Family pack of Country Style Spareribs


 
Status
Not open for further replies.
D

Dennis Fraley

TVWBB Super Fan
I wanted to do some baby backs but they did'nt have any, thought about a rack of spare ribs but decided on the family pack of country style spareribs. I'm sure you know which ones I'm talking about. There chunks of rib not a rack.
I'd like to cook them tomorrow night for when the wife gets home. I've never cooked ribs before on the grill. Any suggestions would be great.

It's 3.29 pounds of meat. If I can keep the temps on my grill at around 250 or a bit lower how long do you think it will take to cook. I'm planning on foiling them to for a while to make them nice and tender.
 
Charcoal weber Kettle. I'll be cooking indirect smoking them with apple and pair wood. And no there not marinating yet. Just picked them up and there still in the package.
The only bad thing is there enhanced. That's all I can get for pork around here unless I go to the local butcher shop. And there quit a bit more expensive.

As far as marinating goes would apple juice do ok? I guess maybe I'm a little unprepared for this but it was a spur of the moment decision to do it.
But I figure I'll do fine with what I got. I've got an all purpose rub I like. Should I coat them with oil and sprinkle the rub on and leave it in the fridge all night?
 
I would marinate them in water ever your favorite marinade is. If you dont have one, pick one from the forum. You'll do great cooking indirect on your kettle. You may have to close the bottom vents and only use the top vent open for a period of time. Also, make sure you use a water pan and drop pan. You'll do great!!!
 
Cool thanks. I think I'm just gonna throw them in some apple juice before I go to work tomorrow. I want them ready for when my wife gets home tomorrow night. Which will be around midnight. I'm figuring it'll take around 6 hours to cook. is that about right you think? Never done this before so I don't know.
I did smoke a pork shoulder last friday night and that went great. I used the minion method on my kettle. I then threw a pan with sand covered with foil directly above the coals. Then a drip pan next to the coals right under the pork shoulder. It cooked for twelve hours without having to add any charcoal. I was impressed considering it's a kettle. I did have all the vent's closed on the bottom and the top all the way open. I never close the top vent cause I don't want creosote to build up on the meat.
Is that correct though in assuming it will take about 6 hours? I'm planning on foiling the last hour or so to make sure there tender. I'm also going to be adding some homemade "smokey mountain BBQ sauce". Good stuff!

Thanks for the advice so far. I'm looking forward to this as I've never had BBQ'd ribs before.
 
As you will discover when you open the package, country-style "ribs" are not ribs at all, but rather they are sliced up sections of pork butt. No matter, they are still a tasty selection to cook on the WSM or kettle, whichever you happen to have. Rub them like ribs or a butt, cook them low and slow, foil them if you wish.

If you've fired a kettle for 12 hours using the MM, you already have a handle on what it takes to run a WSM or pit at true BBQ temps.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Doug D:
[qb] As you will discover when you open the package, country-style "ribs" are not ribs at all, but rather they are sliced up sections of pork butt. No matter, they are still a tasty selection to cook on the WSM or kettle, whichever you happen to have. Rub them like ribs or a butt, cook them low and slow, foil them if you wish.

If you've fired a kettle for 12 hours using the MM, you already have a handle on what it takes to run a WSM or pit at true BBQ temps. [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Yeah I just found that out by going thru some of the old post's on this site. Oh well. I'll know better next time. It's good to know that by doing that last kettle smoke for 12 hours I've got a hold on using a WSM which I will be getting within the next 2 weeks.

My main concern is the length of cooking time. I've been looking stuff up on the internet and everything seems to recomend 1 1\2 hours to 2. To me that seems to short. Especially if there slices of pork butt. To get them truely tender should'nt I smoke them low and slow for atleast a decent amount of time. I was thinking 6 hours but now I'm thinking I'm wrong. It maybe less then that. I'll be able to tell by the way the feel when I press on them after the Pork shoulder run. I guess If worst comes to worst I could stick in the slow cooker till the wife gets home to keep them warm and tender. along with some BBQ sauce. I bet that would be good anyway.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> My main concern is the length of cooking time. I've been looking stuff up on the internet and everything seems to recomend 1 1\2 hours to 2. To me that seems to short. Especially if there slices of pork butt. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I've cooked these a few times, and in my limited experience, it's best not to go by time. I cook them until the meat will start to separate/pull off with a fork inserted and twisted in the meat.
1 1/2- 2 hours seems like a short time, but I guess that depends on the temp at the grate.
If I recall correctly, I cooked mine for about
2 1/2 -3 hours at about 230 degrees.
These butt strips are great for Jamaican jerk pork. I have a recipe from Chile Pepper magazine for a jerk paste that has worked very well for me. If there is interest, and if I can dig it up, I will post it.
Jim
 
Thanks for the tip. I'll try some of my homemade BBQ sauce this time. But you should post the Jamaican jerk pork recipie anyways. Maybe someone else will use it or maybe I will if I do another cook of country style ribs sometime.

I think I'm gonna throw them on about four hours before my wife gets home from work. If it gets done in 3 hours I'll throw them in the slow cooker on low with some BBQ sauce or something and let them stay warm till she gets home. That may give the smoke flavor a better chance to devolope in the meat anyway giving it a much better taste.

Thanks everyone for the tips.
 
I've done theses "ribs" several times and they did come out quite tasty. I would compare it to a butt that you took to about 175 and sliced. That would take you 10 hours; whereas you can do the "ribs" in 3 to 4 hours - that is about the time for my cook with a dome temp of 240. While it might not be approved by others, I would suggest the "fork test" at about 3+ hours into the cook. If the fork goes in easily, they're done. Also, I think it is important to baste them to retain moisture.

HTH

PRG
 
Thanks Paul. I'm gonna actually fire up the grill soon. I want them to get done early. Then I'm gonna let them sit in the fridge for a few hours, take them out and stick them in the slow cooker for a couple hours along with some BBQ sauce till my wife gets home. I want them to be nice as smokey tasting.
When I did my pork shoulder last weekend it did'nt really have any smoke flavor at all when we ate it which was about 45 minutes after I took it off the grill. But by that night about 8 or 9 hours later I opened the fridge could smell the smoke thru the freezer bag even though it was sealed. Then I tried it and WOW! It tasted so much better then it did when we ate it for lunch. That's the flavor I'd like to get tonight. So I figure if I let it chill for a couple hours in the fridge, then throw it in the slow cooker with some BBQ sauce it will be perfect. And sitting in the slow cooker with the sauce should keep them moist so they should'nt be dry correct? Or do you think it would be better to stick them straight into the slow cooker from the grill and let them simmer all night?
 
Dennis, I don't think you should cook them in the crockpot all night after having smoked them. It would be too much cooking and might take away the smoked flavor. They will absorb more smoke flavor by putting them in the frig. I usually put mine in a ziplock bag. They shouldn't dry out on you in the crockpot if you have them in sause.

Hope things turn out well for you ! My wife likes anything I cook - just so long as she doesn't have to cook it.

PRG

PS

As I reread your post I think I understand it better. Yes, I would recommend putting them in the frig to absorb the favor after you take them out of the smoker. Then put them in your slow cooker to warm up in the sause.

PRG
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Paul G.:
[qb] PS

As I reread your post I think I understand it better. Yes, I would recommend putting them in the frig to absorb the favor after you take them out of the smoker. Then put them in your slow cooker to warm up in the sause.

PRG [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Cool that's exactly what I had in mind. Putting them in a ziploc freezer bag for a couple of hours in the fridge then like 10:30 putting them in the crockpot with some BBQ to reheat them. The wife will be home between 12:00 and 12:30am. I figured the fridge would give them a much better smoked flavor.

Thanks a lot for the reply. We seem to think alike!
 
Well I did it and they just did'nt get done like I thought they would. I figured they would be really moist and tender. I kept checking them to see if they were cooking that way and they were'nt. It never got really tender. Finally after about 11:30pm I stuck them in the slow cooker with some BBQ sauce. It was very good. Nice smokey flavor mixed with the BBQ sauce Mmmm! Just not what I expected. The meat was all white. So I'm assuming it was well done. My guess is it just dried out during the cook. I moped them with apple juice every hour. The temp never got over 250 degrees grate temp. I kept pushing on the meat after around 2 hours everytime I would mop to see if they were getting tender. But they never got there. Oh well. Next time I'll have to marinade the meat or brine that may help.
 
Dennis, Sorry the outcome didn't meet your expectations. I've always enjoyed the country ribs, but I think it probably has a lot to do with the convenience and relatively short cook times. I doubt if you will ever get them as moist as your pork butts. However, I'm surprised they're not more tender. One thing I did frequently before I got all the education from this forum was to soak them in Moore's or Dales overnight. I'm sure you could put a mix together yourself which would work as well or better. This will tenderize the meat. Perhaps you can then cook for about 4 hours with a full water pan and the meat will be tender but not over cooked ?

Anyway you've got my curiosity up and I may get a package to cook with my real ribs todays.

PRG
 
Denis, Next time you might want to try this.
Put them on for about 2 hours.
Foil for 1 hour.
Remove from foil.
Sauce turn sauce turn sauce turn for about another hour.
Works for me.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mike Chavez:
[qb] Denis, Next time you might want to try this.
Put them on for about 2 hours.
Foil for 1 hour.
Remove from foil.
Sauce turn sauce turn sauce turn for about another hour.
Works for me. [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Ya know I was going to foil them to and I forgot. I bet that would have mad the difference. Man I wish I would have remembered. I don't know why I did'nt think about it. I'll try it again probobly soon cause they were so good. I sort of consider it my first BBQ. The taste of the sauce along with the smoked pork flavor was amazing! Even though they were'nt as tender as I would have liked. It's not like they were tough or anything. I just expected them to be almost falling apart.

Besides the neighbors loved it to. I gave them a little sample after I pulled it off of the grill. I think they wanted more but I only had enough for me and my wife to eat. Oh well maybe I'll make a bunch more next time to feed everyone.
 
Dennis,

My experience is NOT on a WSM, but I find country-style ribs to be a very iffy proposition. One big problem is the amount of fat left on the meat. Some places really trim these babies down to the leanest possible which makes them a bad choice for me. They look good in the package but tend to be dry on the plate.

I almost always plan a two-step like you did. I'll grill or smoke (on my ECB) to give good flavor, then finish up in the crockpot or oven (with foil).

Tony

PS - Where in WI are you? I live in the greater Slinger/Nabob metro-plex /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif .
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Tony Weisse:
[qb]Where in WI are you? I live in the greater Slinger/Nabob metro-plex /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif . [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>WOW! your right next door. I live in Hartford.
 
Dennis,

So where did you get the WSM? I've checked all over the place and can't find any locally. I will eventually go the Amazon route if need be, but I's sort of like to touch and feel a WSM before plunking down the dough for one.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

 

Back
Top