Spritzing diminishes Rub spiciness?

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Millberry

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Nov 12, 2020
672
483
Buford, GA
I have formed an opinion. I would love a little feedback. Here goes:

Spritzing has a lot of Pros. The Con is it slightly hurts bark formation. I want to add another Con to get opinions. YOU LOSE SOME OF THE SPICINESS TASTE IN YOUR RUB.
agree or not?

of course this question may have already been discussed. I just don't see it.
 
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You're gonna find multiple answers but a great question. My experience has been minimal but I have been guilty of spritzing too much and washing the rub off with the spritz. What I've found to counter this is mostly the obvious. When I do spritz, I spritz lightly in attempt to not wash off all the rub. I usually spritz toward the end of the cook as well and I've even added some rub after spritzing but I haven't tried that but once and those ribs turned out really good.

In short, (my thoughts are) if you're loosing the "POP" of your rub, maybe less spritzing (or) maybe what you're using for spritz might be neutralizing your rub? You may be able to mix your rub with liquids of your choice (such as apple cider, ACV, butter, water, ect..) and build a moping sauce that you can slather on while cooking?

There's always so many variables to consider. There are many others here with much more experience than myself. I suspect they will chime in at some point.

For a good bark I don't do anything but smoke it and wrap it for rest.
 
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I don't spritz. Never have but with certain cuts I do mop/baste. When I make the basting liquid I always add more of whatever rub I used on the meat into the basting liquid along wit whatever liquids I use. No question that mopping will brush off some of the rub so this is a way to ut some back on. Works for me anyway but probably wouldn't work in a spritzing bottle.

Robert
 
Add some rub to the spritz. Has to be fine or it clogs on the screen
 
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I have formed an opinion. I would love a little feedback. Here goes:

Spritzing has a lot of Pros. The Con is it slightly hurts bark formation. I want to add another Con to get opinions. YOU LOSE SOME OF THE SPICINESS TASTE IN YOUR RUB.
agree or not?

of course this question may have already been discussed. I just don't see it.

I can see that happening.

I also am not a spritzer.
What are you spritzing?
What type of smoker are you using?

I use a heavily modified MES40 so no need to even add a water pan.
I work around spritzing and water pan needs. Like with brisket I trim away the thin parts that would just crust/burn/dry up and repurpose that good meat.
For beef plate ribs I have taken the peeled membrane and covered the ends of the beef ribs that want to dry up and pinned it to the ribs with tooth pics and that works wonders so no need to spritz.
On pork spare ribs the rib on each end can get a little dry but that's usually a crappy rib anyhow and the people who LOVE super crusty stuff usually fight over those ribs anyhow. If I wanted to keep that from happening I might wrap those ends with cheese cloth or loosely with a small amount of foil.

If I ran a stick burner or a charcoal grill I would maybe change some of my practices but I like not spritzing, mopping, massaging, dancing around, or speaking in tongues at my BBQ while it's cooking because more often than not I have found that none of it helped and just added more complexity hahaha.

I prefer to just let it cook and only open at the end to check when ready or something equally important as needed :)
 
Try mixing your rub with a binder (mustard, mayo, evoo, etc. ) and then slather that on..

But yes... spritzing, mopping,basteing... it all washes off rub to some degree...

Especially when using an actual mop...

To combat this I will pour my mop/glaze into an empty water bottler and poke a little hole in the top and squirt it on gently... it seems to help a little .. but I still see some spices washing off ...
 
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Damn...and I just bought a new spray bottle and a gallon of apple juice because I thought spritzing HELPS bark formation.

If you want more bark, drink the apple juice, fill the spray bottle with 99% isopropyl alcohol for cleaning probes and such, and simply smoke your bbq unwrapped without opening the door :)

You'll get all the amazing bark you want that way :D
 
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I disagree.
If you're spritzing so much you're diluting or washing off your rub, you've got the wrong spray bottle.
And if you value a rub to the point you're using binders (like mustard or maple syrup) to create a nice coat of it, I'd say not spritzing is more likely to make it dry out and flake off.

I'm a water pan fan too. A high humidity cooking environment reduces the frequency of spritzing needed.

I start out with mostly vinegar in my little spritz bottle but add apple juice as a I go finishing with mostly apple juice. Not sure I know why I do it that way though?
 
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I have never spritzed or mopped... but if I ever sang or danced around my smoker I would never get any meat off it... it would have all fallen out of the smoker laughing it's back side off at me, or ran away from my singing!

Ryan
 
Spritzing heavily can wash off rub. A Fine Mist is all that is needed and don't give the meat a Bath.
Spritzing ONLY inhibits Bark Formation if you Don't Know When to Stop Spritzing!
Every 20 minutes for the First Hour of Ribs, with No Foiling, is fine and you will get good bark, Spritzing the first 3 hours or so of Long Cook cuts like Brisket and Butts, is fine as well.
How JUICY meat is depends on the meat, and No Amount of Spritz or Mopping can change that.The majority of your Spritz, Evaporates LONG before it can soak into meat and add back moisture. Remember, Hot Meat is Squeezing moisture OUT...This is how we get Pan Drippings for Jus and Gravy. No way is any Spritz going to overcome that Pressure and Soak in!
Spritz can add Flavor to the Bark, can enhance a Smoke Ring allowing more NO2 in before the surface cooks and can stop Bark from getting overly tough, but That's all Folks.🐷...JJ
 
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I can see that happening.

I also am not a spritzer.
What are you spritzing?
What type of smoker are you using?

I use a heavily modified MES40 so no need to even add a water pan.
I work around spritzing and water pan needs. Like with brisket I trim away the thin parts that would just crust/burn/dry up and repurpose that good meat.
For beef plate ribs I have taken the peeled membrane and covered the ends of the beef ribs that want to dry up and pinned it to the ribs with tooth pics and that works wonders so no need to spritz.
On pork spare ribs the rib on each end can get a little dry but that's usually a crappy rib anyhow and the people who LOVE super crusty stuff usually fight over those ribs anyhow. If I wanted to keep that from happening I might wrap those ends with cheese cloth or loosely with a small amount of foil.

If I ran a stick burner or a charcoal grill I would maybe change some of my practices but I like not spritzing, mopping, massaging, dancing around, or speaking in tongues at my BBQ while it's cooking because more often than not I have found that none of it helped and just added more complexity hahaha.

I prefer to just let it cook and only open at the end to check when ready or something equally important as needed :)
but I like not spritzing, mopping, massaging, dancing
Spritzing heavily can wash off rub. A Fine Mist is all that is needed and don't give the meat a Bath.
Spritzing ONLY inhibits Bark Formation if you Don't Know When to Stop Spritzing!
Every 20 minutes for the First Hour of Ribs, with No Foiling, is fine and you will get good bark, Spritzing the first 3 hours or so of Long Cook cuts like Brisket and Butts, is fine as well.
How JUICY meat is depends on the meat, and No Amount of Spritz or Mopping can change that.The majority of your Spritz, Evaporates LONG before it can soak into meat and add back moisture. Remember, Hot Meat is Squeezing moisture OUT...This is how we get Pan Drippings for Jus and Gravy. No way is any Spritz going to overcome that Pressure and Soak in!
Spritz can add Flavor to the Bark, can enhance a Smoke Ring allowing more NO2 in before the surface cooks and can stop Bark from getting overly tough, but That's all Folks.🐷...JJ
How JUICY meat is depends on the meat, and No Amount of Spritz or Mopping can change that My Gracious I learn a LOT from y'all. Thanks so much. Thank you for taking the time to write and explain.
 
If you want more bark, drink the apple juice, fill the spray bottle with 99% isopropyl alcohol for cleaning probes and such, and simply smoke your bbq naked without opening the door :)

You'll get all the amazing bark you want that way :D
I like that answer and that attitude. Thank ou
 
Try mixing your rub with a binder (mustard, mayo, evoo, etc. ) and then slather that on..

But yes... spritzing, mopping,basteing... it all washes off rub to some degree...

Especially when using an actual mop...

To combat this I will pour my mop/glaze into an empty water bottler and poke a little hole in the top and squirt it on gently... it seems to help a little .. but I still see some spices washing off ...
I appreciate that
 
Spritzing is a fool's errand in small smokers. Very moist environment already and not much air flow. Now in a big ole offset, that's another story... To produce bark in small smokers it is absolutely essential the meat is dry and that means at least tacky and almost dry to the touch. This is called pellicle and a big part of my success.
 
I like that answer and that attitude. Thank ou

Hahaha thanks! By the way I meant to say "smoke your bbq unwrapped". I accidently said "naked" which is a completely different thing unrelated to unwrapped.

Many people new, learning, or trying things have often wrapped first which is fine. I always encourage to try the same smoke unwrapped and see how much you like the flavor change. In my MES I don't think I'll ever wrap anything in foil again that doesnt absolutely need it. If ever got my hands on the proper butcher paper I would try it once or twice to play around but I'm not going out of my way to experiment with it as my unwrapped versions destroy anything I've wrapped in foil that didnt turn out to really need it :)
 
Spritzing is a fool's errand in small smokers. Very moist environment already and not much air flow. Now in a big ole offset, that's another story... To produce bark in small smokers it is absolutely essential the meat is dry and that means at least tacky and almost dry to the touch. This is called pellicle and a big part of my success.
Thank you for that
 
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