What Are You People Thinking?

[Tarlam!]

As a chef, I really question putting salt into marinades or rubs. Salt drys moisture, you know, the huicy part of the meat. My gut tells me omit the salt.

[retailguy]

As a chef, I really question putting salt into marinades or rubs. Salt drys moisture, you know, the huicy part of the meat. My gut tells me omit the salt.

Understand what you're saying, and my mother told me the same thing. I've never "fast cooked" ribs with this recipe, though I don't see why it wouldn't work, but nothing I've cooked with the rub has been dry.

I cook the St. Louis ribs for about 6 hours at 225. The pork butts cook about 10 hours at 225 (8 to 10 lbs each), and I've cooked plenty of pork tenderloins at about 300 - 350 for about 40 mins to an hour. (All on my Weber Gas Grill).

Nothing has been at all dry. Quite the opposite actually. Juicy, flavorful and falling of the bone. So I keep using it as is.

[Tarlam!]

Never change a winning formula, RG! If it works for you, then go ahead with it. Forgive me if I omit the salt, though.

[Little Whiskey]

Forgive me if I omit the salt, though.

Wuss!

[3irty1]

Never change a winning formula, RG! If it works for you, then go ahead with it. Forgive me if I omit the salt, though.

On some things like Chinese style whole steamed fish I'd agree and wouldn't season until after it was cooked but there's nothing inappropriate about ribs rubbed with salt. A slight cure makes for a more even caramelization and more importantly seasons the pork!

[Tarlam!]

I agree that meat needs to be seasoned, but salt is added just before it hits the flame. Otherwise, the salt draws the moisture out of the flesh. Go back and read your history books on how people preserved meat before the reridgerator. They salted everything!

[Iron Mike]

I agree that meat needs to be seasoned, but salt is added just before it hits the flame. Otherwise, the salt draws the moisture out of the flesh. Go back and read your history books on how people preserved meat before the reridgerator. They salted everything!

Hell with that....get in the kitchen and start making me some Coquilles St. Jacques:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/coquilles-st-jacques-recipe/index.html

[Little Whiskey]

Did you know that salt is mined underneath the great lakes?

[Tarlam!]

One of my favourite foods, Coquilles ST. Jacques, ever!


I once created a dish with these suckers.

Equal parts of shrimp, John Dory and Coquilles, finely diced (all). Make a bisque with the shrimp heads and shells, flavour with Pernod.

The roes of the Coquille seperated and wrpped in a blanched spinach cigar.
Then, work the seafood mixture with egg white a a bit of cream over ice to stoffen it up. Now, take about 4 sheets of filot pastrry, buttered and wrap in the stiffend mixture, with the spinach cigar in the middle. Twist both end so it looks like a fire cracker. Bake medium hot for about 30 mins.

Serve over the sauce "cracked" open, so you see the diffent layers.

A very impressive dish!

[3irty1]

I agree that meat needs to be seasoned, but salt is added just before it hits the flame. Otherwise, the salt draws the moisture out of the flesh. Go back and read your history books on how people preserved meat before the reridgerator. They salted everything!

Salting after the meat is already rubbed with gooey brown sugar is going to make it difficult to season.

Retail Guy is using a 6:2:1 ratio of sugaraprika:salt, that's not at all the same as curing meat for preservation. The rub is probably only on there for an hour. It draws some moisture out of the flesh but so does the grill or smoker which are dry cooking methods, but we'd all agree that those are appropriate for ribs, especially if you're saucing your ribs in which case you'd like surface that sauce will stick too.

I'm confident in saying that if salt in a rib rub is wrong, then the vast majority of Americans, including professionals, do it wrong.

[Tarlam!]

I'm not a wuss, I just know how to cook. You never ever ever add salt until just before cooking. It sucks up moisture i.e. flavour. It dries. That was it's job before refrigerators.

It's that simple.

It DOES need to be added BEFORE cooking, otherwise you need 5 times the amount to get the right seasoning. But it has about as much to do with a marinade as beer does with bratwurst.

[mraynrand]

reridgerator.

Roh Ray, Rastro!

[Scott Campbell]

The ladies seem to love my sausage.

[Patler]

In my opinion (which is all cooking is anyway, the cook's opinion!) a good rub should be on ribs for a lengthy time (overnight) to get good penetration and should contain little to no salt. Herbs and spices only. A light (just a pinch or two) of turbinado (unrefined) sugar sprinkled on the meat before the rub will bring a bit of moisture to the surface without drying the meat and will "activate" the rub a little faster. Turbinado sugar is preferred because of its higher flashpoint (less charring) and better flavor.

Americans love the taste of salt, which is why proteins are heavily salted in typical American recipes. I was guilty of it myself at one point, but now I never salt meat until just before preparing it, and for something like ribs, pulled pork, etc. I add no salt at all, just rubs. Although I'm sure some of the commercial rubs I use do have some salt in them.

[Tarlam!]

So, if you guys don't believe me, believe Pattler. Never ever use salt in a dry rub or marinade. EVER!