I've got about 1/4 cup S&G and a mountain of Memphis Dust sitting in the cabinet, and I haven't had the chance to try either blend on anything yet! I've got two birds thawing - one for my family, one for some good friends who flatteringly asked me to cook their bird too.
I can't decide if I'd rather:
Make more S&G and use it for both birds
Cut the S&G half and half with Memphis Dust and use that on both birds
Do one of each (I suspect my friends would prefer a S&G bird, but my family tends to prefer more barbecuey flavors)
I know better than to ask you guys to make my decisions for me, but I'm curious if anybody has any experience trying any of the above rub combos on a bird. I'd be especially curious to hear if anybody had tried option 2! Plus side for me is that no matter what I get to taste a bit of everything, which makes option 3 appealing.
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Thermoworks Thermapen and Chef Alarm
I’d say do one of each or make more S&G. I don’t know if the combo of the two would work, at least if I would personally like it? But if you have any chicken in the house, make a small portion of this mixed rub and see how you like it.
Those are my thoughts. I do know they are both really good though!
I did S&G on my last smoked turkey and it was perfect. I'm sure Memphis Dust would also turn out great, but something about S&G says 'Thanksgiving' to me. (It's the sage, I'm sure lol.)
Cookers:
Oklahoma Joe Offset (older thick steel version!)
Camp Chef Woodwind
OK Joe Bronco
Weber Genesis
Ooni Karu
Weber Kettle
My goal is to eventually have at least one of every style of cooker….. I have work to do. Lol!
Thermometers:
ThermoWorks Thermapen MK4
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ThermoWorks RFX
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Amaz-N-Tube
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Fuels Used:
Splits/Chunks, whatever I can get. Usually B&B competition. Favorites are Cherry, Apple, Post Oak, and Hickory.
Pellets, Lumberjack.
Charcoal, whatever is on sale. Currently have a bunch of KBB. Will eventually try B&B. Use whatever lump is on sale in my Ooni.
Propane, Blue Rhino.
Rubs:
Usually make my own riff’s on Memphis Dust and BBBR. Also use Meathead’s commercial rubs and occasionally try something new. I like a couple from Tuffy Stone and Kinder’s. After several surgeries, I’m very sensitive to “spicy” stuff, so I need to be careful about heat levels.
I absolutely LOVE Memphis dust. I use it on literally everything. I have used it on chicken before with good result, but have never thought of mixing it with S&G. Could be interesting. As barelfly mentioned, I would probably try mixing the two rubs and do a test run on some chicken breasts before committing for the big show on Thursday. That said, I also recognize that it is the week of and poultry for dinner the same week as poultry for dinner may not be super appealing. Lol. Please let us know what you end up doing! I’m anxious to see and may try your options myself because you have me intrigued!
I have been using Big Bad Beef Rub on turkey breast I smoked last week. Turned out very well. I love Memphis Dust but to me it is a little too sweet for poultry. Everyone is different!
I’ve used both. The family prefers MD over SG. I’m doing 2 smaller turkeys this year rather than one large, so maybe I’ll do one of each. MD does have more sugar so if you crank up the heat at the end to crisp the skin you might be a little more careful the MD doesn’t burn.
Agree with jecucolo, I find MMD too sweet for poultry, I wouldn't mix it with S&G. And S&G is a fantastic poultry rub, really does scream THANKSGIVING in the flavors (yep, it's the sage). I would do one of each, not mix them, so that you can do the comparison.
I do use my friend's "Jenni In A Bottle" rub on poultry, which is somewhat similar to MMD but significantly less sweet. That turns out great. But I don't think I would personally care for the mix with S&G flavors.
Please let us know what you do and how it comes out!
I have done combo rubs on chicken. I use a product called Chicken Salt (Australian roots, mix of salt & chicken fat) as my dry brine and then follow with the S&G prior to cooking. Always comes out juicy and with crispy skin.
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Bud has always been my barley pop.
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I'm not a fan of Simon & Garfunkel rub. I dunno, I tried it some years ago and just didn't care for the flavor profile, at least on chikkin, which is what I tried it on, I think. And not the biggest fan of MMD on poultry, either.
I typically end up trying to use something different, or maybe a combination of other rubs. I like Kosmos Dirty Bird, I like Meat Church's Holy Voodoo as well on chicken. I have one now that is local called Payne Bird - from Payne county OK I think. That was pretty good on some chikkins a few weeks ago.
I've been trying to get ahold of some Meat Church Deez Nutz Pecan to try on my turkey, or their new Hickory rub, but can't get them delivered here in time. Anytime around the holidays, shipping guarantees here go out the window and even starting looking last week, I was outta luck. So I'm not 100% what I'm going to be using this year - and to be honest, it's stressing me out. Supposedly the Hickory All Purpose is available at ACE Hardware - the closest to me is 25 miles away. Hate to make that drive just to see... although I've got a friend who lives over that way, maybe I'll try to see if she would mind stopping by after work today and bring it to work tomorrow if she finds it.
Think it's kosher to call and ask them to check if they've got it before I drive over that way?
Hell, who am I kidding, I don't have time for that. I'm working all day the next two days until 530 PM, I don't think I can make it. I've got too much prep work to do... tonight I have to smoke sausages, so I have to rush home and spend the evening doing that.
Dammit... stressing out over just getting this week's dinner right. lol. Not stressing in a BAD way, I just want it to be as good as I can make it, and I'd like to try some new flavors.
Anyways - don't like S&G, MMD isn't my choice on poultry. So I'm looking for something new to try. Or I may fall back on the old Holy Voodoo or Texas Sugar. But plain old S&P has been damned good a number of times, as well.
Your comment about S&G rub is totally legit. So is anybody's comment that they think S&G is the greatest rub ever put on anything including Cap'n Crunch. All of us have different taste buds and we taste things differently. I remember being at a wine tasting and the vinter was going on about the Pear flavor notes in his wine. No idea what he was talking about. I didn't taste anything even remotely like pear in that lovely glass of wine...
Happy Thanksgiving and best of luck with the bird!
I am definitely in the Simon and Garfunkel camp. Thanksgiving is about traditional, and while variation is good, the sage is such a quintessential turkey flavor I would not give it up.
So that's what I would do for mine. For your friends you might want to ask if they want classic flavor versus more BBQ flavor.
And no, I would not consider mixing them. These two have different flavor themes. Just my opinion, of course.
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