Sugar in Rubs

TinySmokin · Aug 22, 2014

Well been doing a lot of Pork Butts on pellet grills lately. Was using a GMG that had temp swings of up to 40 degrees above set point and minus 20 degrees. Would always try to adjust the set point so I never exceeded 250 at any point.

Just purchased a YS-640 and cooked 3 Butts yesterday. My cook took 17 hours at 225 degrees for three 8-10 lb Butts with 2 Gallons of beans under Butts in for 6 hours...First time I had done beans or anything under the meat...but I will be doing that again!

I had read somewhere that Sugar in rubs would Burn at over 250 degrees. After looking at the highs and lows on my TW8060 from last nights run the Yoder holds temps better with only a plus or minus of 15 degrees.

How hot can I get without charring the sugar in the rub?

grantw · Aug 22, 2014

Sugar in the raw takes higher heat than brown sugar. official burn temp is 350, it depends hugely on your cooker though my backwoods running with water at 300 wont burn nothing

TinySmokin · Aug 22, 2014

^^^ How does it's sweetness compare with Brown or White Sugar?

landarc · Aug 22, 2014

Sweetness of all sugars that are glucose based will be the same. Hence, Turbinado, Sugar-in-the-Raw or table sugar, all will have similar levels of sweetness. The natural/unwashed sugars have a tiny amount of molasses left on them, which can add a hint of bitterness if you are a super taster.

Brown sugar has more molasses, hence the darker color and moister texture. It will burn at a lower temperature than the other sugars, unless dried ahead of time. It is just as sweet.

Fwismoker · Aug 22, 2014

It's almost a loaded question and really hard to explain. I will say there's no magic temp because it depends primarily on how long the sugars are exposed to the heat. If i cook something at a high temp for an hour it could burn but if i cook the same thing at a lower temp for a shorter time then finish with a sear on both sides it could be perfect.

Grimm5577 · Aug 22, 2014

Sugar stages.

Fwismoker · Aug 22, 2014

Grimm5577 said:
Sugar stages.

The only problem is BBQ isn't measured in absolutes. There's different types of sugars in different percentages with different amounts of time exposed to the heat hence the reason BBQ isn't learned over night.... It's a long journey

Grimm your chicken wings are a great example, you used high heat with a very sugary rub and didn't have the burnt bittery taste of what burnt sugars can give.

Grimm5577 · Aug 22, 2014

agreed, but i feel this is a good guide to learn from.
(edit) the link i posted is dircted towards simple syrups and candy, but demonstrate the break down of sugar on a measurable level.(not sure if thats the best way to describe how i look at it)

TinySmokin · Aug 22, 2014

Thanks Grimm for that link...Think I will sneak up on that 338 degree mark slowly. Going to try say 275 and see what my cook time is and what the meat quality is compared to the really...really long cook time I had yesterday. Burned almost 20 lbs of pellets on 1 cook:mmph:

So far all my Butts have finished with a charcoal black barks with burgundy colored bark in the cracks...man is it sweet tasting! The first Butts I ever did scarred the crap out of me when I opened the smoker and seen they were mostly black...surprised when it tasted like it did!

edit: I do dry my rub after mixing it in the oven to dry the brown sugar and make it dispense better...never guessed that would make it more heat proof:grin:

jrben1 · Aug 23, 2014

Turbinado Sugar

TinySmokin said:
^^^ How does it's sweetness compare with Brown or White Sugar?

I had been using dark brown sugar in my rub. It's a bit of a pain as you have to put it in the oven for 20 minutes to dry it out before you use it or your rub will clump on you.

I recently switched to turbinado sugar which does not clump. I found that I needed to add some granulated sugar in order to get the same sweetness in my rub that I had with dark brown sugar.

TinySmokin · Aug 23, 2014

Picked up some Sugar in the raw today. Will mix up some more of my rub this week. Going to be nice not having to bake it dry! Running some more Butts for tomorrow at 275 so hopefully a little shorter cook.

I like long cooks when it's just for me and friends...but sometimes I run into a shorter time frame than expected and would like to be able to speed it up a little...great info so far :thumb:

Sugar in Rubs

TinySmokin

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grantw

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landarc

somebody shut me the fark up.

Fwismoker

somebody shut me the fark up.

Grimm5577

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Fwismoker

somebody shut me the fark up.

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jrben1

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