Supper, Friday May 14, 2021: smoked ribs; fried cauliflower; fresh bread.
I've done ribs before, so I will stick to only the latest development. I ran out of rub. Ribs can be smoked without rub. A mop sauce is probably more common anyhow. I typically use a mop, but I also put a rub on then start the smoking only introducing the mop about 2 or 3 hours in.
I didn't have any mop sauce either.
Basic mop is easy to make, just Google it, but I wasn't feelin' it. Mopping requires a level of attention to the smoker/grill that I was not ready to commit to. I didn't want to put the rack in the Weber naked. The surface dries out too much and becomes stringy and chewy. This is OK in small doses but over the whole surface it's a bit much. How does a dry rub prevent this? After all isn't the name "dry" rub?
As I have stated before, I am no food scientist, but I have a theory. Brown sugar. I think the sugar dissolves in the "juices" which are also hydrating the dried, ground components. Then the magic happens. The heat dries the wet paste out and into a crust. The crust protects the meat surface from drying too much.
The real problem was not that I was out of rub. I make my own. I was out of paprika, almost. Paprika is often the first ingredient in a rub blend, and mine is no exception. What's a fella to do? On my spice shelf sits a jar of chili powder. It's kinda rub-like. The spice blend is a little different and it is missing the sugar, but it is in the ballpark.
I started with a healthy portion of my chili blend. I added what paprika I had to thin the heat. Spicy ribs is OK but too spicy is a distraction. My chili blend has no salt so I added that too. Finally I tossed in a heap of that so important brown sugar.
The ribs are good. Srsly good. So good I am going to modify my rub recipe to make it more chili-ish.
I guess there is a substitute. Rub the one you're with.
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