Baby Backs & Apple Cinnamon Strudel Cake
A few weeks ago, Costco had baby back ribs on sale for a real nice price, so I bought some. Thursday I pulled them out of the freezer and left them to thaw in the fridge.
So…..Saturday I fired up the MES 30 for a feed of ribs.
Just for convenience, I cut the rack in half.
I rinsed the ribs off and patted them dry with paper towels. I then seasoned them with my go to pork rub and put them back in the fridge to air dry for a couple of hours.
Since it was minus 20C here Saturday, I fired up the MES, set the PID at 250F, and let it warm up to temp for an hour. While I was waiting for the MES to hit its temperature, I nuked 2/3 of a row of Orange Wood Pellets. I lit the pellets and set the AMNPS aside to get burning nicely.
At 1PM, everything was good to go. The ribs went into the MES and the AMNPS into the mailbox mod.
I let the ribs cook for 2 hours on the rack and then double foiled them with some butter, rub, and a bit of water. Back into the MES for another 2 hours. Then it was out of the foil and back on the rack for 1 hour to firm up.
For a change, supper was going to be right on time. That doesn’t happen very often when I’m smoking meat. Miss Linda has accepted the fact that the meat will be done when the meat is done—generally later than planned. LOL
While the ribs were cooking, I decided to bake one of chilerelleno’s Apple Cinnamon Strudel Cakes. You can get the recipe here:
www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/apple-cinnamon-strudel-cake.279641/
I made a couple of minor changes to John’s recipe. I increased the quantity of diced apple by ½ cup and I used brown sugar in the topping instead of white sugar. Since I have a very large sweet tooth, I also doubled up on the topping. Making this cake is simplicity itself. Peeling, coring and dicing the apples was the only thing that took any time or effort.
Finally, everything was ready to eat. Supper that night was Baby Back Ribs, Jasmin rice, and corn. The aroma coming off the ribs was fantastic--it literally filled the dining room. They smelled sooooo good that my old hound Roxy was actually sitting by the table with drool pouring out of her mouth—BEGGING. That is simply unheard of—and not allowed-- at our place. I had to give her sh*t before she assumed her usual place, lying on my feet under the table. After my first bite of rib, I had to forgive her. The ribs were juicy, tender but not fall off the bone, and downright delicious—exactly as we like them.
I’m afraid I have absolutely no idea where the plated shot ended up, but it’s gone.
Then it was time for John’s Apple Cinnamon Strudel. I served it up, still warm, with ice cream. My God, but it was good!! I had to agree with Miss Linda’s comment that it needed more apples, so next time I’ll use 4 cups of diced apples. And believe me there WILL be a next time!!! We really liked the taste and texture of the brown sugar in the topping. Thanks John, this one is a keeper.
Thanks for looking.
Gary
