Spareribs rub - advice - with results and Q view

[piaconis]

Hey all,

Going to try spareribs tomorrow in a 3-2-1 method, and had a question on the rub.  I am planning to apply it tonight, but should I slather it first, or will what sticks to it from natural juices be enough?

 

[rowdyrawhide]

Don't worry about slathering you will be good with just the meat juices.  I always do mine the night before whenever possible, and have never slathered FWIW.

 

[chef jimmyj]

I have done both. With just adding rub to bare meat the Salt/Sugar will draw moisture and liquify a lot of the rub requiring reapplication before smoking. But that Liquid is Flavorful and has a tenderizing affect. I usually just use mustard to hold Rub if I didn't rub the night before. Mustard really holds the Rub.  Both are fine...JJ

 

[piaconis]

Thanks guys.  My rub turned out a little corser than I expected, so I used a thin coating of mustard, just to hold it.  I have three slabs in a tray covered with foil and in the fridge holding over for tomorrow.

In the morning, I will brine the chicken quarters, and start assembling my four cheese macaroni for the smoker.  This should be fun!

 

[rowdyrawhide]

REMEMBER ..............

DON'T FORGET THE Q VIEW!!!!

 

[piaconis]

Got the pics.  Is there any easy way to pull them from your album and link them to here?

 

[piaconis]

Guess that didn't work

 

[piaconis]

Applied rub the night before with a thin mustard slather

First 90 minutes

Close up first 90 mins

About 5 hours in, I added chicken quarters (soaked for 3 1/2 hours in a sea salt, garlic powder, and italian seasoning brine), and moved the ribs into a rack on the far side to keep them at a low temp.  Another 30 minutes later, I added a four cheese and macaroni concoction (using penne, which my wife prefers) and corn soaked for an hour in water and garlic salt brine.

Blurry pic of the ribs and a chicken quarter in the lower left (quarters were grilled at the end for a little crisp texture to the outside)

Rib cutaway

Couldn't get a mac and cheese shot before my son and daughter killed it, so here is a cutaway view.  

  Smoked flavor to the cheese was awesome. 

Sweet corn came out juicy and perfect texture.  Glad I used that garlic salt and soaked it.

I still have some stuff to learn with the ribs, but it was a great first try.  My daughter said they were the best she ever had, but we don't exactly live in the BBQ belt.

Thanks to all of you who posted directly or shared knowledge on the site!  I appreciate all of the wisdom.

 

[roller]

Looks great !!! I do not use slather !!!

 

[piaconis]

In hindsight, I probably didn't need it either, but I had trouble getting a rub to stick before, so I didn't want to gamble.  I'll just use the rub next time.

 

[frosty]

Excellent work!!!

 

[piaconis]

FYI - after visiting Jeff's site, I decided to forgo the 3-2-1 method and go straight low and slow smoke with a spritz to develop the bark.  I like the texture of the ribs better this way, and the smoke flavor was better retained.