Who's smoking meat this weekend?

[TasunkaWitko]

Sunday, we'll be barbecuing ribs; I've got a Spanish method that tastes out of this world....

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I've got a picnic shoulder I'm going to smoke Friday pending weather. I think I'm going to keep this one simple; no injections, rub of salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder, paprika, with some pecan smoke. Heck, I may even get crazy and wrap this one up.
To my dilemma, smoking it in the Kamado Joe or the WSM?

Seems like with the rock-solid temp control of the KJ, and the fact that you won't need to add any charcoal during the entire length of the cook, I'd go KJ. Of course, I just got a KJ, so I'm excited about KJ in general

Sunday, we'll be barbecuing ribs; I've got a Spanish method that tastes out of this world....

Looks insane! Tell us more about this Spanish method, please!

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Looks insane! Tell us more about this Spanish method, please!

You got it ~ I'll also post this same info on a new thread:

Castilian "Lacquered" Pork Ribs
Costillar de Cerdo Lacado

From Culinaria Spain:

"Pork is [an example] of Castile's various specialties.... There is a popular Castilian saying that ham is more likely to produce Christian converts than the Spanish Inquisition. With the reputation of Spanish hams, and the country's pork cuisine, that is certainly true. Roast suckling pig (cochinillo asado or toston) which epitomizes Castillian cuisine, enjoys cult status in the villages. It has aroused such passion among its devotees that many recipes are reminiscent of romantic poems addressed to the dearly beloved, extolling the virtues, for instance, of "fat, tender, healthy piglets, 25 days old, and barely 9 pounds in weight." The bakers stoke up their ovens on weekends, to roast suckling pigs. These are put in the oven at the local bakery whenever there is cause for a celebratory feast.

Roasted pork is integral to the cuisine of Castillian Spain, and there are many ways to enjoy it. This recipe, from the book, Culinaria Spain, is a modern take on the ancient Iberian tradition of roasting a pig over an open fire.

Simple foods are often the best; it has been proven time and again, and if you haven't learned this already, then now's the time! You will need:

Honey
Red wine vinegar
Salt
Pepper

That's it. Four simple, readily-available ingredients. When I made these ribs, I tried a twist introduced by a friend a long time ago, so I had 5 ingredients:

The balsamic is not required for thsi recipe, and is not a quintessential ingredient of Spain, but I wanted to use it in order to experience these ribs as my friend had enjoyed them, so I did. In the future, I'll stick the the four ingredients, experimenting with different honeys and vinegars, as I can; one spin-off that I would like to try is in replacing the wine vinegar with apple cider vinegar, which is commonly found in northern Spain's Asturias province.

Anyway, as I said, this is easy - incredibly easy. I started with a couple of teaspoons each of sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper:

The ratio of honey to vinegar is 3 to 1; for instance, if you use 6 tablespoons of honey, then you need 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Since I had a lot of pork to cook, I used 3 tablespoons of each vinegar (for a total of 6 tablspoons, equivalent to half a cup):

Next, I turned my attention to the honey that I had chosen; the recipe specifies "runny acacia or woodland honey," but since I live in the middle of nowhere, I used this:

We actually have two local apiaries, and the next time I try this, I will use some raw honey from one of those sources.

Keeping to the ratio described above, I added 1.5 (equivalent to 18 tablespoons) cups of honey to the seasoned vinegars:

And stirred everything together:

This resulted in a wonderful concoction that promised to take my ribs to a whole new level!

Marinating the ribs is not necessary; a simple shake of salt and pepper - perhaps with the addition of a little pimentón de la Vera - is all that is needed. Having said that, I decided to let the ribs take in the flavours for a couple of hours, just because that's how I'd seen them done before. With this in mind, I poured the lacado mixture into a roasting pan, gave the ribs a modest dusting of salt and pepper, and then brushed the lacado mixture onto the surface:

I then turned the ribs face-down into the bottom of a roasting pan, dusted the bone side with a little salt and pepper, and brushed some of the lacado mixture on that side as well:

Once again, this is not necessary, but it certainly doesn't hurt a bit.

While the ribs soaked up the vinegars and honey for a couple of hours, I got ready for my barbecue. I brushed some yellow mustard onto some country-style ribs and dusted them with a standard barbecue rub; once that was done, I set up and lit my offset smoker, bringing it to a nice running temperature in the neighbourhood of 250 degrees. When everything was ready, I tossed all the pork onto the grates and began my cooking:

After a couple of hours, things were coming along nicely, so I began "painting" the lacado mixture on my ribs; first the bone-side:

And then the top:

I said it before and will say it again: simple is the way to go, and nothing elaborate is needed in order to produce beautiful, juicy, tender barbecue ribs that taste like a million dollars. You can be complicated if you want to, and have some very wonderful things - I've done it many times myself - but it's not necessary all the time, and this experience was proving exactly that.

I kept brushing and flipping and brushing the ribs every hour or so, whenever I added hickory or charcoal to the firebox of the smoker. It wasn't long before the ribs started to take on a beautiful shine and develop some deep, rich colour:

As you can see, I also brushed the lacado mixture onto the CSRs as well.

About three hours into the cook, I moved the ribs over closer to the heat:

The idea here was to allow the lacado mixture to glaze on in thin layers, allowing it to really earn its reputation as it "lacquered" the ribs:

Whaddaya think? I think they're coming along nicely, myself:

By the time the ribs were just about ready, the lacado and the heat had done their work beautifully, creating a wonderful, crackling shine on the ribs:

Between the lacado, the sweet hickory smoke and the pork itself, the aromas wafting up from the grates were enough to really bring out the carnivore in almost anyone:

When the everythng was ready, I brought it all in; first the CSRs:

And then the ribs:

I couldn't really stop myself - I took another picture:

And another:

The family couldn't stand it any longer, so I cut the ribs into sections and tossed them into the pit to be devoured. As you can see, there was - in addition to everything else - wonderful smoke penetration:

The taste was incredible. The smoked pork was just about perfect, with a savory, beautiful "bacon on a stick" flavour that comes from a really good barbecue. This was enhanced by the sweet/sour flavour and the crackling sheen of the lacado. A home-run all-around. This little trip to Castillian Spain was a nice way to enjoy a Sunday afternoon on a sunny spring day.

Hopefully, I've made it clear with this pictorial that simple can often be the way to go, and - if done right - will provide some very wonderful barbecue. Four ingredinets. You all have them in your kitchen or pantry. Try this, and you won't be sorry.

 

[HoppyDaze]

Epic meat post^

 

[HoppyDaze]

Another quick question for anyone with experience, the shoulder skin from a picnic, has anyone smoked the meat, then after finished remove the skin and deep fry? I always fed it to the dog, but thought this may make some good rinds.

Only one way to find out!

 

[SnakeRidge]

Wow, thanks Tasunka. I will definately be trying this out. I love simple.

 

[PJoyce85]

What temp did you pull them?

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Hey guys - thanks for the compliments; this stuff really is spectacular.

@PJoyce85 - I don't really take temp readings of the meat when I do ribs; however, one could certainly do this and I am guessing that somewhere between 172 and 180 would be good.

I generally go until the ribs pull back off the bone and look "right...." I know that's pretty vague but it's also pretty intuitive. The rendering of fat on the ribs will be quite pronounced, and they will just look "right." Time-wise I would guess (this is a rough estimate, of course) 3.5 to 4 hours for baby backs, 4.5 to 5 hours for spares and somewhere in between for CSRs. Pit temperatures, wind etc. have such a big influence on cooking time that I am always reluctant to give times, but those could serve as general, relative guidelines.

 

[Temptd2]

Another quick question for anyone with experience, the shoulder skin from a picnic, has anyone smoked the meat, then after finished remove the skin and deep fry? I always fed it to the dog, but thought this may make some good rinds.

I keep threatening to try this, but have not yet - from what I've seen online, you would need to boil the skin til it's very tender (about 3 to 4 hours, maybe a bit less since it's already been cooked in the smoker?), then cut into thin strips and dehydrated about 20 to 24 hours, then deep-fry to puff it out and make it crunchy - who knows though if all that is needed - I know that's the process for starting with fresh pig skin!

I do think that the smoked flavor on the skin would make AWESOME chicharrones! If you try it - please post results!

 

[EHV]

I keep threatening to try this, but have not yet - from what I've seen online, you would need to boil the skin til it's very tender (about 3 to 4 hours, maybe a bit less since it's already been cooked in the smoker?), then cut into thin strips and dehydrated about 20 to 24 hours, then deep-fry to puff it out and make it crunchy - who knows though if all that is needed - I know that's the process for starting with fresh pig skin!

I do think that the smoked flavor on the skin would make AWESOME chicharrones! If you try it - please post results!

Hell, I'll give it a go. I'm off of work with a torn up knee so I have time. I've got all that is needed to do it, so I will post up with thoughts and pictures.

 

[Temptd2]

Sorry about your knee but glad you're available for experiments!

There is a Diners, Drive-ins, Dives episode where the chef goes through the steps of making the chicharrones. You can find it online, in case you care to see what he's doing before you try yours out!

 

[EHV]

Sorry about your knee but glad you're available for experiments!

There is a Diners, Drive-ins, Dives episode where the chef goes through the steps of making the chicharrones. You can find it online, in case you care to see what he's doing before you try yours out!

I took a look at the video. Pretty straight forward. Some Tony seasoning is going to be my final addition. Only drawback is its a whole lotta work for all the more skin on the shoulder. Like they say, use everything but the "oink"!

 

[Temptd2]

I took a look at the video. Pretty straight forward. Some Tony seasoning is going to be my final addition. Only drawback is its a whole lotta work for all the more skin on the shoulder. Like they say, use everything but the "oink"!

Good luck, can't wait to hear how it comes out.

There are a few parts beyond the "oink" I'd rather not deal with!

 

[DrunkleJon]

A coworker sent me a link to this picture this morning. Has anyone yet heard of the swineapple?

Bacon wrapped pineapple stuffed with what looks like pork loin.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

I'm tempted to say that goes too far, but I would eat the sh!t out of that.

 

[jammin]

Threw these on last night - just about done

 

[EHV]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1431703996.208605.jpg
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Started 3 hours ago and ABTs are done. Always got to smoke a snack.
So far with the KJ I've surpassed my 250 target and hovering nearly to 300. If you miss your temp it's a hoe to get back down. I've attempted to get the temp down by shutting vents and opening lid periodically to dissipate heat. The ceramic is such a great insulator it's a losing battle. Another downfall is keeping the smoke going while trying to keep temp down. Definitely a learning curve to low and slow with a kamado.
I'm hoping the iq120 makes it here today so I can try another low and slow with it.

 

[HoppyDaze]

A coworker sent me a link to this picture this morning. Has anyone yet heard of the swineapple?

Bacon wrapped pineapple stuffed with what looks like pork loin.

Looks like yet another version of the bacon explosion

 

[EHV]

Final product. For no sugar in the rub, and the fluctuations in temp from my tampering, this is a great shoulder with nice bark. Not sure if this is unique to kamados or higher heat smokes but I experienced no stall while cooking this one. Once I get this pulled I will tackle the skin for rinds.
Porn!
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[Dixon9717]

Does this count?View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1431725722.192375.jpg

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Final product. For no sugar in the rub, and the fluctuations in temp from my tampering, this is a great shoulder with nice bark. Not sure if this is unique to kamados or higher heat smokes but I experienced no stall while cooking this one. Once I get this pulled I will tackle the skin for rinds.
Porn!

Probably the higher heat. I don't think the stall is lower on a kamado by nature.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Tri-tip going on the Kamado Joe. Bit of hickory, cooking around 220, planning a reverse sear.

Some Pizza Port Swami's IPA to ensure I don't die of thirst.

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[EHV]

I approve the making of pork rinds from the smoked skin.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1431799937.160212.jpg
I pulled the skins and scraped them clean of the fat. I skipped the boil process due to the fat already softened from the smoke.
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Cut the skin up into squares with a pair of sharp scissors and put them in the dehydrator at 160 for 16 hours. I recommend doing no smaller then 1 inch squares.
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This is the result. The skins are extremely hard and brittle. How can anything good come from these?
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1431800140.555641.jpg
400 degree fryer for a minute or two stirring when they puff. And this is the result. These are really good and I'm not a big fan of pork rinds.

 

[sheephrdr]

sorry no pics yet but smoking venison jerky on my big chief (hickory and beech)

 

[Temptd2]

WOW, EHV, those look AWESOME! Did you salt them at all? Or just from the smoking rub was enough?

I gotta try that next time. Thanks for being the chief experimenter! Glad that you could skip the boil part too, good to know.

 

[EHV]

WOW, EHV, those look AWESOME! Did you salt them at all? Or just from the smoking rub was enough?

I gotta try that next time. Thanks for being the chief experimenter! Glad that you could skip the boil part too, good to know.

I used the Tony Chacheres Creole seasoning which does contain a fair amount of sodium to season, and it paired well. The pieces of skin that really took the brunt of heat and smoke are super crispy, so be aware, since they didn't really puff up.

 

[jafo28]

Put my first attempt at brisket on the smoker early this morning. Pics later.

 

[jammin]

Flat Iron over mesquite last night

 

[castermmt]

I'm doing two Brisket, I put them on around 8PM (overnight) and should be done by noon. The PID controller is great when smoking expensive meats, our anything for that matter. I made a quick rain cover for the PID, using a little to-go plastic carton, works well.

 

[jafo28]

Pulled it about an hour ago. Trying to get the slice thickness correct.

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