Rub vs salt/pepper vs "let the seasoning in the pit flavor it"?

I have always been a sauce on the side kind of guy, if I use it I dont use much so I put alot more stock in what seasonings I use. On Brisket I really prefer S&P but on Ribs I like to use a S&P base and layer rubs on top. Lately (last couple years) I've really appreciated the "less is more" approach and letting the wood do the work. cool video!

Nicely done Justin. I'm in the SPG camp and Rubs with a good portion of quality salt. Never been a wet rib guy.

One thing I learned from Paul, aka pjtexas1, is if my warmer is empty when I cook in the main chamber have it full of sticks ready to go in the fire box. This has helped me with the "lightly seasoned" sticks. :mrgreen:

SirPorkaLot said:

Pork only needs salt and smoke to shine.
People in NC have known this for generations.

It’s not new news, but it doesn’t hurt to remind folks of that regularly

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I discovered this by accident when I smoked some rib tips without any seasoning for my puppy. The rib tips with no rub was so good we ended up eating most of it instead of giving it to our dog. Ever since then we only sprinkle very light salt and pepper when smoking pork ribs and also smoke some with just light salt.

I watched this excellent video earlier today. Had to LOL when you were applying no rub.

Here's another test you should do:
2 racks of ribs
1 rub
no sauce, no wrap

Cook 1 rack with the rub applied before cooking and cook the 2nd nekkid and apply rub when done.

I am with your wife. Rubbed unwrapped ribs in a stick burner produce the best results.

luke duke said:

If you can't make a piece of meat taste good with just S&P, you need to work on your technique.

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Smoking Piney said:

I LOVE closed minded opinions like this. I guess your taste is universal and crosses all boundaries?

No room for variety and change; no chance to open up your mind on this?

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Maybe he's closed minded, maybe not. I didn't take what Luke said to mean S&P is the only way to go. I took it to mean that IF you can't get good results with S&P, then you need to work on your cooking and not blame the seasoning. I happen to agree with that sentiment. If you can't cook good barbecue with minimal seasonings, then adding more stuff isn't going to help.

I don't think that is closed minded. So many people like to throw ingredients/injections/crap at bad cooking in an effort to fix what they don't know. The suggestion of "learning to cook" is a good one. I make it all the time to folks who are overwhelmed by all the hoopla of modern-day national barbecue. Some people simply get lost and confused over all the options available. I like to guide them into learning to cook the piece of meat first with minimal seasoning (S&P or just salt). Learning how to properly cook a piece of meat is critical. Also, they are able to see what the meat tastes like...how it is supposed to taste. Once you have that knocked out then, by all means, work on your flavor profile if that's what you want to do. Everyone has a different taste...and if you're not into traditional, regional barbecue, the sky is the limit.

But...again...I didn't take Luke's post as being closed minded. To me it just sounded like a reminder to be mindful of your own cooking, and don't blame bad barbecue on S&P.

Y'all have a good weekend.

Just wanted to say that I love your vids Justin.
Keep up the great content.
Your LSG is sexy btw.

Nice video and pretty much confirms what I’ve suspected... One note and something for you to try sometime is putting a different rub on the bottom of the ribs (and no sauce on the bottom!). Big Poppa gave me that tip about “layering flavors” with using his Jalepeno Salt on the bottom and our scores immediately went up (you get a nice of bit of heat this way after the sweetness of the glaze).

I cringed when I saw you gooping up those three perfectly fine racks. And I am a KCBS judge. No surprise to me that a good rub sans any additional goop is the winner. If I put any sauce on my ribs at all, it is a measured half teaspoon spread as thin as possible just before I bite in.

Thanks for the videos.

Well I have been using salt & pepper lately. Time to get some new rubs for my spice rack. Going to try Kosmo W rubs for the first time. Then I will go back to making my own rubs.
Rubs make a difference

Great video, as usual. No surprises, though, as what you like determines which result you prefer. A person still has to try new things and the effort you put out is appreciated.

luke duke said:

If you can't make a piece of meat taste good with just S&P, you need to work on your technique.

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i absolutely hate this mentality.

jdtTX said:

i absolutely hate this mentality.

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Care to explain why?

I don't think it's a negative mentality in the least (unless I'm not taking it the way it was intended). The way I took it was that don't blame S&P for a bad finished product...look at yourself and your cooking in general if you can't put out a good piece of meat with S&P. Other seasonings only change the flavor profile...they don't cure bad cooking.

This is how I take the statement in question...and I agree with it.

Cook said:

Care to explain why?

I don't think it's a negative mentality in the least (unless I'm not taking it the way it was intended). The way I took it was that don't blame S&P for a bad finished product...look at yourself and your cooking in general if you can't put out a good piece of meat with S&P. Other seasonings only change the flavor profile...they don't cure bad cooking.

This is how I take the statement in question...and I agree with it.

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its a BS line in the sand that has nothing to do with bad cooking, but is rooted in arrogance and ignorance. S&P is just another seasoning mix. this idea that everyone is greatest cook in history is prevalent in bbq circles. let's flip it around. maybe s&p as the barometer just shows how poor of a cook you are. you lack the ability to recognize how other flavors work with whatever meat you're cooking and need simple stuff for a simple person.

see how easy that is? it narrows an extremely complicated, diverse thing like cooking down to an oversimplification.

Paul Kirk once described seasoning barbeque like painting with watercolors when you were a kid.

Yellow and Blue makes Green
Blue and Red makes Purple
Yellow and Red Makes Orange

All colors in the palette mixed make a muddy greyish brown.

For this reason I have never subscribed to the layering approach. I like to make my own rubs, but if I use a store bought (e.g. Plowboys, Moe Cason), I assume that the cook created his own custom "color".

Also, the first time I served as a judge, the old timer sitting next to me made me promise that once, just once, I would cook a brisket with nothing but salt, pepper, and smoke. "Just let the beef be the beef." he said.

I did as promised and never looked back. I use 3:1 or 4:1 BP:Salt and either oak or pecan. I see no reason to go back.

Regards,

David

luke duke said:

If you can't make a piece of meat taste good with just S&P, you need to work on your technique.

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jdtTX said:

its a BS line in the sand that has nothing to do with bad cooking, but is rooted in arrogance and ignorance. S&P is just another seasoning mix.

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Again, maybe I'm just misunderstanding the intent of what Luke stated.

...but...

It seems to me that you are more interested in badmouthing those that choose to use just S&P than actually comprehending what was said in the above quote (at least how "I" understood it).

I see nothing arrogant, much less ignorant, about Luke's suggestion that if you can't make S&P work, then don't blame the seasoning...blame your cooking. Your insinuation that S&P is just another seasoning mix is spot on...it is. So the seasonings don't matter if you're a bad cook. If your meat sucks with a 20 ingredient rub, it's gonna suck with S&P...and vise versa.

I just don't get going off on someone for something that I think you misinterpreted. Luke never said "S&P is the ONLY way"...at least I didn't read it that way.

On a side note...saying that people who use S&P are ignorant is, well, ignorant. All those poor Texas pit bosses & pit masters don't know squat. And those idiots in the Carolinas who omit the pepper and only use salt...don't get me started on those suckers. I always find it comical that folks who get all uptight about people using just S&P, also exclaim that rubs are the only way! LoL...they don't even realize they are being the person they are complaining about. Humorous to say the least.

Just know...if you can't make your meat come out good with S&P, throwing more stuff on it ain't gonna fix the issue. Now THAT I stand by. Proper cooking is more of a factor than flavor profile. Sort of the whole lipstick on a pig thing.

Cook said:

Again, maybe I'm just misunderstanding the intent of what Luke stated.

...but...

It seems to me that you are more interested in badmouthing those that choose to use just S&P than actually comprehending what was said in the above quote (at least how "I" understood it).

I see nothing arrogant, much less ignorant, about Luke's suggestion that if you can't make S&P work, then don't blame the seasoning...blame your cooking. Your insinuation that S&P is just another seasoning mix is spot on...it is. So the seasonings don't matter if you're a bad cook. If your meat sucks with a 20 ingredient rub, it's gonna suck with S&P...and vise versa.

I just don't get going off on someone for something that I think you misinterpreted. Luke never said "S&P is the ONLY way"...at least I didn't read it that way.

On a side note...saying that people who use S&P are ignorant is, well, ignorant. All those poor Texas pit bosses & pit masters don't know squat. And those idiots in the Carolinas who omit the pepper and only use salt...don't get me started on those suckers. I always find it comical that folks who get all uptight about people using just S&P, also exclaim that rubs are the only way! LoL...they don't even realize they are being the person they are complaining about. Humorous to say the least.

Just know...if you can't make your meat come out good with S&P, throwing more stuff on it ain't gonna fix the issue. Now THAT I stand by. Proper cooking is more of a factor than flavor profile. Sort of the whole lipstick on a pig thing.

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you're trying to twist words to make your point. i used the original quote as an example of how you can twist anything to justify reasoning. of course, you validated what I said in the first place, no matter how many words you want to throw at it:

"Just know...if you can't make your meat come out good with S&P, throwing more stuff on it ain't gonna fix the issue."

all of your other words dont really matter if you believe that. i never said s&p was bad or inferior. I said claiming it was the barometer for good cooking was bad.

for the record, my favorite ribs are salt and pepper only.