Costco Cured Spare Ribs?

[harleysmoker]

I bought a 2 pack of spare ribs from Costco a couple weeks ago in the sealed plastic wrap. Since they were not real meaty I decided to smoke them 2-2-1 instead of 3-2-1. I trimmed them up, removed membrane, brushed them with olive oil, applied my rub, smoked at 225* with hickory. Everything I normally do except sometimes I use a different wood, and I used a 1/4 cup of beer in the foil stage instead of apple juice.

When I went to eat them I could swear I was eating ham, and they had no smoke ring, pink like ham all the way through, but done. I dug the package out of the trash and read the label and it did not say enhanced, cured or anything. I just wonder if anyone had experienced this and if they due cure ribs????????

 

[pops6927]

I have cured my own ribs intentionally, I call them Bacon-On-A-Stick (see link in signature line).  

But, you have now experienced the might of the wood smoke!  At lower temperature levels, esp. with thin meats, the wood smoke itself produces a nitrite-type chemical reaction and is what is 'curing' the meat.  This is why smoking meat is a preservative, even if no chemicals are added.