Pork Baby Backs, brined!

[DivotMaker]

OK gang, I'm trying adventure #2 in brining!  This time - 3 racks of baby back ribs!  I made up the brine a little while ago.  This one's my own recipe, so we'll see how it works out:

2 cups apple juice
3 1/2 qts water
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup kosher salt
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp coarse black pepper
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp chipotle pepper powder
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

I will cut the racks in half, so I'll have 6 halves (which will fit on the 3 racks in my #1).  I'll put them in Ziplock bags with the brine until tomorrow at 11 am.  I plan on smoking these with cherry.

More to come!

 

[BIG BOB]

Be careful if you plan to use the cherry wood from the site. I am pretty sure that it caught on fire this morning.  My hickory has never had these "geyser-like" explosions. The wood started smoking in 5 minutes after turning on the #2.it usually takes much longer.  I may foil all of my wood from now on. ... foiled some cheap apple wood that I have and poked holes in the foil... worked great.

 

[DivotMaker]

That's a good tip about the new wood, Bob!  I'll be using the rest of my Fruitawood cherry on this one.  Haven't had any flare-ups with it yet!

 

[DivotMaker]

Here's the raw 9+ lbs of baby backs, before removing the silver skin and going in their overnight bath.

I used a new technique for removing the silver skin that I saw on the Jeff Phillips site.  Take a butter knife and work it under the middle of the rack (don't start at the end).  Once you get a little separation, you can pull it up by the middle, and the skin comes off both directions out to the end.  Works great!  Not hard to grip it because you're pulling up on it like a suitcase handle!  Give it a try next time you do ribs...makes life a whole lot easier!

 

[DivotMaker]

Took the ribs out of the brine at 10:50, thoroughly rinsed them, patted dry.  Rubbed them with mustard and Dave's Rib Rub.  They went in the smoker at 11:15.  2 1/2 oz of apple and hickory (I was going to use cherry, but changed my mind) @ 225.  I'm looking at around 4:30-ish for done time.

I also made up a batch of marinated coleslaw, modified recipe from the book "Holy Smoke."  It's called Susan Metts's Marinated Coleslaw.  That's chillin' in the fridge for later!

 

[DivotMaker]

5 1/2 hours in, and I don't think they're done.  Starting to get good bark and pull back from the bones, but I think the extra moisture from the brine has increased the cook time.  Also, this is the first time I've "loaded" the #1 with 3 full shelves.  Gonna give it another 30 minutes!

 

[DivotMaker]

Final results are in!  5:45 total cook time.  Ribs came out moist and very tender.  I detected a little too much saltiness, but the rest of the family didn't.  Next time I brine ribs, I'll back off the time to about 6 hours (instead of 18). 

Overall, the brined baby backs were a success!  I was impressed by the firmness, and moisture, that the brining provided. 

I've also included a shot of the 1 1/2 racks that went into FoodSaver bags.  They're going in the freezer; they'll be a welcomed sight on a cold, snowy winter day!  I'll thaw them, and heat them in the oven, and enjoy BBQ in the snow!

 

[puddle jumper]

Man Tony, Thoses look great,,
I hope my little test batch goes that well!!
PJ

 

[DivotMaker]

Thanks, John!  I was overall very pleased with this smoke.  Like I said, though, no more than about 6-8 hours on the brine.  18 was too much.  The fam didn't notice the extra saltiness, but I did.  Definitely edible, just a little on the salty side.  Sure were pretty and tender, though! ;D

 

[puddle jumper]

Buddy we are always harder on our cooking than most people around us are...
Nice work,, I'm going to have to try this some time soon..
Hey how do the ribs do when you freeze them?? I have froze pulled pork but never ribs??
PJ

 

[shomesmoke]

Those ribs look perfect, as for the salty taste could you cut back the salt to 1 cup and keep the extra brine time to pull the flavor in?

 

[DivotMaker]

Thanks, PJ and Mark!  This is my first time freezing cooked ribs, so I don't know how they'll be!  I got them in the vacuum bags and freezer pretty quick, so I'm hoping I'll be able to thaw them, and then put them in the smoker (without wood), or oven, to warm them.  Sadler's Smokehouse sells pre-cooked brisket and ribs in vacuum bags, so I don't know why it would be any different.

Good idea on just cutting back on the salt for the brine.  When I brined a pork butt, I didn't notice any additional saltiness.  I guess the ribs absorbed more due to the size.  Always a "work in progress!"

 

[Smokster]

Tony, those ribs look great, nice job!  As for freezing with the food saver, you can keep those babies safe in the freezer.  They sell frozen pre-cooked ribs at the grocery store with no issues and those ribs are still moist and tender, but I prefer doing my own the way I like them.

 

[es1025]

Tony
I ordered some Famous Dave's rib rub from Amazon today.  Six pack for $21 bucks.

 

[DivotMaker]

Way to go, Ed!  I used Jeff's Naked Rib Rub last weekend.  It was good, but I still think I like Dave's better.  I've tried a lot of rubs and seasonings over the years, so I'm not hung-up on having to make it myself to be good!  There are some really good commercial rubs out there - you just have to be careful what's in them, and find the right ones.  I, personally, really like Dave's on pork!

BTW - that's a great price on Amazon Prime.  I pay almost $5 a bottle at my local grocery store (the only one that carries it).  I'm ordering a 6-pack tonight!

 

[es1025]

The membrane technique is awesome. Less chance of the membrane breaking as you progress across the ribs.  I found if you use the butter knife and hold down the ribs as you pull, makes the process even easier.