First time to Smoke BB Ribs

[Javaguy]

The 2nd thing I smoked on my new Bradley was some Baby Back Ribs and followed the advice I found in many of the post about smoking ribs.  I used 50/50 hickory/oak for smoke and they were done in 4 1/2 hours at 210 to 230 degrees.  I was only doing 3 pounds, didn't want to screw up a lot of good ribs.  The rub I used is called Head Country All Purpose Seasoning, produced here in Okla by the Head Country BBQ crew.  The ribs were fantastic!!  Never thought I would be able to smoke something that good with no more work than the Bradley requires.  I've had a couple of other smokers, but they don't even compare to the Bradley.  In fact, I had about given up on smoking and just sticking to grilling, but I read a review about the Bradley and then read through the forum and decided to give it a try.  I'm a happy camper now.

Question is - if I smoke more than the 3 pounds, it will be left overs as my wife and I are the only ones eating it.  Can the ribs be frozen and eaten later without losing much of the original flavor?  How about freezing smoked brisket?  I plan on smoking a brisket next and know I will have a fair amount left over.  I don't want to waste all that smoke on 2-3 pounds of what ever I smoke, I would rather smoke a larger amount and be able to eat on it the next week or so.

Thanks,
Javaguy

[iceman]

Javaguy, I save leftover ribs every time I smoke. Just wrap them tight in layers of H.D foil and either vac seal them or wrap again in freezer paper. You can pop them right out of the freezer into a 300/325 degree oven for about and hour or so to reheat. It helps if you put a little sauce or juice in with them before sealing up. The briskett I've frozen works about the same way. I add beef broth or sauce to it then vac seal it. To reheat you can use the oven or just drop the thawed pouch into a pot of boiling water and turn the heat off then let it sit for 15 minutes or more until it's heated through. I know the guys out here in the forum have other ways to accomplish this and will probably post some ideas also. Hope this gives you some help.

[icerat4]

Welcome here.Iceman is right on.Check into the sight food saver for a nice machine that will do all the vacuum sealing you need very nice machine for sealing food after smoking.Once again Welcome and enjoy this new toy.

[Arcs_n_Sparks]

Javaguy,

Welcome to the forum. Is it java like coffee or java like computing?

Lots of good advice here, and I am sure you will be passing info back. Glad your first smoke came out well. Sorry I can't help you on the leftover question, since that rarely happens in my house. 8)

Arcs_n_Sparks

[jaeger]

Welcome to the forum Javaguy!
Keep us posted on what's smoking!

[Habanero Smoker]

Javaguy;

Welcome to the forum. You will find that smoked food freezes very well. I often vacuum seal and freeze brisket, butt, fish and so forth all the time; and often enjoy the smoked food more after it has "aged".

[icerat4]

Microwaving is ok to.I have put the food i have made in the foodsaver then froze it.Then just cut the bag set it in the nuker and 2 mins later done .When in the micro wave do it in 1-2 min then wait.Then if need be do another 1 min.Do not put it in for 5 mins at one time then yuo will have problems.Just the little spurts of time is ok.

[begolf25]

Javaguy;

Welcome to the forum. You will find that smoked food freezes very well. I often vacuum seal and freeze brisket, butt, fish and so forth all the time; and often enjoy the smoked food more after it has "aged".

Funny you should mention that Habanero.  Just the other day I thawed out some pulled pork I had smoked about a month back.  Threw the vacuum sealed bag into a pot of boiling water until hot.  I was amazed how much tastier and how tender the meat was.  IMO, much better then when I first pulled it out of the smoker.

[Javaguy]

Well, it's Java as in coffee - I'm retired from the computer business and want nothing more to do with the computer java.  Roasting coffee is my other hobby and one of my favorite coffee's is Java Estate. I started roasting my own about a year ago and wish I had started sooner.  Got it made now, do my own smoking and coffee roasting!!!

Thanks for the info on leftovers - I will be cooking more of anything I cook and freezing what's left.

I did a lot of reading of the forum before I bought my roaster and got another idea from you all - the cart to up my smoker on.  I got the one at Sam's and set the smoker on the second shelve, did not use the top one at all.  It does not seem too top heavy that way and is still easy to work with.   

Javaguy

[nsxbill]

Hey Java Guy!

Another home roaster here.  I have been home roasting for about 4 years now, and just can't stand to drink coffee away from home, Starbuck's, restaurant, etc any longer.  I roast 3x weekly for the two of us and guests that pass through, and I roast about 5 lbs a week and send it to a buddy, who works for the government, and posted in Baghdad.  He lives and works in the green zone there.  I am proud to say my coffee is served to most of the Special Ops people who come through his office in Iraq.

Over the years, my roasting has evolved from a Popcorn popper to Zack and Dani's(Used once and sold it on Ebay), an Alpenröst, which I burned up and had replaced under warranty, then gave to son, and now either roasting in the Hottop roaster, or a 2lb. Stainless hopper that is designed to roast on the Weber Grill, which I no longer use and will only be used for roasting.

Since I work nights, I started drinking real coffee at work again, but at home have a commercial single head Rancillio S27 and commercial grinder, and drink Lattés throughout the waking hours.  Cardiologist used to worry about me, but I can have a triple shot and take a nap, and it doesn't even spike my B.P. 

I used to use www.sweetmarias.com for coffee, but now use www.baldmountaincoffee.com as my source for green beans.  Great service and good selection, and no tax here in California.  I usually buy 60-80 lbs of beans at a time, and get a good volume discount.

My house blend:
2 parts Josuma Malabar Gold
2 parts Colombian (or Sumatran)
1 part Costa Rican
1 part Guatemalan

When it is in stock, I use Panamanian Hartmann Estate for sipping coffee.  I have not seen it on the market for a year, but have about 20 lbs of it on-hand.  Coffee supplier doesn't have as much as I do!

For those who have never done this, beans will hold for a couple of years, then roast about 1/2 lb at a time for the best coffee you have ever experienced.

One of the other guys (Bigsmoker) home roasts too, and also sells rubs and Big Green Egg related stuff. He does roasted coffee and sells on his website along with the Dizzy Pig line of rubs.  http://bbqshopping.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=27&osCsid=a543438b4fa854e1e3d9a3a0e32bc5e5.  Cruise by and take a look.

If you haven't visited this site, check it out.  A bunch of coffee heads hang out there. www.coffeegeek.com

Home roasting is my passion too, and really my first love....smoking meats and cooking, the second.

Glad to see another coffee fanatic on board!

Bill

[MallardWacker]

My house blend:
2 parts Josuma Malabar Gold
2 parts Colombian (or Sumatran)
1 part Costa Rican
1 part Guatemalan

Man...that would make a good Baptist start speaking in tongues!  Sounds so good.

[BigSmoker]

That is a funny one MW ;D ;D ;D.  Nothing like fresh roasted coffee  :P :P :P.  welcome aboard javaguy

[Javaguy]

HEY to all the coffee roasters!!! 

Bill, sounds like you are into roasting pretty serious.  That's great what you are doing, know those guys love it!  I use a new model Zach & Dana's and have been real happy with it, but would like to roast at least a pound at a time.  I have read that the old model Z&D was very slow and would not hardly get to a full city or full city + roast.  I buy from Sweet Maries and U-Roast-Em and have been happy with the beans.  Pay no tax here in Okla for orders outside the state.   I've been roasting different flavors and do not blend too often, but will blend sumatran with colombian or papua ng. 

Like you, coffee does not bother my sleep - I can drink it anytime of the day and not worry about sleeping. 

Since the beans keep so long, I like to keep several different flavors and always have a couple of different ones roasted.  I use a Starbucks burr grinder and it's been one of the best grinders I've ever had.  Brew most of my coffee a cup at a time in a special 1 cup brewer, man, you can get it prefect everytime.

Picked up a brisket today and got to read up on some post about smoking it - will do it next week.

Thanks for the sites, I'll check them out.


Javaguy

[Oldman]

Javaguy,

If I may suggest, with your left overs wrap them in plastic and place in frig for a couple of days before you freeze them. This allows the smoke to mellow through out especially with larger cuts.

Olds

[nsxbill]

Javaguy,

Unless you are doing bulk, selling or preparing lots of gifts of coffee, the Hottop is absolutely the best coffee roaster out there for the home roaster.  The capacity of 250 Gms is perfect.  We use it up in a couple of days, and I am roasting another batch. 

I have 3 of the Rancilio burr grinders, one for decaf and flavored coffees when, on the rare occasion, I do them for gifts, one  for regular coffee, and the commercial grinder, the MD25 Rancilio that I leave set for the espresso grind only.  I know, over-kill. 

I bought a Rancilio Silvia Espresso machine, base and the new grinder, then two weeks later saw the S27 offered on Ebay...Negotiated a good price with an MD that was about 3 hrs away, and drove down with cash in hand.  It was the deal of the century!  His wife wanted a more respectable, smaller stainless espresso machine for a house they were just about to move into, so the bulky commercial model had to go.  Got a rig, grinder and stainless base that had a value of about $7.5 K for $700 cash.  Didn't ge many bidders when he set the scene for the deal by only wanting someone to come down to pick it up instead of shipping.  He had it serviced every year by the company too, so in excellent shape.  The advantage of it, once it is at temp, no P.I.D. needed for optimal temp.  It is always at perfect temp and pressure up to crank out 40 cups an hour easy.  Despite the additional expense of another machine, and the heat I got from my wife for getting another one so soon after buying the package I had just purchased, I would do it again in a heartbeat. 

I will keep the Silvia and one of the grinders for the RV and while on the road.  Was going to sell that machine and one of the grinders with P.I.D. ready to go, as well as the stainless base, but would have lost my butt on the essentially new equipment, so I opted to keep it.

Here is the current configuration.  Won't post a picture, because it is posted somewhere else on the forum.  The biggest challenge was bringing it up from the car to the bar.  It weighs about 125lbs and is really bulky. I keep it hooked up to bottled filtered water on a 110v pump instead of hooking into plumbing. 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/nsxbill/S27.jpg

Roast on. 

Bill