Beef Ribs . . . rare to find at my store. I had to try them.

alblancher said:

I've done them twice and both times they came out full of fat.  I don't plan on doing them again until I can figure a way to get some of that fat out of them.

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I have been doing some reading up on this.  Apparently there is a Texas way and a Chicago way, and my mom's way.  Mom used to par boil until the meat was falling off the bone, but it was never tender meat . . . as a kid I never liked it. 

The Texas way brings the meat to just about passed being cooked, which leaves you with lots of fat to sort through.  The Chicago way is to get it way up to 190 and above and then to char the thing on the grill.  I don't don't want to use the grill just yet.  I figure there are better options. 

It will be low and slow tomorrow.  I'm thinking to go very low and very slow,  You might be perfectly right in your differences.  I'll let you know tomorrow..

Great.  I've gone through the prep.  Everything sat the night in the fridge, the meat is tenderized and I didn't turn them an inch..

The apple juice is for the first hour of today's steam , which was the best way I knew to quick start ribs without par-boiling.  I’ll be switching to 2-2-1 when I begin to add smoke.

 I’m not expecting a huge difference.. I’m more curious to see if the family reacts to the difference in flavors of the yellow mustard and EVOO.   Meanwhile, good eating today.

I've had my meal and it was a great success.  Documented it the entire way . . . maybe too much.  Now I'm trying to get it uploaded and my screen seems to freeze.  Not sure what's wrong but I'll keep trying.

The Smoking

10:30     Preheated smoker to 225 while the ribs sat on the kitchen counter for about 20 minutes.

11:00     Put the still cold ribs in the smoker.  The packages are wide open at the top to expose the meat while still retaining the marionade for moisture.  (I don’t know if this did anything other than make it messier inside the grill when I removed the wrap totally.  The next time I’ll begin without  foil underneath.)

11:30     Just caught my first whiff of tonight’s supper.  Smells good already.  Removed foil entirely.  Rib meat is amazingly soft and the entire rib is very flexible.  It seems plumper than when I first began prepping yesterday. 

11:35     Ribs placed bone side down on the bare rack and will remain undisturbed for 2 hours.  I’m beginning the 2-2-1 method.

11:35     Added one cup of hickory & cherry chips (first time).  That gave me approximately 20 minutes of good smoke.

12:00     Added one cup of hickory chips, about another 20 minutes of good smoke

12:30     The last cup of wood chips is going in.  I’ve got a good coating of rub on these ribs and don’t want them too smoky flavored.  However, I did add a couple of small hickory chunks to this load since I could and I have the larger wood tray modification in my MES.  Just a bit more wood in the fire than the last two loads . . . maybe a cup and a third.  Not huge by any standards.  I added the small wood chunks through the tray loader first and did my final cup of chips immediately after.

That gave me an additional 30 minutes of great smoke to the meat.    So what I have is 40 minutes of good smoke and 30 minutes of great smoke.  That should be enough smoke.  Big step coming up. 

1:30        Pulled, splashed with apple juice, sealed the ribs in foil, placed meatside down on rack.



Here it is after 2 hours in.  Lots of shrinkage but not from off the bone yet.   The brown is about what I would expect from my rub, since it contains a bit of brown sugar.

The larger rack looks about the same.  No shrinkage at the bone level yet.    Both racks required two sets of tongs to pull them off the grate.  They seemed too fragile to lift otherwise.  This ends the first 2 hour part of the 2-2-1.

2nd 2 hour part of the 2-2-1.   I gave both racks a good splash of apple juice before sealing in foil and placing meat side down on the grate.  This will be their undisturbed position for the second two hours.  Sealed in foil and facing indirect heat for the first time.   I’m certainly looking forward to those pictures.

Considering the amount of time to accomplish that last step with photos and the loss of heat from the smoker, I’ve added 15 minutes to my schedule.  Not a biggie, but I also warned the family I might add another 15 minutes at the end, since I want to document this smoke from start to finish.

I’m very curious how the ribs will look after spending two hours in their own juices.  I would be willing to bet not as nice as they last looked, but a lot more tender.   That’s when I expect most the rub crust to be soaked away and the last hour is just to finish and make them pretty again.

One hour to go until the unwrapping  and another hour after that to serve.  I am learning as I go.  Meanwhile, here is the picture when I pulled it out of the smoker for the last time.

3:45        The unwrapping.  First set of ribs had drawn back a bit on the bone and the second set still had not drawn back by much.  I rotated their positions on the racks.   Don’t have a pic of the second set of ribs since I got distracted when my future daughter in law asked for guidance in the kitchen for the veggie portion of this meal.   I had bought some fresh brussel spouts and they didn't come with microwave steaming directions.   Hmph.

Pulled, unwrapped, returned the ribs to the smoking rack uncovered and boneside down.   Five minutes late but I got it done.  This ends the 2[sup]nd[/sup] 2 hour part of the the 2-2-1.

Last Hour.   Just a bit under an hour to go and dinner is ready.    I’ve not stuck a meat probe into the meat yet since it seems to be cooking quite well.  Can’t see anything I would change to improve things.  I’ll probe it just prior to pulling. 

4:45        Pull, wrap, rest. 

5:15        Photo opt, dinner. 

Everything went as planned.  The ribs were huge.  Still a great deal of fat on them but that was a personal choice between the three of us since it was so tasty.    My son ate 4 ribs and left little fat.  His girl friend had two ribs and left a lot of fat.  I had two and left just a scrap of fat. 

My biggest fear was when carving the ribs.  They seemed tough.   But then I had a bite and I attribute the toughness to a dull kitchen knife.  They were super tender and full of rich flavor.  Not too smoky, not too spicy, just perfect.  It was a grand success.  Any time I can get my son to come back for seconds, thirds and fourths, it’s a huge success. 

First shot is a bit blury but shows the moisture still in the meat.  Honestly, the meat was dripping moist.  I flipped over the cutting board to give you the money shot.  Three ribs + a snack

I'm glad it's finally posted.  Not sure what was holding me back.  Probably the reboot I did at the end.

Anyway, here's the money shot.  enjoy, drool, the meal was excellent and I got to try out my new slicer for the salads.

 

To tell the truth, my method was probably as close to a 3-2-1 as it was a 2-2-1.  Once I put the meat in I didn't start the clock until the smoker got back to temperature.
 

raptor700 said:

I use the 3 - 2 - 1 method and they come out darn good.

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Looking forward to it Harley.  My family says, do it again, and so I will.  I still haven't learned how to cook yet.  That involves stoves and pans and things that burn.  Not sure I want to get into that kind of grub fixing.
 

HarleySmoker said:

I have smoked them a few times and always did the 3-2-1 and they came out good. Olive oil, salt and pepper is what I use, but today I did something different. Will post that in another thread later.

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