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

[airedale]

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.

[Baby Back Maniac]

Originally Posted by W.I.T.W.A.G?

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!

The salt/pepper/cayenne mix has become my goto for brisket. That's why I had it made up already. I only started doing that in the last year or two. Really like it.

[Bigdawg580]

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

[dadsr4]

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.

[jdtTX]

Originally Posted by luke duke

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

i absolutely hate this mentality.

[Cook]

Originally Posted by jdtTX

i absolutely hate this mentality.

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.

[jdtTX]

Originally Posted by Cook

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.

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.

[Swine Spectator]

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

[Cook]

Originally Posted by luke duke

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

Originally Posted by jdtTX

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.

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.

[jdtTX]

Originally Posted by Cook

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.

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.

[Cook]

Originally Posted by jdtTX

I said claiming it was the barometer for good cooking was bad.

I'll only say that I never read where he said it was the barometer. (again, I may have misinterpreted it...and he may have meant it was the end-all-be-all)

Anyway...we all enjoy barbecue. Have a wonderful night, brother.

[Bob C Cue]

Another great video. I noticed your slow motion segments looked very clear and vivid. Are you using new hard or software?

[Baby Back Maniac]

Originally Posted by Bob C Cue

Another great video. I noticed your slow motion segments looked very clear and vivid. Are you using new hard or software?

Thanks Bob, it's a combination of things. The camera I've been using will shoot 120 fps but I never used to use it because when you switch it to that mode, the autofocus shuts off and it stops recording audio. Recently I got an external monitor which helps me manual focus and has some tools in it to get the exposure right in camera. Since I was trying to edit around the noise of the roofers, I didn't care about the audio so I figured I'd give it a shot. Turned out alot better than I expected. Glad to hear your comment on it because that means it wasn't just in my head. lol.

[Baby Back Maniac]

Originally Posted by Bigdawg580

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

I've only tried his stuff once but it was pretty good.

[keodark]

Thanks for this video, Maniac, and for all your hard work on YouTube. Your MAK 2-star video with the pork butt was the final straw for me, I assembled my new 2-star yesterday. :) Purely out of selfishness, I'd like to see more pellet videos!