Smoked Cured Ribs (Bacon on a Stick)

[Habanero Smoker]

Here are my results of the cured ribs. Overall for the first try the ribs were pretty good. The flavor was more like ham, but my taste buds were off, due to allergies. It is definitely worth doing again. The meat was red, and I notice the meat does not pull back from the bone as much as uncured ribs. I not sure if that was due to that particular piece of meat, or if it had something to do with the curing process.

The rub is rather strong in flavors, so next time I will smoke/cook them with out the rub, or at least one rack without any seasoning. Not using a rub, that way I will taste the cured meat better.

This is what I did:

Cure:
1 Tbsp per pound of Morton's Tender Quick or Basic Dry Cure
1 – 2 tsp per pound of dark brown sugar, or sweetener of your choice (I used 1.5 tsp. per pound)
St. Louis style spareribs; or baby backs

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. You can add more seasoning to your cure, but since I was going to use a rub, I wanted to keep this basic and just increase the sweetness.

I prefer St. Louis style spareribs, because they are already trimmed the way I like them. You can use untrimmed spareribs if you like. First remove the membrane from the back of the ribs. If needed, cut the ribs to fit your racks. I find that for spareribs I need to cut the end three ribs from the smallest side. Then I place all the smaller pieces on one rack.

Apply about 2/3 of the cure to the meaty side of the ribs, and the remaining cure on the bone side. Place in sealable plastic bags. If the ribs are cut, they will fit in the gallon size bags. If uncut, you will need to use the 2 gallon size bag, and you may be able to fit two racks per the 2 gallon size.

Place in refrigerator meaty side down, bone side up. For spareribs cure 7 – 12 hours, for baby backs cure for about 4 - 6 hours. During the curing time you should notice some liquid forming. Halfway through the curing period, pick the bag up and rock it back and forth to redistribute the cure, and place it back in the refrigerator meaty side down, and continue to cure.

As for the curing time, spareribs vary in thickness, so use the higher times for thicker spareribs. Or you can use the higher times, for a more bacon flavor, but the longer you cure the saltier it will be. I suggest starting with the lower times, and after you make your first batch you can adjust from there. The spareribs I had were pretty thin, so 7 hours was about right.

When the curing time is over, remove from bag and thoroughly rinse off the cure, and pat dry with paper towels.
OPTIONAL: Rinse out any cure that is in the bag, and place ribs back into the bag. Return to refrigerator and allow to rest for 12 – 24 hours. This allows the curing process to continue, and gives the cure time to evenly distribute throughout the meat.
   

Rub (Optional)
I got this recipe from Weber's Big Book of Grilling. This is my favorite rub for pork ribs, but it also a great rub for beef. For the cured spare rib recipe I left out the salt. If you want a great rub for non-cured ribs or just for general use add the salt.

Kansas City Style Rub
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons light brown sugar (I use dark brown)
1 tablespoon chili powder (use your favorite, if your chili powder is hot you may want to use 2 teaspoons)
*1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
2 teaspoons granulated onions (or powdered)
1 teaspoon ground cumin     

In a small bowl combine the ingredients. Apply the rub into both sides of the meat and press in. You can smoke/ cook at this time, or wrap tightly in plastic wrap, place in a bowl, refrigerate for 2 to 8 hours.
*Note: I did not use salt in this rub for the cured ribs.


Smoking/Cooking
Use your favorite way of smoking/cooking ribs. I just bring the meat to room temperature, smoke/cook at 210 using 1:20 – 1:40 hours of pecan smoke. I rarely spritz.

Mike;
Thanks for steering to that recipe. I'm going to make another batch next Saturday.

[HCT]

Habs, thanks for the thorough directions. They are very useful for a novice like myself. I'll be making them sometime this week hopefully.

[beefmann]

mmmmm   mmmmm mmmm   yummmy habs

[Mr Walleye]

Thanks for reporting back Habs!

I will also have to try this now... now that I remember!  ::)

Mike

[Habanero Smoker]

Thanks everyone.

Mike
I finally got my beef in the smoker. At this point it's at an internal temperature of 115°F. I've got a while to go to get to 190°F.

[mybad]

Sounds great, I have recently purchased MTQ and have been trying some things, this is going to the top of my list thx Habs

[Mr Walleye]

Thanks everyone.

Mike
I finally got my beef in the smoker. At this point it's at an internal temperature of 115°F. I've got a while to go to get to 190°F.

Habs

How did you make out with the pulled beef?

Mike

[Habanero Smoker]

Thanks everyone.

Mike
I finally got my beef in the smoker. At this point it's at an internal temperature of 115°F. I've got a while to go to get to 190°F.

Habs

How did you make out with the pulled beef?

Mike

Hi Mike;

My first attempt was not to successful; it was overly dry though a lot of sauce was able to save most of it. It was made with aged beef, not that I had planned to do so, but I never got around to making it until a few weeks after I purchased the beef. So the enzymes from aging must have broken down to connective tissue, until there was very little left.

Next time I'll get it right. :)

[HCT]

I made the bacon on a stick just as Habs recipe instructed. A little change here and there. The ribs were thick so I cured them for 12 hours. I smoked them for 3 hours at 210. Total cooking time around 5-6 hours.
I let them sit in the fridge overnite. To me, ribs taste better the next day.
Here is what I found.
The ribs have that pinkish ham color.
They taste more like ham than bacon.
I don't know what I was expecting in this recipe but my thoughts are that these ribs are more of a breakfast/brunch rib then an all out "feasting rib".
What I mean by a  feasting rib is that you can eat a slab of them, no problem.
These bacon on a stick ribs have that ham-bacon richness to them that I find you really can't eat that many. Maybe it's the cure, it does add that 'saltiness' to them. Don't get me wrong, they are not overly salty, just cure salty.
Me thinks a nice mustard sauce would be a nice accompaniment to these ribs.
Also, the texture of the ribs is hamy like. Not that almost falling off the bone that we are used to.
This is a great recipe for a different type of rib, it is "bacon on a stick". :)

[Mr Walleye]

HCT

Thanks for reporting back on this. I still haven't had a chance to try this but it's on the list.

Mike

[Habanero Smoker]

HCT;

I agree about the taste. The taste is more ham like. Maybe they should be called ham-bones. :)

I use the same cure that I use on my slab bacon, and it still tasted like ham. I have some Sausage Maker's Honey Bacon cure left. I may try that next time; but I still believe it will taste like ham.

[HCT]

I forgot to mention that I made "pig candy" with the smaller trimmed pieces from the full slabs. The paint makes the ribs look picture perfect. Again, the ribs taste better the next day after they rest.
Hey, if you were smoked and cooked for 6 hours you'd need a rest too. :D :D :D :D ::)