Baby backs 3 ways... For the heck of it!

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worktogthr

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
SMF Premier Member
Nov 3, 2013
2,928
1,032
Massapequa, NY (Long Island)
Well, I was at Restaurant Depot today to get drinks and of course I couldn't leave without checking out the meat section (heaven on earth). I found a package of 3 racks of baby backs marked down to 1.99 per lb! So for less then a $20 bill I had a chance to play when I got home from work. Knowing well that it wouldn't be ready for dinner I decided to cook with a different rub on each rack and have a little rib tasting dessert.

So here's the run down..

A little mustard and a liberal coating of jeffs rub on the first one...

Some SPOG on the second one..

And a spicy coffee run on the third...


Decided to use the Masterbuilt propane because he's been feeling neglected lately. Got it in the 260-280 range and used chunks of hickory and Apple.

The blue smoke has begun...

Escaping out of the door a little bit oh well, it's gotta get out anyway!

Time for the ribs to go in...

Let them go for about 2 hours or so and then foiled them.

The Jeff's rubbed rack was foiled with Apple juice and maple bourbon..

The coffee rubbed rack with some strong coffee..
The SPOG rack was foiled with chicken stock and white wine..

Decided I would give them about an hour and a half total in the foil still at 275. Then they each got a half hour out of the foil to firm up a bit.

And the results...

Start with old reliable Jeff's Rub with some sweet baby rays applied after foil:

And after the 30 minutes to set the sauce:

And some more pics:

The coffee rubbed:

And the SPOG:

The verdict:

The tenderness was perfect on all three which is due to the greatest development in rib technology... The toothpick. I've done them enough times now that I can pretty much tell when they are to my liking. As far as taste, the Jeff's with SBRs is my old go to so it was very satisfying. The SPOG rack is awesome because the pork is the star. I think I could have been a little more aggressive with the seasoning as it's lacking a bit in the salt department. Better to add salt later than to over salt I suppose. And the spicy coffee rubbed rack had a really unique flavor that was good on its own but I think needs some kind of coffee bbq sauce (I'll be searching the boards) to balance the coffee and spicyness with a little sweetness.

And here's the bounty which will be reheated most probably for my nephews bday party on Saturday.


Thanks for looking and have a good weekend!
 
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Wow, that looks amazing! Every once in a while I'll find baby backs for 1.99 lb. Last time I bought 6 racks! Love me some baby backs! I usually just use Jeffs rub and love it. Did the coffee try to overpower the ribs? Sounds great but I haven't tried it. Great smoke and great post! Thanks, David.
 
WT, Nice post and a great test !
points.gif
 
Wow, that looks amazing! Every once in a while I'll find baby backs for 1.99 lb. Last time I bought 6 racks! Love me some baby backs! I usually just use Jeffs rub and love it. Did the coffee try to overpower the ribs? Sounds great but I haven't tried it. Great smoke and great post! Thanks, David.

Thanks for the kind words! The coffee didn't necessarily overpower it, it just that it's a rib without much sweetness at all. It was really created for brisket in the recipe I borrowed it from so I was experimenting. However, in one of my bbq cook books I just stumbled upon an espresso bbq sauce. I will have to try that recipe tonight! Has heavy cream in it! Hhaha these ribs might end up tasting like coffee light and sweet.
 
Great looking ribs 3x. It's always good to see a side by side experiment. All three were cooked the exact same way, just with different preps. Great idea. Never thought about just SPOG, I'm gonna try that. Keep on smokin::points:
 
Great looking ribs 3x. It's always good to see a side by side experiment. All three were cooked the exact same way, just with different preps. Great idea. Never thought about just SPOG, I'm gonna try that. Keep on smokin::points:

Thanks for the points!! I always have fun when a smoke is strictly experimental. SPOG on ribs comes out great. Not bbqey at all but just savory and smokey goodness. I am pumped too because I found a recipe for black coffee bbq sauce online, whipped up a batch and added it to the coffee rubbed ribs and its a perfect match!
 
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Thanks for the points!! I always have fun when a smoke is strictly experimental. SPOG on ribs comes out great. Not bbqey at all but just savory and smokey goodness. I am pumped too because I found a recipe for black coffee bbq sauce online, whipped up a batch and added it to the coffee rubbed ribs and its a perfect match!
Any chance you'd be willing to share the coffee bbq sauce recipe? I've been searching and I'm always worried about trying something without a prior thumbs-up review. Great experiment, BTW...I did something similar with cheese where I smoked 3 of the exact same kinds of cheese with 3 different woods (so, 3 cheeses with the first wood, 3 more cheeses with a second wood, and 3 more cheese with a third wood). I wanted to see if the smokey flavor was significantly different for each of the types of wood...or if one wood paired better with one cheese and another wood with a different cheese...still waiting on the results to come back from my guinea pigs).
 
Any chance you'd be willing to share the coffee bbq sauce recipe? I've been searching and I'm always worried about trying something without a prior thumbs-up review. Great experiment, BTW...I did something similar with cheese where I smoked 3 of the exact same kinds of cheese with 3 different woods (so, 3 cheeses with the first wood, 3 more cheeses with a second wood, and 3 more cheese with a third wood). I wanted to see if the smokey flavor was significantly different for each of the types of wood...or if one wood paired better with one cheese and another wood with a different cheese...still waiting on the results to come back from my guinea pigs).

Thanks for the compliment! I know all about the guinea pigs. I am lucky enough that my friends and family will give me honest feedback. That's a great idea with the cheese. I have smoked cheese about 10 different times and always used the same wood. I'm going to have to try the side by side comparison. I know that waiting period is tough haha. I should do a big batch before it gets too warm. Let me know which wood ends up being the best! Here's that bbq sauce recipe:

Black Coffee BBQ Sauce


INGREDIENTS Nutrition

YIELD
1 1/2 cups
1⁄2 cup brewed coffee, espresso preferred
1 cup ketchup
1⁄4 cup red wine vinegar
3⁄4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 onion, peeled and chopped, about 1 cup
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 tablespoons dark molasses
2 tablespoons hot dry mustard, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons cumin, ground
2 tablespoons chili powder

Mix all together in a sauce pan and simmer for 20 minutes. Purée it if you'd like a smoother texture.

Only substitution I made was ground ancho chili for the chili powder which I think made it a little spicier which I really liked!
 
A good comparison test, thanks for the info. and the views.

Have fun and  .  .  .

Thanks so much! I've been cooking ribs so much lately that I'm almost getting sick of them and the summer hasn't even started hahaha. Maybe next weekend I'll be in the mood for them again.
 
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