Sauces or Rub

What do you like better a sauce or a rub, or do you use both? Why do you like one better than the other?

Polish Guy

That depends on what you are eating and where you are eating it from.

When Q'ing, I always rub my meats before smoking them.

Sauce comes later

Ribs and chicken get sauced towards the end so that the sauce glazes on them.

It also is a taste preference, some like ribs "Memphis" style rubbed only no sauce or sauce for dipping.

So do what you like

Hard to find a good Memphis rib up here in Boston, w/ a good tasty rub and a nice smoke ring. I love BBQ sauce and would eat if off a bumper (yeah, that's an Emeril-ism) if I had to. But a tasty dry-rubbed Memphis rib w/ a bit of sauce (tangy, slightly spicy) to dip is ideal for me.

John

I rub for smoking but never us any sauce while cooking. I do serve 3-4 types on the side, very little gets used.

John

I always use a rub, I have a different rub for each meat.....pork, beef, poultry, fish....etc.

Sauce after the cooking/smoking is done, if folks want to use it.

I have several sauces in my arsenal, but they are condiments only.

don't forget that marinading can be a good step too, depending on the meat.

Putting sauce on good Q is like putting catsup on filet mignon.

Like many others, I do both. I use a rub to begin with and like to finish it off with a glaze of sauce heated to the point where it darkens slightly and carmelizes.
I have a variety of recipes and bottled sauces on hand, so when you eat at my place, you will need a couple of towels. Paper napkins are too wimpy for my BBQ...

One thing that I am aware of is 'mopping sauce'. Sounds as it is something that is applied during the whole cooking procedure with a finishing sauce used at the end. Anybody do things that way?

mark

A mopping sauce and a baste are essentially the same thing; a thin solution of some kind of acid or other tenderizing agent (vinegar, citrus, beer, wine, etc.) along with a variety of spices, occasionally tomato, and perhaps an oil of some kind. The goal is to keep the meat moist while imparting additional flavor and possibly also tenderizing the meat during a "low and slow" cooking process.

The marinade and the baste could easily be the same item. Although you should not baste with a used marinade as it is contaminated with the bacteria present in your raw meat. Only use fresh out of the bottle or, if you make your own, the mixing bowl.

Buddy

I agree with John A. We sell in a Black area, use a rub, let them choose to sauce or not..85% use no sauce..When they do they want one with a slight bit of vinegar and HOT>>

Make way for a commercial, please!

The best dry rub on the planet (IMHO) is Bad Byron's BUTT RUB!

Hey, I don't even LIKE Bad Byron (he refused to give me a discount on a large purchase) . . . but I sure like Butt Rub.

We order the 24-ounce jar regularly, and use it on pork shoulders (pulled pork), baby-back ribs, beef brisket, beer-can-chicken, and all kinds of other good "stuff."

Hell, I have even worn out three of Byron's T-shirts ("a little Butt Rub makes everything better").

But he would NOT give me a discount for ordering three more at one time, so I said "forget it, Bad Byron."

Good product, bad attitude . . . that's Bad Byron.

Of course, when I order an over-priced, expensive jar of BUTT RUB, I get a free refrigerator magnet or maybe a plastic cup with the Butt Rub logo (AFTER I pay the exorbitant shippng and handling charges).

Whatever, Butt Rub is good stuff, and my wife and I use it all the time. Once I figure out how to duplicate it (and I AM working on that), Bad Byron is s*** out of luck!

Eastern North Carolina Barbecue Finishing Sauce
Recipe Courtesy of BunglingBill

This sauce is outstanding on North Carolina “Pulled Pork” sandwiches, but works great on other pork dishes as well.

There is also a Western North Carolina variety which includes catsup, but for my money this is the best barbecue sandwich in all the South (and on the planet, for that matter).

3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
2 Tbs Louisiana hot sauce (Crystal® Brand recommended - made in New Orleans)
1 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs regular sugar
1 Tbs kosher salt (Morton® “Coarse Kosher Salt” recommended)
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (use 2 teaspoons if you’re adventurous)
1 tsp fresh-ground black pepper (coarse grind)
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper

Whisk ingredients well.

Heat to a simmer in a non-reactive pan (to combine flavors and thoroughly dissolve sugars).

Remove from heat, let cool, and place in a shaker bottle (see Bill’s Notes). Keeps for months in the refrigerator.

Add to roasted, chopped, or pulled pork to taste. Always shake well before using.

Bill’s Notes:

• Get yourself an empty Crystal® Louisiana Hot Sauce bottle (12-ounce size) and use it for storing this sauce. You can pop off the plastic cap to fill the bottle (use a kitchen funnel), and then replace the cap which provides the perfect size “hole” for dispensing the sauce. Hey!! Recycle!!

• If you love pulled pork sandwiches as much as my wife and I do, you may want to whip up a “double batch.” The 12-ounce bottle will hold it handily.

have my own magic dust
works great on pork & chicken
serve sauce on the side only
rarely get someone who needs sauce burned on

BunglingBill,

Wondering why your good looking sauce recipe includes Crystal Hot Sauce. Since most hot sauces of this nature (Crystal, Frank's, Lousiana, etc.) are nothing more than vinegar, cayenne pepper mash and salt; and since you've already got the vinegar, cayenne, and salt in there, why not just add an extra pinch or two of cayenne to taste for the same effect?

Or do you need the empty Crystal jar to store the homemade sauce in?

Buddy

quote:

Originally posted by kman160

...serve sauce on the side...only rarely get someone who needs sauce burned on

kman, you have hit upon one of the main causes of bad barbecue and one of my great pet peeves. Barbecue Sauce, whether it is mine or some other store bought brand, or even if it is your own homemade concoction, should never be put on the meat at such a time or in such a way that it will burn!

Quickly let's clarify:

You've got marinades, bastes and mopping sauces as discussed above, and finishing sauces.

Marinades are thin acid based substances that are meant to tenderize the meat and impart flavor.

Bastes and Mopping Sauces are also thin, usually acid based liquids used during a low and slow cooking process, primarily to keep the meat moist and to impart additional flavor. Secondary purpose is to further tenderize the meat.

Finishing Sauces are exactly what the name implies. They tend to be thicker, sweeter, tomato based sauces in the north and thinner, tangier and hotter, vinegar based sauces in the south. None of that is absolute.

Contrary to the bunk that is shown on TV commercials, you DO NOT apply a finishing sauce to the meat while it is on the grill or smoker. PERIOD. Not even in the "last few minutes" (can't tell you how many times I've heard that).

The BEST way to use a finishing sauce is to warm it up in the nuker or in a saucepan on the stovetop and serve it either on the side or on top of the meat once it is served on the plate.

Folks who put the sauce on while the meat is still cooking on the grill are trying to intensify the flavor by caramelizing it. Unfortunately, most sauces will burn before the meat is fully cooked leaving you with a hunk of animal flesh that is blacker than the charcoal you're cooking it on.

By warming the sauce up separately from the meat you are accomplishing your goal of increasing the flavor without endangering the meat.

I know there are some people who will argue this heatedly, but trust me; Barbecue Sauce is my life. I know from whence I speak. Try it my way before you comment.

Buddy

quote:

Originally posted by BuddyRoadhouse

BunglingBill,

Wondering why your good looking sauce recipe includes Crystal Hot Sauce. Since most hot sauces of this nature (Crystal, Frank's, Lousiana, etc.) are nothing more than vinegar, cayenne pepper mash and salt; and since you've already got the vinegar, cayenne, and salt in there, why not just add an extra pinch or two of cayenne to taste for the same effect?

Or do you need the empty Crystal jar to store the homemade sauce in?

Buddy

I needed the bottle to store my sauce, Buddy.

You caught me, but this sauce is good stuff.

Trust me! (Yep, that line NEVER worked for me, either)

I mean, it may not be the BEST in the universe, but it is DAMNED close

I love the eastern N.C.que sauce.Thanks for the recipe!!!I got hooked on Texas Pete hot sauce when I was down there...

annpeeples,

Where can I get Texas Pete hot sauce, and what kind of B.B.Q. sauce do you use?

Mike

If you are using the rub or sauce for marinating overnight in the fridge this is what I've heard, for dry meats(not much fat) you use a sauce, for a fatty meat like pork shoulder/butt or brisket you use a dry rub.

I always evolve from party to party. Last time I rubbed my ribs up in my homemade rub and brined the chicken breasts in a very random concoction of bud light, water, sugar, salt, peppercorns, and some of the rub.

I did sauce the ribs when they were done, mostly because I make my sauce to complement the rub (at least that's the grand scheme!). The chicken I left alone. It had enough rub and flavor left on it from the smoke and the brine that I let guests decide if they wanted sauce on it or not.

I'm a rub man, unless it's my wifes homemade sauce.She can't cook worth a flip, but she makes a killer sauce!