# Salt and Pepper for Brisket - By weight or volume?



## bwarbiany (Aug 15, 2014)

So I'm doing a nice big brisket this weekend. I typically use Kosher salt and CBP, and that's it. 

My question is if I'm targeting a 1:1 ratio between the two, how exactly should I measure that? In the past, I've measured based on volume, but it seems that's heavily dependent on how finely ground the CBP is and the density of the salt used. Kosher salt is not dense and I typically grind my pepper a bit more fine than most folks.

Should I be shooting for 1:1 volume? Should I be using volume but doing something like 1.5:1 salt to pepper because it's kosher? Or should I just plan on 1:1 by weight?

What's conventional wisdom on this one?


----------



## cliffcarter (Aug 15, 2014)

Why does it matter?

Salt and pepper to taste, IMHO.


----------



## noboundaries (Aug 15, 2014)

Wow, never put that much thought into what I put on a brisket.  I SPOG them and go by eyeball and instinct.  Will be interesting to read other responses.


----------



## themule69 (Aug 15, 2014)

Shake shake shake. Twist twist twist flip and repeat.

Happy smoken.

David


----------



## mdboatbum (Aug 15, 2014)

Eyeball it. You'll be fine.


----------



## foamheart (Aug 15, 2014)

To me, brisket is the exception, I find that brisket loves Cracked Black. I always use a heavy hand with the cracked black on a brisket. I actually scare others if they see me preping a brisket.

I do reconize Cracked Black as a completely different spice than ground black, just like I would also use whole black pepper corns differently.

Brisket loves cracked black, sometimes I'll use a bit of ancho also.


----------



## caribou89 (Aug 15, 2014)

Just do each separately until it looks right.


----------



## bad santa (Aug 15, 2014)

The salt to pepper ratio in making a rub for brisket is 50/50 by weight, if mixing the S&P by volume then the ratio will be 1 part salt to 4 parts pepper.

Always remember that when mixing up a salt and pepper rub like this, is to use kosher or sea salt and coarse black pepper. Since table salt is very fine grained it will penetrate the meat cells easier and deeper than a large grained kosher or sea salt, so the meat being rubbed with just a S&P mixture using a fine grained table salt will be too salty for most palates. Also, table salts contains Iodine, which will also impart that flavor into your food.

A kosher/sea salt and coarse black pepper rub is known as a Dalmation Rub, add salt free Lemon Pepper to the mix and it's called Dirty Dalmation.


----------



## bwarbiany (Aug 15, 2014)

cliffcarter said:


> Why does it matter?
> 
> Salt and pepper to taste, IMHO.


A few reasons...

1) I don't do brisket often enough that I can experiment and necessarily learn "to taste" by sight very easily.

2) Even if I did brisket that often, I want an easily repeatable measurement so that I have something consistent to tweak if I want to change the ratios.

3) I'm an engineer!


----------



## bwarbiany (Aug 15, 2014)

Bad Santa said:


> The salt to pepper ratio in making a rub for brisket is 50/50 by weight, if mixing the S&P by volume then the ratio will be 1 part salt to 4 parts pepper.
> 
> Always remember that when mixing up a salt and pepper rub like this, is to use kosher or sea salt and coarse black pepper. Since table salt is very fine grained it will penetrate the meat cells easier and deeper than a large grained kosher or sea salt, so the meat being rubbed with just a S&P mixture using a fine grained table salt will be too salty for most palates. Also, table salts contains Iodine, which will also impart that flavor into your food.
> 
> A kosher/sea salt and coarse black pepper rub is known as a Dalmation Rub, add salt free Lemon Pepper to the mix and it's called Dirty Dalmation.


Perfect. Thanks!

I've been doing kosher and CBP in a 1:1 by volume mix previously... I'll do by weight for this next one this weekend.


----------



## foamheart (Aug 15, 2014)

bwarbiany said:


> A few reasons...
> 
> 3) I'm an engineer!


WooT there it is!


----------



## cliffcarter (Aug 15, 2014)

Foamheart said:


> To me, brisket is the exception, I find that brisket loves Cracked Black. I always use a heavy hand with the cracked black on a brisket. I actually scare others if they see me preping a brisket.
> 
> I do reconize Cracked Black as a completely different spice than ground black, just like I would also use whole black pepper corns differently.
> 
> Brisket loves cracked black, sometimes I'll use a bit of ancho also.


This post just reminded me of the *SmokyOkie* brisket method.


----------



## grillmonkey (Aug 15, 2014)

bwarbiany said:


> A few reasons...
> 
> 1) I don't do brisket often enough that I can experiment and necessarily learn "to taste" by sight very easily.
> 
> ...


Wait until he does a smoker build!


----------



## addertooth (Aug 15, 2014)

GrillMonkey,

We have already seen what happens when an engineer does a smoker build. They end up with a $450 mini-WSM build.

Engineers just love to build, without some accountant telling them the cost/performance difference is not worth paying for.


----------



## bwarbiany (Aug 15, 2014)

Yeah... I need to either learn to weld or find $4K... Here's my dream rig:

I'm pretty sure if I learned to weld, cost/performance of doing that one myself would be worth it.


----------



## kc5tpy (Aug 15, 2014)

Hello.  Thanks Bad Santa.  I didn't know the ratio but as soon as I read your post I remember I read long ago about that being called a Dalmation rub.  Never heard of the Dirty Dalmation.  Good info.  I also can understand why the OP asked the question.  He now has a starting point.  I do it by eye as the others do.  I think the OP will still have a problem in that some briskets have more fat on the outside than others.  As the fat renders the salt and pepper will drip away.  I can see that being a good base to build other rubs from.  Always learning something here on SMF.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


----------



## addertooth (Aug 15, 2014)

bwarbiany,

But yes, you could make it much better by using double walled steel with silicon powder insulation between the plates. Radius the lid for more consistent thermal characteristics.  And an auto-leveling mechanism would be a real plus, to ensure proper and consistent smoke flow. And don't forget an adjustable louvered reverse flow plate, for getting exact identical temperature distribution across the entire grill surface.


----------



## kc5tpy (Aug 15, 2014)

WAY!  HEY!  That's a rig and a half, BUT it MUST be trailer mounted.  Gooseneck hitch with a box up front to carry firewood.  And super size that thing making it at LEAST 1/2 again as large.  A little plumbing, some brackets for mounting and some electrics and you could EASILY add a dishwasher AND beer fridge to that dude!.  I can weld and as you can tell I have a few crazy ideas.  Keep Smokin!

Danny.


----------



## kc5tpy (Aug 15, 2014)

OOPS!  I forgot.  IF you want it to be TRUE redneck ya gotta have duct tape and bailing wire on it somewhere.  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





   Keep Smokin!

Danny


----------



## big lew bbq (Aug 15, 2014)

It is all about taste preference some are more sensitive to salt and or pepper.

But to give you a bench mark, I don't like things too salty or peppery, so I usually use 1/3 cup Salt to 1/3 Cup CBP(Zebra Rub) for a 10 Lbs. brisket .

Hope this helps, happy smoking!!!


----------



## bad santa (Aug 15, 2014)

KC5TPY said:


> Hello.  Thanks Bad Santa.  I didn't know the ratio but as soon as I read your post I remember I read long ago about that being called a Dalmation rub.  Never heard of the Dirty Dalmation.  Good info.  I also can understand why the OP asked the question.  He now has a starting point.  I do it by eye as the others do.  I think the OP will still have a problem in that some briskets have more fat on the outside than others.  As the fat renders the salt and pepper will drip away.  I can see that being a good base to build other rubs from.  Always learning something here on SMF.  Keep Smokin!
> 
> Danny


Hey Danny, 

I agree 100% about myself never ceasing to learn new ways and ideas on this forum. This is a good starting base for a simple rub, very simple allows the meat flavored with smoke to shine, makes a nice crusty bark, and used in an awful lot of the better known BBQ joints across Texas, and can be, as you stated, easily tweaked to a person's preference.


----------



## ameskimo1 (Aug 15, 2014)

lol, I was starting to think 'this guy sounds a bit anal' then you fessed up on the engineer part! I'm a SPOG guy myself and eyeball it - and I put it on just about anything that walked on 4 legs before it got in my smoker. Don't get me wrong - have made up some great rubs & marinades, but SPOG and hardwoods - classic and hard to beat, specially on a brisket.


----------



## bwarbiany (Aug 16, 2014)

ameskimo1 said:


> lol, I was starting to think 'this guy sounds a bit anal' then you fessed up on the engineer part! I'm a SPOG guy myself and eyeball it - and I put it on just about anything that walked on 4 legs before it got in my smoker. Don't get me wrong - have made up some great rubs & marinades, but SPOG and hardwoods - classic and hard to beat, specially on a brisket.


Yeah, my mother in law will be coming and she's a lot more sensitive to garlic. Besides, I've got a Prime brisket that I've had wet-aging in the fridge for ~40 days... I want to use just S&P and let the meat be the star ;-)


----------



## bdskelly (Aug 16, 2014)

I'm probably late on this and your brisket is in the pit.  I just put mine on for Sunday dinner...  

This is an interesting question and I did some research  on another site that I'm a member of. ... It's full of high brow chefs that like to argue about things I've never heard of or seen. I'm allowed in as the token red neck.  

SO, The Culinary Arts crowd says that the base Ratio is 3 to 1  Salt to pepper. With loads of caution that it should be done "to taste". Which was already well stated above.

B


----------



## stovebolt (Aug 17, 2014)

An interesting conversation, with some great points. Just thought I would add a word about engineers. They generally just look at  things a bit differently than most of us. They don't see the glass as half-full or half-empty, they see the glass as being twice as large as necessary.

Chuck


----------



## ameskimo1 (Aug 17, 2014)

lol


----------



## brisketdan (Oct 26, 2015)

I happened to ask Aaron Franklin when I was there at his joint this weekend what he means in his book when he says 1:1. His answer was by volume. I haven't done any experiment yet to see how much different the masses are if measured by volume. He also says he uses 16mesh black pepper. The equivalent I've seen at the restaurant supply house is butcher course black pepper.


----------



## jcbigler (Oct 26, 2015)

brisketdan said:


> I happened to ask Aaron Franklin when I was there at his joint this weekend what he means in his book when he says 1:1.* His answer was by volume. *I haven't done any experiment yet to see how much different the masses are if measured by volume. He also says he uses 16mesh black pepper. The equivalent I've seen at the restaurant supply house is butcher course black pepper.


Well, that's good enough for me!


----------



## kevinwheeler (Dec 26, 2016)

What weight did you use?


----------

