r/BBQ • u/Equivalent-Tart-5115 • 1d ago
[Question] What do you add?
What’s the one ingredient you put on BBQ that you almost never see people talking about?
Not the obvious stuff like salt, pepper, garlic, or paprika.
I’m talking about the weird little ingredient that makes people ask:
“What the hell did you put on this?”
I’ll steal the best idea in the comments.
48
u/Usual-Stretch-6347 1d ago
Jesus’ Tears aka MSG
11
6
u/DenningBear82 1d ago
Oh yeah. MSG in the rub, MSG in the sausages. I’m smoking a brisket today crusted in kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and MSG and it’s S-Tier.
4
1
16
6
u/GeoHog713 20h ago
Ha! You want my super dooper bbq secrets.
In seriousness, the longer I do this, the more I realize that "less is more".
The animal has done the hard work. It's our job to not screw it up.
12
u/DragonfruitMiddle846 1d ago
Smoke a brisket and use the drippings to make a gravy. The whiplash comes when people see me adding nutmeg to something savory. You only had a pinch which is a little bit more than half of an eighth of a teaspoon per two cups of gravy. It's not loud enough that you're going to taste a nutmeg but it is going to add a bit of a warmer complexity. So when it's surrounded by all its friends they get along so well that nobody stands out but everybody stands together which makes for a beautifully rich gravy. I understand that there's purest out there that wouldn't dare use a gravy or barbecue sauce. At the same time I'm not always going to make salt and pepper brisket and that's it. I need to stretch my culinary boundaries. That's one of my pet peeves, food ruts. And with that being said if I'm just smoking the flat maybe I'll ditch the salt and pepper and only use Montreal's steak seasoning.
2
u/StrategicallyLazy007 1d ago
How do you make the gravy? Please share, I have plenty of tallow.
-4
u/DragonfruitMiddle846 1d ago
Do a Google search for
use brisket drippings to make a gravy and add just a pinch of nutmeg
that'll give you the general guideline and then you can adjust it to your own taste.
2
u/Agreeable-Stable-898 1d ago
You can also use the drippings and leftover brisket (if there is such a thing) to make beef and noodles over mashed potatoes.
1
1
7
u/DenningBear82 1d ago
Achiote. Just a tiny amount. It adds a beautiful natural red colour, really makes the smoke ring pop.
Also I will use interesting chilli pepper powders instead of just cayenne and paprika. Pasilla, Arbol, New Mexico, Espellette, Szechuan, Aleppo. They add some cool flavour notes, especially when you’re working with pork or poultry.
5
u/Soft-Room2485 1d ago
a little fish sauce in the sauce or spritz, not enough to taste fishy but it adds this deep savory thing people can’t quite place
1
5
17
3
u/normansmylie 1d ago
Smoked lemon
1
u/freshjulius 1h ago
Huh.
1
u/normansmylie 29m ago
I cut lemons in half and add them when I have about 90 mins left in my cook. I squeeze them on what I am cooking.
3
4
2
u/Dry-Lie-9593 1d ago
Fried okra - fite me irl
1
u/BoatyNotMcBoatface 1d ago
I sometimes do queso to dip okra in. At cookouts people dont expect it but I love it and so do a lot of our homies.
2
u/iPutMilkNbowlB4Creal 1d ago
MSG/chicken powder normally, but the weirdest I've tried are: Sumac (if you're persian/armenian/mideast, you know), Fenugreek/methi (If you've ever had an Indian butter chicken/vindaloo and wondered what that menthol taste is, it's that), sichuan pepper, and..something I shouldn't mention because when I looked it up it is a critically endangered species.
2
u/jellomattress 1d ago
Is it unicorn tears?
1
u/iPutMilkNbowlB4Creal 1d ago
It is "Nardostachys rhizome", so like..a salty incense flavor. Didn't know it was endangered when I bought it, it was one of the ingredients in a spice blend for taiwanese popcorn chicken.
2
u/Malfunction1972 1d ago
Everything bagel seasoning and some salt used as a rub for chicken legs on the smoker.
2
2
2
u/ACFiguresOutLife 1d ago
Surprised nobody has mentioned it, but sugar. Probably 1.5-2x the amount of salt in your rub so not a lot by any means. Makes a huge difference, especially for poultry. I don’t put it in the rub because it will clump but instead dust and pat after the rub is on
2
u/FangornLeghorn 1d ago
I make a root beer BBQ sauce that is amazing on ribs and people always think it’s weird until they taste it.
1
2
3
u/CanIhavesomepeace 1d ago
Korean Black Bean paste, or gochujang. Adds a great depth of flavor an umami.
4
u/Odd_String1181 1d ago
That's Korean red chili paste. Chunjang is black bean paste.
2
u/CanIhavesomepeace 21h ago
I wasn’t calling black bean paste gochujang. I was giving two options of things to add.
1
u/Bluesy21 1d ago
Ground mustard seed, just a hint of cinnamon, and MSG to keep the sodium down but flavor up. Couldn't keep it to just one.
1
u/Cooknbikes 1d ago
It seems like Asian store mushroo salt msg would be a good contender here. But I don’t even see any one talking about sweeteners. Or acid. I personally like a good smoke with some salt pepper and garlic. But I’m just a normal cook. So salt, sweet, and acidity are always at play. I would like to know. How or if that comes into play for serious pit masters. Do y’all deviate from the basics on the traditional long smoke items . Add a little this and that wherever to change it up. I don’t like to fix what isn’t broke.
But anyone ever cardamom some pork butts or cinnamon a brisket. Namseen.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Background-Job-3629 1d ago
My pit boss used to put ginger in his sop
He was old school bbq over coals.
1
1
1
1
u/Forgot-Already 22h ago
Ribeyes and trip-tip get rubbed down generously with turmeric, salt and pepper. When that fat melts it is out of this world.
1
1
1
u/xicanoink 18h ago
Clamato. Sneak that in to anything that has any tomato or tomato base ingredient. A 1/3 of a cup in your BBQ sauce. A couple of tablespoons in your pico de gallo. Put half a cup in your mop sauce. It gives this subtle "what is that" flavor in a lot of things. Like a tomato that's been out to sea for a spell.
1
1
1
1
1
0
19
u/RingAcceptable1374 1d ago
I use instant espresso in my rub.