The BBQ Thread

Baby backs vs Spares? The answer is baby backs......................if you don't know how to render down a spare properly.

Baby backs are boring to me. The meat sometimes reminds me of a pork chop.

I spent many years (like the rest of you) trying to perfect spares. What was keeping me down was my temperature probe during the wrap. I had read that 206 internal was the goal of the wrap so I always pulled my spares at 206, which was around 1.5 hours into the 2-hour wrap.

I finally just ran them 3-2-1 and jackpot! They now melt in our mouths but are still holding the bone. I did notice the IT hitting 212 at the end of the wrap but I held firm and didn't touch them. The one hour naked at the end firms them up nicely. I glaze the last 20 minutes.

I run my pit at 225 steady for the full 6 hours.
 
I occasionally find spares too fatty for my liking even using 3-2-1. They have more flavor with more fat but depending on what product you start with, can still be tough to render as much as I would prefer.

So if I’m being honest I probably prefer spareribs…
 
Boone said:
I occasionally find spares too fatty for my liking even using 3-2-1. They have more flavor with more fat but depending on what product you start with, can still be tough to render as much as I would prefer.

So if I’m being honest I probably prefer spareribs…
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Same...you have to cherry pick them at the store.
 
In my humble opinion, when one is cooking straight not-marinated pork ribs, one should think about how the heat is hitting the ribs (whether from the top down, or from the bottom up), and what temp the cooker is (200, 225, 250, 275, 300), and whether it's convective heat or radiant heat. I think, most of the time, slow-moving convective heat is preferred.

Then, one should think about the break-down of collagen, which requires not just the right low temp, but also time - as explained by meathead on the AR site. Again, I think one should consider convective vs radiant heat.

Then, especially towards the end of the cook, one should think about the rendering of the fat, which in my humble opinion and experience, requires a hotter temp than the low end of a typical low and slow cook. IMHO, one would want to blast that fat with a relatively high heat (275-300 for at least an hour) towards the end of the cook - to liquify the fat. A fast-moving convective heat would be a good thing at the end of the cook. This would better render the fat without burning the meat, and also promote pull-back, and therefore, hopefully plump-up the ribs.

An analogy regarding temp and liquifying pork fat might be cooking bacon.
 
I haven’t spent a lot of time when it comes to BBQ thinking about the actual cooking process and what factors actually impact the final result and the traits of the finished product but that makes a ton of sense!
 
I love a spicy sweet fruit glaze with pork. They go hand in hand. I make a great glaze for whole roasted pork loin. Any marmalade or thick jam will work

2 TB brown sugar
2 TB orange marmalade
1 TB Dijon
Enough hot sauce to get the consistency right

Stupid easy but really good... you would laugh if I told you the recipe that we used in a French restaurant for the orange glaze on Duck. Basically it was ketchup white wine and orange marmalade with a few other things

A glaze is to be used lightly...don't smother the meat. It's an accent, a kiss. I don't like super wet ribs or chicken
 
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Pork shoulder with Mojo is amazing. Pez did a whole hog with mojo, some of the best pork I’ve had. I just need a good mojo recipe! Hey Rick is Pez as secretive with that as the wing dust???
 
Mojo es Cuban. Sour orange is the base. Look it up. Also Caja de China
 
HOF44 said:
Pork shoulder with Mojo is amazing. Pez did a whole hog with mojo, some of the best pork I’ve had. I just need a good mojo recipe! Hey Rick is Pez as secretive with that as the wing dust???
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I don't think his marinade is a secret.
I agree....those hogs were the best...I gorged on the crackins'
 
RedWolf said:
Mojo es Cuban. Sour orange is the base. Look it up. Also Caja de China
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The Caja box is what Pez used to make whole hogs at the tailgates.

IMG_0189.jpeg
 
Yes - When I tell the butcher at Mt Airy that I want it butterflied, the box is the reason. Before the box, I used to cook them on a spit whole.

Pez bought a box and began doing pigs with it after the one I did @ Baltimore - an away game ES tailgate. This was the game on December 7, 2008. We used to have a Redskins photographer writer media guy working for the team back then and he did a story on it for redskins.com. Can't remember his name. Travis, Page3girl, John Donaldson, and others were there. Can't remember everybody's name. It was a brutally cold winter tailgate and game with high winds. Temp at kickoff was 29 F, sustained winds at 20 mph, wind chill 12 F. We lost. :( The pig was good though. :D

La Caja China box is a game-changer for sure. It does an amazing job with no complications. And fast! Delicious juicy tender pig every time! Perfect cracklin'. And it creates a wonderful juice which settles on the bottom of the box which tastes amazing and can be used with leftovers afterwards. The hardest part is cleaning the box afterwards.

Another cool thing about the box is you can cook all sorts of things in it - not just pigs. Pork butts, chickens, lamb roasts, and pork ribs. So if your normal cooker isn't big enough, the box comes in handy.
 
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Cook has started.
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Whatcha got going brother?
 
Well at 12 hours and 185. Always takes longer than you think. Good thing no time pressure for a meal
 
View attachment IMG_9742.jpeg

Many chickens sacrificed their lives for our Mother’s Day dinner. Simple cook. Marinade in BBQ sauce and throw on grill. I did bone in, skin on chicken thighs because I’m cooking for 12. And that was cheapest.

Easy but turned out really well.
 
Mmmm!!!
Thighs are my favorite...but Mrs Skinsfan won't eat 'em...
 
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