short ribs

[jac63]

Cooked up some short ribs today that my cousin gave me from his freezer from a beef he had butchered about a year ago. Were not freezer burnt but had, to both my wife and i, what can only be described as a strong taste. Pretty disappointing and I have a couple more packages left. Also have two packages from a 1/4 beef we got last month. Guess I need to try the new ones to see if it's just me or there really is a strong flavor in the older ones.

First time for short ribs and was not impressed. I've done back ribs before and loved them, not sure how the flavor should compare. Did half of these with SPOG and other half with a commercial rub at 250 until IT was 203-205.

 

[smokerjim]

guess they look better than they tasted, how were they pack in the freezer, i'm not sure what would cause the strong flavor but is it possible the cow wasn't blead out proper, was it allowed to hang for the right amount of time, did you loose power for any extended times, it could be anything, like you said try some fresh ones and see what they taste like to you.

 

[jac63]

Beef was processed at a local custom meat packer that we have used for years. Always good results so I doubt that was the reason. Ribs were wrapped in plastic wrap (not vacuum) and then freezer paper. Just not sure what the cause is but the other year old packages are going to be disposed of. Have to believe it somehow is a result of age.

 

[chilerelleno]

Well... They look good.

Yeah, could be age, but I've had plenty of well packaged meats as old or older that tasted fine, if not burnt or showing some other signs of poor condition I don't know... Interesting.

They look like they may be a little overdone, and that may mean too much fat (flavor) rendered out?
When I cook I don't cook to a specific IT, IT is just a range within which I'm checking for tenderness, Probe tender is everything.

Don't throw'em away, give'em another chance!

I do know that my personal preferences when cut like that (cubed), and when cut into multi bone strips, they are in my opinion better cooked in another manner.
Grilled, braised or smoked/grilled and usually done with a flavorful sauce/glaze.
Korean BBQ sauce, Oyster sauce and Jamaican Oxtail are good examples.

And I much prefer whole racks or at least two bones with meat hanging off both sides of each bone.
I've tried meaty single bone halves and single bone whole, but multi-bone and racks just seem better when smoked.
I've had Back Ribs too, and there is no lack of flavor, no lack of greasy fat either.
And their flavor has been pretty much the same as Chuck short ribs.

 

[gmc2003]

Maybe your friend seasoned them before freezing.

Chris

 

[jac63]

Well... They look good.

Yeah, could be age, but I've had plenty of well packaged meats as old or older that tasted fine, if not burnt or showing some other signs of poor condition I don't know... Interesting.

They look like they may be a little overdone, and that may mean too much fat (flavor) rendered out?
When I cook I don't cook to a specific IT, IT is just a range within which I'm checking for tenderness, Probe tender is everything.

Don't throw'em away, give'em another chance!

I do know that my personal preferences when cut like that (cubed), and when cut into multi bone strips, they are in my opinion better cooked in another manner.
Grilled, braised or smoked/grilled and usually done with a flavorful sauce/glaze.
Korean BBQ sauce, Oyster sauce and Jamaican Oxtail are good examples.

And I much prefer whole racks or at least two bones with meat hanging off both sides of each bone.
I've tried meaty single bone halves and single bone whole, but multi-bone and racks just seem better when smoked.
I've had Back Ribs too, and there is no lack of flavor, no lack of greasy fat either.
And their flavor has been pretty much the same as Chuck short ribs.

They were probe tender at around 203, I agree a couple of the thinner pieces were over cooked though. I was mainly checking the thicker ones and should have pulled some of them a bit quicker.

The fat was there in abundance and I think that is where the strong flavor came from. It tasted like slightly rancid fat if that makes any sense. The meat was tender and juicy just had an unappealing strongness to it.

They did look good and I was really anticipating the meal, the flavor just didn't match the appearance unfortunately.

I promised my cousins wife a meal of smoked ribs when they gave these to me. Glad she wasn't here for this batch.

 

[chilerelleno]

Man, I'd been super bummed out.