well, by some goofy coincidence, i get to do a rack of beef ribs today (i always thought they were called short ribs but the package says "beef back ribs?").
being that these are beef and i haven't done beef before, i am going to try something different. i'll give the rack a healthy coating of durkee's kansas city steak seasoning, which has granulated onion and garlic, cracked black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and a few other herbs and spices:
and then i will put these on the ECB low and slow until they look done.
any advice on times, cooking temps and internal temps would be appreciated. also, how will these go if i do them dry, like spares - or will they need to befoiled, a la 3-2-1?
thanks in advance!
------------------------------
i removed the thin membrane from the back of the rack and then brushed them down with olive oil. i then applied a liberal coating of durkee's kansas sity steak seasoning to both sides.
while that sits in the fridge for a while to let the flaors sink in, i am preparing my charcoal pan for my ECB. i've got 30 kingsford briquettes lighting in a chimney starter, and then 30 sitting on each side of my charcoal pan.
when the briqs in the chimney are going well, i will dump them at the "north" end of the pan. as they slowly burn, they will light the briqs down the side of the pan and help maintain a good, consistent temperature for several hours while the ribs cook low and slow over smoke.
what smoke? i haven't yet decided between hickory, apple or cherry. if i use the cherry, it is blended with alder and in chip form, so i will need to use a foil pack. if i sue apple, it is in natural stick form. hickory will be in good-sized chunks. right now, i am leaning toward the cherry/alder.
------------------------------------
the briqs got going, so i dumped them in the charcoal pan thusly:
this actually works TOO well as the temps are jsut a little higher than i prefer - perhaps start with 20 or 15 next time rather than 30? to top it off, i filled the water pan 3/4 full with almost-boiling water and added a cherry/alder-stuffed foil log right in the open space at the 6 o'clock position.
at 0900, the ribs went on - yes, they DO look good, don't they?
---------------------------------------------------------------
at 1000 i mopped/spritzed the ribs on both sides with a variation on my good ol' mop. the mop for today incorporated 1-1/4 cups of dr. pepper, a half cup of teriyaki sauce and 1/4 cup olive oil.
here's the bottom side:
and the top side:
everything looking and smelling great so far ~
---------------------------------------------------------------
as of 1100, temps are still holding well. i sprayed another round of mop on both sides and here's how they looked:
bottom:
top:
--------------------------------
at noon, i shoved the remaining briquetes to one side and added 30 more briques next to them. i also mopped both sides.
bottom:
top:
--------------------------------------
this brings up up to now!
i've got a glaze heating up for the last 15-30 minutes of the smoke. normally for pork ribs, i use 1/3 mustard, 1/3 apple cider vinegar and 1/3 cup of brown sugar with outstanding results.
for the beef ribs, i figured i might as well not mess with a good thing TOO much, so i used the vinegar and brown sugar, but added ketchup rather than mustard. i also added about a tablespoon or worsty sauce. i consider this a test run, since i've neve done this before, but this should be good stuff.
i'll start checking temperatures at 1300. not sure what is the best temp to pull them, but i am assuming it is at least 170 degrees - will buck it up a little higher if it looks necessary, closer to 180.
being that these are beef and i haven't done beef before, i am going to try something different. i'll give the rack a healthy coating of durkee's kansas city steak seasoning, which has granulated onion and garlic, cracked black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and a few other herbs and spices:
and then i will put these on the ECB low and slow until they look done.
any advice on times, cooking temps and internal temps would be appreciated. also, how will these go if i do them dry, like spares - or will they need to befoiled, a la 3-2-1?
thanks in advance!
------------------------------
i removed the thin membrane from the back of the rack and then brushed them down with olive oil. i then applied a liberal coating of durkee's kansas sity steak seasoning to both sides.
while that sits in the fridge for a while to let the flaors sink in, i am preparing my charcoal pan for my ECB. i've got 30 kingsford briquettes lighting in a chimney starter, and then 30 sitting on each side of my charcoal pan.
when the briqs in the chimney are going well, i will dump them at the "north" end of the pan. as they slowly burn, they will light the briqs down the side of the pan and help maintain a good, consistent temperature for several hours while the ribs cook low and slow over smoke.
what smoke? i haven't yet decided between hickory, apple or cherry. if i use the cherry, it is blended with alder and in chip form, so i will need to use a foil pack. if i sue apple, it is in natural stick form. hickory will be in good-sized chunks. right now, i am leaning toward the cherry/alder.
------------------------------------
the briqs got going, so i dumped them in the charcoal pan thusly:
this actually works TOO well as the temps are jsut a little higher than i prefer - perhaps start with 20 or 15 next time rather than 30? to top it off, i filled the water pan 3/4 full with almost-boiling water and added a cherry/alder-stuffed foil log right in the open space at the 6 o'clock position.
at 0900, the ribs went on - yes, they DO look good, don't they?
---------------------------------------------------------------
at 1000 i mopped/spritzed the ribs on both sides with a variation on my good ol' mop. the mop for today incorporated 1-1/4 cups of dr. pepper, a half cup of teriyaki sauce and 1/4 cup olive oil.
here's the bottom side:
and the top side:
everything looking and smelling great so far ~
---------------------------------------------------------------
as of 1100, temps are still holding well. i sprayed another round of mop on both sides and here's how they looked:
bottom:
top:
--------------------------------
at noon, i shoved the remaining briquetes to one side and added 30 more briques next to them. i also mopped both sides.
bottom:
top:
--------------------------------------
this brings up up to now!
i've got a glaze heating up for the last 15-30 minutes of the smoke. normally for pork ribs, i use 1/3 mustard, 1/3 apple cider vinegar and 1/3 cup of brown sugar with outstanding results.
for the beef ribs, i figured i might as well not mess with a good thing TOO much, so i used the vinegar and brown sugar, but added ketchup rather than mustard. i also added about a tablespoon or worsty sauce. i consider this a test run, since i've neve done this before, but this should be good stuff.
i'll start checking temperatures at 1300. not sure what is the best temp to pull them, but i am assuming it is at least 170 degrees - will buck it up a little higher if it looks necessary, closer to 180.