salt content in rubs

[bbqstu]

Having spent my life eating food mostly made from scratch salt is a product I have rarely
Used to the extent most rubs marinades or sauces seem to require in any BBQ book I've
Read so far. Obviously I can just cut the salt down but if I do that surely I'm changing the make up of
The rub etc. So I suppose my question is what effects and purpose does so much salt have?

[Steve]

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.

[BigM]

thanks for the info steve i also am not a big salt fan and never use it in anything
untill i start making my rubs. goin to read the info too

[JEC]

When I was training to be a professional chef I quickly learnt the importance of salt on cooking, it helps accentuate flavours that wouldn't otherwise reach your pallette. A good example of this is tomato, it loves salt and benefits from being seasoned, you can try this for yourself by cutting a tomato in to quarters, eat on of the freshly cut quarters then lightly salt one quarter and eat it, the difference in flavour should be emmense. The key thing with salt is most foods benefit with seasoning too taste in other words some salt is better than none, so if you think a recipe has too much salt then cut it back by 50% or even 75%, like smoke you can always add more next time, you can't take it away!!

[bbqstu]

Link was spot on Steve thanks it confirmed kinda what I thought anyway its just I prefer my food without the salt was interested to see ribs didn't need much salt again it kinda confirmed what I thought from using butt rub on ribs as I find it very nice but really salty if not drowned in sauce

[Steve]

One thing you can do is blend a rub like Butt rub with extra ingredients to take the salt level down. Something like ancho chile will give you tons of flavour without heat.

Personally I like some of the lower salt content rubs for ribs and chicken but I think butts and briskets benefit from a higher salt level in the rub.

It's all about lifting the flavour not tasting salt, getting it right for your palate is key and everyone likes things differently.

As an aside, I'd be interested to know whether the people who don't like salt actually like food when they don't know how much salt is in there. I think when cooking yourself, you're conscious of the salt level and we're taught salt is bad for us. I'm sure when we eat out, good chefs use more salt than we would at home.

[keith157]

Too much salt IS bad for us but we do need some, personally I prefer adding salt before (with a rub or marinade) or during (veg usually) cooking rather than after. You can always enhance the flavour profiles (posh eh ) by using smoked or herby salts.

[Steve]

Indeed Keith, but how much is too much? Not that long ago the thinking was that it was better from a health point of view to cook with alt than add it after, now salt seems to be on the food Police's most wanted list almost as high up as transfats

I'm not disputing that too much is bad for you, nor the science that says it raises bp etc. I do wonder if it's an easier target than some of the ingredients used in food processing though as its something much easier to take out than preservatives and stabilisers in food processing and something that people can be told not to use at home.

Wow the great salt conspiracy theory eh

I had some fries in McDonalds in Vegas recently, now they were too salty, or maybe there just wasn't enough fries with my salt

[bbqstu]

The stupid thing is this only came to mind the other day at work when I forgot lunch and went to Tesco bought a chicken salad only to see that this tiny little bowl had 46% of my daily rec amount of salt

[Steve]

Yeah that doesn't surprise me. I don't know if the recommended daily amount is actually low or there's just a lot in processed pre packaged food.

I did some cooking out in Italy a few years back and the chef who was teaching me used a lot of salt and a lot of oil. His food wasn't salty to taste but everything was fresh, natural and wasn't enhanced. He was in his seventies and fit as a fiddle, I'm still in touch with him now and he's over 80. Funnily enough he doesn't eat factory processed food though.