Dry brinining beef tallow questions

[fluffy]

Good day
After reading Meathead’s book, I started some attempts at dry brining and putting the rubs on later. Unfortunately, I started pondering the process and now have a few questions and would love thoughts and input.
a) usually when dry brining beef, I sprinkle the salt on hours or the night before and add a salt-less (rub (Big Bad Beef Rub is a top choice) just prior to putting the meat on the smoker/grill.
First question: if I decide to use a rub with salt (either commercial or mixed up at home) and added the rub to the meat the night before, would I get the same benefit as dry brining ??? Or do the additional ingredients somehow limit the ability of the salt to magically absorb into the meat ???
b) recently, I stumbled on to beef tallow and am wondering the best ways to use it. It seems that beef tallow could be used as a binder for rubs - instead of oil, water, mustard, or other source. But I am afraid that it may also be a waste of time and money - the tallow could simply wash away the rub as it melts and be counter-productive. Again thoughts or suggestions on the upbenefits of beef tallow are appreciated.
—
i realize that I am overthinking a lot of this, but after a glass of bourbon- that’s what I tend to do.
Thanks

[Jerod Broussard]

Use a little tallow to tame the bark at wrapping. I don't wrap until I'm taking off the smoker.

I apply salt and salt containing rubs at least 2 days before the smoke.

[texastweeter]

Yes dry brine with salt included rub, won't inhibit, just harder to get the salt to meat ratio right. Using tallow as a binder would just be a waste.

[DaveD]

The reason to put salt on by itself is that the NaCl molecule is so tiny that it can diffuse through damn near anything, so it penetrates all the way through the meat. When it's in a mixture, and the mixture is applied to the meat, the moisture from the meat combines with the rub mixture, and a bunch of other compounds form in that "solution". In addition to being really small, NaCl is also *very* reactive, and it combines very quickly with the other things in the rub and is no longer pure NaCl. Those molecules are all far larger than NaCl by itself, and so they just won't penetrate as far in the same amount of time.

Yes, you can put on a salt-bearing rub a couple days ahead of time but even then, if I understand the data correctly, the penetration is much less (especially on thick cuts). This is exactly why Meathead's book (and a number of other sources) recommend brining with just salt, and then putting the rub on later, as you've been doing. It ain't broke - don't fix it

I got nuthin' on the tallow question.

[DaveD]

texastweeter I will readily concede that I suck at organic chem! It gave me the willies... I just had the one course to check the box and retreated to the relative simplicity of inorganic! If I had a hat, I'd be hats off to those who grok organic...

[texastweeter]

It's been 20 years since I took an OC class. I remember just enough to make a fool of myself. Actually, Troutman might be able to help us out here.

[Troutman]

texastweeter DaveD We need to go back to school, Dr. Blonder's school that is;

Salt penetrates, so the amount we apply depends on the weight of the meat. All the other ingredients in a rub are huge molecules that rarely go beyond the pores and cracks in the surface, not more than 1/8″ deep. So spices and herbs are a surface treatment just like sauces so the amount we apply depends on the per square inches of surface.

https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/spice-rubs-and-pastes/science-of-rubs/

[bbqLuv]

What they said.
Take a look-see at You searched for wet vs dry brine - Meathead's AmazingRibs.com
This had everything I wanted to know and then some.

[Troutman]

1. Salt brine alone, 1/2 tsp per pound. 12-24 hours
2. Season just before cooking, no salt here is best but not a must
3. Binders just hold the seasoning and help promote bark. Use whatever you want, water will work. Tallow is overkill.

Good luck, experiment, cook and show us your results.

[N227GB]

I have never used a binder for anything.

[DaveD]

I used to keep my class notes in a binder, does that count??