# Buffalo ribs



## tode555 (Jan 19, 2013)

I was given some buffalo ribs from a friend and think that i will try to smoke them.  I found a thread about buffalo ribs that just ended in failure.  I have plans on binning them for a day (try to keep them from drying out so bad) and then smoking them.  I am pretty new to smoking so all the help i can get would be much appreciated.  Thanks


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## forluvofsmoke (Jan 19, 2013)

Smoke @ 225* until you see a fair amount of pull-back (meat shrinkage away from the bone). This may take 3.5-5 hours, depending on thickness of the slab. To get really tender, wrap in two layers of foil and return to cooker for 1.5-2.5 hours. More pull-back should be noticed after this step. To set the bark again, if you want bark, return to open grates. If you don't want bark on the ribs, skip the final stage, but instead leave in the foil for a bit longer, or smoke on open grates longer before foiling.

Buffalo has a nice strong flavor like beef, so keep the seasoning simple with salt, pepper, onion, garlic (SPOG), then maybe add some savories like thyme and rosemary, which both go well with stronger flavored meats.

Smoke with a sharper smoke wood like hickory, or the heaviness of mesquite, or the slight fruity back-ground of cherry with a heavier up-front flavor will do them justice. A combination of any of those will be good as well.

Not sure what thread you are referring to regarding failure...what went wrong, what methods were used to smoke them, but ribs are not easily dried-out (if that's what you're worried about), especially with a heavy layering of fat in the meat. Wild will not have nearly as much fat as farm-grown or domesticated grass-fed, but a healthy animal in a good environment should have at least some fat in the fall when harvested. The brine will add some flavor to them, so you could select some savories, peppercorn, garlic, etc to add to the brine which will add a bit more to the overall flavor profile. It may also mellow the gamier flavors of the wild meat, such as is done with stronger flavored fish.

If you want a bit of a spicier touch with some heat, you can add that in the brine and/or dry rub (white pepper, cayenne, jalepeno, chipotle, habenero, etc).

Now, for smoking methods regarding leaner meats and natural moisture retention, I recommend you read a few of these to understand what a dry smoke chamber can do for you, and how to duplicate my results. This is best used without foiling, but may not yield quite as tender of meats as you can achieve with foiling, which can be fall-off-the-bone tender...open grate only will have more tug on the bone and a bit more chew than if foiled, but drying out should not be an issue. It's a more natural method for smoking and the benefits are real:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...mber-christmas-dinner-a-lil-drool-view-for-ya

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...hamber-cherry-balsamic-finishing-sauce-q-view

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...chamber-cherry-rbp-rub-recipe-q-view-finished

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/127603/16lbs-lbrs-idahoes-beans-dry-smoke-chamber-q-view

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...-wet-dry-smoke-chamber-humidity-q-view-method

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...mmed-butt-wet-dry-smoke-chamber-q-view-method

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...n-gourmet-w-dry-smoke-chamber-q-view-finished

That should keep ya busy for a bit...LOL!!!

Let me know if something else is on your mind...need help with a brine recipe, ratios for the SPOG rub, etc.

Eric


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