Yesterday we had ice fog and frost on the ground. It must be a day to smoke! Here is a picture of my side yard in one of the clearer points, you can see the frost. and this was 10 am. Just to prove winter is here, it is snowing as I type this.
The local supermarket had a sale on side ribs a few days ago. They were the usual scraggy thin ribs they put on sale but I am cheap. I had Pop's thread http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/96273/pops-original-bacon-on-a-stick-wet-brine-method on my to do list. It seemed the time was right.
I made some Pop's Brine - http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/110799/pops6927s-wet-curing-brine. In case you haven't noticed by my posts, I have a great deal of gratitude to the members of this forum particularly people like Pops. I continue to use their knowledge and feel inspired by their experience.
I pulled the silverskin off the ribs.
Then I put it in the brine, weighted the top and refrigerated it for 2 1/2 days (the ribs weren't very thick. I would have gone to 3 days if they were thicker).
Out of the fridge, I rinsed them off under running water and then soaked them for an hour in water, changing the water twice.
I patted them dry with paper towels. Then I put on a light rub of my Passing Wind Estates rub. It is paprika based and not particularly heavy on sugars or heat. I am old.
As the rub is low on sugar and the pork was going to come out ham like, I decided to go with a sweet coating like the ham dinners we used to have. So, I rubbed on some Demerara sugar to give a more sweet crust. Then I put it in the fridge overnight.
The next morning, I took the ribs out of the fridge and put them in front of a fan for an hour to dry a little more.
Then it was into the Bradley set at 230 F. I added my A-MAZE-N pellet smoker with one arm of oak pellets lit.
After 2 1/2 hours, I took them out. I loved the red colour! It really reminded me of bacon.
I mixed 2 tablespoons of sherry with two tablespoon of honey and one tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce. I nuked it for a minute just so the honey would dissolve. I put the ribs in a roasting pan and poured the mixture over them.
All were covered in foil and it went into a 240 F oven for 2 hours. (Yes oven. Even a Fanatic Canadian Smoker likes to get out of the cold and there is no more smoke added).
After the 2 hours.
During these 2 hours, I made my favourite ham glaze:
Maple Glaze
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 ½ tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 clove garlic finely chopped
½ tablespoon Dijon
½ teaspoon salt
Bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes. May be stored for a couple of weeks in refrigerator.
My wife's family always has cloves on their ham. I think it is too strong on the ham but she has a cold so I added 1/4 teaspoon of cloves to today's glaze. She spoils me rotten and I can live with cloves to make her feel better.
I gave the ribs a layer of glaze and put them back in a 230 F oven for an hour, brushing the ribs every 15 minutes.
The 1/2 hour brushing.
After the hour.
The finished product.
The final verdict: These were excellent. It was like having a whole plate of the outside glazed pieces from the family ham. However, being side ribs, they were very juicy and a great texture. Kids would absolutely love these. The only thing I might do a little different next time is to only give it a brush of glaze at the beginning of the last hour and at 1/2 hour as the glaze was quite thick. She Who Must Be Obeyed disagrees and loves the thick shiny glaze.
If you haven't tried Bacon on a Stick. I recommend it. I love ribs but the same old ribs time after time needs a break. This is an excellent way to change it up.
Thanks, Pops!
Disco
The local supermarket had a sale on side ribs a few days ago. They were the usual scraggy thin ribs they put on sale but I am cheap. I had Pop's thread http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/96273/pops-original-bacon-on-a-stick-wet-brine-method on my to do list. It seemed the time was right.
I made some Pop's Brine - http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/110799/pops6927s-wet-curing-brine. In case you haven't noticed by my posts, I have a great deal of gratitude to the members of this forum particularly people like Pops. I continue to use their knowledge and feel inspired by their experience.
I pulled the silverskin off the ribs.
Then I put it in the brine, weighted the top and refrigerated it for 2 1/2 days (the ribs weren't very thick. I would have gone to 3 days if they were thicker).
Out of the fridge, I rinsed them off under running water and then soaked them for an hour in water, changing the water twice.
I patted them dry with paper towels. Then I put on a light rub of my Passing Wind Estates rub. It is paprika based and not particularly heavy on sugars or heat. I am old.
As the rub is low on sugar and the pork was going to come out ham like, I decided to go with a sweet coating like the ham dinners we used to have. So, I rubbed on some Demerara sugar to give a more sweet crust. Then I put it in the fridge overnight.
The next morning, I took the ribs out of the fridge and put them in front of a fan for an hour to dry a little more.
Then it was into the Bradley set at 230 F. I added my A-MAZE-N pellet smoker with one arm of oak pellets lit.
After 2 1/2 hours, I took them out. I loved the red colour! It really reminded me of bacon.
I mixed 2 tablespoons of sherry with two tablespoon of honey and one tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce. I nuked it for a minute just so the honey would dissolve. I put the ribs in a roasting pan and poured the mixture over them.
All were covered in foil and it went into a 240 F oven for 2 hours. (Yes oven. Even a Fanatic Canadian Smoker likes to get out of the cold and there is no more smoke added).
After the 2 hours.
During these 2 hours, I made my favourite ham glaze:
Maple Glaze
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 ½ tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 clove garlic finely chopped
½ tablespoon Dijon
½ teaspoon salt
Bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes. May be stored for a couple of weeks in refrigerator.
My wife's family always has cloves on their ham. I think it is too strong on the ham but she has a cold so I added 1/4 teaspoon of cloves to today's glaze. She spoils me rotten and I can live with cloves to make her feel better.
I gave the ribs a layer of glaze and put them back in a 230 F oven for an hour, brushing the ribs every 15 minutes.
The 1/2 hour brushing.
After the hour.
The finished product.
The final verdict: These were excellent. It was like having a whole plate of the outside glazed pieces from the family ham. However, being side ribs, they were very juicy and a great texture. Kids would absolutely love these. The only thing I might do a little different next time is to only give it a brush of glaze at the beginning of the last hour and at 1/2 hour as the glaze was quite thick. She Who Must Be Obeyed disagrees and loves the thick shiny glaze.
If you haven't tried Bacon on a Stick. I recommend it. I love ribs but the same old ribs time after time needs a break. This is an excellent way to change it up.
Thanks, Pops!
Disco
