ribs: brining and store bought "enhanced" question

[cab2g]

I just had a revelation. My wife was telling me that she doesn't like how sometimes the smoker makes the food taste like ham... And I promised her that it was not the smoker that was doing it and that the pink color was just from the smoke. However, I came to realize that not all ribs are created equal and some of the ribs we were eating were more "ham-like" than others.

It turned out to be the fact that the brand name vacuum sealed ribs we bought from some stores came "enhanced" And the main enhancement was a saltwater solution. This had led me to frustration in the past because some of my ribs also came out too salty, or not salty enough because I was worried about over-salting.

Anyway, I haven't done any experiments myself, but have any of you brined one rack of ribs at home and left another without brine? What were your results? How did the texture and flavor change? Has anybody just bought a random rack of enhanced ribs and cooked it along side a rack of non-enhanced ribs?

I am so curious to settle this once and for all!

I'd love some Q-View if you have any!

 

[thoseguys26]

I've never brined my ribs before, just a dry rub and long smoke.. 

 

[smokinhusker]

Never brined either, just rub em and smoke...

 

[mdboatbum]

I've had pretty decent luck with enhanced ribs. Just don't smoke them as long and use a milder wood and they won't be hammy. They do tend to be a lot less firm, almost mushy sometimes. I totally get what you say about the hammy ribs. I've had them like that before and HATE them. I like ham, just not in my ribs.

 

[cab2g]

I've had pretty decent luck with enhanced ribs. Just don't smoke them as long and use a milder wood and they won't be hammy. They do tend to be a lot less firm, almost mushy sometimes. I totally get what you say about the hammy ribs. I've had them like that before and HATE them. I like ham, just not in my ribs.

You're right. Now that I think about it, the enhanced ribs may be a bit softer. I wonder if a shorter brine at home would not lead to the same softness...

 

[daveomak]

cab2g, morning....I just did some ribs from a local butcher shop.... No enhancing... No vac-pack.... just old fashioned, plain, off the pig ribs ....  they were salted lightly, a sprinkling of spices and into the smoker they went.....

Conclusion... I will never buy enhanced vac-packed ribs again...  they were awesome.... I had forgotten what real ribs tasted like....   I know they cost more and are harder to get but... some things are worth it....

Dave

 

[cab2g]

I'm going to do an experiment this weekend. I have a slab on non-enhanced ribs. My wife told me 2 slabs was too much on top of the brisket we're making, so I am cutting the one slab in half and soaking it in a salt and brown sugar brine. not too much sugar, I hope, but a lot of rubs have brown sugar, so I figured it couldn't hurt. By Sunday they should be nice and brined! The other half will be left alone, so we'll see the results shortly. I probably can't reproduce the store-bought brine myself because they inject it, and it apparently has a couple other additives besides salt and sugar. But it should be close. I found a thread from Pops entitled "bacon on a stick" So I am using that for my inspiration! I cut the sugar in half though because I am afraid of making my ribs "sweet"

 

[oldschoolbbq]

cab2g , if you are going to use 'Sugar' , do yourself a favor and get 'Sugar in the Raw' or 'Turbinato' Sugar. The Raw will not Carmelize as quick and have to sweetness you want.

Pop's brine will certainly make them 'Bacony' like , and a good change...

Have fun and...

 

[venture]

I like my ribs as virginal as possible.  Then I like to rub them and see what reaction I get. 

  Then I smoke them.

But for something really different, once in a while I like this:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/96273/pops-original-bacon-on-a-stick-wet-brine-method

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[eman]

Have cooked many a rack of ribs and have never brined ribs ,never marinated ribs. It is not needed. Ribs have plenty of fat . If they are cooked low and slow at the proper temps they will not dry out .  Try just a lil mustard or olive oil wiped on the ribs and nice coat of rub.

 

[cab2g]

well the experiment went through without a hitch. I decided to do the 2-2-1 method as is popular here. And it works great. I was having problems keeping my smoker cool enough with a basket full of charcoal, but the temps were constant at least, so that's good! I ended up having to crack the lid to keep the temps down! Anyway, as a side effect, my ribs were nearly fall off the bone by the end of the 4th hour in the foil, but since I am crazy, I figured I would go all the way and smoke them for another 40 minutes unwrapped. I know that people in competitions say fall of the bone is bad, but I sure liked it!

The brined ribs ended up being a little saltier than I would've hoped for. But, I did fall the "bacon on a stick" method. So what did I expect? The brined version was also more pink, but I did not notice a difference in texture. I think I'll skip the brine next time! Anyway, here's some Q-view (btw, the star of the show was the burnt ends... I was very careful to cook the brisket perfectly)

 

 

[daveomak]

CAB, evening.... the ribs look awesome.... Great tutorial on different rib selections too....   Dave