Question about adding salt to a BBQ rub

[Jeff Hahn]

I make my own pork butt rub and it's great! But, i recently had to eliminate as much salt from my diet as I can. I have substituted "No Salt," which is potassium chloride, instead of sodium chloride when I season food on the table or in the pan. But, I am unsure how "No Salt" would work in my BBQ rub. And, I don't even know if I can buy "No Salt" by the pound, like I can regular salt. Perhaps Sea Salt, which is supposed to be healthier than regular salt, would be a good substitute? Does anyone know anything about these issue?

[rb]

Jeff I never use table salt. I use Kosher Salt in my rubs and it comes in a box. It last a good while. Now for seasoning food we use pink himalayan salt and you can get it in a 32oz size at Sam's Club.
Try some of these
https://www.yummly.com/recipes/no-salt-bbq-rub

[Ben Danbleume]

I season all my meat with Kosher salt and use it for rubs as well, got my grinder filled with the pink stuff. Kosher salt really draws the blood out.

[fr8dog]

I just don't use it at all. It may take a few days to get used to it, but I don't miss it one bit. Add in other spices if you want to make up for it. I'd rather taste the meat without overpowering it.

If you have a favorite store bought rub do a search for clones. They're fairly close and just omit or cut the salt way down.

[denraytay]

I have seen a couple sites that recommend leaving the salt out of the rub due to most meat purchased already has enough salt in it.

[rng518]

Did some naked .They were fine no one knew, had a old timer tell me if you got good meat it don't need anything but smoke.

[sdbrison]

Go with no salt or salt substitute for awhile and any seasoning is better

[c rig]

Jeff, my wife decided to cut back on salt. Since I do all of the cooking and half of the eating, that meant I had to cut back on salt.

Gotta tell you, it was tough at first. Tried the no salt stuff, tried Mrs Dash....Mrs Dash is an evil woman.

Best set thing we did is read labels, and eat fresh as much as possible. You’d be shocked how many mgs of sodium are in canned/processed foods. Even labels that say reduced sodium show it to be high.

What I did was gradually cut back. If I usually used a pinch of salt in something, I’d cut it back a bit. Complement the salt with other seasonings. When I do use salt, it’s kosher. I’m going to try the Himalayan salt. Only thing I use Morton’s or the equivalent for is salting pasta water, and I’ve gradually cut back on that. I’ve even got to the point of cooking pasta in very low sodium chicken broth.

As for your pork, cut back on the amount of salt you’d normally put in your rub. Add extra garlic powder, chili powder, and some dried mustard. Just a smidge more cumin if you use it, don’t want it to be overpowering. Some oregano, maybe some rosemary...those flavors will take over as you cut back on salt.

[fr8dog]

I have that pink salt. Only use it for baking so it goes a long way. Have some bread rising right now.

A couple months ago I found some Tyson St. Louis ribs with the pre-mix rub already on them for $1.50/lb. I threw them in the smoker with a rack of my saltless rub. Holy crap watta difference. I had 5 more that I rinsed prior to cooking and they were still salty. Once you lose the 'salt addiction ' you'll realize how much is added to stuff. You can't avoid all of it, but cutting down helps. And don't think Asian food is great. Look at the sauces they cook with. Soy, fish, oyster sauces are loaded.

[jbrew73]

I find pork ribs or butts don’t really need any salt. I’m no saltaholic but I do typically add salt to most dishes while cooking but rarely add any at the table.