TQ'd Rack Cut & St Louis Spares & Beans: q-view

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forluvofsmoke

Smoking Guru
Original poster
OTBS Member
Aug 27, 2008
5,170
409
I've never seen a butcher do this before to a slab of spares. I think they got my order mixed up with someone who doesn't own cutlery...
PDT_Armataz_01_03.gif


I took out a slab of fresh/frozen locally-grown spares last days off...when I unpacked it after thawing, the ribs were sliced between every bone...problem...what the heck am I gonna do with this!?!?!?

Out came the TQ for a brine/cure...IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT, TENDER-QUICK IT...LOLOL!!!...I figured the slab was about 4+ lbs, so dusted it on both sides with a total of 4 tbls TQ and coated well with a dry rub. The problem was trying to wrap it up for a fridge rest/dry cure. After fighting with poly wrap for a few minutes, I decided to bag it and go wet. I hoped this would smoke without drying out...we'll see.

So here we are, 5 days later...rinsed and soaked it for 20 minutes and seasoned with cbp only.

I cut two enhanced slabs into St Louis and coated the slabs and trimmings well with a blend of cbp, minced garlic, crushed dried onion, crushed dried red bell pepper, kosher salt and light brown sugar. This should be a good blend for a mesquite smoke today...lighten-up the heaviness of the mesquite and add some sweet spiciness along the way.


Going lower and slower today...2 hours in @ 215*, just peeking for pull-back:



Nice & coarse dry rub here on the ST Louis spares:



The TQ'd spares:



3 hour pull-back check:






3.75 hours, rotated the ST Louis cut rakes 180* for more even cooking and the Rack-cut spares @ 3.75 hours...now you can see the cuts:




I'm about 2/3 of the way through this rib burn, checked the trimmings for adding to the beans...not quite ready. I'm still using a blackberry for an internet modem...man, that's slow uploading...

More to follow!

Thanks for peekin'!

Eric
 
The TQ brine/cured spares seem to be coming along OK so far...I was hoping the lower chamber temp for the smoke would help them retain their moisture better...not much pull-back showing after 5 hours in, so I decided to pan & foil tent.


The TQ'd spares:



Panned up with the tips from ST Louis cut:



St Louis:



The rib trimmings for dicing into the beans:



The works...that's diced rib trimmings on lower left and home-smoked hickory side pork to the right:



Ready to go:



I'm not going for bark on the ST Louis cut ribs...I'm looking more for fall off the bone, just so I can say I still can do 'em, and for comparison to "O" roasted ribs for a guest who's with us today...it'll be good practice for a family reunion coming up in late July as well...gonna be a blast! The TQ spares, well, I'm just hoping to get a juicy and tender rib...flavors will be simple and unique for sure.


More to come!

Eric
 
I guess I didn't know what to expect from the TQ'd spares, but they were still pretty good. A hammy flavor, of coarse, a chewier texture and just slightly dry...nice change of pace, and not a bad save for these spares.

They didn't have much meat, as they were trimmed down to the bone...last time I go there for spares.

The St Louis cut and beans came out just beautifully...my wife is having gut troubles and said this is the most she's been able to eat in two weeks
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The hammy ribs:



St Louis:






ST Louis cut is in the middle of the plate, the TQ'd spares are the two pieces on the end:






The St Louis were just done enough to pull the bone after a twist...just about what I was looking for. Fall apart is definitely not my style.

So, I found a way to at least salvage some botched up spares and still get a decent smoke with 'em.

Thanks all!

Eric
 
Thanks, the beans are a twist of Dutch's Wicked Beans, found here:
http://smokingmeatforums.com/forums/...ad.php?t=50945

The pineapple is part of his recipe...I use the rotels instead of ketchup, brown sugar and Jalepenos...I left out the onions this time also...it has less tang from the ketchup's vinegar, and is less sweet with less heat. The rotels are a very good alternative and a quick addition. The smoked side pork is an alternative for bacon, and I had some leftover from another smoke project, so I used it here.

Eric
 
way to go man... heck ya dont have to wait to get some screwed up ribs to try out the t/q gig... but great that you tried... think maybe they may have gotten a lil dry you said, cause they were cut open like that... have cured ribs with t/q...
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=80861

and they always come out nice and juicey. and them shure are som prettty lookin beans... make dutch proud i bet... there is one thing that makes a person feel good. when you think enuff of a recipie like dutches beans and make it your own, but still retain its identity.
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to you bro for the ribs and them danged purty beans. i still wondering how you were able to save that trim meat for the beans and not eat it all up...
 
Thanks brother. I checked out your cured ribs thread...man, that looks crazy good!

Yeah, we gotta hand it to Dutch for his beans, and I'm proud to make variations of it. I made one batch of beans from scratch a while back that was pretty good, and a good experience as well. Using the canned beans for the base is so much quicker.

You know, I did have to use some restraint on the trimmings...it's only made it into the batch of beans a couple times in the past year or so.

Thanks everyone!

Eric
 
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