Outdoor Cooking (smoking, grilling, barbecuing, open spit, etc.)

[rob_s]

Got a question for the group…

I generally cook my ribs to be what I consider “traditional” style where they aren’t fall-off-the-bine but instead have a bit of a chew off-the-bone consistency.

My wife, raised in restaurants and not bbq, prefers what I consider to be “restaurant ribs” which is that fall-off!the-bine style. I’ve made ribs this way, but I did it in a slaw cooker and/or an oven, not a smoker.

I’ve got 4 racks to cook this weekend, and she has requested that at least some of it be “restaurant style”.

My questions are:
1) anyone have a way to get “restaurant ribs” on a smoker?
2) if not, or if that’s not ideal, have a good recipe or method for getting “restaurant ribs” indoors with s crock pot or in the over or whatnot?

I did this method once and I’m pretty sure they came out restaurant-style so I might try it again. IIRC they were at least tasty…


Dr Pepper ribs: sticky, spicy and sweet

Ingredients
Ingredients for the ribs:
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons mustard powder
2 teaspoons chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 racks pork ribs, St. Louis cut
1/4 cup Dr Pepper

Ingredients for the glaze:
2 cups Dr Pepper
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons chipotle powder

Instructions

1. To make a rub, stir together the salt, black pepper, brown sugar, mustard powder, chipotle powder, allspice, and cayenne. Coat the ribs with the rub on both sides, wrap in plastic, then place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
2. Heat the oven to 300° F and bring the ribs to room temperature.
3. In a foil-lined large baking or roasting pan, arrange the ribs with the meat side up, pour in 1/4 cup of Dr Pepper, cover pan tightly with foil and place in the oven.
4. Meanwhile, to make the glaze, place the Dr Pepper, ketchup, mustard, apple cider vinegar, molasses, and chipotle powder in a pan, bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes until thick and syrupy.
5. After an hour and a half, take the ribs out of the oven and spread some of the glaze on each side of the racks. Place back in the oven, meat side up and cook uncovered for 30 minutes.
6. After 30 minutes, take out the ribs and spread more glaze over them and cook for 30 more minutes or until ribs are desired tenderness.
7. At this point, take the ribs out of the oven, spread more glaze on them and then cook each side under the broiler for four minutes.
8. Divide and serve!

[CSW]

Got a question for the group…

I generally cook my ribs to be what I consider “traditional” style where they aren’t fall-off-the-bine but instead have a bit of a chew off-the-bone consistency.

My wife, raised in restaurants and not bbq, prefers what I consider to be “restaurant ribs” which is that fall-off!the-bine style. I’ve made ribs this way, but I did it in a slaw cooker and/or an oven, not a smoker.

I’ve got 4 racks to cook this weekend, and she has requested that at least some of it be “restaurant style”.

My questions are:
1) anyone have a way to get “restaurant ribs” on a smoker?
2) if not, or if that’s not ideal, have a good recipe or method for getting “restaurant ribs” indoors with s crock pot or in the over or whatnot?

I did this method once and I’m pretty sure they came out restaurant-style so I might try it again. IIRC they were at least tasty…


Dr Pepper ribs: sticky, spicy and sweet

Ingredients
Ingredients for the ribs:
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons mustard powder
2 teaspoons chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 racks pork ribs, St. Louis cut
1/4 cup Dr Pepper

Ingredients for the glaze:
2 cups Dr Pepper
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons chipotle powder

Instructions

1. To make a rub, stir together the salt, black pepper, brown sugar, mustard powder, chipotle powder, allspice, and cayenne. Coat the ribs with the rub on both sides, wrap in plastic, then place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
2. Heat the oven to 300° F and bring the ribs to room temperature.
3. In a foil-lined large baking or roasting pan, arrange the ribs with the meat side up, pour in 1/4 cup of Dr Pepper, cover pan tightly with foil and place in the oven.
4. Meanwhile, to make the glaze, place the Dr Pepper, ketchup, mustard, apple cider vinegar, molasses, and chipotle powder in a pan, bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes until thick and syrupy.
5. After an hour and a half, take the ribs out of the oven and spread some of the glaze on each side of the racks. Place back in the oven, meat side up and cook uncovered for 30 minutes.
6. After 30 minutes, take out the ribs and spread more glaze over them and cook for 30 more minutes or until ribs are desired tenderness.
7. At this point, take the ribs out of the oven, spread more glaze on them and then cook each side under the broiler for four minutes.
8. Divide and serve!

I've used conventional smokers, but now we have a Treager.
After experimenting with ribs, in many different styles of cooking and 'themes' if you will, it all comes down to time in the smoker.

Have you tried the 3-2-1 method?:

Smoking for about 3 hours, then,
wrap the ribs in foil, add a bit of brown sugar and apple juice in the foil,and continue to cook for an additional 2 hours, about 225*.
I usually put them in a pan for this step.

After 2 hours, remove them from the foil, place them on the grate directly for 1 hour. Slather with sauce, or not. I usually sauce them after removal, and let them rest for a few minutes before serving.

This method works, but, like you, I prefer the bite off the bone rib.

[rob_s]

Have you tried the 3-2-1 method?:

Smoking for about 3 hours, then,
wrap the ribs in foil, add a bit of brown sugar and apple juice in the foil, and continue to cook for an additional 2 hours, about 225*.
I usually put them in a pan for this step.

After 2 hours, remove them from the foil, place them on the grate directly for 1 hour. Slather with sauce, or not. I usually sauce them after removal, and let them rest for a few minutes before serving.

This method works, but, like you, I prefer the bite off the bone rib.

I have done this in the past, yes.

For babybacks (which is what I'm doing tomorrow) I do 2-2-1.

I was also reminded that the MIL doesn't actually like smoked meat and usually chokes it down to make me happy

So maybe I'll do 2 racks "my way", one 2-2-1, and one with the Dr. Pepper method.

[rob_s]

For a day of bbq without drinking (dry January and all that) I sure managed to munge up a few things, but it all came out alright in the end.

Did one rack in the oven with the Dr Pepper recipe, 1.5 in the smoker with the 2-2-1 method, and 1.5 in the smoker with no foil (my preferred method). The goals were to have some restaurant-style ribs for the wife, and some un-smoked ribs for the MIL, and some proper robs for myself. I will say, despite the errors, had I been drinking the errors likely would have been compounded.

The Dr Pepper oven ribs came out ok. I mis-read the recipe and had the oven set for 230° instead of the 300° I was supposed to, so after the 2.5 hours of cook time when they were only at 145 I was a bit perplexed. Figured it out, put them back in at 320° for another 45 or so, and all was corrected. Except that (a) they weren’t exactly as fall off the bone as I’d have expected and (b) they were spicy as hell! I was fine with the latter but the MIL was clearly still not impressed although she did manage to eat two. She’s such a sweet lady she’d probably eat smoked liver if it was me that made it. I think the spice was actually largely because I used ground pepper instead of freshly cracking my own, meaning there was a lot more pepper per tablespoon (cracked, being not as fine, is less actual pepper by volume) These are in the center of the pic below.

The 2-2-1 ribs were certainly more “fall apart” than the non-foil ribs, but not quite that totally fall apart that the wife was hoping for. I think the 2 and the 2 was good, and one rack pretty much fell apart in my hands taking it out of the foil, but the last 1 was probably more than they needed and resulted in them forming back up a bit. These are on the right in the pic below.

The proper ribs (no foil, no oven, just air, chew-off-bone) we4e phenomenal! These are on the left in the pic below, and the only ones worthy of their own closeup IMO.

[UNM1136]

Got a question for the group…

I generally cook my ribs to be what I consider “traditional” style where they aren’t fall-off-the-bine but instead have a bit of a chew off-the-bone consistency.



Dr Pepper ribs: sticky, spicy and sweet

I like competition style, too. Fall off the bone is overcooked, IMHO. The wife and kids like fall off the bone. They are picky eaters. George Carlin nailed it when he translated "picky eater" as "huge pain in the ass". Fall off the bone does make it easier to make tacos the next day....I also prefer St. Louis cut spare ribs to babybacks, but I am in the minority here. Everyone else likes babybacks, and given that the link below was my go-to for literally decades before I got my smoker last year, it is clear that I spoiled them.

And I am gonna have to try that recipe.

As far as restaurant ribs in the smoker, I am too new to have worked out something that qualifies. This has been my bulletproof picky eater pleaser for a long, long time. Add an hour or two to the oven time and grilling the ribs becomes hazardous. They won't stay together to be flipped so much. This is what the family likes...I usually don't even bother with the grilling or broiling. That is also my pork rub of choice.

Meatcicles!

And, I'll say it again...Tacos with the leftovers...

pat

[rob_s]

I have, I think, 28 people coming over Saturday (14 adults, 14 kids) and I'm planning on doing boneless butts. I'm liking the small size of the Wild Fork boneless butts, and I think I'm gonna get 4. Probably overkill (around 16 lbs of raw meat) but I'm a little concerned 3 won't cut it. We are planning on getting some hot dogs too so maybe the combination will be fine at 3 butts.

I've got a bunch in the freezer from a Halloween party that saw us lose too many guests during trick or treating, so maybe I'll just do the three and microwave leftovers if that's not enough.

[rob_s]

Picked up a couple of tomahawk steaks yesterday. Planning on doing a smoke-n-sear with them unless anyone has any better ideas. Wife wants to sous vide one, ought make an interesting taste test, but IDK if I have a vacuum bag and/or pot big enough for the whole thing to fit.

Also got some “rose pork”. Not 10% sure what to do with this one, bought it on a whim. Mexicans apparently call the same cut on a cow “suadero” so maybe prepare it the same way as the beef version?
https://wildforkfoods.com/products/pork-rose-meat

May also be the same thing as “Miata bee” so maybe this?

http://www.asadoargentina.com/matamb...k-flank-steak/

[RoyGBiv]

Picked up a couple of tomahawk steaks yesterday. Planning on doing a smoke-n-sear with them unless anyone has any better ideas. Wife wants to sous vide one, ought make an interesting taste test, but IDK if I have a vacuum bag and/or pot big enough for the whole thing to fit.

A cleaver or hacksaw will help your chop fit into the bag.
If you think the bone will add flavor to the sous, toss it in the bag too.

There's something about the way that thicker steak cooks, with more rareness in the thicker cut, that we prefer it to buying several thinner steaks. I'm curious to hear what you think about the comparison if you do it both ways.....

Enjoy!

[BobLoblaw]

Picked up a couple of tomahawk steaks yesterday. Planning on doing a smoke-n-sear with them unless anyone has any better ideas. Wife wants to sous vide one, ought make an interesting taste test, but IDK if I have a vacuum bag and/or pot big enough for the whole thing to fit.

I'd try reverse searing both: one in the oven instead of sous vide and the other in the smoker to take the sear quality variable out. I've done sous vide vs Kenji reverse sear and you can't dry the meat off well enough w/ sous vide to get the same sear unless you add downward pressure which cooks it more internally.

[scw2]

I've heard for steaks cooked sous vide you can pat dry with towels and then put them on a rack to rest either in the fridge or with a fan blowing at it for ~10 minutes to help dry. I've tried a few times with just paper towels and it doesn't get dry enough to get an amazing sear, so let me know if you try resting the steaks and how it turns out.