Brisket, Chicken, and MOOSE RIBS (?!?!) Tomorrow

Saturday's epic smokefest will consist of the perfunctory USDA Prime whole packer brisket from Costco (to celebrate it being above 20 degrees again here in Minnesota....and thereby warm enough for me to want to smoke a brisket)....

Chicken leg quarters for freezer meat.....and

MOOSE RIBS!!! from my parents in Alaska (tonight we deep fried the halibut they brought us and turned em into amazing fish tacos!).

Never done moose ribs. Anyone on here have experience, tips, suggestions for technique? Moose is notoriously lean, but delicious if cooked right. Hoping not to dry these babies out.

Here's the initial pics......more to come later. Thanks for the interest and input!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/aA2my1mFEp7XTGzB3
They are so tender, they actually came rolled up in the package.


https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZX95vNovRoVTvBlp1
Went with some Montreal steak, garlic powder, onion powder, and Lawry's seasoning salt.


https://photos.app.goo.gl/lYfw2vYfAreG07Kf2
Here's the size comparison with my brisket flat and point. I ended up switching the ribs to the middle position after 45 min or so to shield them a bit. Should have thought of that at the start, but fortunately no harm.


https://photos.app.goo.gl/5lSRSejDXPnUMjCs1
For the brisket, I did an SPG base layer, then some montreal steak, then Lambert's Sweet Rub O' Mine.


https://photos.app.goo.gl/PkPKE8eNSjkhabg52
Pretty full smoker today! Little chicken quarters are off in the vertical for now.....

Titch said:

Waiting on the Moose
Nice smoker, does the upright chamber hold heat well?

Click to expand...

I've only used it in the winter so far, and it is COLD here. So far it is not good. Even with the main chamber over 300, the vertical will not rise above 150. It would be great for cold smoking or SLOOOOWWWW smoked sausages. But it would not be great for a large cook in which you were hoping to stuff your whole smoker with brisket or butts. Perhaps it will do a little better in the summer. The guy who sold it to me used the vertical almost exclusively, so he must have had the fire rockin.

First set of pics:

Used Montreal plus some Lawry's seasoning salt plus some garlic and onion powder on the moose ribs.

Used SPG plus equal amount of Montreal plus the Swine rub on the brisket.

Swine rub only on the chicken.

Second set of photos

Final set of pics.....and the best ones

So here's the skinny on moose ribs:

Moose ribs are really skinny. Seriously. These clearly must have been the "tips" of the ribs (though each was at least a foot long). They are notihng like beef ribs. Beef ribs from the stores I've gotten have been much more "bulky"....a true caveman experience, as well as being very rich and fatty.

Moose, as is typical of wildgame, is very lean. Also, in addition to the ribs being super skinny, they did not have a ton of meat on them. They got a little drier than I'd have preferred, but that's cuz I waited too long to wrap them. However, they still had good flavor. It is not as rich as beef, but it is not "gamey" at all like venison either. It was just a beef-like slightly less rich flavor. They were VERY tender. They actually came rolled up so the meat package was shaped like a long roast, that's how flexible they were.

Bottom line: Would I give up beef or pork ribs for them? Absolutely not. But was it a good experiment? For sure. I'm glad to say I've done it, and it turned out as about a B+. If I ever get my hands on another set, I'll probably forego smoking and braise them in the oven like a short rib and make a rich gravy sauce to serve with them over a bed of mashed potatoes. But as I said, it was fun, and it's nice to have completed something on the BBQ bucket list that a lot of guys never get a chance to. So all in all, a good Saturday smoke!

TyJones said:

Looks awesome. How did the ribs taste? Other than a burger, I've never had a moose.

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I grew up in Alaska, and I will say, moose roast and steak simmered in the crockpot or cast iron skillet with onions and gravy is far superior to smoked moose ribs. If you ever get your hands on a moose roast, treat it like a Sunday pot roast and you'll be much happier than if you smoke it (unless you just want to cross it off the BBQ bucket list). Moose is, in my opinion, the mildest member of the deer family and therefore the best choice to trick your loved one into eating wild game without getting caught