BACON-ON-A-STICK (St Louis Cut)
Smoked Pork Spare Ribs cured with Tender Quick
Smoked in my MES 40
I put this in the “Bacon” forum because it is called "Bacon" (on a stick), and it is cured, and it does taste about in between Bacon & Ham.
Awhile back I smoked two untrimmed racks of Bacon-on-a-stick, and they were awesome. This time they had a good price on St Louis Cut, so I figured I'd try it that way.
Like the other Bacon-On-A-Stick, these are the best Ribs I ever had, and were right up top in being one of the best things I have ever smoked!!!
STEP BY STEP:
First Day:
Cut the 2 racks of Pork Spares into 4 pieces, so they will fit neatly into 4 Zip-Lock bags.
Remove membrane from back of Ribs, and trim loose fat from surfaces.
Rinse well, and pat dry with paper towels.
Weigh each piece, and calculate how much Tender Quick should go in each bag, with each piece.
Weigh the right amounts of TQ for each piece, and put these amounts on marked paper plates, ready for rubbing.
(One TBS (1/2 ounce) of TQ per pound), just like other TQ Dry rubs.
Rub each piece with it's proper amount of TQ, and put them in individual Zip-locks.
I also added one TBS of Brown Sugar to each piece, and threw any TQ that fell off into the bag with the piece it fell off of, so the proper amount of cure stays with each piece.
Put these packages in Fridge, laying flat, for 4 Days, flipping & massaging Daily. (Fridge set at 37˚/38˚ F)
Note: This time I cured for 4 days, so I can use lower temps, and I don't have to worry about the Danger Zone. These ribs were less than 1” thick.
Day #4A:
Remove pieces from curing bags, rinse well, and soak in cold water for 20 minutes, to remove surface salt..
Slice a couple thin pieces off, note internal color, and fry to test for salt flavor.
If it tastes salty, soak for an hour. Repeat as needed. These were Perfect after the initial 20 minute soak.
I have never had to soak anything to get rid of salt flavor, except when I used Hi Mt BBB Cure & Seasoning.
However---I always do a Salt-fry-test---Just in case!!!
Rinse pieces one more time, pat real dry, and put on smoker rack (bones down).
I also sprinkled both sides with Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, and Onion Powder.
Then I ran a fan on low over the Ribs for one hour to begin to form pellicle.
Day #4B (Smoking Day):
9:30 AM------------Pre-heat Smoker to 140˚.
9:30 AM------------Fill 2 rows of AMNPS with Hickory Pellets, and light one end real good. Do not put in Smoker yet.
10:00 AM------------Put meat in smoker on number two position. No smoke yet, to allow pellicle to finish forming.
10:30AM------------Put well lit AMNPS on bars, on left side, at bottom of Smoker.
11:00 AM------------Bump heat to 160*.
1:45 PM--------------Bump heat to 220*.
2:30 PM-------------Stack meat on wire rack in a foil pan, pour10 ounces of Apple Juice over ribs, and cover with doubled foil.
2:30 PM-------------Also remove AMNPS, and return covered meat to 2nd position in Smoker.
2:30PM-------------I also checked internals, and they ran from about 148˚ to 154˚ at this time.
4:30 PM-------------Cut heat back to 100˚, and close vent all but the thickness of my Smoker probe wire. This stops the cooking process.
4:50 PM-------------Remove meat from Smoker, unwrap, take pics, cut up Ribs, plate, add sides, and enjoy Great TQ Cured and Smoked Pork Spare Ribs!!!
These Really Were Awesome!!
Great flavor, moist, and tender!
Note: I will mention that in the end these were slightly salty (nothing offensive), so if you follow all of my method, you might want to soak the 4 pieces for an hour or two, instead of 20 minutes. I think it was because I used the full weight of the pieces in my calculations for TQ, and much of that weight is bone.
Thanks,
Bear
Two nice Pork Spares (St Louis cut):
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0275.jpg.html
TQ & Brown Sugar rubbed & bagged:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0276.jpg.html
Too many steps down to my Meat Fridge, so Mrs Bear has to share the kitchen fridge. Bags in bottom drawer:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0278.jpg.html
Soaked for 20 minutes, tested, rinsed, dried, and put on smoker grill:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0279.jpg.html
Fan on Low for one hour to begin to form pellicle:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0281.jpg.html
Fill 2 rows of my Handy Dandy AMNPS with Hickory pellets & light one end:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0285.jpg.html
A peek through the looking glass:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0292.jpg.html
Fresh out of smoker & uncovered:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0294.jpg.html
Sliced into individual Ribs:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0297.jpg.html
Bear's First Helping:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0299.jpg.html
Close-up:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0301.jpg.html
The Rest. Bag on left for Bear Jr & his wife. Container for my fridge:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0302.jpg.html
__________________
Smoked Pork Spare Ribs cured with Tender Quick
Smoked in my MES 40
I put this in the “Bacon” forum because it is called "Bacon" (on a stick), and it is cured, and it does taste about in between Bacon & Ham.
Awhile back I smoked two untrimmed racks of Bacon-on-a-stick, and they were awesome. This time they had a good price on St Louis Cut, so I figured I'd try it that way.
Like the other Bacon-On-A-Stick, these are the best Ribs I ever had, and were right up top in being one of the best things I have ever smoked!!!
STEP BY STEP:
First Day:
Cut the 2 racks of Pork Spares into 4 pieces, so they will fit neatly into 4 Zip-Lock bags.
Remove membrane from back of Ribs, and trim loose fat from surfaces.
Rinse well, and pat dry with paper towels.
Weigh each piece, and calculate how much Tender Quick should go in each bag, with each piece.
Weigh the right amounts of TQ for each piece, and put these amounts on marked paper plates, ready for rubbing.
(One TBS (1/2 ounce) of TQ per pound), just like other TQ Dry rubs.
Rub each piece with it's proper amount of TQ, and put them in individual Zip-locks.
I also added one TBS of Brown Sugar to each piece, and threw any TQ that fell off into the bag with the piece it fell off of, so the proper amount of cure stays with each piece.
Put these packages in Fridge, laying flat, for 4 Days, flipping & massaging Daily. (Fridge set at 37˚/38˚ F)
Note: This time I cured for 4 days, so I can use lower temps, and I don't have to worry about the Danger Zone. These ribs were less than 1” thick.
Day #4A:
Remove pieces from curing bags, rinse well, and soak in cold water for 20 minutes, to remove surface salt..
Slice a couple thin pieces off, note internal color, and fry to test for salt flavor.
If it tastes salty, soak for an hour. Repeat as needed. These were Perfect after the initial 20 minute soak.
I have never had to soak anything to get rid of salt flavor, except when I used Hi Mt BBB Cure & Seasoning.
However---I always do a Salt-fry-test---Just in case!!!
Rinse pieces one more time, pat real dry, and put on smoker rack (bones down).
I also sprinkled both sides with Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, and Onion Powder.
Then I ran a fan on low over the Ribs for one hour to begin to form pellicle.
Day #4B (Smoking Day):
9:30 AM------------Pre-heat Smoker to 140˚.
9:30 AM------------Fill 2 rows of AMNPS with Hickory Pellets, and light one end real good. Do not put in Smoker yet.
10:00 AM------------Put meat in smoker on number two position. No smoke yet, to allow pellicle to finish forming.
10:30AM------------Put well lit AMNPS on bars, on left side, at bottom of Smoker.
11:00 AM------------Bump heat to 160*.
1:45 PM--------------Bump heat to 220*.
2:30 PM-------------Stack meat on wire rack in a foil pan, pour10 ounces of Apple Juice over ribs, and cover with doubled foil.
2:30 PM-------------Also remove AMNPS, and return covered meat to 2nd position in Smoker.
2:30PM-------------I also checked internals, and they ran from about 148˚ to 154˚ at this time.
4:30 PM-------------Cut heat back to 100˚, and close vent all but the thickness of my Smoker probe wire. This stops the cooking process.
4:50 PM-------------Remove meat from Smoker, unwrap, take pics, cut up Ribs, plate, add sides, and enjoy Great TQ Cured and Smoked Pork Spare Ribs!!!
These Really Were Awesome!!
Great flavor, moist, and tender!
Note: I will mention that in the end these were slightly salty (nothing offensive), so if you follow all of my method, you might want to soak the 4 pieces for an hour or two, instead of 20 minutes. I think it was because I used the full weight of the pieces in my calculations for TQ, and much of that weight is bone.
Thanks,
Bear
Two nice Pork Spares (St Louis cut):
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0275.jpg.html
TQ & Brown Sugar rubbed & bagged:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0276.jpg.html
Too many steps down to my Meat Fridge, so Mrs Bear has to share the kitchen fridge. Bags in bottom drawer:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0278.jpg.html
Soaked for 20 minutes, tested, rinsed, dried, and put on smoker grill:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0279.jpg.html
Fan on Low for one hour to begin to form pellicle:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0281.jpg.html
Fill 2 rows of my Handy Dandy AMNPS with Hickory pellets & light one end:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0285.jpg.html
A peek through the looking glass:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0292.jpg.html
Fresh out of smoker & uncovered:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0294.jpg.html
Sliced into individual Ribs:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0297.jpg.html
Bear's First Helping:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0299.jpg.html
Close-up:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0301.jpg.html
The Rest. Bag on left for Bear Jr & his wife. Container for my fridge:
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN0302.jpg.html
__________________
Last edited: