What We’re Smoking (or Grilling, or Curing)!

[tmm99]

They had those very large meaty Beef Back Ribs at Costco again. Couldn’t resist and took the biggest one.

Hmm...!!

 

[tmm99]

Marinated drumsticks in a soy-based sauce overnight and grilled them along with sweet peppers, zucchini and yam (yam for DH).

 

[JRon]

While I was mowing lawns, the wife smoked chicken thighs for lunch today. Really good!

 

[lesjrp]

They had those very large meaty Beef Back Ribs at Costco again. Couldn’t resist and took the biggest one.

I’ve done those too, they came out great. In Western Washington you can only get those ribs at the business Costco’s.

 

[audreyh1]

I’ve done those too, they came out great. In Western Washington you can only get those ribs at the business Costco’s.

It’s new at ours, the other day I saw some not Cryovac’d and they had bones exposed and just some meat between the bones whereas these have meat covering the bones on the surface, although it’s a thin layer.

 

[CardsFan]

They had those very large meaty Beef Back Ribs at Costco again. Couldn’t resist and took the biggest one.

Our local Sam's normally has beef short ribs available. At least that is what they call them, they look a lot like what you have. Last time I bought them I think it was $3.98/lb, but to get that price you had to buy the BIG pack with two sections, each 4 ribs. Total weight about 17 lbs.

They came out GREAT, and, in my mind, even better than a brisket.

Reminds me, I need to get some more and invite friends over. For us, one rib fed both of us, but it froze well.

 

[sengsational]

I might do the beef ribs in the Orion on Father's day. I've done various pork and chicken, but never beef.

 

[audreyh1]

Our local Sam's normally has beef short ribs available. At least that is what they call them, they look a lot like what you have. Last time I bought them I think it was $3.98/lb, but to get that price you had to buy the BIG pack with two sections, each 4 ribs. Total weight about 17 lbs.

They came out GREAT, and, in my mind, even better than a brisket.

Reminds me, I need to get some more and invite friends over. For us, one rib fed both of us, but it froze well.

Beef short ribs are from lower down on the ribs. These are not short ribs. These are the beef version of “baby back ribs” and are from near the spine and next to prime rib.

The Costco short ribs are usually the chuck short ribs and come in squares with 4 bones as you noted. Those are very good and usually have a lot more meat on top of the bone. We’ve done those too and really enjoy them. They actually take a bit longer to smoke than these back ribs.

 

[CardsFan]

Beef short ribs are from lower down on the ribs. These are not short ribs. These are the beef version of “baby back ribs” and are from near the spine and next to prime rib.

OK. I need to look for those.

 

[audreyh1]

Ribs are done! I let them rest in pink butcher paper for 30 mins before cutting.

 

[audreyh1]

OK. I need to look for those.

The short ribs are very, very good too and give you more meat per bone. So it’s hard to go wrong. Some folks prefer “plate short ribs” aka dino ribs* to the chuck short ribs. Personally I think chuck short ribs are excellent too.
https://www.foodfirefriends.com/types-of-beef-ribs/

*When I see the plate short ribs they usually have 3 larger bones and the meat is more of a triangle shape after cooking. The chuck short ribs are usually square with 4 bones. Unless the butcher cuts them up individually which I sometimes see too.

 

[CardsFan]

The short ribs are very, very good too and give you more meat per bone. So it’s hard to go wrong. Some folks prefer “plate ribs” aka dino ribs to the chuck short ribs. Personally I think chuck short ribs are excellent too.
https://www.foodfirefriends.com/types-of-beef-ribs/

I found the short ribs much easier to smoke than brisket. At least to get "right". Briskets can be "temperamental" in terms of cooking time and getting it just right. The short ribs seemed less of a problem, though you still need to cook to the right temp.

On a side note, I have not done it in a while but smoked chuck roasts, for pulled beef, are also really good, and really easy.

 

[NW-Bound]

I recently made a leg-of-lamb roast. Baking and not smoking/grilling/curing. Does this count?

I will be grilling some adana kebabs tomorrow for a Father's Day potluck that my brother will be hosting. I will use beef instead of lamb, because many in the family do not like lamb.

I found a Middle-Eastern grocery in town to buy lavash bread to go with the kebabs. Never made this before, so look forward to see how it works out.

 

[audreyh1]

Nice! I love lamb!

 

[Bamaman]

In the MidSouth (outside Texas), we're more into pork baby back ribs. We don't cook beef ribs or even brisket which I could easily turn into leather.

I did cook a whole pork shoulder last weekend on my new Masterbuilt gravity charcoal smoker. With a mustard-Rendezvous dry rub, I cooked it at 250 degrees for 6 hours and then wrapped it in foil for 3 more hours. I cannot tell you how many man/meals we made off that shoulder. The wife came in with another shoulder @ 99 cents a pound.

With a thermister, and fan blowing on glowing coals, I'm amazed how steady temperature that smoker cooks. I never once looked at the food, and it cooked 9 hrs. without having to add lump charcoal. Effortless cooking.

Unfortunately our deep freezer was disconnected as we went on vacation and I'm having to trash every item in it. I have a whole boneless rib section in there cut into steaks and some great ribs. Who knows what else I've been getting on deep discount sales? Replacement meat will be much more expensive--inflation.

 

[Rambler]

I’m just getting ready to smoke a brisket. I’ll put it on the smoker for 5-6 hours, then wrap in foil and finish in the oven overnight, then rest for 10 hrs or so until tomorrow night’s dinner. We pack the vacuum pack and freeze the leftovers in roughly 16oz packages and take some with us in the RV for driving days so I don’t have another chore after driving for hours. I generally grill 5-6 pounds of chicken and 4-6 tri-tips at once for the same reason.

 

[audreyh1]

I usually finish the brisket in the oven wrapped in butcher paper (why waste the pellets?) but I hadn’t thought of doing it overnight.

Do you put it in a cooler wrapped in towels to rest that long?

 

[Rambler]

I usually finish the brisket in the oven wrapped in butcher paper (why waste the pellets?) but I hadn’t thought of doing it overnight.

Do you put it in a cooler wrapped in towels to rest that long?

Yes, it goes in the cooler, towels below and above. I’ve rested it for up to 8ish hours before and it still came out very nice and still very warm. A pit master I follow suggests resting it for a full 12 hours, but I want to start with just a couple extra hours, and if it works, maybe I’ll try 12 hours next time. That said, my next experiment will hopefully be a dry aged prime brisket. I’ve had excellent results dry aging prime grade rib roasts and then cutting them into steaks, as well as just using them as roasts. I’ve heard it does incredible things for brisket as well.

 

[audreyh1]

So you do the dry aging yourself? How does that work?

I’m going to try a grass fed/finished brisket the next time I do one. HEB carries them. It will take the full (long) time I’m sure. But that’s what the slow cooking technique is designed for.

 

[Rambler]

So you do the dry aging yourself? How does that work?

I’m going to try a grass fed/finished brisket the next time I do one. HEB carries them. It will take the full (long) time I’m sure. But that’s what the slow cooking technique is designed for.

I buy Umai Dry dry aging bags on Amazon. Put the meat in the bag, vacuum seal, and then in the garage fridge for 35 days. The Umai Dry bag is not like a regular plastic bag. It is a membrane that allows the moisture to escape but does not allow bacteria or additional oxygen to get in.

Check out this YouTube from Guga Foods.

I think in this video he dry aged for 45 days. Most of the time he dry ages for 35 days. I tried 47 days once and felt that it was a bit too much. I suggest sticking with 35 days the first time, and adjusting to your preferences in following agings.

Edit to add: I do not buy the bone-in rib roast for dy aging. I get the prime grade bone removed rib roasts at Costco or Sam’s Club.

 

[NW-Bound]

^^^ That dry-aging process is simple enough, I will want to try that.

But first, I need my wife to clear enough space in the fridge.

 

[audreyh1]

I remember in our first trip to Alberta Canada we had the best steaks we had ever had. And that was saying something since we came from Texas. Someone at the lodge told us the beef up there was dry-aged differently than in the US. Maybe longer - don’t remember.

^^^ That dry-aging process is simple enough, I will want to try that.

But first, I need my wife to clear enough space in the fridge.

That beef he ordered had already been wet-aged for 22 days. I guess more is better?

I see the company he ordered from does both on their dry-aged beef.

Prime Export Ribs are Wet Aged for 21 days and then Dry Aged for 30 days for maximum tenderness and to concentrate a delicious rich, nutty and robust beefy flavor. Each piece is cut with precision and poise by our veteran butchers. This attention to detail provides the highest quality and mouth-watering experience every time you order!

 

[audreyh1]

All this beef talk reminds me of some pics I took a couple of weeks ago.

We usually shop at an HEB Plus not too far away that happens to be across the interstate from a huge very wealthy subdivision. As a result it carries a lot of high end food items you won’t see in other area stores. The seafood and meat selections are extensive. HEB very much customizes to the buying habits of the area it serves. I’m sure people come from far to buy such items here, so they are able to focus on one store for such items.

There are a couple of aisles in the large meat section where you’ll find about everything imaginable for your grill or smoker. We were perusing the HEB grass fed beef section.

Pic 1: this section is all large packages of different kinds of fajitas - a popular item around here!

Pic 2: Then I noticed moving to the right of this section SRF packages - the HEB American Wagyu is sourced from Snake River Farms!! Thinking of RobbieB. These are inside skirt steak as well as sirloin prepped for fajitas.

Pic 3: Down farther - part of the brisket section. The grass fed/finished brisket is $5.99 a pound compared to the USDA Prime at $4.49 a pound. That grass fed brisket was quite malleable, so it would have been an excellent one for me to smoke. But I didn’t have room or time then - so I’ll try it later. They also sell American Wagyu briskets. I’m sure that’s the most expensive. ETA - there’s one in the pic. It’s $6.99 a pound.

This store must sell massive quantities of beef! They stock a lot extra before major holidays I noticed - always a good time to look for that special brisket. I think this was the week before Memorial Day weekend.

 

[4legsgood]

Inspired to smoke the one thing I seem to smoke without failure - chicken. It doesn't take long, and I love putting together different versions of smoked chicken salad. It's almost done now and my wheels are turning - I have mayo, celery, hazelnuts...maybe should get grapes or apples.

 

[Rambler]

AudreyH1, if you really like beef and steaks, treat yourself once with a Wagyu A5 grade ribeye. They are too rich to eat the entire steak yourself, but the fantastic flavor is something to experience. When I lived in Japan, I had it more often than I should have, but my wife and kids had never tried it. I bought enough for each of us and our adult kids and spouses to have an entire steak at Christmas….it was just too much. A third to a half each (5-7oz) would have been plenty. But it is a real treat.