Mad Science Experiment - Burning Rub Ingredients

[Rockaway BeachBQ]

Amazing stuff!! I definitely feel inspired to do a variation on it. I have long been curious about the taste of all of the different chiles. Maybe I will use chicken wings instead.

There is a book called "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen" that may be of interest to you.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/068...lance&n=283155
It really gets in to what happens to foods as they cook, it is not light reading but you can learn a great deal. Unfortunately Barbecue is not covered specificaly but the information on roasting meats and temperatures that proteins break down is great.

[bigabyte]

Originally Posted by CarbonToe

You've been a busy bee!!

Did you blind taste the samples or did you know what flavour you were looking to taste in advance?

I knew what flavor I was sampling, they were not blind taste tests. If the flavor seemed altered, I would take a taste of the spice in its raw form to see how much the flavor was altered or diminished. Blind taste tests would be nice, but it was just me doing the tests for my own personal gain. I just wanted to share it with everybody else because this is the kind of information I like to find. The only way people can find it is if someone puts it out there.

[bigabyte]

Originally Posted by djmarko

Great information. Just wondering how your taste buds were after all that tasting? What was the time frame for the taste testing? I would think your taste buds would get overwhelmed after a while.

It was about a 12 hour period for tasting, and it was done in 5 or 6 different batches with an hour or two between batches. Between each sample I would cleanse my pallette with water and crackers. A couple of them took a while before I could really wash the flavor out. Here's an idea of hwo it went.

Beforehand, I made each rub ahead of time and put them in labeled ziploc baggies. I took a package of pork shoulder country style boneless ribs and cut them into portions (about 3 or 4 per rib). I did not wiegh the portions, I eyeballed them to the similar size. I then took the appropriate number of rub baggies and applied rub to these pork bits and put them on the cooker. I then prepped another batch (about a 12 at a time) and put them on the cooker staggered a couple hours later. Once a batch was ready (give or take a couple stragglers), I would take them off and let them cool while I prepped another batch and put them on the cooker. Then I started sampling the now cooled batch. Once I was done sampling it was pretty much about time for another batch to come off, and I would repeat the process again until I was all done.

Oh, and this was all I ate that day other than water and crackers, and some beer (naturally). But I ate very well, and I was STUFFED when I went to bed at like 3AM or whenever it was!

[bigabyte]

Originally Posted by parrothead

Excellent read, and yes, Mista, I was thinking the same thing about the syrup. I think that I will try some before the next competition.

I can tell you what I did at GAB. My pork tanked, but I don't think it was because of the syrup, I think I just didn't cook it well. Take it or leave it. You may want to try it as an experiment of your own.
I used Maple Syrup as the slather, and then used a sugar-free rub. Don't say I never give away any secrets!

[bigabyte]

Originally Posted by Rockaway BeachBQ

Amazing stuff!! I definitely feel inspired to do a variation on it. I have long been curious about the taste of all of the different chiles. Maybe I will use chicken wings instead.

There is a book called "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen" that may be of interest to you.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/068...lance&n=283155
It really gets in to what happens to foods as they cook, it is not light reading but you can learn a great deal. Unfortunately Barbecue is not covered specificaly but the information on roasting meats and temperatures that proteins break down is great.

Thanks, I'll have to check that book out. The Chiles is what started me testing the other ingredients besides sugar. I have a lot more I want to try, so this is still a work in progress, believe me.

[Mark]

why don't stuff like this get archied in the files section?

8-O (a shocking idea)

[Betterman]

Holy crap Batman! that is one amazing bit of research. Its that kind of dedication that makes America great! (or at least a bit on the heavy side) Well done Professor.

[Brauma]

Thanks Chris.

[martyet]

OK that's a ton of great information. Thanks for putting it all together. I will defiantly take advantage of it very soon. Maybe this coming weekend (I Hope)!

[Neil]

Bene gratzi! Dang Chris, you've got too much time on your hands and we are all grateful to you for your efforts.

[bbqbull]

Awesome information. Thank you so much for your time involved w/this project. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Mike

[MadCity Q]

I have a couple questions.

1. Do you think that in combination with other spices/sugars/slathers, the characteristics of each item would be the same, or would they change?

2. How would the burn profiles be at a slightly higher temp of say 275?

[bigabyte]

Originally Posted by MadCity Q

1. Do you think that in combination with other spices/sugars/slathers, the characteristics of each item would be the same, or would they change?

It should be fairly obvious from these results to determine what sugars to avoid with certain spices. Just use white cane sugar as your baseline and go from there. If a different sugar tended to burn a bit, and you mix it with a spice that tended to burn, then they probably won't work well together. However, seeing as how few sugars burned, you aren't likely to get much value out of testing all the sugars with each spice, the results won't vary enough to be meaningful enough in my opinion.
Same kind of principle goes with the slathers. If you look at ketchup, one of it's primary sweeteners is Corn Syrup. If you look at the results of Corn Syrup, it's no surprise that the ketchup turned out like it did.

Originally Posted by MadCity Q

2. How would the burn profiles be at a slightly higher temp of say 275?

I don't know because I haven't tested at those temps, but it would seem logical to assume some of them might start to burn. Next time I get a good amount of time to do some experimenting, I assure you I will be doing more tests. I'll keep everybody posted of course.

[MadCity Q]

One of the intriguing things about burning sugar is that as it just begins to burn, you create a wonderful carmelization. This is what makes creme brulee and carmel so wonderful. However, if you take that carmelization too far, it quickly goes from very good to very bad.

[wnkt]

Told ya they'd like the Mad Science experiments Wooo....uh....bigabyte...um....Chris