CSR questions

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tumbleweed1

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Jan 29, 2015
490
201
Chicago suburbs
I got me about 5 lbs of bone-in CSRs here & not having smoked these before, I'm trying to get a plan together. I've searched some of the threads here & there are a lot of ways people have done them with varying results. What I'm thinking is to put my rub on about 4-5 hours before smoke time, put them directly on the racks at 275 degrees, maybe foil them after 2 hours for another hour & a half or so with some apple juice & squeeze butter. After that I was thinking I'd check the temp & as long as they were around 180 I would sauce them & stick'em back in for about 15-20 minutes. 

What I'm hoping for is for those who have done these cuts to offer me up some advice on my plan or give me some alternatives. Here are the things I'm still a little up in the air about:

1- The first 2 hours directly on the rack. I was thinking about using pans, but wouldn't that basically be boiling/braising them? For that reason, I am thinking the rack is the way to go.

2- The smoker temp (275). I use 275 on my MES 30 for pretty much everything. I like the hot & fast & sometimes wish this little box would go to 350 or so. But never having done CSRs before, I want to make sure there's no problem with 275.

3- The 2-1.5-.5 method. I'm shooting for tender & these aren't huge cuts or anything, so even though I don't wrap my baby back ribs when I do them, I believe I should probably be wrapping these. I don't want them to come out too dry.

I would certainly appreciate any input/advice I can get before doing these.

Thank you,

TW
 
To me, CSR's are a knife and fork meal, not a pick up like baby backs. I don't foil my baby backs, but here is my method on CSR's that we love. I rub them just like a butt or other ribs and when my temp is about 275* i put them directly on the grate. I usually use either cherry or apple chunks. I keep them at 260-275* for about two hours until probe tender. I put the ribs into a foil pan and use a braise of 2 parts Jeff's sauce, 1 part apple juice and 1 part honey. I cover the pan with foil and put it back in the smoker for another hour. After that, I just take them off and let them sit to rest for about 30 minutes or however long we can resist.

They are very tender and very moist. My friends and family like them a ton.
Good luck. I hope you enjoy. Joe
 
To me, CSR's are a knife and fork meal, not a pick up like baby backs. I don't foil my baby backs, but here is my method on CSR's that we love. I rub them just like a butt or other ribs and when my temp is about 275* i put them directly on the grate. I usually use either cherry or apple chunks. I keep them at 260-275* for about two hours until probe tender. I put the ribs into a foil pan and use a braise of 2 parts Jeff's sauce, 1 part apple juice and 1 part honey. I cover the pan with foil and put it back in the smoker for another hour. After that, I just take them off and let them sit to rest for about 30 minutes or however long we can resist.

They are very tender and very moist. My friends and family like them a ton.
Good luck. I hope you enjoy. Joe
Thank you for the quick response, Joe. These are bone-in. I like the sound of your method- it's not far off from what I was thinking. My plan was to go with hickory, since they would only be seeing 2 hours of smoke. I had thought of apple, since I will be using apple juice in the foil, but was worried the apple wood might not be "strong enough" for such a short smoke? Do you get enough smoke flavor using just the apple? I have hickory, cherry, apple & peach woods here. I tried an all-peach smoke once & was disappointed in the amount of "smokiness" in the flavor of the meat. 

TW
 
I'm not real big on a total smoke flavor. I just want the apple or cherry to supplement the meat flavor. My heat wood is oak. The flavor chunks that I use are usually for only about two hours and then done.
 
I'm not real big on a total smoke flavor. I just want the apple or cherry to supplement the meat flavor. My heat wood is oak. The flavor chunks that I use are usually for only about two hours and then done.
Thanks.

I may just mix the hickory & apple woods then & see how it goes. I've done it on longer smokes & it's worked out.

TW
 
TW I have done them in my MES 40 just like ribs low and slow. Fall off the bone tender

Richie
 
TW.  I have done CSRs like baby backs, and wasn't happy with the results.  The next time I treated them like loin or tenderloin.  No foil, just on the grates.  I used a mix of about 70/30 hickory and apple.  They weren't fall off the bone, but I prefer them to need some biting.  They came out tender and moist and delicious.

Gary
 
The method depends on the type of CSR's. If mostly Loin meat, light pink over darker meat by the bone, Gary called it. Smoke until 145-150. Knife and Fork needed. If all Dark Meat, then they are smoked until falling off the bone as the meat is more like a Butt, foiling helps make them tender...JJ

These...

images


Verses, these...

images
 

Or these...

images
 
 
Last edited:
 
TW I have done them in my MES 40 just like ribs low and slow. Fall off the bone tender

Richie
Rich, that's probably real good advice. Thanks.
Let us know how they turn out.
You know I will. I have a thread on here for almost all of my smokes. They provide a nice point of reference & it doesn't hurt when the experts can pipe up!
 
TW.  I have done CSRs like baby backs, and wasn't happy with the results.  The next time I treated them like loin or tenderloin.  No foil, just on the grates.  I used a mix of about 70/30 hickory and apple.  They weren't fall off the bone, but I prefer them to need some biting.  They came out tender and moist and delicious.

Gary
 
The method depends on the type of CSR's. If mostly Loin meat, light pink over darker meat by the bone, Gary called it. Smoke until 145-150. Knife and Fork needed. If all Dark Meat, then they are smoked until falling off the bone as the meat is more like a Butt, foiling helps make them tender...JJ

These...

images


Verses, these...

images
 

Or these...

images
 
Gary, I was just a little worried that without foiling, they may be dry. I too, am not looking for fall-apart meat, just something tender.

CJJ- It's hard to tell WHAT they look like, as they're still in the freezer. From what I COULD see, I'd say they look more like your second or third photo, not really like the first one. I believe I'll try & get a photo of them when I get them thawed out in a couple of days & maybe I can go from there. I printed up the shrimp marinade recipe you gave me & I'll be trying it in the future.

Thanks guys,

TW
 
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