- Jul 28, 2008
- 9
- 10
I want to start by thanking all the thin blue smokemasters that replied to my posted questions and everyone on the forum in general as just browsing the various posts has given me lots of great knowledge.
I made 3 racks of spare ribs using the 3-2-1 and a pork shoulder following Meowy's sticky.
The Rub:
After reading lots and lots of rib rub recipes and getting a feel for the range of spices/herbs, I decided to see what was in the cupboard and use what I had to make my own. My wife got me 2 jars of McCormick's Rubs with the smoker, the Pork rub which has chili pepper, spices and herbs including red pepper, and brown sugar as its 1st 3 ingredients, and the Roasting Rub which has onion, salt and herbs de provence as its 1st 3 ingredients. I also had some instant gourmet-grande southwest which has spices, paprika, dehydrated veggies (garlic,onions,salt) as its 1st 3 ingredients. I also had some Paprika so I made my own mix of the 2 McCormick rubs, the instant gourmet and extra paprika just for shiggles.
I tried rubbing olive oil on 1 rack and mustard on the other 2 racks and mustard on the shoulder and sprinkled/patted lots of rub on everything.
Smoking Wood:
I used a blend of 3/4 cherry with 1/4 hickory in my brinkmann electric smoker. I started the shoulder at 6am and the ribs at 12pm hoping everything would be ready at 6.
Rib Results:
wow. fantastic. I dont think "fall off the bone" is the right term, it was more like, the bones fell out the ribs. I had to use a spatula to get the ribs from the smoker to the platter..a few of the bones had fallen out to the ribs on the bottom grill. I can understand why some would think that was too tender, but not me. The mustard was far superior to the olive oil IMO. The crust formed was incredibly flavorful. I got a ton of compliments and the best one was overheard by me when one of my wife's friends turned to her husband and asked him why he cant make ribs this good.
Shoulder Results:
I keep underestimating the timing. I had a 5 lb shoulder and thought for sure it would be ready for foiling early enough for me to wrap it and put it away by 5 (11 hours later). It plateaued at 150 at around noon and was still there at 3 when I foiled the ribs...at 4 it was still there so I foiled it and put it in the oven on 250 until 5pm and then wrapped it in the towel. I did not re-check the temp cause all I had was the kind you stick in with large dial and I didnt want to wrap it with that in it (I guess I could have) so I just crossed my fingers. At 6 I unwrapped it and it was just short of fall apart tender...I was easily able to pull it apart with my fingers though with my gloves on so thats what I did instead of getting a fork and shredding it. I served it next to the ribs and it tasted great and wasnt chewey at all. Several people grabbed hamburger buns and made sanwiches and a few guys raised their sandwiches to me in a grunting salute so that about says it all.
So, I had excellent results using all the tips and tecniques I read about here. I am sold on the 3-2-1 for ribs and I am still striving for that fall apart shoulder. Maybe I should use the bottom grill instead of the top?
Sorry no pics, but my wife had the camera.
I made 3 racks of spare ribs using the 3-2-1 and a pork shoulder following Meowy's sticky.
The Rub:
After reading lots and lots of rib rub recipes and getting a feel for the range of spices/herbs, I decided to see what was in the cupboard and use what I had to make my own. My wife got me 2 jars of McCormick's Rubs with the smoker, the Pork rub which has chili pepper, spices and herbs including red pepper, and brown sugar as its 1st 3 ingredients, and the Roasting Rub which has onion, salt and herbs de provence as its 1st 3 ingredients. I also had some instant gourmet-grande southwest which has spices, paprika, dehydrated veggies (garlic,onions,salt) as its 1st 3 ingredients. I also had some Paprika so I made my own mix of the 2 McCormick rubs, the instant gourmet and extra paprika just for shiggles.
I tried rubbing olive oil on 1 rack and mustard on the other 2 racks and mustard on the shoulder and sprinkled/patted lots of rub on everything.
Smoking Wood:
I used a blend of 3/4 cherry with 1/4 hickory in my brinkmann electric smoker. I started the shoulder at 6am and the ribs at 12pm hoping everything would be ready at 6.
Rib Results:
wow. fantastic. I dont think "fall off the bone" is the right term, it was more like, the bones fell out the ribs. I had to use a spatula to get the ribs from the smoker to the platter..a few of the bones had fallen out to the ribs on the bottom grill. I can understand why some would think that was too tender, but not me. The mustard was far superior to the olive oil IMO. The crust formed was incredibly flavorful. I got a ton of compliments and the best one was overheard by me when one of my wife's friends turned to her husband and asked him why he cant make ribs this good.
Shoulder Results:
I keep underestimating the timing. I had a 5 lb shoulder and thought for sure it would be ready for foiling early enough for me to wrap it and put it away by 5 (11 hours later). It plateaued at 150 at around noon and was still there at 3 when I foiled the ribs...at 4 it was still there so I foiled it and put it in the oven on 250 until 5pm and then wrapped it in the towel. I did not re-check the temp cause all I had was the kind you stick in with large dial and I didnt want to wrap it with that in it (I guess I could have) so I just crossed my fingers. At 6 I unwrapped it and it was just short of fall apart tender...I was easily able to pull it apart with my fingers though with my gloves on so thats what I did instead of getting a fork and shredding it. I served it next to the ribs and it tasted great and wasnt chewey at all. Several people grabbed hamburger buns and made sanwiches and a few guys raised their sandwiches to me in a grunting salute so that about says it all.
So, I had excellent results using all the tips and tecniques I read about here. I am sold on the 3-2-1 for ribs and I am still striving for that fall apart shoulder. Maybe I should use the bottom grill instead of the top?
Sorry no pics, but my wife had the camera.
