjoy as much are we have.
To your point on some of the YouTube videos, some of these chefs pour on the rub so they can sell more. I'm starting to learn more isn't always better.


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## DougE (Jan 17, 2022)

Low salt high sugar rubs can be packed on pretty liberally to get some real nice bark.


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## civilsmoker (Jan 17, 2022)

If I'm not making my own, I use kinders often, however, I often supplement it with additional seasonings to keep the salt level lower.

I have also had a few fires in my older pellet smoker....on time the beef ribs I was cooking were burning like wood logs....it was crazy, a few lbs of salt and the fire was over.....  I always have a large box of salt and a fire extinguisher (for the real deal fire)  handy.  

Crazy experience for sure, glad it wasn't worse!


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## forktender (Jan 17, 2022)

This was a first for me, my practice of burring off my cooker after each use is over. I don't care if I have to leave my pressure washer hooked up and ready to use after every cook. And guess where my fire extinguisher was? Yup it was right next to the pellet grill, actually under the built on shelf, way too close to grab if the fire would've been bigger. From now on, the fire extinguisher will be at least 10' from anything that has a flame running. That was another boneheaded move on my part, good thing the hose was long enough to reach the grill. I know water and grease fires are a no, no, but it was my only option at the moment and I sprayed it from a good distance. It actually saved the day!!!


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