A little over a year ago I was on a big, beefy dino rib kick. I found the largest plates I could find on Porter Road and ordered one only to be told they were temporarily out of stock. It gave me the option to get on their waiting list so I did. After a couple of weeks I again tried to order not having heard anything and got the same message. Again I went on the list and again nothing. Not to be deterred I called them to ask what was going on and they explained that they only had limited quantities and they sell out quickly.
Well I ordered a couple of plates right then and there. I slow smoked the first plate and although it had a lot of fat content, it turned out pretty spectacular. Here's the write up of that cook if interested.....Dino Ribs.
Following that I subsequently smoked the other plate maybe a month or two later. Unfortunately that plate was extremely fatty. As you get further back in the rib section of the cow, the muscles around ribs 9-12 are basically in two muscle groups with layers of fat in between nearly as thick as the muscles. When cooked they tend to want to separate, are difficult to cut and you end up having to remove a lot of that intramuscular fat. As a result I called to complain and they were very nice and offered to refund my purchase price. They did explain they were having problems with fat content on those rib plates.
About a month or so ago I got an email from them offering to send me a plate of the new smaller rib section cut they were about to re-introduce. Of course I said sure I'd love to. As such I got a plate that I assume was probably from the rib sections closer to the front of the cow, around ribs 5-7, which has less fat in between the muscle groups.
At the same time I also decided to purchase one of their pork briskets, or pigsket as they are refereed to. It's basically a boutique cut of the pig's front pectoral which is lean but a tough working muscle. We've had a couple of these cooked over the holiday weekend from our other members with favorable reports. They only real problems with the cut is the price (about $20/pound) and the size (mine was about 1.5 pounds).
So onto my 26" kettle they both went and were smoked at 250* with some cherry wood until both got up to about 200* and probe tend. Here is the pair at about the 1 hour mark ready for a spritz...
Obviously the pigsket was done first in about 3 hours so off it came. I let it rest for about 20 minutes then decided to slice it up for some pre-dinner snacks. Well I gotta tell you that pound and a half of meat just disappeared. It was absolutely delicious. If I had to describe it, it was if pork tenderloin met bacon and had a baby. Super tender, nice touch of fat and great taste. I just used a salt brining, pepper and a little granulated garlic and onion (SPOG). Quite honestly I wish I had 10 pounds of the stuff. Will definitely consider ordering it again despite the price.
Which brings us to the main dish and the star of the show, those big, bad dino ribs. Again I simply salt brined and hit the plate with SPOG. Plate reached about 185* or so on the smoker after about 4 hours and wasn't probing very well so I wrapped it in foil and let it go for about another hour. It did have those fat layers a little less pronounced this time and did experience some delamination. I rested them in my oven for about 2 hours then carved.
Once again just a little too much fat for my liking all in all. The meat however, as you can guess was amazing. Unctuous and melt in your mouth delicious. I'm such a fan of these big dino ribs, they really are delicious. Words don't ever seem to describe how great these are so I'll just describe the result this way.....
Just want to give a big shout out to Porter Road for supplying the dino ribs and for that unique cut of pigsket. I definitely endorse these guys and encourage you to give them a try. All pasture raised animals, no hormones, low production, high quality meats.
Well sorry for the long read, it was a great 4th of July weekend with lots of smoking, eating, drinking and enjoying family.
Troutman is outta here, gotta go find me a left over piece of rib meat for lunch !!!
Well I ordered a couple of plates right then and there. I slow smoked the first plate and although it had a lot of fat content, it turned out pretty spectacular. Here's the write up of that cook if interested.....Dino Ribs.
Following that I subsequently smoked the other plate maybe a month or two later. Unfortunately that plate was extremely fatty. As you get further back in the rib section of the cow, the muscles around ribs 9-12 are basically in two muscle groups with layers of fat in between nearly as thick as the muscles. When cooked they tend to want to separate, are difficult to cut and you end up having to remove a lot of that intramuscular fat. As a result I called to complain and they were very nice and offered to refund my purchase price. They did explain they were having problems with fat content on those rib plates.
About a month or so ago I got an email from them offering to send me a plate of the new smaller rib section cut they were about to re-introduce. Of course I said sure I'd love to. As such I got a plate that I assume was probably from the rib sections closer to the front of the cow, around ribs 5-7, which has less fat in between the muscle groups.
At the same time I also decided to purchase one of their pork briskets, or pigsket as they are refereed to. It's basically a boutique cut of the pig's front pectoral which is lean but a tough working muscle. We've had a couple of these cooked over the holiday weekend from our other members with favorable reports. They only real problems with the cut is the price (about $20/pound) and the size (mine was about 1.5 pounds).
So onto my 26" kettle they both went and were smoked at 250* with some cherry wood until both got up to about 200* and probe tend. Here is the pair at about the 1 hour mark ready for a spritz...
Obviously the pigsket was done first in about 3 hours so off it came. I let it rest for about 20 minutes then decided to slice it up for some pre-dinner snacks. Well I gotta tell you that pound and a half of meat just disappeared. It was absolutely delicious. If I had to describe it, it was if pork tenderloin met bacon and had a baby. Super tender, nice touch of fat and great taste. I just used a salt brining, pepper and a little granulated garlic and onion (SPOG). Quite honestly I wish I had 10 pounds of the stuff. Will definitely consider ordering it again despite the price.
Which brings us to the main dish and the star of the show, those big, bad dino ribs. Again I simply salt brined and hit the plate with SPOG. Plate reached about 185* or so on the smoker after about 4 hours and wasn't probing very well so I wrapped it in foil and let it go for about another hour. It did have those fat layers a little less pronounced this time and did experience some delamination. I rested them in my oven for about 2 hours then carved.
Once again just a little too much fat for my liking all in all. The meat however, as you can guess was amazing. Unctuous and melt in your mouth delicious. I'm such a fan of these big dino ribs, they really are delicious. Words don't ever seem to describe how great these are so I'll just describe the result this way.....
Just want to give a big shout out to Porter Road for supplying the dino ribs and for that unique cut of pigsket. I definitely endorse these guys and encourage you to give them a try. All pasture raised animals, no hormones, low production, high quality meats.
Well sorry for the long read, it was a great 4th of July weekend with lots of smoking, eating, drinking and enjoying family.
Troutman is outta here, gotta go find me a left over piece of rib meat for lunch !!!
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