Ribs in Beer?

[jnmsmoker]

Hello fellow smokers. I have been using this forum for a while now to get me started in smoking. I'm about to smoke some babby backs tomorrow and wonder if anyone uses beer in their foil during a 3-2-1 type smoke? I've had great luck with apple juice but am starting to get that creative feeling.

 

[grillmonkey]

Maybe a heavy dark beer. Add some apple cider to give it a little kick.

 

[noboundaries]

I'll piggy back on what Grillmonkey said. You can definitely get creative with liquids in wrappings.  The way I consider what liquid to use in my wrapping is by imagining what the jus will taste when I unwrap it and will it compliment the flavor profile of the meat.  I always save my jus for using in sauces and gravies.  If I think the liquid will make a good jus, I'll try it.  For BB ribs I stick with sweeter liquids.  My go-to is apple cider.  A regular beer works but needs a little brown sugar IMO.  

My local grocer has a section of craft beers, mostly dark, that have everything in them from coffee to chocolate.  I've never tried them on BBs, but I have with pork butts for pulled pork and chuckies for pulled beef and smoked pot roast.  Yummy stuff.      

 

[trickyputt]

Try Sam Adams beer. If you cook with hops, the balance is important.

 

[jnmsmoker]

I have some Sam Adams in the fridge. Even a couple winter seasonal types. My wife prefers the ribs wrapped and "fall of the bone" whereas I like the meat to pull clean off the bone. But, I like to keep her happy and there's no bad way to eat smoked ribs. I have three racks cut in half so I will experiment a bit when I wrap. I'll do half in apple juice or cider, and then try a couple brews in the other. I'll throw a bit of brown sugar in with some beer as well. Thanks for all the suggestions! I'll report back to let ya'll know how it went. The ribs have been smoking for almost 2 hours now, gonna be a great Saturday evening.

 

[timberjet]

I am doing CSR's today and plan on using a local dark beer from the brewery across the street from my house. Will let you know how it turns out. I have used everything from Marguerita mix to PBR and all of them have been good. I wouldn't hesitate to use any beer.

 

[jnmsmoker]

Great avatar timberjet. My 7 year old thinks it's great. How he knew that was a beer in the stormtroopers hand, well that's beyond me?

 

[timberjet]

Thanks, I can't remember where I got that. It has been the wallpaper on my pc forever too. I am a star wars lover from way back. Beer lover too. Good on yer kid!

 

[jnmsmoker]

No cider in the fridge, so I had to do without. I decided on a Sam Adams Winter Lager because it's good and hoppy. I mixed a tsp. of brown sugar & a tsp. of butter. Did that with 2 half racks. The 3rd I used half apple juice and half beer.

The other three half racks just got apple juice, but I decided to throw a tsp. of butter and brown sugar in 2 of those also. Everything is labeled now, hopefully I'll keep them all straight once unwrapped. I'll certainly let everyone know how my beer experiment went. It all smells so good. Unwrap in 20 min. Dinner in about an hour and a half. Better get those baked potatoes going.

 

[grillmonkey]

You don't happen to live near Twin City, Ga. do you? I think you would be better served with my unbiased opinion of which ribs are best.

 

[talan64]

I've done ribs with IPA.  I use a foil pan, and do 6 racks, stack them in them in there, dump in the IPA and cover with foil. 2 hrs in and then back on the rack, gives it a nice "wheatie" taste.

I don't do them with beer all the time, I use apple juice sometimes and have used a mix of melted butter/honey (similar to what Johnny Trigg uses).

They all come out great!

 

[jnmsmoker]

Actually, I live in mid-Michigan. I'm smokin' in the snow. I had to build a styrofoam enclosure to keep the smoker at temp. Baby backs are not my favorite, but were on sale this week as the local grocery store. I prefer St. Louis cut spares.

 

[grillmonkey]

I like whole spare ribs, excess fat and membrane removed.

 

[jnmsmoker]

You know, those were on sale as well, but I didn't know how all that extra untrimmed meat would do in the smoker. I'll look for some techniques. They'll still be on sale tomorrow and I could throw them in the freezer for a couple weeks.

 

[jnmsmoker]

So what I learned about beer in the foil: It has a super powerful effect.

A couple oz. will change the flavor of your ribs a lot. I ended up liking the mixture of beer and apple juice better as it was more subtle. The meat's flavor actually reminded me of the Jack Danials sauce by TGIFridays.

Next smoke will be with regular spare ribs and apple cider. It was a worth while experiment, but I would use a milder beer next time I feel experimental. Maybe a plain old Budweiser. Either way, the ribs were delicious and I will be enjoying them tomorrow as well.

 

[trickyputt]

Lol people laugh at me for enjoying Budweiser. I went to Europe once, and while I enjoyed that local vintage, I hopped on the beer train after a while. I couldnt buy a Budweiser. I could buy a "Bud" in the same exact container, but it didnt say Budweiser. I asked why it said "Bud" instead. The waiter told me the German town that had made the original brew sold the formula to you know who, and it wasnt allowed to sell under the town name anymore, but there were some similiar ones. So it turns out Budweiser is a german beer, from way back anyway, and a good one.

 

[timberjet]

pbr1.jpg

• timberjet
• Jul 14, 2010

wish these were brains.jpg

• timberjet
• May 26, 2010

haha

 

[jarjarchef]

I love beer and pork together. Then throw some apple into the mix and I'm loving it even more.

I find dark beers are better to marinade with and the medium to light beers are better to cook with. I find dark beers tend to get bitter if heated too much or too long.

I worked at a German restaurant where we marinaded the roasted pork in the mixture of beers we served. At the start of each day we would reset up the kegs with full ones. The partials would them become the beer for the marinade. The pork would be in there for 3 days. It was great roasted, but when you smoked it, well it was amazing!!!