Steak on a Stick

We have been making a push lately to work off the excess inventory in our chest freezer.  Chest freezers are great for allowing you to pick up meat in large quantities when on sale.  Just vacuum pack your bounty and they keep your treasure almost like new.  The bad thing is you tend to forget what inventory is inside and items tend to get lost.  Last weekend while rummaging through the meat cave, I found our last half rack of beef ribs.  So, that was dinner.

First, I took the rack, peeled the membrane off of the back, then washed and dried.

Usually I add some sort of BBQ rub that is made with beef in mind. This time though, I had the steak on the stick theme in my head.  So, I seasoned them just like I would a steak going on the grill.  Sea salt and cracked pepper, as well as some onion powder and granulated garlic.

I brought my smoker to 250 F and added pecan wood to the ash pan.  The ribs went on the top rack of the smoker.

Here they are after about two hours.  Notice the heavenly light that is bathing this meat treat?

My target for beef ribs is about four hours of cook time.  This is usually a temperature of about 180-190 F internal.  I go out and check my ribs after three and a half hours and start probing with my thermometer.  When it slides in like butter, you know you are done.  This rack took about three hours and 45 minutes and had an internal temperature of 187 F.  I brought them inside and let them rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

Served with a baked potato and a side salad.  These ribs lived up to my expectations of Steak on a Stick.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Moo Cow Ribs

I may be sacrilegious here, but I prefer a beef rib over any pork rib.  If cooked correctly:  crispy, rendered fat, the perfect rub creating a nice bark, lightly sauced or not, a beef rib can be heaven.  As a matter of fact, there is a place around here that takes the ribs from their weekend prime rib special, roasts them with some rub, and serves them as a special on Monday.  Outstanding.

Unfortunately, It is hard to find a full rack of beef ribs.  You usually get short ribs at the grocery.  Those are beef ribs cut across the bone.  They can be tough and hard to cook.  Or, you can get shorties:  single bones that are just not made for grilling or smoking.  For a full primer, check out this post from Amazing Ribs.

The last time we went to Restaurant Depot, they had full racks of beef back ribs.  So, into the cart they went.  We cut into racks of four bones and cyropacked for later consumption.

Don't those look beautiful?  I didn't know whether or not to smoke them or make the best pot of beef noodle soup ever.  I decided to smoke them, but soup in in the future this winter.

After pulling the membrane off of the back, I placed a light coat of rub on the underside of the rack.  Then, I flipped over and massaged some olive oil on the top, then placed a liberal coating of rub.  I used Oakridge Special Ops brisket rub for this cook.

While the ribs rested at room temperature, I brought the smoker up to 250 F and placed pecan in the ash pan for flavor.

The ribs took about 4 hours at 250 F to come to 184 F internal.  The probe was sliding through the ribs like butter.  This sweet spot can happen anytime between 180 and 190 F.  Once I hit this BBQ sweet spot, I pulled and let the rack rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

No sauce today.  I was looking for a nice, smoked beef flavor accented by a good beef rub.  I did not want to hide those tastes in even a light coating of rub.

Served with some fresh corn, this was a great holiday weekend treat.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Beef Ribs and Crispy Crowns with Cheese and Onion on the Baby

Last weekend, I found some beef ribs in the freezer and decided to smoke them on the Baby...

First, I pulled the membrane off of the back and seasoned with my brisket rub...

I placed them on the middle rack at about 325 F with some oak in the ash pan.  At the same time, I sprayed a cast iron skillet with cooking spray, then layered with Crispy Crowns and sliced sweet onion and a few grinds of salt and pepper and placed the skillet on a hot grill...

After 30 minutes, I put some Four Cheese Mexican blend on top of the Crispy Crowns and let the cheese melt.  About 15 more minutes.  After the cheese was all melted, I pulled off the ribs and potatoes, 45 minutes total cooking time...

The potatoes were nice and crispy with caramelized onion.  The cheese just sucks up that grilled flavor.  A very nice complement to the ribs.  The ribs were tender and juicy with a nice smoke flavor.  See that nice smoke ring... ;)

They were so good, I ate without sauce...

Enjoy.  Have a safe and happy 4th!

Thanks for stopping...

Bill