Sous Vide Smoked Ribs

[Scotty-G]

When it comes to ribs, have been a long time subscriber to the low (210°F) and slow (18 hrs) - 4 hrs of smoke and then remainder of time of just temperature. Every other hour a spritz of apple juice during the non-smoke time on the ribs. Afterwards FTC for 1-2 hrs. Have consistently had great results and family loves them. Thank you to this forum for sharing that method.

Have recently tried something new... Sous Vide and Hot Smoke. Sous Vide at 160°F for 16 hrs and Hot smoke (210°F) for 4 hrs. Baste on BBQ sauce and hit with a torch. Family raved about these ribs. Was watching an awesome YouTube Channel (Sous Vide Everything) and they covered this topic too and even did a test on smoke 1st, sous vide 2nd and vice versa sous vide 1st and smoke 2nd. They are fall off the bone tender (kids have braces so they are currently enjoying softer foods).

Am planning to try all three methods side by side to see if there is a noticeable taste difference. Has anyone else tried this?  I have seen cold smoke with Sous Vide mentioned but not with ribs.

Please share thoughts, opinions, ideas, and experiences - THANK YOU

[Habanero Smoker]

Sounds interesting. I've never tried making Sous Vide ribs. Let us know your results. I'm very interested in the texture. It seems like these would be easy to freeze, and finish them whenever you want some.

I have applied smoke to various meats then sous vided then, and have been successful.

[waynerto]

I do sous vide cooking as well, but I haven't tried ribs yet.

Why for 16 hours?  What do you get from an extremely long time like that which you wouldn't get from a more modest time of 3-4 hours?

Would they still get much smoke flavour as I thought that the smoke doesn't penetrate well when the temp of the meat gets above 150?

[Habanero Smoker]

For tough cuts of meat you need to cook for a long period of time to get the collagen to break down and turn into gelatin. That break down makes the meat tender and the gelatin provides the moisture. I've never sous vide ribs, but I've seen some sous vide rib recipes that state 12 hours.

There is smoke penetration, and there is smoke adhesion. There is a point at which smoke will not penetrate. Most sources say when the surface of the meat hits 140°F, but I've seen other sources that state as high as 175°F. I tend to go with 140°F. Though smoke will continue adhere to the surface of the meat at any temperature, as long as the surface is moist. Ribs are so thin that just the adhesion of smoke will be enough to give you a good smoke flavor.

[dubob]

I've been doing sous vide for about a year now.  The tougher the cut of meat, the longer you want to cook it.  As an example, I do pork steaks for 24 hours sous vide at 145* F and then sear for 1 minute per side in butter in a MED HOT fry pan.  They are melt in your mouth tender and the best we have ever eaten.  And yes, they are safe to eat at 145* F when held at that temp for more than 90 minutes.  Same with chicken at that temp - but you only need to cook chicken the 90 minutes at 145* F to be table ready.

I haven't done any ribs sous vide yet, but will try them soon.  I wouldn't be too concerned about the time length for the sous vide cook as long as it gets the meat tender.  I did a pork steak for 48 hours once and it was as good as the 24 hour cook I normally do.  I think I would experiment with the time and try a cook at 145* F as well as 160* F.  I think maybe do a split rack of 2 ribs per bag and try some at 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 hour time lengths.  I would then smoke all for 4 hours at 140* F.  After determining the best time length to get the ribs tender, do a whole rack for that length of time and then smoke them 4 hours at 160* F.  That should establish a good process to turn out perfect ribs with a precise finish time to coincide with quest arrival or family chow time.   

[waynerto]

I do thick centre cut pork loin chops at 143 all the time but I only do them for about 1.5-2 hours or so, just like steak, and then I sear them on a cast iron frying pan. 

[TedEbear]

There are several websites that talk about this if you do a Google search for something like "sous vide smoke ribs". 

Here's one of them:  Rib Taste Test Comparison. The Sous Vide VS The Smoker

Here's a video:  Baby Back Ribs Smoked BEFORE or AFTER Sous Vide, Which is BEST?

[dubob]

There are several websites that talk about this if you do a Google search for something like "sous vide smoke ribs". 

Here's one of them:  Rib Taste Test Comparison. The Sous Vide VS The Smoker

Here's a video:  Baby Back Ribs Smoked BEFORE or AFTER Sous Vide, Which is BEST?

I do chicken and TENDER beef steaks or pork tenderloin meat for 90 to 120 minutes and they are great.  But in my opinion, pork steaks are not noted for their tenderness and I've found them to be very fall off the bone tender with a 24 hour sous vide bath and 1 minute per side sear.  I did do a 2 hour sous vide on pork steak once and have determined we like the 24 hour ones way better.  But to each their own.

[waynerto]

By the way, here is the conclusion from one of those articles:
My verdict:

1. If you have a smoker, nothing is going to beat smoked ribs so just smoke them.

2. If you have a smoker but have a tendency to dry them out, use the Smoke then Sous Vide method. (Yes my ribs were overcooked but I can fix that by reducing the Sous Vide time or temperature next time. It’s much easier to control than a smoker).  PLUS with this method you can freeze the ribs after you’ve initially smoked them, so when you want to have ribs you just need to Sous Vide them and then throw them on the grill.  It’s what the professionals do.  Shhhhhh!  A perfect method if you’re having a party.

3. If you do NOT have a smoker then your absolute next best option is to Sous Vide them, then finish them on the grill.  The texture was good, they pulled away easily from the bone and there were no doingey bits of fat.

[TedEbear]

Yesterday, I followed the recipe in the Baby Back Ribs Smoked BEFORE or AFTER Sous Vide, Which is BEST? video link I posted the other day.  14 hours sous vide at 155*F, followed by 2 hours smoke at 140*F.

I made the rub they used in the video.  It was pretty good and the cinnamon provided a nice touch.  Guga's Rub

The flavor was good, although I like ribs to be fall-off-the-bone and these were not quite that tender.  I was surprised, given the 14 hours Sous Vide.  Maybe I'll experiment with a slightly higher temp next time.

The comment section of the video mentioned doing a Sous Vide brisket.  I might try that one of these days soon.

[Habanero Smoker]

Interesting video, but if doing an experiment on which method provides the better smoke flavor, I would change a few ingredients. One; use paprika that is not smoked, and a sauce that doesn't has a smoke flavor added. If just going for flavor and not comparison the rub ingredients look good, and if you like Sweet Baby Ray's use it.

I've got too many projects going on before I will get to Sous Vide anything, but I'll be following this post.

[iceman]

I've been doing the Sous Vide ribs for awhile now "especially in the winter" up here and love it. Like Hab said I don't do any added smoke in rubs or sauces just a few hours of real smoke then I baste and glaze them on the grill real quick. Boss lady likes em "wet". I like to dip mine. Hab you need to slow down buddy and do some more GOOF OFF time and have some fun! 

[Habanero Smoker]

I've been doing the Sous Vide ribs for awhile now "especially in the winter" up here and love it. Like Hab said I don't do any added smoke in rubs or sauces just a few hours of real smoke then I baste and glaze them on the grill real quick. Boss lady likes em "wet". I like to dip mine. Hab you need to slow down buddy and do some more GOOF OFF time and have some fun! 

Hi Iceman;

Good to see you on the forum. Being cooped up I thought it would be a good time to catch up on a bunch of DIY projects. Now I have seven partially completed both indoor and outdoor projects. I have to confess, the backlog is mainly due to goofing off too much. 

[Scotty-G]

Hey Iceman and Hab's!

Thought I would share my results. Bought a 3 rib slab package at Costco and used Iceman's Oinker Rub (still is my favorite) on all 3 racks.

Set Up
Rack 1: 4 hrs smoke @ 210, 14 hrs dry heat @ 210, apple juice spritz every 2 hrs, FTC 2 hrs, torch sear with BBQ sauce (found 1 jar of unopened Oinker Sauce in the  back of the cabinet  - MAJOR SCORE!!!)
Rack 2: 4 hrs smoke - started at same time as Rack 1 (same cabinet), 16 hrs Sous Vide @ 160, torch sear with Oinker Sauce (Another favorite)
Rack 3: 16 hrs Sous Vide @ 160, 4 hrs smoke @ 210, torch sear with Oinker Sauce

Observations
Rack 1 - Needed a little more cooking time, not as moist as Sous Vide but stronger smoker flavor. Had more of a chew to it after I cooked it a bit more
Rack 2 - Fall off the bone tender - I prefer a little more chew - kids have braces and found this easier to chew
Rack 3 - Fall off the bone tender just like Rack 2 - found smoke flavor and smell to be a little stronger than Rack 2

Results
Rack 1 had better smoke flavor but it took more effort and time commitment and requires longer cooking time - with Sous Vide - set and forget until it is done
Rack 2 & 3 were easier for sore mouths due to recently tightened braces to chew (pulled off bone and then chewed) but I will reduce amount of cook time by 4 hrs next time and see how I like it
While Rack 2 was the easiest method, Rack 3 method had better results - not by much but still better
Bonus - saved bag juices from Sous Vide to make a ramen inspired noodle soup that was really good the next day

Rack 1 method if I have time is preferred but Rack 3 method (with time adjustment) is a more than acceptable contender when I can not dedicate the time
Rack 2 if I am in a bind or if I am going to travel to someone else's house, leave them sealed in the bag. Could even be cooled down and then sous vide reheated later - acceptable and better than nothing.

[Habanero Smoker]

Thanks for the detailed writeup. Every Labor Day I cook 8 to 12 racks of spare ribs, I may decide to Sous Vide my ribs in advance, and freeze them.