School of thought- Coat or not before applying rub to butts?

ssarich1 · Newbie Joined: 14 May 2009 Posts: 33

Hey guys. Resident newb testing the waters for your wisdom. I have been smoking butts like crazy and have always coated my butts with mustard before applying rub.

However, recently i did a change up on a few in with my traditional way and just rubbed without the mustard. I honestly could not tell much if any difference.

Thoughts????? I will hang up and listen.
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qfanatic01 · Posted: Dec 31 2013 Post subject:

I just cover the tops of my butts with rub/seasoning right before smoking. I smoke my butts in pans. To be honest you could probably smoke them plain and season after and not really not have any discernible difference other than maybe some of the seasonings reacting with the heat and the fats to create a subtle difference. You would have to have quite the palate to taste that. The intensity of the smoke would also be overwhelming. With a roast like that there is probably next to no penetration of the rub. I also would not put rub on and leave it over night prior to smoking. All you are going to do is draw some of the moisture out of the meat you don't want to loose, why? I see many preparations in recipes that really don't make any sense if you look at it scientifically. Just a bunch of drama for nothing. Injecting is really the only way you are going to penetrate a roast during cooking or as my grandpa used to do, cut off the fat cap on a rib roast, season it and truss it back together. In pulled meats the seasoning gets mixed in when you pull it. Now, if you are serving your butt competition style then you have a whole nother can of worms and a different section. Just my opinion, take it from there.
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Rocko-la · BBQ Super Fan Joined: 28 Jan 2010 Posts: 467

Like you, I've experimented with and without. I couldn't tell a difference so I keep it simple for myself and skip the mustard slather.

Basically I rub it and put it on, I don't even open up the smoker until I think it's up to temp where I can give it the poke test to decide if it is done.

Mr Tony's BBQ · Posted: Dec 31 2013 Post subject:

I also gave up the mustard a couple years ago. I use a full size deep pan or buss bucket and rub them in that. Less waste as the last few can just be rolled around in the fallout from the first 5 or 20, and whatever may remain gets scooped out and tossed across butts [ or ribs ] on smoker. I do also use less rub if smoking in pans as any run-off goes into pan and seasons the meat from the bottom and sides.
I personally have found my rub does take on some changes when smoked vs just putting on afterwards i.e. the sugars caramelize, salts "melt", cayenne seems to get a little deeper flavor when cooked, other ingredients get mellowed or robust depending on spice.. but that may just be me?! YMMV Confused

I personally have done it both ways, and personally prefer adding right before smoke. I like my ribs to sit about an hour in the rub but when I do rib tips, I prefer to rub the night before, it seems to penetrate a bit and I tend to use less that way to achieve a heavy bark and tasting seasoning, but we are talking relatively thin pcs of meat.
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Harry Nutczak · Posted: Jan 01 2014 Post subject:

On a commercial basis, I say use as little product as possible for prep and still keep the quality you demand.

Every penny and nickel counts, and they add up quickly.

If you do not notice a difference, skip it, save the mess and save some coin'
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UpNSmoke · Newbie Joined: 01 Jan 2014 Posts: 27 Location: Indiana

As stated by everyone else it does nothing for flavor. The concept of coating your bbq with mustard is just to get the rub to stick to the cut of meat which in turn increases the bark thickness. After about a day of doing this I scraped the idea. If you want the rub to penetrate a little deeper, cross hatch the fat cap.