Smoked St. Louis Style Ribs - Southern Style

[ronbeaux]

Did I miss what was in the rub??

[SouthernSmoked]

No, I was just trying to find out what kind of rub that someone else uses for a test that I'm going to run.

[SouthernSmoked]

I started the test this morning by:

Smoker #1 I trimmed one rack of St. Louis Style ribs. No spices at all - but the rest of the cooking method I mimic what I did before but when it can to basting the ribs I used only apple juice.

On the other Smoker #2 - I've not done anything today - I received my "Large Green Egg" and been assembling it. Nice.

Will update later with some pic's.

[BuyLowSellHigh]

Might be worth waiting to see what happens with the first rack with nothing.  If that has the ring, I think we probably know the answer.

[SouthernSmoked]

Yeah - I'm thinking what you explained in detail earlier is correct. After 2 hours in the smoker when I decided to add a little apple juice as a mop source, they were still a little pale.
So what you said earlier is really making sense.

BuyLowSellHigh
"Development of a smoke ring using either an OBS or a DBS is indeed puzzling, unless it originated from something in the rub or pretreatment.  To get a conventional smoke ring takes burning an organic fuel (wood, charcoal, even propane) at a high enough temperature to generate nitrogen oxides that react with moisture and the myoglobin in the muscle cells.  In the OBS and DBS that shouldn't happen because the bisquette combustion temperature is way too low.  It can and does take place in the propane Bradley because of the propane burning temp.  The other way to get a smoke ring is to provide a direct source of nitrogen oxides on the meat surface.  Both nitrite and nitrate salts commonly used in meat curing will do that, and are the reason why they preserve that nice pink color in cured meats.  There are many natural sources of nitrates and nitrites in green and root vegetables, so it doesn't need to come from a curing salt – celery juice is commonly used in organic meat processing for this effect . 

If those ribs are showing what is, in effect, a smoke ring after cooking in an OBS or DBS, I would first be inclined to think it came from something in the rub.  It could just be a dying effect from the rub or a sauce, or it could be a "smoke ring" from the chemistry. "

I'm still going to do the test with rub and mop but in the oven to see what that looks like.

I will update you on my findings later and with pic's

[BuyLowSellHigh]

Right now I am leaning toward CO MAP packaging as the reason for the smoke ring.  Since you have a rack in the Bradley with no rub, but getting smoke, if you get a smoke ring similar to what you saw before then the remaining question is was it the smoke (rub has been eliminated).  You could repeat the same test in an electric oven or you could probably do it in the Bradley without any smoke - no pucks - and see what you get.

[SouthernSmoked]

No I didn't take it that way at all. I was just trying to understand and I think BuyLowSellHigh explained this very well. I actually begun a test today to find out if it was the ribs that I've been using.

I will update you tomorrow.

[SouthernSmoked]

Here is the result of the test that we ran... Rip Tip with what looks to be a smoke ring.

Done in the Smoker with Rub and Mop - The original picture in this posting.

This was done in the smoker with Hickory flavor Bisquettes but no rub only basting with apple juice.
And here is the last test...

This was done in the oven and I mimic the first one with method.

[BuyLowSellHigh]

Well, unfortunately, it's not real conclusive as I don't see a what I would call a smoke ring.  The new test ribs look overall redder than the originals.  Did a bite test suggest they were as done?  If so that overall reddish color in both sets of tips could be a result of CO MAP packaging.  The oven test suggests it's not from the rub.  When I look at the original I see quite a bit of variation in the apparent smoke ring - some slices show it well, some don't.

Right now my best guess would be what you have seen is a result of MAP using CO.  Since the effect will be pentration dependent it would be reasonable to see variation rack-to-rack.  Some may be more uniform throughout, others may be more surface limited.

[SouthernSmoked]

BuyLowSellHigh

Look how dark the first one got over the last pic - 1 pic smoker --- 3pic oven.

They were not done - 2 pic smoker with rub - cooked for an hour longer than the 1 pic

also 3 pic same way I cooked it about 1/2 hour longer than I did 1pic.

I was not satisfied with the testing results at all.


I did six racks today for my sister's party while I did the oven test.

[BuyLowSellHigh]

Yeah, I was thinking the test rib tips were not as cooked.  But the ones you did for your sister's party are showing some signs consistent with the CO  hypothesis.  The close rib on top has an overall pink/red cast, but you can see the center on the right a bit grayer.  But the one immediately beneath it is very different - it shows a bit of the ring effect on the upper left part but nothing on the opposing side and the effect disappears left to right.

I am increasingly suspect that the ring is a result of CO used in packaging and you are seeing normal variation.  It probably would have been more noticeable in the test tips had they cooked longer - the center would have likely been grayed out relative to the portion near the edges.

[Tenpoint5]

Sorry Guys I didn't mean to stir up a hornets nest on this one. But hey look at all the ribs you get to cook? Thanks for taking the time to try all the different options Southern.

[SouthernSmoked]

Here was the final results from the testing that I done using the rip tips.
I'm still not convince that the smoke has nothing to do with the finish product other than taste.

Here is what I found while doing this small test...
Here was the final results from the testing that I done using the rip tips.
I'm still not convinced that the smoke has nothing to do with the finish product other than taste. I ran several tests and the only one that actually got a true pink ring around it was the original picture.

All the spare ribs came from the same supplier and were of the same brand. While I ran this test I had to cater for my sister's party that I supplied 6 St. Louis Style ribs and a few rib tips all had a nice visible pink ring on the edges. True this could be bleeding from the rub - but the ribs and rib tips that I done "without smoke" but using rub, mopping sauce and following the same method that I always use, showed no pink edge or bleeding.

So to make a long story short - I'm still a little lost...

[KyNola]

SS,
What I see is 4 pictures of some of the meatiest ribs I have seen in a while.  Smoke ring or not, they look great.

[BuyLowSellHigh]

I'm with KyNola.  Regardless of the smoke ring mystery, which may become clearer over time, those are some great looking ribs.  Keep doing what you're doing and keep enjoying those great ribs you're pumping out.