# Sugar and smoking



## Mindifismoke (Mar 27, 2020)

I often here people say don't put too much sugar in your rub or it can burn..
 The melting point of sugar is 356F and will burn after that most smoking and recipes that say that it will/can are smoking between 225-275 why is this relevant am I missing something?


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## jcam222 (Mar 27, 2020)

Many ribs for smoking are packed with sugar. If smoking at lower temps and / or indirect heat I believe it’s a non issue. If you are grilling over direct higher temp it can be a problem.


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## Mindifismoke (Mar 27, 2020)

Ya that's what I was thinking... But the people who say that in videos also are cooking at a lower temperature maybe it's just another cooking myth, if you sear something with sugar it'll burn for sure but low and slow shouldn't.


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## SmokinAl (Mar 27, 2020)

Also use turbinado sugar. It doesn’t clump & it doesn’t burn as easily.
Al


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## smokeymose (Mar 27, 2020)

Mindifismoke said:


> Ya that's what I was thinking... But the people who say that in videos also are cooking at a lower temperature maybe it's just another cooking myth, if you sear something with sugar it'll burn for sure but low and slow shouldn't.


Yeah you need to be careful. Anyone can make a video...


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## thirdeye (Mar 27, 2020)

Sugar in a rub can definitely darken your barbecue but you still need heat or direct exposure to flame (which might burn your food anyways), to burn.  I've seen more cooks accidents happen when glazing with super sweet sauces using high pit temps.  Turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)  is partially refined sugar that retains some of the original molasses, and it is less resistant to heat than brown sugar and is a good adder to a BBQ rub.  Many of the Dizzy Pig rubs have Turbinado sugar.


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## Mindifismoke (Mar 27, 2020)

Ok so when they say that they would be referring to if the flame gets too big and gets over to the meat with the sugary rub or glaze?


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## thirdeye (Mar 27, 2020)

Mindifismoke said:


> Ok so when they say that they would be referring to if the flame gets too big and gets over to the meat with the sugary rub or glaze?



So when they said to "keep the sugar amount low to prevent burning", I guess they could be referring to either a high sugar rub, or high sugar sauce.  And if you get some juices dripping in your coals while you are glazing you could get a flare-up too. And I don't cook on a gas grill, maybe they can flare also? 

 I'm not really a sauce guy, but here is a competition test cook on some thighs. The sauce I'm using is very sweet and on some previous test cooks I had some close calls because the pit temp is around 300° to 325° and I wanted to keep the shiny look.


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## Mindifismoke (Mar 27, 2020)

Ya I haven't glazed anything yet on my offset . gas grill would flare up as would direct cooking just found it intriguing they refer to sugar will burn and the people on the video are cooking on an offset. Nice shine that looks good!


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## Fueling Around (Mar 29, 2020)

I don't like sugar in rubs or glazes or sauces.
It isn't a burn thing (and yes it will) just my taste.

I cooked 3 racks of baby backs on the pooper today.
All racks prepped with a low salt and NO sugar rub.
Tried a Keto sauce on one rack during the last hour.  Wife loved it, but I cannot get over the sweet bite.
Photos posted if I remember or prompted (just being honest).


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## whistlepig (Mar 29, 2020)

At smoking temps (225) the sugars won't burn. Some very nice rubs out there with powdered apricot, honey, and cherry in them. Or salt and pepper if you prefer. The sweetness on pork is nice.

Ribs can be rubbed tastefully enough that saucing may not be required. At least my ribs anyway.


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## chef jimmyj (Mar 30, 2020)

If " People " are Burning their Sugar Rub, they don't know what they are doing! They have no business Instructing others about Sugar in Rubs and how to cook...JJ


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