Eric's first country ribs

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WildFireEric

Senior Cook
Joined
Jun 18, 2007
Messages
292
Location
Sterling, VA
OK, these are sliced up pork shoulders, but it was late Saturday night and I was desparate for something to smoke for Sunday. Anything beef (and the pork ribs) looked rather nasty, so I figured I'd try these.
1. I wasn't sure if to cook these like regular ribs (3-2-1) or like a butt.
2. WSM dome temps were steady between 240-250 for first 2 hours.
3. Three apple chunks were more smokier than expected.
4. I foiled at 2 hours to avoid dryness, over smoke and help speed the process a little (I need these baby's to be done in 6 hours or less).
5. I didn't consume my first beverage (34 degrees) until the 4 hour mark. I'll need to catch up on this.

I did apply mustard and rub.


I have 5 lbs laying flat on each of the upper and lower racks. I plan on taking meat temps and removing the foil in another hour.


Your thoughts?
 
I saw those at the store today. I've never cooked them so thanks for reading my mind and posting it.
Good luck!
 
brian j said:
country style ribs are good but like you said, they ain't real ribs. i usually cover them with some sort of rub and cook indirect saucing in the last 30 minutes or so. they're great for when you need a taste of bbq on a week night.

Well for me, I'll stick with ribs or butt and no more 'in between' things. Freezer works good to store real bbq made during the weekend for me.

Note: not all pieces had a bone and not all had much of an external fat cap. I was concerned that some of the leaner pieces might dry out before the fat rendered on the other pieces. All I can say is that these are NOT ribs and cooking as if they are probably isn't a good idea. My 2-2.5-1.5 method was not long enough to make this 'fork tender', although the bones came out easy.

While I did get a lot of juice when they were in foil, there was quite a bit more fat left in some of these pieces. The outside appeared to be drying out, so that's why I decided to pull them.

I didn't much of a smoke ring because I foiled too early (but at least it didn't get oversmoked). Still moist with lots of fat, but not cooked enough to be really tender. I'll take this into consideration when heating at work (in foil) for lunch.

Since this doesn't resemble ribs, I'm going to chop this up and eat as sandwhiches.

I'll post my pictures soon.
 
They can be cut from a pork butt or from the blade end of the loin closest to the shoulder. I prefer those from a cut up butt.
 
Eric's first and last pork country ribs

1. Pulled out of foil (approx. 4.5 hours into cooking them)


2. Just put the BBQ sauce on. Around 5.5 hour cook time


3. Decided to chop it up. Too much of a mess to treat as 'ribs'


In retrospect, I should have
1. not bought this meat
2. drank more beer when watching "father of the bride 2" while cooking this
3. cook longer, perhaps a 3-3-0 or 3-4-0 method, with foil later and finish in foil. The irregular shapes and sizes were a challenge. I'll count my reheating time towards total cook time.
 
If they're cut from the loin, there won't be enough fat to notice, and cooking 'em low and slow will just mean it's a long time till you eat. They need to cook fairly quickly and come off at about medium doneness, 150-155°, like a loin roast. Otherwise they'll be dry and tough.

--John
pig-smiley.gif

(I've done them on the WSM, keeping track with a remote thermometer, but I prefer to use the kettle and an instant-read thermometer.)
 
Unity said:
If they're cut from the loin, there won't be enough fat to notice, and cooking 'em low and slow will just mean it's a long time till you eat. They need to cook fairly quickly and come off at about medium doneness, 150-155°, like a loin roast. Otherwise they'll be dry and tough.

--John
pig-smiley.gif

(I've done them on the WSM, keeping track with a remote thermometer, but I prefer to use the kettle and an instant-read thermometer.)

Packaging said shoulder. Based on the amount of fat in these babies, I'd agree they are shoulders. I did read somewhere that if loin, then you are correct to treat them like loin roast.
 
Puff said:
Sauce looks spicey.
What did you use??

http://www.bbq-4-u.com/viewtopic.php?t=9826
Near the bottom is the recipe. It's not spicy at all. Thick and sweet with an Asian taste to it. I made too much of it last month and am trying to use it up. Not much harm when using on the bbq, but not my favorite to mop on and eat right away. I cut it with a little vinegar and added regular mustard prior to mopping it.
 
I love the flavor of country style ribs. I try to even up the size of the pieces somewhat and grill them indirect, caramalize the sauce at the end over direct fire. If you don't cook them too fast and don't overcook them, they're very tender and tasty IMO.
 
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