Your rub does not need to go on at dawn. Put the coffee down. Cancel the 4 a.m. alarm. The pork shoulder isn’t going anywhere. Here’s the science: salt is the only part of your rub that actually travels. It dissolves and works its way deep into the meat, so it rewards a head start. Thick cuts, salt the day before. Thin cuts, an hour or two. Everything else? The paprika, the garlic, the pepper, the secret ingredient you won’t tell your brother-in-law about. Those molecules are too big to get much past the surface. They stop about an eighth of an inch in and just sit there. Waiting. Like you, at 4 a.m. So salt early. Rub when you’re ready. Sleep in. The full breakdown: amazingribs.com/tested-recip… #AmazingRibsDotCom #BBQScience #DryRub #SeasoningTips #MeatScience #BBQTips #SmokingMeat #GrillingTips