Peppers are in, ribs are smoked

So, yesterday I did a little yard work. After mulching the entire back, planting a few happy looking flowers in the herb garden and pruning the weeping bush and the Japanese Maple, I went ahead and planted a row of peppers in the front. I went with 2 yellow bells, 2 red bells, 1 banana (hot) and 1 mammoth jalapeno.

Hickory all Dickory Day

The peppers are in the tomato row of last year. The soil was sandy and black. I amended it with about three inches of homemade compost, but otherwise did not fertilize, or even lay down blood meal. Given that I've never had success with peppers, I have nothing to lose from this little experiment.

I also smoked some ribs for the occasion. I took a pair of baby backs, used the Four Seasonings blend to create a meat paste on them, and then smoked them at 220 for three hours over chunks of hickory. They came out black with a bark. I wrapped them and sweated them in the cooler for an hour. Then I put them on the grill and basted them (southern baste) for about fifteen minutes, medium heat (300 degrees).

NEXT TIME, will try foil wrapping them after 1 hour to keep the meat even more moist. I felt like the ribs were a little dry, although good. Grilling them afterwards will crust them enough, so no need to smoke em dead after one hour.

Meat on the Bone, Pampered

I enjoy all the ribs we do, but I still feel like my ribs aren't tender enough. I'm going to try the southern technique of smoking and then sweating them to see if I can't get them real tenda. We'll call this the SSS method: Soaked-Smoked-Sweated

Night before: rub down ribs in my proprietary rub--a rub so delectable that no one knows the recipe. And I mean no one. I have no idea what I put in this rub, except that it has some usual ingredients and some cinnamon in it too. Wrap ribs in plastic wrap and throw in the refrigerator. Soak wood chips for grilling the next day.

[15 hours later]

Get coals going. Add soaked woodchips. Set for indirect heat, drop in the ribs. Temperature starts at 150 and climbs over the next twenty minutes to 210, and stays there for the next 1 hour and twenty minutes. Remove, wrap with foil, return to grill. After another thirty minutes, drop all the dampers. Temp perpetually cools to 150 for the next one hour or so.

Total cooking time: 2.5-3 hours. Temperature is a bell curve from 150 to 210--no higher.

Remove and let sit for fifteen minutes. I also placed the rack on it side to let any excess fat train before I cut off the individual ribs.

Wrapping in foil works, except of course that a lot of liquified fat pools. This isn't a huge deal, but keep in mind which side is down. I put the bone side down, so the meaty portion stayed crispy.

The result was the most tender I've ever had with ribs. I've been overcooking them, no question. This produced a tender result, and one where the meat and the rub can really shine. I refused sauce, which is a big deal for me.

Meat on the Bone, Babyback style

For the arrival of the lil' gard'ner's gramma, I prepared babybacks in the following manner:

Remove ribs 30 minutes prior to cooking. Pull membrane.
Kosher salt ribs. Add rub of paprika, nutmeg (pinch) and brown sugar

Fire up to 400. Stir coals.
Add soaked hickory wood chips.
set for indirect, add pan of beer (miller)
two ribs in a rack.
temperature at 200.

Smoke for 2 hours 15 minutes.
(temperature crept up to 250, probably in the last forty five minutes of cooking)
remove ribs, wrap in foil, return to rack, close vents.

Cook for 1 hour 15 minutes. Closed down dampers after 1 hour.

Meat on the Bone

St. Louis Ribs (Maia's first) tonight. Here is the recipe for simple "Meat on the Bone"

Pull out ribs 30 minutes prior to cooking
Trim ribs and pull membrane.
Rub with paprika and sea salt
drizzle with oil
crack fresh ground pepper (red, white, black, and green is the current mixture).



Begin heating egg. Set for indirect heat, and add a pan of white wine (beer or apple juice works probably better). Put ribs directly into a rack while temperature is still low and mesquite is just beginning to smoke. Heat to 250 degrees, then close up and cook for 3-4 hours, preferably on the underside of that. (**next time, try wrapping in foil for the last hour of cooking; and then finishing on the grill.)

Today I began the cold smoke at 2:05 p.m. By 2:25 p.m. the temperature had reached 250 and I put on the damper. I have it open slightly more than I usually do, so will be checking quite frequently.

The temperature held quite steady, between 220-250 the whole time, stabilizing at 240. I pulled the ribs at 6:05 p.m. Nicely crusted, tender and juicy. Not fall off the bone, but tender and beautiful.

**Of interest. Second rack had to wait about an hour for serving. I wrapped it in foil and then put it back on the grill (200 degrees) for over half an hour. It came out softer than the first, having stewed in its own fat a bit. Impetus for trying out a foil wrapping after two and a half hours, followed by a finishing on the grill over direct heat after basting with bbq sauce.