necron 99's Test of mds2 Rib Rub (with pics)

[necron 99]

mds2 gave me a good reason to fire up a cooker this weekend, to test the sample of rub he sent me on pork ribs. I'd also defrosted a cut of meat Kroger calls 'Texas Broil' I'd bought in Houston - it's a chuck / shoulder cut like I used to be able to buy cheaper than chuck steaks in Texas in the early 80's. I decided I'd try out the Stubb's Texas Teriyaki on the Texas Broil, then use the finished beef in salads for making a salad into a meal.

Here's the pics up to this point

The Texas Broil cut before defrosting



The ribs, after defrosting. There are 4 racks here, ranging from 2.38 lb to 3.09 lb. I left the 3.09 lb rack unrubbed as a control specimen for the rub test.



The non-meat ingredients. All 4 racks of ribs were rubbed with the extra light tasting olive oil (I prefer this or grapeseed oil for slather), and the Texas Teriyaki marinade the beef bathed in overnight in my vacuum marinade box that's an accessory for my Food Saver.



Ribs - 3 racks oiled & rubbed, one rack merely oiled. There's plenty of rub sample for me to repeat the experiment, or try on other foods later.



I'm using my BBQ Pro Deluxe bullet smoker for this cook, with ribs on the upper rack and Texas Broil beef on the lower rack. This way, none of the Teiryaki will drip onto the test ribs. Cook times I'm reckoning will be about the same for the beef & the ribs.

Charcoal bowl with a little Picnic lump charcoal in the bottom, chunks of pecan wood, covered in OCC Rancher briquets, with some pecan slivers on top. I fired up 18 briquets seperately in my small KMart charcoal chimney and laid them across the pile of unlit stuff in a 3 briquet wide row front to back, maximizing the distance between the lit fuel and the two air registers on the left and right sides. There's a chunk of pecan wood in the basket at both air register positions, to help make sure the wood burns 'clean'.



I'm using my Brinkmann Gourmet water pan (ECB charcol pan) lined with foil, with 2 brick pieces in the pan below the foil to keep the foil from resting directly on the bottom of the pan. Then the Texas Broil Teriyaki, and one remote therm probe in the beef, the other through a cork wedged into the bottom food grate for cook chamber temp readings.



Here's the ribs - rubbed, racked, and ready to stack!



Lit charcoal put on the charcoal ring, cooker assembled, and warming up.



Up to temperature and smoking away at high noon. Should have everything ready to eat around 6 PM I reckon.





I'll post some more pics when the food's finished, along with a rub test report. I hope everyone else is having a great weekend as well!
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Let's hope SoEzzy can ditch his heavy hand on photos in 2016!

[Gourmet-Gator]

Looks so good that aint right to keep us waiting.......

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In GOD We Trust... GOD Bless AMERICA

Gear...Oklahoma Joe's Longhorn Offset
Brinkmans Gourmet Bullet
Char-Broil 6 Burner Stainless Gasser
2 Deep Fryers

[BZArcher]

Nice! Thanks for the details on how you're lighting the ProQ - I'm starting to seriously think about one of those.
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Weber 22" Kettle
Double Drum Smoker - Jolly Green Giant

[Tater_68]

Looking forward to the results.
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Don�t worry too much about it. Just do all you can do and let the rough end drag.
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WSM

[doojr]

so good so far, just waiting on finished results. now you know i'm close, so i can come sample
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OK Joe Longhorn

[roxy]

[BZArcher]

Oh! OK, fair enough.

Still, wouldn't the same method for lighting the cooker work?
_________________
Weber 22" Kettle
Double Drum Smoker - Jolly Green Giant

[roxy]

[necron 99]

Yeah, BBQ Pro is the brand name KMart has used for at least 10 years, probably more but that's what I can remember, for their line of grilling & BBQ stuff. Since KMart bought Sears a while back, you can now also find BBQ Pro brand stuff at Sears and Kenmore stuff at KMart (but not always the same 'stuff' - go figure).

My BBQ Pro Deluxe Dome Smoker

I see they're on sale this week - I got mine for $64 (20% off) during the Sears Memorial Day weekend sale. My Weber charcoal chimney is great for firing up a lot of charcoal, but poor for use with lump or firing up a small amount of briquets. My new little black charcoal chimney from KMart worked just great for Minion method starts getting 15 to 20 briquettes lit easily.

Roxy, Doc1680, and Ian at ProBBQ can give you loads of details / info on the ProBBQ models.

My Texas Teriyaki beef is up to 188 F internal, and it's fixin' to rain hard - but dodging a rainstorm with this rig is easier than with my Bar-B-Chef horizontal offset. With neither water nor sand in the pan, and locking sections, it's easy to pick up loaded with meat and move if needed.
_________________
Let's hope SoEzzy can ditch his heavy hand on photos in 2016!

[Canadian Bacon]

Looks like you got everything under control so far necron99.
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Horizon Offset (Marshall RD Special)
30 " Electric Masterbuilt(Digital)
Large BGE
Napoleon Legend Gasser
20"& 26" Discada
Two of the fastest Thermapens ever made ... Black& Blue
LIAR #25

[necron 99]

OK, the rain split around us - not enough that hit the ground here to get the concrete driveway completely wet!

Here's the finished ribs. The one unrubbed rack is on top for color comparison. Both shots are of the same stack, I rotated the pan 180 degrees between shots.





The rubbed ribs are darker, as expected, from the sugar in the rub.

I sampled some of the rubbed ribs as-is, with some last bits of a bottle of D L Jardine's Buckin' Berry sauce, and the rest of a half rack with some apple chipotle sauce I found at Marshall's. All were good. I opened a can of Ranch Style beans for a side dish.

Overall, the rub provides a good savory balance between sweet & heat, just like it did plain, but better cooked into the meat. I think this style rub would benefit from mopping / spritzing / glazing the meat during the cook, which I didn't do. I like my bullet smoker for ribs since it has less of a vertical temperature gradient, but the rack doesn't lend itself to foiling, so I'll have to try the next set in my horizontal offset smoker using the 2-2-1 method.

Thanks mds2!

I'll take the Texas Teriyaki Broil out of the unlit oven where it's been resting after the wife finishes the nightly pooch feeding, and I'll take a few more pics and taste test.
_________________
Let's hope SoEzzy can ditch his heavy hand on photos in 2016!

[Canadian Bacon]

Now thats some serious slabs,nice color,they look awesome.
_________________
Horizon Offset (Marshall RD Special)
30 " Electric Masterbuilt(Digital)
Large BGE
Napoleon Legend Gasser
20"& 26" Discada
Two of the fastest Thermapens ever made ... Black& Blue
LIAR #25

[k.a.m.]

Beautiful looking ribs necron 99, I am free if you need a taste tester on your tests you know a second opinion and all.

[necron 99]

doojr & k.a.m., I'll be happy to share some of the rub if y'all want to try it. Just PM me with your contact info. Otherwise, you'll have to come over for leftovers

The Texas Broil Teriyaki came out disappointing - took it to 200 F internal, and it was plenty tender, but lacked juice. It'll be OK for what I was intending - salads - but I'll keep the Stubb's Texas Teriyaki marinade in the fridge for grilled shrimp & chicken breasts.

Texas Broil after resting a couple of hours - no juices drawn - not a good sign.



Sliced Texas Broil - it sliced real nice, and is plenty tender, just dry. I have another of these in my freezer. Next time I'll foil this cut around 170 F or so, and use the Stubb's Steakhouse Marinade.


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Let's hope SoEzzy can ditch his heavy hand on photos in 2016!