Ribs are one of the cuts of meat that taste great from smoking.  See some of these great articles about smoking ribs:

• Razorback Ribs gives some great information on using a normal charcoal grill as a smoker for smoking ribs.
• Monkey See has good video on getting ribs ready for smoking
• Some delicious looking smoked ribs
• The Best BBQ Baby Back Ribs
• BBQ Hickory Smoked Ribs
• Ribs That Fall Off the Bone--These really do!
• Rib Smackdown -- The ribs and recipe look absolutely delicious

Smoked food is some of the best tasting you can get. By necessity, you have to do this outdoors. I have never done ribs right until I got a smoker. The key to good ribs is to cook at a low temperature for a long time.

A smoker is just right for this. I can put them on in the morning, and just let them go, and by dinner time they just fall off the bone, and taste great to boot.

There are lots of smokers you can get. I just purchased a relatively inexpensive one from our local Home Depot. It is electric, but you can get ones that take briquets. The thing that i like about the electric smoker is that you don't have to do much after you start it. Put your wood chips in the bottom, put your meat in, plug it in, and you are done. I have even left it while we ran errands for the day.

The disadvantage is that it is harder to control the heat the way you could with a smoker that used briquets. But since you are cooking at low temperatures for long periods of time, I don't worry about that too much.

Here is what looks like a homemade smoker that turned out some tasty looking brisket.

If you have tried smoking your meat, you have to give it a try.  It only cost me about $35 for an inexpensive smoker to get started.  You can always upgrade later if you like it.

One of the keys to successfully smoking brisket is picking the right meat. Here are four tips to help you make sure you pick brisket that will be perfect for smoking.

1. Look for a brisket that has a good fat cap. This is a layer of fat that should be about an 1/2 inch thick and evenly distributed over the top of the of the brisket. The fat cap is important because it helps keep the brisket moist as it smokes. If the fat cap is uneven, it is best to trim it so it is approximately even across the brisket.
2. Look for a brisket that is the right size. The ideal brisket should be about 6-10 lbs in weight. If it is much less, it will dry out more easily. If it is much more, it will take longer to cook and the meat may become tougher and stringier. 8-10 lbs is about right.
3. Look for a brisket that has good marbeling. Make sure that the meat is a deep red color and has fat throughout the meat and not just in one place. This combination of red meat and fat is the marblling. Brisket is a thick cut of meat and the fat that is located throughout the meat helps keep it moist while it cooks.
4. Look for a brisket that is unfrozen. An unfrozen brisket will be much more moist after smoking than one that has been frozen. If it has been frozen, the meat won't be as red and the fat cap won't be as white. Lift the brisket in the middle. If it is as stiff as a board, it has probably been frozen. If it bends down on both sides of your hand, it is probably fresh. In addition, the more it bends, the less amount of connective tissue it has and therefore the moister it will be.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Joe Johnson

In all honesty, I love ribs, but I hate the ribs that the vast majority of establishments serve. Rarely do I get ribs that are done properly as most tend to be either dry and leathery, or soft and mushy. Worst part is, most of these establishments believe that slathering the ribs in a barbecue sauce will bring them back to edible status. Well they are wrong…all it serves to do is add to my frustration by making the meal messy.

While very few, if any, chefs, pit masters, or home-cooks strive to achieve a leathery finish, you do hear the statement that “falling off the bone” is the way to go. While I agree that tender and soft is the ultimate goal, any competition rib that completely falls off the bone is considered completely over-done. A truly perfect rib will adhere to the bone, but fall off when tugged. So my goal with this post is to show you how to achieve a perfect rib at home. The key to good ribs has four components – the rub, the smoke, the heat, and the time. Let’s begin with the rub.

The point of using a rub is to develop a flavor base and to create a crust or bark on the ribs. Depending on where you go and whom you talk to, the rubs you have to choose from will reflect regional influences. Some will be hot and spicy, whereas others will be sweeter. I am partial to the Pork and Poultry Blend from Caroline’s Rub, which has a more typical Texas flavor – more savory than sweet. I like sweet, don’t get me wrong, but I prefer my ribs with more kick than candy, so I let my wood choice add the sweetness. Before applying the rub, the first thing I do is remove the thin skin that covers the back side of the ribs. Using a filet knife, I loosen it from one end, grip it with a paper towel, and then pull it off in one easy motion. While you don’t absolutely have to remove this skin, taking a few extra seconds to do so will definitely improve the tenderness of your final outcome. I then rinse and thoroughly dry the ribs, and follow that with a thorough coating of my chosen dry rub. How much you use, will entirely depend upon you. I like a thicker coating, some will prefer less. Next take the coated ribs, and tightly wrap them in plastic wrap, place in the refrigerator and let sit for at least 3 hours. This will give the rub time to penetrate and flavor the ribs. Once the ribs have sat, remove from the refrigerator and allow them to return to room temperature before putting on the smoker.

While the rub adds an immediate kick of flavor, the smoke you choose will work to complement the rub, and add that flavor we all recognize as barbecue. With meats such as pork ribs, I like to kiss the meat with smoke from pecan and cherry woods. The pecan is very similar to hickory in flavor, without the strong bite that can sometimes overpower the lighter meat of the ribs. The addition of cherry wood to the mix serves to work with the pecan to sweeten the meat.

Next factor for success is heat. While there are a thousand ways to cook ribs, many of which yield a truly great product, I prefer slow smoked ribs. Nothing gets my blood pumping like the smell of slow smoked barbecue. I have always found that higher temperatures result in tougher ribs, so my goal is to maintain a low heat level of around 215F to 225F in the smoker (or in your oven at home). This temperature range has yet to fail me. Once I have the smoker where it consistently holds the temperature within this range, I will place the ribs standing in a rib rack, inside for cooking.

Finally, the last factor for creating successful ribs is the cooking time. While many folks insert a thermometer in their ribs to determine doneness, I prefer simply watching the bones. For an average rack of baby back ribs, you can assume a cooking time of between 3 ½ and 4 hours at the temperatures I recommend. The easiest way for me to determine if my ribs are done is to perform two steps, starting with the first at the 3 hour mark - look at the bones. If I have a good ¼ - ½ inch of bone showing, I then perform step two, which is to take a toothpick and insert into the meat. If it slides through will little resistance, like going through butter, the ribs are done. You will want to watch them closely as they will go from done to overdone fairly quick.

Once cooked, I like to let the ribs rest for at least 10 minutes to allow the juiced to evenly distribute themselves within the meat, which will keep things tender and moist. Like I said earlier, I don’t like messy, so I tend to serve the ribs dry, with a side of my favorite barbecue sauce for dipping.

Following this method has consistently provided me with ribs that are succulent, moist, and truly satisfying.

Joe Johnson is a proud Texan and founding partner and chief pit-master with Caroline's Rub, where he is in charge of product promotion and development for their line of gourmet dry rubs, smoked salt, and Texas chili seasoning.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joe_Johnson
http://EzineArticles.com/?Creating-Perfect-Ribs-in-Your-Smoker&id=193036

By Aaron Ralston

A brisket is known to be the toughest cut of meat from a cow, though when prepared and cooked correctly it can be the best tasting and most tender meat you will ever eat. In this section, I will teach you how to choose, prepare, and barbeque a brisket, Texas style, to achieve the best results possible. Please notice the other smoker recipes located in the index on the right side of the page

Choosing A Good Brisket To Smoke

A brisket is composed of two parts, the flat and the point. The flat section usually has less fat on it while the point should have considerably more. The fat on top of the brisket is called the "fat cap" and should be white in color. The thickness of fat on top should be at least 1/4 of an inch thick, and thicker is ok. When purchasing a brisket, make sure the meat is a deep red color, which will represent freshness, and make sure it has plenty of fat incorporated throughout the meat, not just on top.
The combination of the deep red color and the white fat of a brisket is called marbling, and it is the key to choosing a good brisket to bbq. Since the brisket is such a thick cut of meat, the fat located throughout the meat will help to keep the brisket moist while smoking.

Make sure the brisket has not been frozen. A frozen brisket will not display a deep red color, the fat may be darker instead of white, and the brisket will not turn out as tender and juicy as a fresh one after smoking it.

When I choose a brisket, I lift the brisket in the middle to see how limber it is. I have seen briskets that are stiff as a board, and some that bend over each side of my hand. The stiff ones more than likely have been frozen, and I have noticed that they may not always be as tender as a brisket that is more limber. Some people disagree with this test, but I am a firm believer because of the results I get.

The weight of the brisket should be between 8 and 11 pounds. A larger brisket takes longer to cook, and the flat may become tougher or stringy because of the longer cooking time.

Preparing The Brisket

After choosing the perfect brisket, I start my preparation process the night before I want to smoke the brisket. First, make sure you have plenty of work space and a clean area to prepare the brisket on. The brisket should have fat on it no more than 1/4 inch thick. Thicker fat will not allow the smoke to penetrate into the meat located under the fat. If the fat is too thick, trim it down until you reach the 1/4-inch thickness.

After trimming the brisket, I rub the brisket down with mustard. The mustard creates a sticky substance on the meat for the rub to stick to, and it also adds a great flavor when combined with the rub. Massage the mustard into every portion of the meat, including the fat, so that it covers the brisket nicely. You do not want the mustard layer to be too thick; it should be just enough to create a paste for the rub
to stick to.

I choose to use a rub on my briskets instead of a marinade because I have found that marinades penetrate only about 1/2 inch deep into the meat. You should use whichever method you like best, but I am going to describe the rub method. Marinade and rub recipes can be found by clicking on either of the links.

After fully covering the brisket in mustard, apply the rub on the brisket. When done correctly, the rub should form an evenly distributed layer of seasoning on the brisket.

Wrap the prepared brisket in Clingwrap, or a similar material to seal it, and then refrigerate it overnight.

Barbeque Time

Take the brisket out of the refrigerator one hour before you want to put it on the smoker. Place the brisket fat side up on the smoker. The fat will release oils into the brisket to help keep it moist while cooking.

I use a wood smoker with a firebox to provide indirect heat for outdoor cooking. I have found this method to be the best, but there are many more smokers available to choose from such as water smokers, propane smokers, and charcoal smokers.

I use mesquite for smoking briskets because it provides a delicious smoke flavor, burns hotter so less wood is used, and that is how we do it in Texas. Many people do not use mesquite, which is fine, and I have included a section for wood selection to provide you with information about the different types of wood that are good to use for smoking purposes.

To achieve the best results, I cook the brisket at 225 degrees for about 1 hour and 15 minutes per pound. Many variables also affect cooking time and temperature such as how many times the smoker is opened, how close the brisket is to the fire box, etc, but sticking to 225 degrees/1 hr. 15 mn. will work. Many people believe that when the internal temperature of the brisket reaches 180 degrees, it is done. This is both true and false. When the internal temperature of the brisket is around 180, the fat in the brisket really begins to marbleize. The brisket will maintain this temperature for a while, and this adds to the tenderness of the brisket.

I always use a mop sauce to baste the brisket while it is smoking. This will keep the outside of the brisket moist and tender. It is important to keep the lid closed while smoking the brisket to reduce heat loss, so I baste the brisket with the mop sauce about every 45 minutes to 1 hour.

A great way to keep briskets moist while smoking them is to use a mop consisting of apple juice mixed with olive oil. It gives the brisket a great flavor, which is not overpowering, while keeping the brisket moist from the oil. An easy way to apply this mop is to put it in a spray bottle and simply squirt it on the brisket.

After 7 hours a brisket usually will not absorb much more smoke. An option for finishing a brisket is to wrap it in aluminum foil, and place it in an oven at 225 degrees for the remaining cook time. I rarely use this method because I enjoy smoking the brisket for the full time, but I have used it, and it works.

SLICING THE BRISKET

ALWAYS slice the brisket against the grain. Doing this will make the cuts of meet very tender. To do this, remove some fat from the top of the brisket to see the direction of the grain in the meat, and slice against it.

I separate the point from the flat before I slice the brisket because the grain generally runs the same direction in the flat, and it is easier to see when it is separated. The point is a little harder to correctly slice because the grain in it runs in different directions. After some practice at carving the brisket, you will know which direction the grain runs, and you will find it much easier.

Add your favorite barbeque sauce.

Perfect your smoking techniques, and you will win a barbeque competition in no time!

HAVE A GREAT BARBEQUE!

Aaron Ralston, also known as The Smoker King, is the owner of Outdoor Cooking: Barbeque, Sauces, Mops, Rubs at http://www.thesmokerking.com. Check out thesmokerking.com today to learn many great barbeque and cooking recipes and techniques.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Aaron_Ralston
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Smoke-a-Brisket&id=113921

Tucker Cooker Barbecue Smoker Grill

0 Bid

US $3,500.00

1h 54m

Tucker Cooker Barbecue Smoker Grill

0 Bid

US $3,295.00

1h 54m

Texas Style BBQ Smoker

0 Bid

US $2,995.00

2h 11m

BBQ SMOKER OKLAHOMA JOES

0 Bid

US $450.00

2h 35m

APPLE WOOD CHUNK CHIPS GRILL SMOKER SMOKING BBQ 9 POUND

0 Bid

US $4.09

2h 43m

Wood Chunks Chips for Smoker Grill BBQ Peach 50 lbs

US $39.99

3h 1m

Wood Chunks Chips for Smoker Grill BBQ Peach 100 lbs

US $59.99

3h 4m

Brinkmann Split Door Wood Charcoal BBQ Meat Smoker NR

14 Bids

US $76.00

3h 5m