I had one uncooked rack of St. Louis ribs in the freezer that was left over from my last time smoking ribs. I decided that I would try cooking them sous vide and then smoke them afterwards. I have done this successfully with pulled pork and brisket but not with ribs so was looking forward to this. I defrosted them, rubbed with salt and Memphis Dust and then sealed them and cooked at 150 degrees for 24 hours. After cooking, I iced bath them and refrigerated them until I was ready to smoke.
Unfortunately, a few days later when I was getting ready to smoke them, I removed the cover of my WSM and to my horror, the entire smoker was covered and I mean covered in mold. Not just a little, but the water pan, sides, both grates has a full layer of fuzzy white mold over it. Obviously, I wasn't able to smoke them (and haven't decided how to move forward with cleaning or just tossing the WSM - its a 14.5" so wouldn't be the worst to upgrade to something bigger and/or different), so I finished in the oven. I re-rubbed the ribs, and cooked in a 300 deg over for about 45 min until the bark was set and then broiled it for a few more minutes to get a nice char.
The ribs were awesome. Texture was great. Totally moist and tender but not fall off the bone. One thing I wasn't prepared for was how rich they were. All the collagen and fat melted but didn't really drip off, so the ribs were very fatty and rich (in a good way). I don't recall this happening with the pulled pork or brisket that I sous vide then smoked so not sure it wasa because I wasn't able to smoke them. With the pork/brisket, I smoked for 2-3 hours after sous viding, so maybe the fat rendered more and dripped off instead of just staying on the ribs?
Will definitely try again when I figure out my smoker situation. Pictures are below
Post-sous vide pre-rerubbed
Post sous-vide after another dusting of the rub
Post ovencook.
The bend test
Individual rib
Post bite. Bite went clear through but didn't pull the rest of the meat off
Unfortunately, a few days later when I was getting ready to smoke them, I removed the cover of my WSM and to my horror, the entire smoker was covered and I mean covered in mold. Not just a little, but the water pan, sides, both grates has a full layer of fuzzy white mold over it. Obviously, I wasn't able to smoke them (and haven't decided how to move forward with cleaning or just tossing the WSM - its a 14.5" so wouldn't be the worst to upgrade to something bigger and/or different), so I finished in the oven. I re-rubbed the ribs, and cooked in a 300 deg over for about 45 min until the bark was set and then broiled it for a few more minutes to get a nice char.
The ribs were awesome. Texture was great. Totally moist and tender but not fall off the bone. One thing I wasn't prepared for was how rich they were. All the collagen and fat melted but didn't really drip off, so the ribs were very fatty and rich (in a good way). I don't recall this happening with the pulled pork or brisket that I sous vide then smoked so not sure it wasa because I wasn't able to smoke them. With the pork/brisket, I smoked for 2-3 hours after sous viding, so maybe the fat rendered more and dripped off instead of just staying on the ribs?
Will definitely try again when I figure out my smoker situation. Pictures are below
Post-sous vide pre-rerubbed
Post sous-vide after another dusting of the rub
Post ovencook.
The bend test
Individual rib
Post bite. Bite went clear through but didn't pull the rest of the meat off
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