This weekends Baby Backs

ExpatCanadian · April 03, 2009, 06:22:06 AM

Hello,

This is kind of a follow on from Mr Walleyes post in the Introduce yourself forum. I thought it was time to start a new topic in the appropriate thread to carry on with the results of my first few smokes!

Anyway, thanks for the tips on how you do your own ribs. I've trawled through a lot of posts on this site and others, and in the end had settled on the method described here. It's not that unlike your own method... I really like the use of apple juice in the later cooking stages of both methods. I often cook pork in Apple Juice or Cider, which then forms the basis of a gravy or sauce... and the Pork Chops I did on my first smoke (Smoked Pork Chops) used a 2 litre bottle of a generic (cheap) cider in the brine. For lack of any personal experience (yet!), the "Magic Dust" rub sounded petty good, so I made up a batch last night, using 1/2 and 1/2 smoked and regular paprika and also adding 2 dried Chipotle chillies ground up with my mortar & pestle. It tastes so good I keep finding myself taking the occasional sneaky pinch of it and eating it directly!

Anyway, as I have 4 racks to play with, it's a perfect opportunity to experiment, so I'm going to do 2 racks with "Magic Dust" and 2 with "Jan's Dry Rub" as per your suggestion.... and then do a rack of each rub with one of 2 BBQ sauces to see what tastes best! I guess if I was SERIOUSLY geeky I would even vary the wood, but oh my god, I don't think even I would have that much patience... I'll change the wood out next time. I'll probably just use apple.... but welcome any ideas. I only have Apple, Pecan and Mesquite at the moment.... with some Crown Royal (Couldn't resist as a Canadian!) and Jim Beam on order from eBay Canada.

Will update you tomorrow or Sunday with the results!

Wildcat · April 03, 2009, 11:21:52 AM

I have found that on ribs, mesquite, apple, pecan, oak, and hickory are all good. I like them all on ribs.

Mr Walleye · April 03, 2009, 12:39:04 PM

Sounds great TDC!

You're going to have a great weekend! Make sure you take adequate fluids during the smoke. You don't want to get dehydrated! ;) :D

Mike

KyNola · April 03, 2009, 01:50:01 PM

Mike has given you some very good medical advice. One must take precautions to make sure dehydration does not set in. ;)

KyNola

ExpatCanadian · April 03, 2009, 03:17:26 PM

I will certainly take that into account.... in fact, I found myself feeling quite dehydrated as I was sprinkling the rub on the racks a few minutes ago.... must have been the salt and sugar pulling moisture through my hands ;)

.... don't worry though, I've dealt with it appropriately... I'm ok now.... I'll probably pull through... ;D ;D ;D

Damn... was gonna post a cheeky photo of the racks with the rub.... but now they're all wrapped up and in the fridge. Ah well, y'all know what ribs look like I expect.

However, will definitely post the end result tomorrow.

seemore · April 03, 2009, 06:23:13 PM

You MUST send pictures of the finished product!

ExpatCanadian · April 06, 2009, 06:17:19 AM

Hello all,

Well, my weekend rib smoke was an overall success I would say.... but being something of a perfectionist, I will definitely be changing a few things next time. Unfortunately I think they ended up spending just a little too long in the box... they ended up a bit dryer than I would have liked. Also, my choice of rub was very tasty, but just a little too spicy (perhaps I'll skip the dried Chipotle chillies in it next time :-\). Smoke time was about right I'd say, I used Pecan for 2 hours at 225.... then a further hour, before wrapping them in the foil with apple juice. At that point I think I should have stopped and sauced them on the grill, but I took them out of the foil and back onto the rack for another hour to firm them up again. That's the part that dried them out I think. Anyway, I did take some photos, but to be honest as they have not been my best effort, I'm not gonna post them this time. I've been making killer ribs for years using an alternate method (foil wrapped in oven with choice of sauce for a few hours to steam, then finish on grill with sauce)... but I think this whole smoker method is going to take them to a new level, but clearly it's going to require some experimentation!

I tend to get one (sometimes 2, but rarely!) chances to impress my wife with new culinary experiences.... so I'm glad these ribs weren't her first smoked rib experience! She's back next week, so I need to choose VERY carefully what my next experiment will be!

Lucky for me, ribs in the UK are FAR cheaper than they are back home in Canada. Wings too... so will have to try some of those next time too.

Anyway, thanks for all the support on my first rib attempt in the Bradley.

Tenpoint5 · April 06, 2009, 06:40:30 AM

Even our mistakes still taste good!! Only we know that they are mistakes.

Mr Walleye · April 06, 2009, 07:34:27 AM

Congrats TDC on your first smoke.

You'll get the ribs "dialed in" in no time! ;)

I agree with you regarding the extra hour on the racks probably dried them out a bit.

Mike

Gizmo · April 06, 2009, 08:40:25 PM

I would agree on the extra hour being the most likely cause.
I keep mine in the foil until I am ready to sauce and set on the grill for just a few minutes long enough for the set. No firming needed in my book as that would equate to drying out.

ExpatCanadian · April 07, 2009, 07:57:14 AM

Agreed... thanks for the tips. I did taste them unsauced after the apple juice phase and really should have stopped there. Ah well, didn't stop me from eating every last morsel, did it? ;)

I've got another 4 racks in the freezer for my next attempt, which will have to be after the Easter weekend now, as I am sadly working all weekend in Amsterdam where smoking takes on a whole different meaning! ;D ;D ;D

On a more serious note, a good friend of mine in Amsterdam is a goldsmith who also works with titanum, stainless steel and aluminum. Anyway, he's got a nice big lathe, keeps stocks of metal rods in various diameters, and he thinks he may have some 2 1/4" diameter stuff to make me some bubba pucks! I know I can order them online from Yard & Pool, but if he can do them for the price of a few beers, then what the heck!?

Ka Honu · April 07, 2009, 09:07:50 AM

Titanium bubba pucks? Now that's conspicuous comsumption!

ExpatCanadian · April 07, 2009, 11:59:41 PM

Yeah, a bit over the top I agree. Anyway, he's only got 40mm Titanium... but a friend of his who works with larger stuff has a scrap of 60mm Aluminum (or Aluminium as they call it over here) which he's gonna turn down for me. I'm taking him a bisquette to take the exact dimensions off of. Might take a few as they seem to vary slightly in size, to my eye anyway.