Hello everyone,My new prep after learning about it in my early Christmas gift --Meathead --is dry brining.First off was a fat ribeye.Turned out great - reverse sear of course.Next up baby back ribs.2 question at this point.1--Should I cover both sides?My rub is salt free so im not too worried about over salting.2--How long to dry brine?I like to do a lot of prep the night before a cook.Say 12 hrs or so.Then dust more rub and have some fun.....last ? Can you do a boston butt like this?Its pork but ive never done a dry brine on a butt.Thanks and Merry Christmas!!!!
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Ribs are thin, so go easy on the salt for dry brining. I now just salt the meaty side, and I do that lightly the night before if I have the time. I use MMD and I do put it on both sides.
Boston Butt does great this way, but it's such a thick clod that you need to use more salt for the dry brine. I don't measure, butt I've been doing it a long time.
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I dry brine both sides of a rib slab. Just be careful to not over do it. I try to dry brine the day before, but also have done it just a few hours before. You can always add salt at the table, but cannot take it away.
As far as butts go as RonB mentioned it can take a lot more salt as it is so thick. Salt over time will eventually even itself out in any meat so the more time given the better the penetration and even distribution.
If you inject with broth get the low sodium variety. If I inject I tend to use apple juice as it marries so well with the pork flavors.
Keep a log so you can refer to what you did with notes so you can change what you like and don't like.
Most important of all listen to your wife's comments as she is in command.Comment
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What RonB said. I do salt both sides, use about 1/2 tsp kosher salt/lb. I don't like to put the rub on until I'm ready to cook because it absorbs moisture and gets sticky. That's Memphis Dust or any rub with brown sugar.
I do the same with a pork butt.Comment
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I use Morton's Kosher salt. For ribs I use 1/4 teaspoon per pound since they're about half meat and give them at least 2 hours and sometimes overnight. For butts 1/2 teaspoon per pound for at least 24 hours and often 48 hours. My rub (salt-free) goes on just before going on the smoker. If you use table salt the amounts will be less. There's a salt converter here.Comment
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Thanks everyone,I was thinking along those lines as well.Easy on the salt and rub her good before the cook.Ill try the butt like that next cook.Comment
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I prep my ribs - rub and all - when I bring them home from the store. That includes my trimming, pulling the membrane, mustard base (@Captain Mike - I'm going to get to that three rack "to mustard or not" experiment soon) and rub. I then will vacuum pack for up to three days. My rub is not salt intensive. Early on I believed that the longer the pre-rub, the tastier the ribs. I found that there really is no difference - either by enhancement or detriment whether it be a three day or 12 hour prep. Early prepping does save prep time and space for those times in which I am cooking for a gathering. I can get the ribs done early and concentrate on the other aspects of the meal. Early prep also makes my wife happy because the closer I prep in relation to the cook, the less likely I am to clean up the mess I make.Comment
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I have not tried ribs like this yet but the last pork butt I did it was prepped by injecting with Butcher BBQ's smokehouse injection, then kosher salt and MMD added to the outside of it, I was very generous with the MMD by the way. I then vacuum packed it and put it in the freezer. When I was ready to cook it I took it out of the freezer and put it directly on the smoker for 11 hours until the internal temp was around 203. My wife and I ate on it for a few days then I froze what was left to use when cooking beans or whatever later. It turned out excellent with a smoke ring that was out of this world and had a flavor that was also excellent. I want to try some baby backs or some St Louis style ribs like that to find out what happens.Comment
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CaptainMike - Follow up on the mustard base experiment. I served 6 racks of ribs yesterday - 3 were rubbed with mustard then rubbed and the other three were just dusted with my rub. I rubbed them two days before cooking and vacuum packed them. I noticed that the mustard made for a more even rub when they came back out of the bag. When cooked the mustard ribs actually pulled away from the bone more than the others. Maybe Dr. Blonder would weight in on this - does the vinegar in the mustard make the rub penetrate more? I don't think so - just an interesting result. The judgement about taste...drum roll...nobody could tell the difference.Comment
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