# Eric's first country ribs



## WildFireEric (Jul 8, 2007)

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?


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## Puff1 (Jul 8, 2007)

I saw those at the store today. I've never cooked them so thanks for reading my mind and posting it. 
Good luck!


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## 1MoreFord (Jul 8, 2007)

I've never done them on WSM, but on my offset they don't take near as long as real ribs or butts.

I'd check them Now!


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## WildFireEric (Jul 8, 2007)

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.


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## john a (Jul 8, 2007)

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.


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## WildFireEric (Jul 8, 2007)

*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.


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## Unity (Jul 8, 2007)

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 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




(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.)


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## Puff1 (Jul 8, 2007)

Sauce looks spicey.
What did you use??


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## WildFireEric (Jul 8, 2007)

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
> 
> ...



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.


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## WildFireEric (Jul 8, 2007)

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.


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## WildFireEric (Jul 8, 2007)

http://www.thermoworks.com/products/ir/irk.html will be my next tool. I'll probably order one tomorrow.


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## Puff1 (Jul 8, 2007)

WildFireEric said:
			
		

> http://www.thermoworks.com/products/ir/irk.html will be my next tool. I'll probably order one tomorrow.


 8)


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## Bill The Grill Guy (Jul 9, 2007)

WildFireEric said:
			
		

> http://www.thermoworks.com/products/ir/irk.html will be my next tool. I'll probably order one tomorrow.



Save your money Eric.  Get one of these,

Thermapen


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## Bruce B (Jul 9, 2007)

Eric,

Bill is correct (jeeeesh I can't believe I said that); you want the Thermopen.


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## wittdog (Jul 9, 2007)

that thermapen comes in real handy


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## PantherTailgater (Jul 9, 2007)

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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## 007bond-jb (Jul 9, 2007)

Umm country ribs


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## Unity (Jul 9, 2007)

wittdog said:
			
		

> that thermapen comes in real handy


You can order them from an eBay-UK seller for about $60 including shipping.

--John  8)


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## Puff1 (Jul 9, 2007)

Unity said:
			
		

> wittdog said:
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That is a good price  
Thanks John


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## ScottyDaQ (Jul 9, 2007)

Yeah, can't say I've ever Q'd those. I just grill em like PT said.


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## wittdog (Jul 9, 2007)

That is a great price...


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## john a (Jul 9, 2007)

Puff said:
			
		

> Unity said:
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> 
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How much is shipping from the UK? Mine was $85.00 was shipping from http://www.thermoworks.com/products/the ... _home.html


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## Guest (Jul 9, 2007)

I usually put country style ribs in a disposable aluminum pan with a can of beer and a bottle of BBQ sauce. Let it simmer covered on high heat for about an hour. After an hour brown them on the grill directly, then pour some juice from the pan and serve.
Very simple, but it tastes great.


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## WildFireEric (Jul 10, 2007)

erik13 said:
			
		

> I usually put country style ribs in a disposable aluminum pan with a can of beer and a bottle of BBQ sauce. Let it simmer covered on high heat for about an hour. After an hour brown them on the grill directly, then pour some juice from the pan and serve.
> Very simple, but it tastes great.



Sounds good. I may need to try this. I guess my problem was how to cook this and get it done without drying them out. I should have known beer was the answer. Thanks much.

Regarding the Thermapin, we wanted something that would give us surface temps (you know, to check the temps of your cooler (beer, meat, etc.) and do the instant read of the Thermapin. Get two meters for the price of one. So we get both with this. I'll try it out and let you know how it works. As long as the holster doesn't look too stupid, I'll take a picture. If I've had too much beer, I might just take a picture anyways.


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## WildFireEric (Jul 12, 2007)

*tricky reheat-more success today*

OK, after a few days of shame (eating my tough country ribs and not sharing with anyone), I accidentally stumbled across something. Today when foil wrapping the meat and heating up in the toaster oven, I tried 2 things that helped:
1. double foiled the meat and added some bbq sauce and watered down bbq sauce (for lots of liquid).
2. accidentally left the thing in there at 300 degrees for about 1.5 hours.

Result: not bad. The big chunks came out tender and nothing was scorched. I personally thought the sauce tasted minorly bitter as if burnt, but that might be the nature of the beast (i was using some 'competition' sauce that was more harsh than i'm used to). The combination of Amy's Asian/chicken sauce for the heating and this competition sauce added afterwards combined for a decent taste with a slight amount of heat. 

Once i ate a piece and it was tender, I knew it was time to share...So i gave out samples and ended up giving out about a pound and only keeping a pound for myself. 

I know how I'll be heating this up tomorrow  I still have plenty of amy's sauce  but i'm outta the competition stuff, so I guess I'll dig into their Texas Hot. (which isn't that hot)


Does anyone else have hints/pointers on reheating pork that needs an extended reheating session 'cause they pulled it off the que a little too soon? I like adding some moisture so when its reheating, it can steam a little. I know if the oven is too hot or not enough moisture or too much sugar, it will burn and end up feeding the garbage can. I think there was some juice in this case because there was fat that needed to render and it did! But I'm not sure about tomorrow's batch, so I'll try some sauce and some water, unless any of you have better ideas. After tomorrow, the 10 lbs of country ribs will be gone, and I won't have anything more to write about them.


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## wittdog (Jul 18, 2007)

If you order from Europe...it will read in C.....


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## Diva Q (Jul 18, 2007)

wittdog said:
			
		

> If you order from Europe...it will read in C.....



That is the only reason I have not bought one on eBay. 

LOL I only know F for Q


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## wittdog (Jul 18, 2007)

Diva Q said:
			
		

> wittdog said:
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BTGG needs to lear C for Q


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## WildFireEric (Jul 19, 2007)

Nope. I'm ordering straight from Utah. Make sure its in Plain old English. While I can spell Celcius/Centegrade better than Farenheight, I sure can't figure it out. Worse than trying to balance my checkbook after a day of Amy shopping for pots n pans. Just ain't gonna happen. I'd either burn something or undercook it so much that the thing will just run for its life off my grill. Not a pretty site...


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