Ribs, Corn and Potatoes

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kilo charlie

Master of the Pit
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Sep 25, 2017
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Iowa
Spare Ribs, Twice Smoked Potato and Smoked Bacon Wrapped Corn

Ok... probably going to be a long post. Thanks in advance for making it all the way through.

First.. the money shot..

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I prefer Spare Ribs to begin with and with the crazy prices happening all around I picked up a rack for $1.94 a pound at the Walmart.

Lots of posts and questions about wrapping the ribs and people using Beef Tallow on the butcher paper.

My first task was triming the ribs, seasoning them with 2 to 1 Black Pepper and Kosher Salt, with Granulated Garlic, Granulated Onion, Chili Powder and for color some Paprika.

While the ribs got started in the smoker, I pulled out a sheet pan and wire rack and put on some thick cut bacon and also put that in the smoker.

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After the bacon was in for around an hour I pulled the pan and drained the bacon grease out of the pan into a bowl.

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I cut a few pieces of the bacon in half to use in a side project for lunch (Bacon Wrapped Scallops-but that's a different story)

At the 2 hour mark I broke out the butcher paper and poured the bacon grease on the paper and put the ribs on the paper and wrapped it up tight and back in the smoker for 2 more hours (more on this in a bit)

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Meanwhile, a couple of Russet Potatoes were cleaned, coated in Oilve Oil and sprinkled with Kosher Salt and a metal skewer inserted through them.
(My theory is the metal skewer helps the potatoes cook a little faster in the smoker because of the lower temps).
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At the 4 hour total mark I pulled the ribs... I knew right away they were over done just because of how limp the butcher paper was.

Now here's my problem with adding bacon grease or tallow to the butcher paper.. it literally soaker up all the fat from the ribs and the bacon grease that I added and it was drenched. This made a freaking mess. I was wearing gloves of course and put the ribs on a sheet pan but it was still messy as heck.

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The bark looked good.. they were just falling apart.

The other issue is the bacon grease basically crisped up the bark so much that any attempt to cut it just resulted in it tearing the bark all to heck..

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Back to the good stuff.. the potatoes were pulled and hollowed out .. the inside were put in a bowl and some Ranch Dip Mixed Sour Cream, butter, chopped up bacon, cheese and a bit of left over rub were all mixed together.

The potato mixture was put in a Ziploc bag and with the corner cut off the potato mixture was piped back into the potato skins.

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I thought this cheese was interesting so I used it in the potatoes.

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The corn was easy... just a fresh ear, shucked, wrapped in bacon with a few sliced Jalapeños under the bacon and put in the smoker ... I didn't grab any real pictures of that process.

Anyway.. the verdict.. I won't be adding bacon grease or beef tallow to wrap ribs in.
 
Did you get the flavors you were looking for with the ribs? The potatoes and corn were defintely a great side and the cheese mixture sounds good. Overall sounds like a great meal!🍻
John

Thank you!

I wasn't sure what to expect flavor wise... but the rub I used was perfect for me.. the bark was tasty despite being crispy... I consider it a success but also lesson learned for me! Haha
 
That's a great looking plate . I know there has been some talk about beef tallow and bacon grease . No way for me .
That's some fine looking food with top shelf skills though .
Nice work .
 
That plated pic got me hooked to make it through the long post... :emoji_laughing: :emoji_wink: . I've gone over to the no wrap team on my ribs. And the sides you cooked look great!
Jim

Thank you!

I wanted to try the latest "trend" and now I know it's not for me!

I've never used the butcher paper before and one of the local store was selling 6 foot rolls of it for $2 each so I thought I'd give it a try.

I used 3 feet on this experiment and I will probably use the other 3 feet without adding any additional fat just so I know how that works too.
 
Wow Charlie, I made the same meal last night. Yours looks a whole lot fancier then mine does. Nicely done.

Point for sure
Chris
 
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Wow Charlie, I made the same meal last night. Yours looks a whole lot fancier then mine does. Nicely done.

Point for sure
Chris
I just checked yours out and it looks fantastic! Your ribs definitely came out way better than mine!
 
Charlie,
Great post, I just wanted add that I will be stealing you piping trick to refill the potatoes. I love making twice baked potatoes, but I have always tried to just spoon in the completed filling. Reading your post felt like an "oh dou" moment, because that makes so much sense, why did I not think of that, why haven't I been doing that for years.
Thanks,
Mike R.
 
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Charlie,
Great post, I just wanted add that I will be stealing you piping trick to refill the potatoes. I love making twice baked potatoes, but I have always tried to just spoon in the completed filling. Reading your post felt like an "oh dou" moment, because that makes so much sense, why did I not think of that, why haven't I been doing that for years.
Thanks,
Mike R.

Thank you!

And no need to steal it.. it's yours to use! I think that's why write ups are encouraged here.. those little details we can all learn from!

Enjoy!
 
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