Question about Mop's

[gregg4LSU]

Should I Mop the meats i'm smoking? and if so what kind of Mop should i use?

Thanks for the help!

[texasbill]

Gregg4LSU:
Your question is whether or not you should use a mop while smoking your meat, and it is a good question and as normal when talking about BBQ there are many answers and opinions regarding this.

Bill Cannon, Texas BBQ Rub, here and I have been asked this question on alot of occasions while cooking brisket. It seems like the question surfaces with the cooking of brisket more than with other meats. If you are smoking your meat at the right temperature (low) and you are using the right rub there is actually no reason at all to mop the meat. Let's take a look at this one.

First, every time you open up your pit to "mop" the meat you just lost all of the temperature and smoke and moisture in the pit. It goes right out the door when you open it up. This will generally add 10 to 15 minutes more cooking time every time you open up so if you are "mopping" every 30 minutes during a 16 hour cook you end up cooking the meat another 4 or 5 hours. More wood to burn and you lost what is in the pit, the nice heat, the nice smoke, and the nice moisture built up in the pit when smoking.

Have you ever tried adding moisture to meat thru a "mopping" type of exercise. Early on the meat will probable absorb some of the mop but most of the mop just rolls off into the pit. Nothing gained there. After the meat has cooked for awhile it is very hard for a liquid to penetrate the meat to any depth at all and again all you have done is increase the cooking time and added no flavor or moisture to the meat.

The best way to let meat smoke is to apply a rub that is made to self marinate the meat and add great flavor. That way you don't keep opening the pit up and thru a process of mopping try to induce flavor and moisture to the meat. Why not let the meat do that on its own while it is cooking?

Of course there are other views to this but think about what you have lost here before you decide. 40 or 50 years ago there was alot of Texas BBQ'ers who believed in "mopping" the meat as it cooked. Most notably was a guy named Walter Jetton who was LBJ's master BBQ man. He believed in the fact that you had to "mop" the meat as it cooked. Well, in those times they did not cook on enclosed pits. They cooked on open air pits dug in the ground and cooked the meat directly over coals. They also turned the meat and applied a "mop" as the meat cooked. Well, that was before we had in use the closed pits of today (health dept regulations) and these enclosed pits actually keep moisture in them as they cook. Many of the pits even have a water tank built in the bottom to add moisture to the meat as it cooks. So we have grown out of the mopping stages because of the pit designs, even though there are still those who think you have to do it. In my opinion, you lose by "mopping" just get the best rub in the market today and save yourself the time and aggrevation.

Bill Cannon
Texas BBQ Rub

[gregg4LSU]

Thanks very much for answering my question and I do have your Rub and am trying it this morning.

Once again Thanks

[txbbqcarrie]

After trying it let us know what you think...by the way what are you using it on today? Let us hear!

[gregg4LSU]

I used your Rub on Ribs and Chicken.... and they turned out GREAT!!! :lol: it was the first time i had used any kind of Rub and it will not be the last... i have company coming to visit next month that i haven't seen in awhile and i will be able to impress them...... i was wondering something else have you ever put baked patato's in the grill while you are smoking your meats? i was watching grilling on the tube this weekend and thought i saw someone doing this and was thinking that this could be good....let me know what you think about this...

Thanks for the help

[texasbill]

Hey Greg:
First, glad you enjoyed using a rub and thanks for choosing Texas BBQ Rub.

Your question about potatoes in the pit or grill while you are cooking is a good one. I have in fact done tators in the pit while cooking the meat and other dishes. But i found the tators were no easy to cook at temperatures of 200 degrees. They will get cooked but it takes too long. So the solution to this problem, for me, was to first boil the tators till they were almost done, then wrap them in aluminum foil and finish them off in the pit. That way you get a little smoke on the tators.

Someone else out there may have some other suggestions but this was my solution to the problem.

Bill
Texas BBQ Rub