Why are commercial rubs so salty?

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Jeff Campbell's sweet heat rub good on just about everything! When buying seasonings if salt is first ingredient I usually pass.

 

[JckDanls 07]

Ya know what... had me thinking about this... Then remembered... I do use a store bought rub.. Everglades with heat for my home made pork rinds ...

Old timers disease was kicking in ...

 

[forktender]

Man, I had intended on dropping the hopper to pressure to wash my grill, but there is no way in hell thar it needs it. It did have a little more grease than usual on the drip gutter. My guess is that a small piece of a burning was blo n into the drip gutter, which then caught the grease bucket on fire. The burning grease bucket is the first place that I noticed the flames. It wasn't anywhere near full, there was maybe 1 1/2" of solidified grease in it from my last cook.

I just can't wrap my head around this fire.

All I know is everyone needs to keep a decent size fire extinguisher close by, but not to close. LOL!!!!

And at the first sign of heavier than usual smoke, sparks or flames, unplug that S. O. B in a hurry. Because the fire went from a 3" flame to a Roman candle shooting out of the grease drain and smoke stack in a hurry, and I mean like within seconds.

Be safe.
Dan.

 

[DougE]

I just about always place my meat on the top rack of my Camp Chef, with a foil pan below it on the bottom rack. Yea, I know Camp Chef has that drip tray below the grate that is supposed to channel all the grease into the bucket, but it doesn't all make it there. I aim to get some of those SS pans with a rack like TulsaJeff uses in his pellet grills, to keep the grease from ending up in the bottom of the grill and becoming a problem.

 

[texomakid]

Wow! That pellet grill fire ain't no joke! Fire extinguishers are great advice and I too strongly recommend having them close to where you're cooking as well as other locations of your house/property.

Commercial rubs can sure be tricky and at times inconsistent, especially when it comes to salt. I like salt so much I could lick a salt block (but I don't .) Any of the rubs I've found with the higher salt (and I've found several) I use accordingly. I'd bet most of our gang makes/mixes their own rubs and while I do some myself I'm lazy plus I love tasting different rub recipes.

That burn looks nasty - appreciate the heads up.

 

[forktender]

I make my own rubs as well, but every now and then I like to try something different.

We have a local bbq joint that started life as a butcher shop. I bet you've seen their rubs at uour local Costco. Kinder's they are a little bit salty but, I know that going in and use them accordingly. It's pretty cool seeing a local Mom qnd Pop shop that you grew up with making it big time across the USA especially these days in the covid era.
The rub that I messed up these ribs with didn't taste overly salty when I tasted it.
I swear the stuff got saltier when it hit the meat
My guest is the moisture activated the salt crystals. It was strange.

 

[Steve H]

Thank God it wasn't worse!

 

[mike243]

Only time I have had a grease fire was 20lb of leg 1/4's on and ramped the temp up to crisp it, was watching closely and caught it quick and didn't ruin any meat but if I hadn't been paying attention and knew it was possible/likely it would have been very bad. thanks for sharing as it's better to learn from somebody else than personally, it can happen to all of us no matter how many times we've done something. We get complacent a lot of times. Hope you heal quickly

 

[Buckeye1]

Recently bought a few salt free rubs from 2 local BBQ tv guys who had a booth at the mall this Christmas. They are Mad Dog &Merrill. We have used the citrus rub quite a bit on fish and pork. It really packs some flavor.

 

[Inscrutable]

Sorry about your horrible trifecta!

I’m with the majority here … mostly make my own with little or no salt (especially since wife’s BP has gotten high). I get gifted some commercial rubs, or occasionally got suckered into one for some reason … usually the names are much better than the product, and almost always WAY too much salt. If I still get tempted, I will look at contents and pass if salt in top 2 ingredients.

 

[Fueling Around]

How's the hand?

...
I just can't wrap my head around this fire.
...
And at the first sign of heavier than usual smoke, sparks or flames, unplug that S. O. B in a hurry. Because the fire went from a 3" flame to a Roman candle shooting out of the grease drain and smoke stack in a hurry, and I mean like within seconds.

Be safe.
Dan.

Well, I guess that is why the manual has warning to keep away from combustible elements?

 

[Fueling Around]

Recently bought a few salt free rubs from 2 local BBQ tv guys who had a booth at the mall this Christmas. They are Mad Dog &Merrill. We have used the citrus rub quite a bit on fish and pork. It really packs some flavor.

I get a kick out of watching Midwest Grilling with Mad Dog & Merrill. I haven't tried their no salt lineup.

 

[forktender]

How's the hand?
Well, I guess that is why the manual has warning to keep away from combustible elements?

Blistered, but doing well, no pain or infection, I actually thought it was going to be a lot worse than it is, I got lucky.

 

[forktender]

Recently bought a few salt free rubs from 2 local BBQ tv guys who had a booth at the mall this Christmas. They are Mad Dog &Merrill. We have used the citrus rub quite a bit on fish and pork. It really packs some flavor.

I'm going to order a bottle to try, thank you.
Dan.

 

[Buckeye1]

I get a kick out of watching Midwest Grilling with Mad Dog & Merrill. I haven't tried their no salt lineup.

They are entertaining to say the least . I get a kick out of their precise measurements!!

 

[Buckeye1]

Blistered, but doing well, no pain or infection, I actually thought it was going to be a lot worse than it is, I got lucky.

Glad your hand is doing ok. A lot of good advice on this thread from a safety stand point.

I'm going to order a bottle to try, thank you.
Dan.

Hope you enjoy as much are we have.
To your point on some of the YouTube videos, some of these chefs pour on the rub so they can sell more. I'm starting to learn more isn't always better.

 

[DougE]

Low salt high sugar rubs can be packed on pretty liberally to get some real nice bark.

 

[civilsmoker]

If I'm not making my own, I use kinders often, however, I often supplement it with additional seasonings to keep the salt level lower.

I have also had a few fires in my older pellet smoker....on time the beef ribs I was cooking were burning like wood logs....it was crazy, a few lbs of salt and the fire was over..... I always have a large box of salt and a fire extinguisher (for the real deal fire) handy.

Crazy experience for sure, glad it wasn't worse!

 

[forktender]

This was a first for me, my practice of burring off my cooker after each use is over. I don't care if I have to leave my pressure washer hooked up and ready to use after every cook. And guess where my fire extinguisher was? Yup it was right next to the pellet grill, actually under the built on shelf, way too close to grab if the fire would've been bigger. From now on, the fire extinguisher will be at least 10' from anything that has a flame running. That was another boneheaded move on my part, good thing the hose was long enough to reach the grill. I know water and grease fires are a no, no, but it was my only option at the moment and I sprayed it from a good distance. It actually saved the day!!!