Bad Ribs

B

Big T

Guest
Well, I had my first flop. Well, I can't actually attribute it to my error, other than not using TexasBBQrub! (Hey I am out!)

Sent my wife into the supermarker to get some SPARE ribs and she comes back with these "extra meaty" babybacks. They were meatier than most I have seen so I said what the hey.

I rubbed on some homemade rub following this recipe from the net

2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup kosher salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup garlic seasoning
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup lemon pepper
1/4 cup onion salt
2 tablespoons fresh coarse ground black pepper
2 tablespoons whole celery seeds
1 teaspoon crushed cloves
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup Mrs. Dash seasoning mix



The ribs looked good but tasted like ham! They were not good. They had a good crust on them but it was too salty. I even added a whole cup of brown sugar to the mix after tasting it dry before I put it on the ribs. If I cut a section of the meat away without the crust and tasted that it was exactly like a ham.

What went wrong? Could it have been the rub? The meat? It has been a while since I did babybacks and never the extra meaty ones.
 
Big T said:
The ribs looked good but tasted like ham! They were not good. They had a good crust on them but it was too salty. I even added a whole cup of brown sugar to the mix after tasting it dry before I put it on the ribs. If I cut a section of the meat away without the crust and tasted that it was exactly like a ham.

What went wrong? Could it have been the rub? The meat? It has been a while since I did babybacks and never the extra meaty ones.
Click to expand...
Check the label on the ribs - My guess is thay say they were "enhanced," :mad: or "self-basting" :eek: and there will be a % that will idenify what portion of what you bought was additional liquid. You bought brined ribs that result in the hammy texture and too salty taste. Need to read the label.

Better luck next time
 
Yup.. thems babybacks..

I think large amounts of salt kind of 'cure' them while they smoke. Or too heavy of rub. I dumped 6 racks of babybacks at the last comp becase they were hammy.


someone also told me recently that hickory lends to that hammy flavor too. Im not sure how much that holds true, but in the last bath i made, was mostly hickory, when I usually use only cherry.
 
RichardF said:
Check the label on the ribs - My guess is thay say they were "enhanced," :mad: or "self-basting" :eek: and there will be a % that will idenify what portion of what you bought was additional liquid. You bought brined ribs that result in the hammy texture and too salty taste. Need to read the label.

Better luck next time
Click to expand...


oh yeah.. forgot about that too as a possibility.

But the costco(Swifts Premium) ribs I have been using for years aren't enhanced. (At least it does not say so on the packaging). This past year, i have had nothing but bad luck with babybacks with the majority of them coming out hammy. I even switched brands to IBP from Swifts premium. So it has to be something i am doing.

I gave up on babybacks this year becase 1) every package i bought was crap. Shiners or to much fat and 2) hammy and bright pink. Switched to spares and havent looked back.
 
BBQchef33 said:
I gave up on babybacks this year becase 1) every package i bought was crap. Shiners or to much fat and 2) hammy and bright pink. Switched to spares and havent looked back.
Click to expand...

And this is the exact reason I haven't had a good set of spares come out.

They always came out hammy.

I'll need to try again directly from the butcher to eliminate the enhancement into cryo pac.
 
That's what's odd about it. They were fresh from the butcher's case, not vac packed. The label he printed for the ackage read fresh pork loin back ribs. No indication of a solution.
 
So do you think my rub was too salty? Even the meat on the inside was salty. Could the rub have penetrated that far in?
 
I'm with Pooh on this. We tried spares and Baby backs (I always do spares) and I think we both agreed the spares were the better. Most baby backs I've had, except at applebee's or the like (just kidding) are usually hammy to me. Scott
 
Big T said:
That's what's odd about it. They were fresh from the butcher's case, not vac packed. The label he printed for the ackage read fresh pork loin back ribs. No indication of a solution.
Click to expand...

This is interesting to me now too.

I wonder how the butcher actually receives product?

I know when I was a kid, I would see the refrig truck pull up in the back with frozen half cows and pigs on them (recall the guy kicking the heart that fell out into the back of the store)

Do butchers nowadays get things like ribs already processed into huge cryopacs, that they slice open, rinse, and display?

You can imagine them needing like 10 times the amount of ribs, versus say hams and butts, in the average week.

I wonder if they get the same vacusuck cases that people here get at Sam's and the like.

I'd sure like to find out.
 
I used to get this problem when I left a rub on overnight. Now I rub and get the ribs on within an hour.
 
willkat98 said:
This is interesting to me now too.

I wonder how the butcher actually receives product?

I know when I was a kid, I would see the refrig truck pull up in the back with frozen half cows and pigs on them (recall the guy kicking the heart that fell out into the back of the store)

Do butchers nowadays get things like ribs already processed into huge cryopacs, that they slice open, rinse, and display?

You can imagine them needing like 10 times the amount of ribs, versus say hams and butts, in the average week.

I wonder if they get the same vacusuck cases that people here get at Sam's and the like.

I'd sure like to find out.
Click to expand...

Lots of markets repackage cryo'd meat and was wondering if that happened here, but then I looked were BIG T was from, and I could see the possibility of them having fresh ribs.
 
BBQchef33 said:
I gave up on babybacks this year becase 1) every package i bought was crap. Shiners or to much fat and 2) hammy and bright pink. Switched to spares and havent looked back.
Click to expand...

Phil - Here's a picture of recently smoked (cherry with a little hickory) COSTCO BB's. Any similarity to what you were seeing?

bbs.jpg
 
I rubbed and let it sit for about 30 minutes until the pit was up to temp.

I want to try this rub on some spares and see how it goes. I tasted the rub before putting it on. There was a good balance of salt and sweet. Neither was overpowering.
 
Ms. Dash has a ton of salt, doesn't it? May not need that and the additional salt. (edit: Mrs. Dash has zero salt. I knew it either had none or a ton! :) )
 
Last edited by a moderator:
RichardF said:
Phil - Here's a picture of recently smoked (cherry with a little hickory) COSTCO BB's. Any similarity to what you were seeing?

bbs.jpg
Click to expand...


Those look nothing like mine. The meat was all pink and had a texture more like ham/pulled pork.

 
Big T said:
Those look nothing like mine. The meat was all pink and had a texture more like ham/pulled pork.

Click to expand...
I would sack the butcher. He probably used enhanced ribs. Only thing to draw conclusion.
 
willkat98 said:
This is interesting to me now too.

I wonder how the butcher actually receives product?

I know when I was a kid, I would see the refrig truck pull up in the back with frozen half cows and pigs on them (recall the guy kicking the heart that fell out into the back of the store)

Do butchers nowadays get things like ribs already processed into huge cryopacs, that they slice open, rinse, and display?

You can imagine them needing like 10 times the amount of ribs, versus say hams and butts, in the average week.

I wonder if they get the same vacusuck cases that people here get at Sam's and the like.

I'd sure like to find out.
Click to expand...


At BJ's and sams we get them in the same way that they are sold except in cases
usually 2-3 spareribs in each cryo depending on size 4 cryos a case,3 babybacks in each cryo 5 cryos a case and 1-2 butts in each cryo 4 0r 8 cryos depending
anything smaller has been opened and repackaged

If they have been pumped with a solution it must say it on the package, that beening said i
know of 3 small places that open them and repackage and not mark it only as fresh pork and they have been frozen to boot( cheaper for them to buy)
 
My ever so humble opinion is that the cup of salt in the rub was a lot... try making the same rub with about a 1/4 cup. My rub recipe which makes about 3 cups of finished product uses 2TBS of kosher salt.
 
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