Salt Free Ribs

[rrsteve]

Is there such a thing as "salt free" ribs that syill taste good?
Friend of mine out of the hospital a short time with a heart condition would like to have some ribs and I would like to smoke or grill some for him. I am wondering what I can use that is salt free and will still taste good. You folks have great knowledge and share it so willingly I figured I would come to you with this problem.
Any and all suggestions greatly appreciated.
Bob

 

[raceyb]

You can certainly make a great rub that is salt free. Just make sure the ribs you buy are fresh and do not contain a solution, which would contain sodium.

You can make up a similar rub that will be salt free and serve the ribs dry.

2 parts brown sugar
3 parts paprika
1 part dried parsley
1 part onion powder
1 part garlic powder
1 part cumin
1 part cracked black pepper
1 part cayenne pepper

This is a rub that has no sodium, but a lot of flavor. This is off the top of my head and may be missing something....

 

[mballi3011]

Thats a good looking and sounding rub recipe to me also. You can get some fake salt. I know the wife tried to get me to try it but I found out that is wasn't for real so I just quite using salt on my food not in my food and my doctor said it was alright to cut back that way.

 

[werdwolf]

If you need a little saltiness, you could try a small amount of "lite salt". It is the sodium chloride of table salt that you are trying to limit to 2 grams per day. the light salt is about half potassium chloride and does not add to the daily load.

 

[raceyb]

I was thinking last night about how our Dr's would cringe if they knew our hobbies. I love meat and I love to grill and smoke. I wonder how many take vitorin or other cholesterol or blood pressure medication and still grill with reckless abandon? I know I do.

I'd like to hear from a member that has faced health issues and did a grill or smoker menu make over and how it worked out.

 

[the dude abides]

Racey's rub looks pretty tasty. Also the brand name Mrs. Dash has a whole line of salt free seasonings

http://www.mrsdash.com/products/

 

[fire it up]

Balancing out a few kinds of peppers with some garlic which when roasted and dried I think has a wonderful flavor that could be substituted for salt.


Now if sugar is what you were asking I would have said Stevia.
Plain and simple, natural and healthy, beneficial against gum diseases and is much sweeter than sugar.
You can grow the plant at home, dry its leaves for powder, teas, collect the liquid inside to produce syrup or dry for crystals.
One hell of a miracle plant.

Sorry to get slightly off subject.

 

[irishteabear]

This is a good rub that I use frequently. It's both salt and sugar free.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=75589

 

[rrsteve]

Thanks Irishteabear, Raceyb, mballi, werdwolf, Dude, and Fire It Up, I really appreciate all the answers and comments and raceyb I necer thought about the frozen ribs from the store containing brine. Many thanks.
Bob

 

[geno]

I have cut way back on my salt intake but truthfully there are still certain foods I just can't eat without it. In my mind it's like making a beautiful turkey sandwich with fat free mayo.

I get what you're saying though and would imagine you could come up with some good rubs to make up for the lack of salt. Keep in mind though that most of the pork you buy in the store already have some salt in it. In fact now that I think about it a brine may be the way to go for you as you can wash a lot of the excess salt off when you pull it from the brine.

I may try that next time and eliminate the salt from my rub to see how it turns out.

 

[werdwolf]

Most doctors would cringe!

However I promote it. Most of our modern medical problems are related to insulin resistance. The importance of the "low glycemic diet" can't be stressed enough (so real mayo "Helman's" is OK when restricting the sugar).

The sausage and smoked meats we create can be controlled for the amount of sugar we put in and otherwise is very healthy.

I could get on my soap box and go on, but I will stop here. Any questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[mrclean28]

Thank you as my wife loves BBQ just does not like salty taste. Will shop for Ms Dash in the morning

 

[fpmich]

Before my wife had the surgery for Reflux disease, I was forced to cook without salt.  HUH?  How do I do that?  Right?

Well it can be done.  I made spaghetti sauce for her without no salt at all.  Her favorite meal is spaghetti and I was worried about her not liking it.

I used fresh tomatoes rather than canned, and used no salt.  To this day, I don't know how I pulled it off!

But she swears it was the best sauce I ever made.  Just use more herbs than usual, and a little more of sugar or Splenda.  I just kept cooking, tasting. and adding stuff, until it tasted good.

You can do the same thing with a rub.  Taste and add stuff to your liking, before cooking.  It'll work.

 

[Bubba61]

I was thinking last night about how our Dr's would cringe if they knew our hobbies. I love meat and I love to grill and smoke. I wonder how many take vitorin or other cholesterol or blood pressure medication and still grill with reckless abandon? I know I do.

I'd like to hear from a member that has faced health issues and did a grill or smoker menu make over and how it worked out.

Wish I could tell you. I was just informed to lower my blood pressure. I always like to dry brine the meat before it goes on the smoker. Unsalted meat just doesn't compare in moisture and bark and taste. Just gotta get used to it