Easy No-Fuss Pork Ribs, or Brisket - Juicy and Smokey

(Richard I Houghton) #1

This is not so much a recipe as a cooking method that rivals long hours of tending a wood grill.
**RIBS
I buy a three-pack of ribs at Costco and cook the whole package. So, as others say, remove the tough membrane from the inside of the rack. I start with the end rib, running a butter knife under the membrane and loosening it off the bone. I grab it with a paper towel and pull it off. Then I use a rub (I use Bad Byron’s Butt Rub but use your own favorite). I apply it generously to the rack of ribs, front and back. Then I stand the racks in a blue enamel roasting pan (I line it with parchment paper). I stand two against the long sides and the other rack is sort of folded into a circle so it stands in the middle of the roasting pan. I add 1/2 cup water in the bottom for moisture. Put the pan lid on and place in a pre-heated oven set at 300 deg. Cook for 2-1/2 hours.

NOTE: Use a turkey roasting bag instead of the roasting pan if you do not have one. Be sure to place it on some pan or cooking sheet to avoid a mess in the event of a puncture.
Let the ribs cool without removing from the pan or bag. I like to cut the ribs into two-bone pieces and arrange them on a large cookie sheet, meat side up. Sometimes I brush with Worcestershire sauce or a thinned BBQ sauce to add some sweetness. Then I take it to the grill. I use the grill only for smoking. I place a smoker box filled with hickory chips that have been thoroughly coated with Pam cooking spray on my searing burner. (It smokes more and flares up less). Placing it on a single burner works, too. I cover the smoker and the ribs with a tent of Aluminum foil so the smoke is concentrated on the ribs. The chips smoke for about 10 minutes so turn off the burner when the smoke starts to wane. Keep a squirt bottle handy in case of flare-ups in the smoker box. I individually vacuum pack and freeze the rib pairs for future enjoyment. They retain all the smoky goodness and flavor when thawed in the microwave.

BRISKET
Get a whole brisket, trim some of the big globs of fat off and coat generously with your favorite dry rub. As with the ribs, place the brisket in a turkey roasting bag or a covered roasting pan. Place in the oven set to 220 degrees for 12 hours. Yes, overnight. Wake up to a great smelling house! Let the brisket cool and slice or chop the whole thing. Place on a cookie sheet or oven pan. Generously drizzle the juice from the pan or bag over the meat. As with the ribs, take to the grill and smoke it. Vacuum pack into servings and freeze.

Hope you try it this way.

(Carol E. ) #2

Any suggestions on a rub for the brisket? I’ve been eyeing them at Costco :grinning:

(Richard I Houghton) #3

Bad Byron’s Butt Rub

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #4

You might get better results smoking first, and then finishing in this manner.

(Richard I Houghton) #5

Perhaps it will for some. I tried it this way but found that it was clumsy to smoke it first. When the brisket or ribs are cut up, it affords more surface area to receive the smoke. Since I vacuum pack after smoking, I feel that the smoky flavor is fresher tasting and stays with the meat perfectly when I thaw and reheat it in my microwave.

Thank you for the suggestion.

#6

If I could, I would smoke most everything I eat… But unfortunately The Queen would get “Smoked Out” from too much Apple Smoke (YUMMMM!) and since she raised my babies (and cuts my hair) I sorta like to cater to her tastes as well as mine.

I’ve almost lost track of how many smokers I have. :open_mouth:

But I made a discovery just yesterday! I already knew that actual smoke is quite the preservative!!!.. But I had forgotten how much preservation that genuine WOOD smoke can add. Last week I roasted some country style pork ribs in the oven (without any actual smoke of course) and just ate the last one yesterday evening. After only about 5 days in the fridge, that sucker tasted old and stale!

I’ve had that same cut of meat last up to 2 weeks in the same refrigerator many times. Once…I waited til the “Best if used by” date on the label, before smoking them, and I know from experience they would have gone bad on the next day. They get a sulfur like smell, then I toss them. I take NO chances with pork!

Well I put 'em in apple wood smoke til they were done, and sure enough…about 2 weeks later…the last one was juuuust fine. It was an experiment, actually…but I ate it.

That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!

I hope I didn’t hijack this thread. I don’t often cook full racks of ribs, even though I like them…a LOT! And the country style pork ribs that I buy really aren’t ribs at all. They’re more like a thick pork chop cut lengthwise.