# Smoked Country Style pork Ribs



## chef k-dude (Sep 22, 2015)

So, here we go!

Picked up these country ribs for a $1.50 a pound. For those who don’t know, what is sold as “country ribs” are actually usually pork butt/shoulder sawn in to thick rib like shapes. Sort of like thick pork steaks.

For the first time, I used the yellow mustard pre-rub method. Not sure how much of a difference it made but it had to add something. My ribs are usually “smack yo momma” good, I’m not sure I tasted anything different, but these turned out knee buckling good.

On to it:

Mustard Rub













01 Mustard rub.jpg



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__ Sep 22, 2015






BBQ Rub (recipe below)













02 Spice rubbed.jpg



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MES smoker for about 2:45?...ish…at 235. Mix of hickory, alder and pecan chips, some soaked some dry.













03 In the smoker.jpg



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I didn’t have any apple juice and really didn’t want to add any sweet…I’m more of a savory guy with this stuff. So I had an epiphany…I took a pinch (maybe a fat teaspoon?) of granulated chicken bouillon, tossed in in the pan and ladled some of the oily smoked water from the water pan (probably about a cup or less). I do use water in the pan and as the ribs cook they drip goodness in to it. I thought, “why the hell not use that somehow?”, So I did. I swirled the liquid around till the bouillon was dissolved and there was just enough to cover the pan bottom.

So probably another 1 ½ to 2 hours in the smoker at 250.

Coming out of the pan they were just beginning to fall apart and you can see the biggest piece and the only piece with bone was a perfect 185.













04 In the pan.jpg



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__ Sep 22, 2015






My saucing method uses the gas grill to set the sauce. Here they are just on the grill with the little bit of pan juices drizzled over them. you can see my note on the pic for "proof of fall apartage" (not a word today, but give Websters time...they just added "Bruh" so they will eventually take everything!)













05 On the grill.jpg



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Here they are sauced….MAN CANDY BABY!
	

	
	
		
		



		
			


















06 Sauced.jpg



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Yep, corn on the cob roasted on the grill then got some brownage on them. And yes that is my gas bottle below there, I had pulled the catch pan out to rescue a wayward bit of pork that fell through and forgot to put it back right away. Good thing there was no leak, eh?
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	

















07 Grilled corn.jpg



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__ Sep 22, 2015






I’ll not win a plating award with this, but there it is with more sauce drizzled on and served with BBQ rice which is simply rice with some of the BBQ sauce added to the water and whatever spices you want. I used garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, and dried chives.













08 Plated.jpg



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__ Sep 22, 2015






"The corn" you ask? Well, these were rubbed with a lime wedge, coated with some sour cream, seasoned with Chef K-Dudes Creole/Cajun seasoning (No trademark or copyright restrictions, it's just my home mix) and then coated with freshly finely grated Parmesan (Not the canned or jarred stuff but that would work). You turn the sour cream coated corn and pack the cheese all around the cob. Served with a lime wedge you squeeze over the corn as you turn it to eat it…that is if you are a “linear” corn on the cob eater and not a “circumferential” corn on the cob eater 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 (eating down the length vs. in a circle around the cob).

So, my Cajun season is a loosely modified Emeril’s Essence:

Cajun/Creole Seasoning:

2 tbl coarse salt (Kosher or sea is best)

2 tbl granulated or powdered chicken bouillon

2 tbl paprika (the regular stuff)

2 tbl smoked paprika

¼ cup garlic powder

2 tbl cayenne pepper

1 tbl coarse black pepper

1 tbl onion powder

1 tsp white pepper

½ tsp dried oregano (grind finer between fingers)

½ tsp dried thyme (grind finer between fingers)

*One of the biggest difference to my blend that you don’t see often and maybe will see more now that I shared, is I replaced half the salt with the chicken bouillon. Bouillon is an excellent way to add some “Umami” (that’s deep flavor for the really country folks in here...trust me, my family is mostly hillbilly, I'm used to explaining "dem big words"
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





) to dishes, replacing the salt, do not add in addition to salt in recipes.

My BBQ Rub is:

BBQ Rub:

2-tbl Brown Sugar

2-tbl Paprika

2-tbl Coarse black pepper

1-tbl Chili Powder

1-1/2 tsp kosher or coarse sea salt

1-1/2 tsp Red pepper flakes

1-tsp Granulated garlic powder

1-tsp Onion powder

¼- tsp white pepper

From Taste of Home Cookbook grilling section recipe for BBQ spare ribs. I added the onion powder and white pepper to this and sometimes add ground coriander to taste.

I also switch out the red pepper flakes for cayenne pepper if I want to use it in an injection.

*I just shared this in another thread.

-My go-to sauce is Original Sweet Baby Rays heavily cut with cider vinegar and Texas Pete hot sauce. I don’t measure, I just dump cook it. This is a basic method I learned from the Late Wilbur Hardee a long time ago and I use it for my ribs. Here’s part of that story I shared in another thread: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/161927/country-style-pork-ribs/20

I do make custom BBQ sauces for other stuff, but I consider this “perfect” for what I want on ribs, whether, country, baby back or any rib.

(Also, someone please tell me if posting rub recipes and such is a no-no here. I saw folks in another thread keep it close to the vest directing people to Jeff's recipes instead of just sharing one. I need to know if there is a protocol here. I haven't looked in to it yet, but I don't mind supporting the site somehow...maybe a membership?) I may need to be disciplined


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## tropics (Sep 22, 2015)

"(Also, someone please tell me if posting rub recipes and such is a no-no here. I saw folks in another thread keep it close to the vest directing people to Jeff's recipes instead of just sharing one. I need to know if there is a protocol here. I haven't looked in to it yet, but I don't mind supporting the site somehow...maybe a membership?) I may need to be disciplined"

Chef K we all share and post recipes.to support the site a lot of us mention Jeffs rub and sauce.It helps to support.Use the search bar and check out premere membership.

Now them CSRs are awesome hillbilly slap me silly looking good.

Richie


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## valleypoboy (Sep 22, 2015)

I've only cooked country style pork ribs a few times but they always came out great. So far I've only done them quick at medium to high temp, but I've thought about doing them as you did above for a few months now.  I tend to bbq or smoke what I find on sale when i have a day off work. This week it will be pork spare ribs ($1.79lb at savemart ).


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## joe black (Sep 22, 2015)

K-Dude,  Those are some great looking CSR's.  I usually smoke them at 260-275* for 2 hours.  Then I put them in a pan with a braise of 2 parts sauce, 1 part apple juice and 1 part honey.  This will put a fair amount of braise in the pan.  Then, I cover the pan with foil and cook another hour and they are done.  I guess I like my liquid a little sweeter than you, but it's whatever suits your taste.

You did a great job on these,  Joe  :points:


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## b-one (Sep 22, 2015)

Looks great! I like to make pork burnt ends with country style ribs.:drool


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## mosparky (Sep 22, 2015)

Around here they call those "western style ribs". Getting more popular all of a sudden. They are heavily marbled as you know. One way to avoid having them fall apart and thru the grate is to put them on kabob skewers. I gotta try some soon. I usually just get the pork steaks (sliced boston butt). It's a St. Louis thing, but oh so good if done right.


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## chef k-dude (Sep 23, 2015)

valleypoboy said:


> I've only cooked country style pork ribs a few times but they always came out great. So far I've only done them quick at medium to high temp, but I've thought about doing them as you did above for a few months now. I tend to bbq or smoke what I find on sale when i have a day off work. This week it will be pork spare ribs ($1.79lb at savemart ).


Yea, I'm the same way, it's got to be on sale. I have 4 slabs of baby backs in the freezer ($3 lb) and still bought these...I couldn't walk away at $1.50 lb.


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## chef k-dude (Sep 23, 2015)

Joe Black said:


> K-Dude, Those are some great looking CSR's. I usually smoke them at 260-275* for 2 hours. Then I put them in a pan with a braise of 2 parts sauce, 1 part apple juice and 1 part honey. This will put a fair amount of braise in the pan. Then, I cover the pan with foil and cook another hour and they are done. I guess I like my liquid a little sweeter than you, but it's whatever suits your taste.
> 
> You did a great job on these, Joe


Thanks Joe! They do seem like they would handle the higher temps easily. And yes, I like to keep my sweet and savory somewhat apart. My finishing sauce, being a SBR base to start with is already pretty sweet, I would never use it straight up, that's one of the reasons I cut the heck out of it with cider vinegar.

Mixing pork with sweet is very common...those danged Germans are well known for it. My wife digs that kind of stuff but I'm one of those guys that cant wrap my head around fruit and nuts in my dinner salad! Know what I mean? I like my kraut with no sweet too and DW loves the Bavarian sweet style.

That's another thing I'm getting in to...fermentation. I have a batch of kraut in the garage growing bugs right now. It's starting to smell perfect!


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## chef k-dude (Sep 23, 2015)

b-one said:


> Looks great! I like to make pork burnt ends with country style ribs.


What a great idea. The burnt ends are my favorite. What's your method? Smaller pieces?


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## chef k-dude (Sep 23, 2015)

mosparky said:


> Around here they call those "western style ribs". Getting more popular all of a sudden. They are heavily marbled as you know. One way to avoid having them fall apart and thru the grate is to put them on kabob skewers. I gotta try some soon. I usually just get the pork steaks (sliced boston butt). It's a St. Louis thing, but oh so good if done right.


interesting how different regions call cuts of meat and even styles of cooking, different things. I'm in Central VA here...sort of southern, sort of Mid-Atlantic. We have a good mix of "mountain to sea" and hunt and eat game like deer then turn around and pick up oysters and crabs the next week!

What a great idea on the skewers. All but the piece I had with bone in it would have worked with that. I also have a stainless woven mesh piece I put on the grates for stuff I am worried about falling through. Not your average stainless, I'm a metal fabricator by trade and this stuff was leftover from a job...worth about $75 a square foot new! I didn't use it on these...a combination of forgetting and not thinking I needed it I suppose.

Pork steaks! It's a Virginia southern thing too. Problem is, Virginia grocery stores have homogenized and it's harder to find them. On occasion a store called Food Lion will have them, it's kind of a...not quote lower end store, but not high end either. Otherwise I have to go in to Charlottesville to an old time market that has been there forever to get them. They almost always have them. They cater to more of the black brothers and sisters in the city so they have stuff the other supermarkets don't carry. It's the only place in the Charlottesville area I can get pork liver for my boudin and even then I have to catch them on the right day because apparently the shoppers at this market eat the heck out of pork liver.

Pork steaks are the cut I use for boudin. For some reason it's just not the same with any other cut. I heavily season with my Creole seasoning and grill them on nuclear for a good char, then in to the stock pot with the holy trinity till they fall apart, then hand pick and pull before mixing with the rice and seasonings. Then stuffed in to casings or made in to patties or balls.


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## chef k-dude (Mar 25, 2016)

Hey folks,

I'm getting ready to do some more of these country ribs but want a mustard sauce and an appropriate rub to pair with it. Any ideas?

I prefer something not super sweet. Some sweet is always good of course.

The sauce I make for these, I also want to use for an Easter ham. Not your average Easter ham though, this one is from a small backyard pig my brother in-law gave me. I want to go "off the rails" with it, so I'm thinking something like a pastrami rub after a yellow mustard slather. The ham is not cooked, meaning it's not brined or supermarket "red" like most Easter dinners. Sister in law says the one they did was really fatty. I believe it, because the two shoulders I did off the same pig were really fatty...which is a good thing of course, but NOT your average Easter ham.

I plan to pair it with a jalapeno-jack macaroni and cheese, some home canned garden green beans and dinner rolls...and maybe some pickled beets...and stuff...

So I want a bold, spicy mustard sauce to compliment that pastrami or otherwise spiced ham, plus more to go on these country ribs (rub, yet to be determined but probably somewhat different).

I plan to smoke a couple turkey breasts for sandwich meat while I'm at it. Pastrami rub would work for that too but any ideas are welcome for the turkey breasts as well.


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