Rub Question....

[ghostred7]

I have a 13lb brisket I'm going to smoke for dinner Saturday.  I'm trying to keep things streamlined as much as possible.  That being said...given the very rough estimate of 1.5hr/lb (which is ~19hrs), I'm thinking of starting either late Friday night or "zero-dark-stupid" Saturday morning.

That being said....I know the recommendation is 12-24hrs for rub & sit in fridge.....would over 24h be too long?  If I do it this afternoon/evening and end up waiting until Sat am to start, then we could be having the rub on it for upwards of 36hrs.  Is that OK or way too long?

My rub is basically:  brown sugar, cayanne, chili, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic (on top of yellow mustard naturally).

Thx in advance.

 

[kathrynn]

I don't do mine overnight....but I want to try it that way.  I do my rubs right before plopping them in the smoker.  There are so many ways and opinions.  Figure the longer you leave it on...the more the rub taste goes in the meat.  Try it!

 

[ghostred7]

Ya....I usually do it right before we put it on too....but trying to balance playing host and 'Q-er' at the same time LOL

 

[kathrynn]

I feel ya!  That is why mine go right on before hand!  Always have tons of people around and don't get the chance to do it the night before!  (teehee)

 

[alelover]

You can make the rub in advance and apply it to the meat later. Only takes 2 minutes to rub your meat. So to speak.

 

[kathrynn]

I have 3 types of rubs now...Beef, Chicken/Poultry and Pork....all in their little containers ready for when I get the itch to play with the smoker.  Pat that bad boy down...and enjoy the smoke time!

 

[bruno994]

I'm with Kathryn on the rubbing before it goes on.  I don't beleive that the rub will penetrate such a large cut of meat or any cut of meat for that matter.  A rub basically gives you the exterior flavor and helps with building a nice bark  A liquid in the form of a marinade or an injection can penetrate the meat, but even a marinade, will only penetrate just so far depending on the time allotted.  Typically, I pull my brisket out of the fridge right before I start my fire, about an hour or so before I plan on it hitting the pit.  Rub it down and let sit until the pit temp is stable.  I usually inject prior to rubbing as well.  Between the moisture of the meat and any of my injection that remained on the surface of the meat, combined with the dry rub will give you a nice paste on the outer surface of the brisket.  Once your pit is at your desired cooking temp, throw it on and sit back and wait!  I guess, my longwinded answer is, yes, you will be fine if you rub a day or so ahead.  The only problem could crop up is if there is too much salt in your rub, it could pull some moisture out of the meat.

 

[jarjarchef]

You can rub the night before. Just be careful of the salt and sugar content. They will draw moisture out of the meat. If you are wanting to add flavor to the inside of the meat you can inject or vacuum marinade.

 

[ghostred7]

I ended up getting tied up in other things today anyway....so it'll be going on just before as usual.  I don't use salt in my rub.