Are Rubs Necessary

Welcome ,Rob.....Anything improves with a little seasoning before cooking IMHO.....You can make up your own,just like your sauces.....It can be as simple as Kosher salt and sugar, the Texans would say forget the sugar.....It will help you build the exterior look,feel, and flavor of whatever you are cooking....If you use any sprinkle on flavor enhancers now on your cooked foods,your rub can be basically that...Hope this helps a little.

In "Q" there are no absolutes.

Do what works for you. Most people like rubs because it does add flavor to otherwise "ordinary" meats.

I'd say you decided for yourself. Try a batch of something, some with and some without. You taste buds are what matters, so you decide.

We can help you either way. Just let us know something particular you want to cook and we'll help you from there.

ROB
Try garlic powder and go from there.

Here's a follow up to what Rob was asking. I notice Smoky Hale prides himself on ONLY marinading and basting...everything. He's a no-rub man. He's a basting man, and proud of it. And I think he's had his share of success. On this forum, I think I have never heard the basting-only approach advocated. In the dog-eat-dog world of BBQ
competition (who ate what?) is there an even split on these approaches? My impression, based on little, is that the rub-mop technique is more common. What's the word here? I'm thinking of doing a marinade-baste only hunk of meat one of these days.
ACarriii

well, we've discussed some of Smoky's ideas before.

Like I indicated to Rob, try it for yourself and let us know.

Three basic ways to do ribs.

Plain Just maybe salt/pepper/garlic, simple seasonings if at all.

Rubs You will not find many ribs in Memphis done any other way, and some DO call it the rib capital.

Marinades/Bastes Similar processes for doing ribs. We've talked about this, just not in great deal. To me, marinading ribs gives the meat a different texture. Not good, not bad, just different. Basting isn't "easy" in a CS, that's why it's not mentioned. For beginners, I don't recommend it because they need to learn the basics (how hot and how long) before they worry about opening the door every hour, figuring out how much time to add for each time they open the door etc.

But happy to talk about Rib Marinading/Basting.

Rob?>

Is this the same Rob as in UO?
This would be too weird! *smiles*
If not then I know another Rob that gets headaches! (sorry about the headache)
Alan/Nomad