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I've never understood how salt crusted fish or fowl don't taste horrible but hey what do I know

Steve wrote:I could write an essay here but I think I'd be better off pointing you at this Brethren thread...

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showt ... hp?t=57130


You might read this and think WTF! Given all the funk references. However there is a lot of good info in the thread, it concentrates on brisket but explains a lot about using salt.

haha...if you ain't got the funk you ain't worth a funk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lCI63H1neY

keith157 wrote:I've never understood how salt crusted fish or fowl don't taste horrible but hey what do I know

If you get down with the funk, you'll understand. The thread I linked to indirectly explains the effect of salt crusting.

Obliged ......

Have been reading a little about this recently, given my recent experience with Butt Rub drying out some babybacks as well as my desire to start creating my own rubs from scratch.

Salt does a number of things, and how much you use (both ratio to other rub ingredients as well as ratio of salt to meat) as well as when you use it, will depend on what you are trying to achieve.

What most people on here have commented on is that salt enhances & carrys flavour - which it does. Going to try that tomato thing

But it can also used to tenderise meat.

Found this as a good overview: http://jenniferskipp.articlealley.com/a ... 14132.html

I think the mistake I made was to use too much of a salty rub in the first place given the size of a rib rack & thus the ratio of salt to meat. Secondly, it wasn't marinading in the rub for long enough, or it was but the fridge was too cold and thus slowed down the process, and so the tenderising bit didn't happen & the moisture wasn't drawn back in.

So for a pork shoulder or hand, a salty rub shouldn't be an issue because:

a) the ratio of meat to salt is less to start with given the thickness of the cut;
b) if marinading for a long time (i.e. overnight), then the salt will initially draw liquid from the meat, before invading & breaking down the meat cells, tenderising it, and then pulling moisture & your other rubs flavours back into the meat.

Sound about right? Or is it all getting a bit Heston?!

I am going to try this out by buying two steaks from the butcher tomorrow for cooking on Friday evening - one will have a light sprinkle of salt tomorrow & left in the fridge for the salt to do its magic. The other will be left as is. Will let you know the difference in taste & texture, if any.

KamadoSimon wrote:I think the mistake I made was to use too much of a salty rub in the first place given the size of a rib rack & thus the ratio of salt to meat. Secondly, it wasn't marinading in the rub for long enough, or it was but the fridge was too cold and thus slowed down the process, and so the tenderising bit didn't happen & the moisture wasn't drawn back in.

A word of warning about leaving salty rubs on your pork ribs for too long is that they will start to cure the ribs and you'll end up with bacon. While bacon ribs might sound like a great food idea, if using a salty rub like butt rub try a light dusting of butt rub with a coating of sugars.

Ed is bang on there, ribs should be rubbed no more than 1 hour before going into the smoker or they'll cure. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot to be said for bacon ribs, John will back me up on this being from the only place I've ever seen bacon ribs sold

OK - in which case, the salt in any rub for ribs isn't being used to tenderise the meat right?

A fine rub will start to be drawn into the meat fibres within that timeframe. So fibres will start to relax and tenderise.

Tbh I believe tenderising ribs is all about the foiled section of the cook, and making sure they're not undercooked. If they pass the bend test, then they're all good.