spare ribs florida style

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tasunkawitko

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
May 27, 2008
2,397
26
Chinook, Montana
i'm doing four slabs of spare ribs on my SnP this weekend and i am thinking of kissing them with the florida keys. suggestions and advice would be appreciated, but here is what i am thinking -

i'll use a more-or-less standard rub (unless anyone has ideas for this - add red pepper flakes or lemon pepper, perhaps?).

for a mop i will vary my normal dr. pepper/soy sauce/olive oil formula by using a combination of orange juice (or orange juice and 7-up) and teriyaki sauce with a little olive oil and of course a quarter- or a half-cup of dark rum.

for a finishing glaze (not sauce), i will vary my normal mustard/brown sugar/apple cider vinegar glaze by using pineapple juice instead of vinegar. as i said, this is a glaze and will go on a few minutes before the ribs are done and then set to provide a nice, mostly-dry shine and crackle with a little bit of subtle flavor as well.

if anyone has suggestions for substitutions or additions, please feel free to chime in!

thanks!

ron
 
Go for it, you never know how it will be if you don't try different ingredients. Oh and don't forget the Qview.
 
thanks, dac ~ will report on results!

see edit above - almost for got the "most important" part in the mop - the rum!
 
Well I don't have any suggestions I am interested in seeing how they come out.
Are you going to do all 4 slabs the same or are you going to do each one differently?
I like the sound of lemmon pepper and, well hell, I like the sound of all of it to be honest.
It all sounds like a great plan with some nice flavor combinations.
Good luck.
 
FiU - I plan to do them all the same ~ when i get an idea i figure i'd better go whole hog (no pun intended) and drag the whole family and any guests into glory or down to hell with me ~ LOL ~

this concept looks like a winner all-around and i am hoping for good results - any input from any source will be much appreciated - if anyone has tried a flavor combination mentioned above and it DIDN'T work, let me know!
 
You could use a margarita for the mop
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Happy smokes !!
 
i like your thinking, jax!

being a northerner, i'm not altogether sure of the best way to give it a florida kiss - one fellow suggested adding concentrated lime-aid and rum to the water pan, but that seems like a waste of good lime-aid and rum - any thoughts?

another thing - rather than 7-up, i might use a half/half mixture of lemon- and lime-aids - not sure if this would improve over the 7-up, but sounds more "floridian."

$$$ is also a factor since we're between paydays - i've got most indgredients already but can't be affording to run down and buy a bag of lemons and/or limes just to squeeze them, or i would use fresh lemon and/or lime juice!
 
I agree, a big waste of rum...It would just evaporate.. Then again, u could put on a straw hat while drinking the rum and listening to Jimmy Buffet music while u smoke it
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I am gonna spray my butts and ribs tommorrow with some spiced rum and apple juice.. 3 sprays for each pice of food and 2 for the cook
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PS.. That glaze sounds good..You have the amounts for each item that u use to make it?
 
Great idea! Think you need to go heavy on the lime...maybe include it in your mop. Florida is the Key Lime source and no other will do. I'm thinking even squeeze a half over each rack just before serving. But then, that's just me.....too much of anything is just-enough.

The rum...gotta have it for that Carib taste, Not a big fan of rum, but the Captain Morgans Spiced Rum I used a few weekends back on my smoke was awesome. With ribs not sure I would spend the extra cash on the Morgans when a good regular will give you the same- minus the spices-which you can add into the rub.

This is a new idea never thought about. Sounds real good though! Keep us posted on the recipe and q-vue.

Need a nice straw hat while you smoke, too
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Hey TW,

Sounds like a good plan on the ribs. Maybe it would feel more like the Keys if you lCranked Jimmy Buffet (or possibly a little Sammy Hagar thrown in for good measure), wore the straw hat, drank the margarita, put on your flip flops (that is, if you guys aren't still busting through snow drifts up there), and had Mrs. TW don a Bikini to help with the florida vibe! It would all be in the name of science and to help with the experiment ya' know!

Let us know how it turn out...Happy smoking!
 
jax - the glaze i've been using (mustard/apple cider vinegar/dark brown sugar) is a straight 1:1:1 combination - usually a third of a cup of each. for this, i will keep the proportions the same and simply swap out the vinegar in favor of pineapple juice. after reading rivet's post, i am thinking that perhaps i should use lime juice rather than pineapple juice. that would make a heck of an interesting glaze. i don't think we can get key limes up here yet, but might be able to get some regular ones.

engineer - i'll talk to mrs. taz about the bikini and get her thoughts on it, but i don't think they will be suitable for posting on a family forum! LOL - as for the rest, i could probably come up with something - in the name of scientific research, of course.

the butcher shop misunderstood me when i made my order, so i ended up with four cut racks that are about the size on your keyboard from esc key to the ctrl keys and up to the f12 key. i also bought a bunch of country style ribs, so this should all be good. will try to get the ingredients today and prep the ribs tonight.

ok - after thinking about this for a bit, i am thinking i could add lemon pepper to the rub (i'd use lemon powder, but none available up here and no time to make my own), then orange juice in the mop, then lime juice in the finishing glaze. thoughts on this from anyone who has used a lot of citrus-based recipes with meat would be appreciated - am i over-doing it? is it just right? use the ingredients differently? help!

on the rum - i may not be able to get it - i'm shooting for dark rum or capt. morgan's, but it might be one of those things that gets "vetoed" due to budgetary concerns!
 
If your thinking a Florida Twist you might want to try and find some Gator ribs to serve as an appetizer.
 
visilor - great idea! but----where the heck in montana will i find enough gators for a sunday dinner?

LOL - points for quick wit, though! i like it!
 
Just wait until the University of Florida team comes through, wait was that wrong wanting something to happen to the Gators.
 
Florida style? Crank the air conditioning to high and watch things on your wireless thermo from your living room.

Then go pick up your garbage cans from where the 90-something yr old guy ran them over in your front yard.
 
I understand that well...... I like the idea of dark rum or cap's morgans, but I think that the difference is mainly appreciated when they are mixed to drink. I used capn morgans on my last turkey and honestly I think that once it was done I could have gotten the same results with regular white rum at 1/2 the cost. Maybe my taste buds aren't that attuned to rum ~ not a big spirits-drinker here~ and I missed something. I did enjoy the heck out of iced cranberry juice and cap'n morgans spiced rum in my glass, though. It was a lot better in a drink than regular clear rum.

Anyway that's just my two cents and if you get in the spirit of things thats gonna add more flavor than anything you can shake, pour or sprinkle on your food!~.

Happy smokes!
 
alright, guys - her's the situation after a modest trip shopping for supplies:

i've got a can each of concentrated orange juice, lemonade and lime-ade.
i've got a plastic lemon and lime for juice
i've got a bottle of squirt (grapefruit pop)

no rum - decided that if i am actually going to get some, i might as well drink it - but as it turns out, i'm not getting any.

i didn't get any but can get a couple of fresh lemons (possibly limes also) to slice and lay on the pork for the last few minutes or as they come off the smoker.

a) i'm thinking of doing my rub as usual, only adding some lemon pepper and red pepper flakes. but before applying the rub, i'll squeeze on the lime juice, then apply the layer of mustard, then rub - let them sit overnight. - sound good so far, or will the acidic lime juice be bad?

b) usually, i would mop once a hour like clockwork, but this time, i plan to do it only if i am already fidding around such as messing with the charcoal or adding wood - the rest of the time, i don't even plan to touch to lid. in fact, due to some heavy necessary obligations, there's actually going to be about an hour and a half or two hours when it's pretty much going to be unattended during the middle of the cooking process - i'll make sure i've got a good supply of charcoal going and then go take care of business, then come back.

anyway, for the mop/spritz, i think (unless anyone has a better idea) i'll go with squirt/orange juice/teriyaki sauce/olive oil. proportions would be about 1/2 cup each of squirt and orange juice, 1/3 cup olive oil and 2/3 cup teriyaki sauce. this is a variation ona mop that has worked very well in the past with dr. pepper and low-sodium soy sauce and olive oil. good so far?

c) earlier, i was discussing the glaze - normally, it is equal amounts of apple cider vinegar, mustard and dark brown sugar. tomorrow, i will try swapping a half-n-half mixture of lemon- and lime-ade instead of the vinegar. - i think the toher ingredients will be ok, but if anyone has any suggestions, i am listening.

that's what iv've got - as i siad, i might buy a couple of lemons and limes to slice and top the pork with, but it seems to me, it would simply be garnish, so i don't know if it is necessary.

i also ahve a can of pineapple juice - but don't see anywhere to use it on this - maybe use that instead of mustard for the glaze? or instead of squirt for the mop? suggestions welcome - i want to catch the spirit of tropical florida in the pork but don't want to over-do it.

the above sounds like a good plan so far, but i'll mull it over and might tweak it a little - will definitely report on results.

thanks in advance ofr any suggestions.
 
I would be cautious of the acidic juice overnight.
Normally it wouldn't really hurt but that would depend on the amount you use so I wouldn't go too heavy.
I have used pineapple juice to spritz before and it works great. Adds a nice flavor and creates a nice bark, I assume it is partially due to the higher sugar content and thickness of pineapple juice compared to other fruit juices.
Adding fresh oranges would be a nice flavor additive and don't impart the hars acidity that lemons and limes do.
You could also try to impart some sugar cane, either juice or raw and use that instead of some sugar additives. It would have more of a natural and "tropical" based flavor.
 
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