Well obviously if we could pick a mascot for this website it would be the amazing pork rib. So tender and delicious, relatively easy to prepare, it's certainly a candidate for being one of the most favorite cuts of meat in our diets. Now I don't want to get into the various ways of cooking them; be it the 3-2-1 method, or hanging them in a drum, or whether to wrap in foil or not, etc. but I simply want to embrace the finished product as at once humble and at the same time universally appealing. However you cook and enjoy them is certainly a matter of personal taste.I simply do mine on a pellet cooker, start with the smoke setting using apple or a fruit wood blend of pellets, after an hour of smoking I crank the cooker to the 250* mark and let them go for 3 more hours and they come out looking like this with their deep mahogany color so indicative of pellet smoking....
Since we prefer ours "bite through" I have gotten away from wrapping them in foil. I've found that too many times the ribs got over cooked with the bones simply falling apart. Again your preference, but that's mine. Instead I wrap in pink butcher paper for an additional hour to get the tenderness.
Now again, your preference, I don't slather them up with Parkay or butter or brown sugar in the wrap. We prefer to have the meat shine through without all the masking. I do; however, like a sweet note at the end so I take something like Blues Hog and do a 20-25 minute open glaze after the one hour wrap. For that I like to crank the heat up in the cooker. So total cook time for this method is 5 hours and 20 minutes. It's one of the few proteins that I cook that I don't bother to check the internal temp, they come out just right every time if I stick to the recipe...
Was also in the mood to have some big portabello mushrooms and German potato salad with my ribs. For the potato salad..
Troutman German Potato Salad
5-6 large Yukon Gold or white potatoes, skin on
6-8 pieces of bacon cut into lardons
1 whole onion finely chopped
1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar (white vinegar works as well)
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of sugar
1-2 tablespoons of Dijon or coarse grain mustard
1/3 cup of sour cream
1 teaspoon of salt
2-3 chopped scallions for garnish
1 small bunch of minced chives
Begin by boiling the potatoes whole, skin on, in salted water until they are pierce tender with a paring knife.
Cook the bacon until fat is rendered and bacon crispy. Place the cooked bacon bits on a plate with paper towels to drain. Remove most of the bacon fat but reserve about 2-3 tablespoons to saute your onions in. After the onions are cooked to transparency, add your wet ingredients to make a vinaigrette dressing. Start with the vinegar, the sugar and the mustard, whisking them with the onions until incorporated. Then slowly whisk in the olive oil and simmer until fully incorporated.
Next cut the potatoes either into slices or cubes, but keep them rustic. Be sure the potatoes are still hot, otherwise they won't absorb the dressing. Place in a large bowl, add the dressing, the sour cream, salt and your bacon bits. Fold together to combine. Finish off by adding the chives and garnish with your green onions. Serve warm. It's a tangy but delicious departure from conventional potato salad.
The mushroom were simply marinaded in a combination of extra virgin, cold pressed oil oil, some aged balsamic vinegar and freshly minced garlic. They were roasted on the smoker for about 20 minutes until soft....
Amazing ribs....tender....juicy....delicious !! Ya'll take care my friends and go cook you some amazing pork ribs !!! Troutman Steve is about ready to get his face all greasy....later !!!!
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