1st smoke with baby backs

[gloksrule]

Hey all, did my first baby back, used ozark sugar maple and smoked 5.15 hrs at 225, left door shut entire time,
Seemed ok, not dry, couldn't really taste the rub either,,, suggestions? Opinions? Thanks

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[UWFSAE]

Did you apply the rub and hold in the fridge or straight into the smoker?  Were you using a binding agent like yellow mustard to hold the rub?  Also, were you using a commercial rub or a homemade rub?

My personal choice is to rub with mustard and the spice mix, wrap in plastic and hold in the refrigerator overnight.  It does let the spices penetrate the meat a bit ,,,

[psoltesz]

The best advice I can give for baby backs is to follow the 2-2-1 method:

http://www.smoking-meat.com/august-25-2011-smoked-baby-back-ribs

This method is as close to foolproof as anything I have found.  When done right, it gives you fall-off-the-bone tender ribs.

I always follow up the 2-2-1 method by basting the ribs in my favorite sauce and grilling them up on my barbecue for 4-5 minutes to give 'em a good sear and serve 'em up sizzlin!

   - Phil

[gloksrule]

Did you apply the rub and hold in the fridge or straight into the smoker?  Were you using a binding agent like yellow mustard to hold the rub?  Also, were you using a commercial rub or a homemade rub?

My personal choice is to rub with mustard and the spice mix, wrap in plastic and hold in the refrigerator overnight.  It does let the spices penetrate the meat a bit ,,,

Rub was left on at least 24 hrs, removed membrane,no binding agent was used and it was a store bought rub,,,thanks

[gloksrule]

Also ,,, how much rub is good, 2-3 oz? What r other good binders ?

[UWFSAE]

The amount of rub is always determined by the size of the slab/brisket/butt/bird ... my advice is to use a binder and then liberally apply and "massage" until you like what you see.  Not scientific, but it does the trick.

Yellow mustard is a great choice because it doesn't the final product ... oddly enough, the mustard cooks away leaving no color, aroma, or flavor.

Oil is often used as a binding agent as many spices are oil-soluble.  Olive oil, canola oil, or even clarified butter are all good choices though each brings a unique flavor component to the party.  I've successfully used bacon grease as the binding agent and I've heard of others using rendered beef tallow.

I've heard of some using molasses as their binding agent, as well as honey.  A wet rub can forgo the binding agent (using Worcestershire, their BBQ sauce, or things like balsamic vinegar, etc.) to help make a paste out of your dry rub that adheres to the meat product.  A savory or sweet wet rub might help with the flavor you're seeking.

My advice is that yellow mustard is the Chevy Cavalier of the bbq world ... it doesn't do much but it does the job.  Beyond this, try to find one that compliments your desired flavor profile of the final product.

[DivotMaker]

I second Joe on the yellow mustard.  Amazing how rub sticks to it, and it leaves absolutely no taste in the finished meat!  I've used olive oil, canola oil, Pam spray, and butter in the past, but keep coming back to good old yellow mustard...simple, cheap, and a heck of a binder!

[bigboy74]

What is the minimum time you should allow a rub to set in before smoking??

[DivotMaker]

Big, I've let a rub set from overnight to a few minutes (depending on available prep time).  Optimal is overnight in the fridge, but I've found letting the rub set for a couple of hours before cooking is almost as good.  Sometimes, I prep the meat (trim, etc.), coat with mustard and rub, then let it sit on the counter for 30-minutes or so while I get the smoker ready.  This even yields good results.  In my opinion, the rub isn't going to penetrate that deep (you need to inject for deep flavoring), so you're really just flavoring the surface of the meat.  The rub gives great flavor to the "bark," or crusty/chewy surface of the meat.  The real flavoring is brought by the smoke!

[UWFSAE]

Big, a bit of science is in order here.  Salt and sugar can be used to cure meat so there are some cautions with overlong applications of a rub.  Salt in particular promotes osmosis so water is drawn out of the cells of the meat which helps promote that sticky coat that can be so good in a smoker but also draw out so much water that the outer edges of the meat can become quite dry.

With whole poultry and lean pork I typically do no more than 6 hours; even marinades with a high salt content can give you fits on this.  Red meats and fattier pork are a little more durable and I've let them go 24 hours without any issue.  You will note that all my homemade rubs are actually quite low in salt for these reasons; when I do a simple salt/pepper/cayenne rub I will reduce the duration I hold it in the fridge.  Also, there are some who will argue that kosher or sea salt doesn't pull as much moisture as iodized table salt so that's a substitution I make with every rub application.

With many injections I'll throw on a rub and it'll go straight into the smoker; rubs only penetrate so far (which is the reason that trimming some surface fat can promote spice penetration) while marinades are a bit more aggressive.

I think so long as you're under 12 hours you'll never notice a bitterness from oil soluble spices but beyond that you should make the length of the hold dependent on both the desired final taste profile and the quality/type of meat you're using.

[smokeasaurus]

another benefit to the mustard is that it acts as a tenderizer as well.

Try slathering a brisket in brown mustard and a rub a couple of days before you cook it.......outrageous......

[bigboy74]

Just put some baby backs in the smoker... Timer set for four hours!

[DivotMaker]

another benefit to the mustard is that it acts as a tenderizer as well.

Try slathering a brisket in brown mustard and a rub a couple of days before you cook it.......outrageous......

Does brown mustard impart any flavor, or does it just disappear like yellow?

[UWFSAE]

Nope ... even Dijon will work.  The vinegar in any mustard is the "helping hand" and the remaining flavors are part of a typical flavor profile for 'Q, regardless of type.  I even used French's Honey Mustard once in a pinch and couldn't detect additional sweetness.

[DivotMaker]

Good to know!  I always thought plain old yellow was the only one that didn't really effect the flavor.  I'm throwing a bone-in butt on at 4 am tomorrow, and just realized I'm about out of mustard!  Dang!