Smoked ribs question

[shawnc]

Yesterday I did a sweet rub on a rack of ribs. When done the ribs were tender, almost fall off the bone and the crust on top was very nice but it was not a dark caramelized appearance. The fat I left on it rendered very nicely. The paprika I didn't think was that heavy but the ribs have a real red appearance The question is what is the appearance of the final ribs look like? Look good?

The taste was great and tasted great today with what was left.

 

[boykjo]

Looks fine to me.....

Boykjo

 

[whistlepig]

If the ribs taste good the color doesn't matter to me. But your ribs look pretty good to me!

 

[crazymoon]

SC, IMHO your rub ingredients dictate your rib appearance,yours look tasty. Less paprika would have made them look less reddish but if they tasted great than it's all good !

 

[Mack73]

Hey Shawn, I think Crazymoon nailed it. It is all about ingredients in the rub. If you don't have brown sugar in your rub try it...would probably help to get that caramelized look you want. I use that on all my ribs. Smoke on brother.

 

[mike243]

Looks great, did you use cherry to smoke them with?

 

[noboundaries]

If you don't mind, post your rub recipe and what you used as a base to make it stick to the ribs. Interesting looking BBs.

 

[Mack73]

If you don't mind, post your rub recipe and what you used as a base to make it stick to the ribs. Interesting looking BBs.

SORRY! MY BAD...THOUGHT I WAS ANSWERING ON ANOTHER POST. DELETE IF YOU LIKE. I WILL LEAVE THIS RECIPE HERE.


No Problem. I got this from Harry Soo's site, but it is a general rub you can find all over the internet. I have had better, but needed to whip something up quick with what I had in the house and this does great in a pinch. Mustard as base. I just add a little more paprika for the red and added a tbs of onion powder. When I foil I use a more brown sugar, apple juice 2 tbs and honey or agave.

• 4 tbsp Kosher Salt
• 2 tbsp White Granulated Sugar
• 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2 tbsp California Mild Chili Powder
• 2 tbsp Paprika
• 1 tbsp Ground Cumin
• 1 tbsp Granulated Garlic
• 1 tbsp Black Pepper
• ½ TSP Cayenne Pepper (use sparingly or not at all)

 

[shawnc]

Looks great, did you use cherry to smoke them with?

Competition pellet mix

 

[thirdeye]

Hmmmm, I was going to go along with mike243 and suggest cherry had a play in the color, but maybe it's the barbecue gods giving you the thumbs up.

 

[SmokinAl]

Looks good to me!
Everybody likes there ribs differently.
As long as what your doing is making your family & friends happy, then I would just stick with that!
Al

 

[shawnc]

If you don't mind, post your rub recipe and what you used as a base to make it stick to the ribs. Interesting looking BBs.

1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoon paprila
1/4 c brown sugar

I use olive oil, very light amount and then put the first coat on the rack, wait about 20 minutes and put a second coat on the top of the ribs then straight to the smoker at 225

 

[noboundaries]

Yep. That's a lot of paprika when compared to the other ingredients.

 

[Shartair]

to my opinion, there's nothing that we could call "the best" as long as we talk about smoked ribs. Tastes are different. Yah, there is a "general preference" but in the end, as long as you love it - it doesn't matter. we're all going through trial and fail.

 

[noboundaries]

Over the decades, I've cooked ribs probably every possible way from slow cooker to open fire. When I started smoking ribs, I mimicked the "pros" on TV shows. They piled on the rub. When the ribs were ready, all I could taste was the rub, and it was kind of a powdery mouth feel. I went back to a light dusting. The pork flavor returned and the rub was an enhancement, not the star attraction.

Bottom line, pros are selling their rub products. The more you use, the more they sell, so they pile it on. Tastes can certainly adapt to that style of heavy rub. Nothing wrong with that. I prefer to let the meat shine first, then the smoke, and finally the rub. My wife likes hers with a glaze, too, but that's a different thread.

 

[Mack73]

I have heard people say they like to switch it up and just smoke ribs with salt, pepper and garlic powder. I have never tried it, but might give one rack a try to see what is all about. Sometimes simple is best. I like my steaks with just salt and pepper to get the taste of the steak to shine through.
Its a thought.