Older Bolder Life

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the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: The Best Damn Smoked Baby Back Ribs

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Long time readers appreciate the fact that we’re big fans of grilled and carefully smoked proteins here; I suppose partly due to our Texas heritage and partly due to the unassailable fact that proteins fresh off the grill or from the smoker are almost always outrageously good.

My friends and I cooked our first pork ribs “on our own” in high school while on camping trips around Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado, and had plenty of hometown, old-fashioned barbecue pit masters around to show us how the real deal que was done.

Over the years we’ve grilled ribs, smoked ribs over live fire, on pellet rigs, and even in jury rigged near-smokers on the beach, and even at times resorted to cooking ribs lows and slow in the oven when pressed by weather or time.

I’ve even dabbled with friends in the competition barbecue world off and on, and we began to notice 4 or 5 years ago, along with an army of others, that a trend was developing in the meat smoking world – the pursuit of “fall off the bone tender” ribs, despite the competition smoked rib standard being ribs with a bit more tooth (a key feature being ribs holding their perfect shape when cut into individual rib sections).

As with most things related to health, fitness, nutrition, and cooking, I firmly believe that we all need to experiment with different approaches (particularly with regard to nutrition, fitness, and cooking) to find our own “sweet spot” that works the best for our unique physiologies and taste buds.

Dialing back into the rib issue at hand today, my compadres and I began to see an explosion of recipes calling for a 3-2-1 rib cook – three hours low and slow in a smoker, 2 hours foiled wrap (still low and slow heat), followed by another hour unwrapped and sauced. To my/our way of thinking, that almost always resulted in ribs that were overcooked and mushy; sure, when you picked up a rib or part of a rack by the bone the meat would fall away, but the texture was frankly off-putting.

At the other end of the spectrum, having dried out dozens (if not hundreds) of racks over the years cooking too fast (too hot) or too long, we began, as many others have, to experiment with alternative cooks to perfect the baby back experience.

And while none of my crew of compadres would ever claim we “invented the idea”, we’ve now joined the ranks of those who find the perfect rib cook formula to be a 3-0.75-.5 hour cook as follows. By the way, this recipe is configured as written for a 2 full baby back rib cook; that’s what we usually do at home on rib day. Adjust amounts as needed for your cook.

The Essential Roadmap to the Perfect Baby Back Rib Cook

Clean and trim 2 full baby back rib sections; peel the back side membranes like your grandfather taught you to do. Just to make them easier to handle, I usually spit each individual full rack into 2 more or less equal pieces.

Coat your ribs with your rub of choice and throw in the fridge for at least a couple of hours, removing 30-45 minutes before starting your cook.

A quick thought on rubs – there are literally thousands available commercially, and if you do a bit of digging, they’re almost all built around a common formula – salt, sugar (or other sweeteners), and complementary spice arrays. By all means experiment, shop around, compare ingredients, and see what your family enjoys the most, though I’d encourage (if not demand) you to make up your own rubs to control the quality of ingredients and freshness of spices used. We have a go to rub recipe that we use on all sorts of meats, I need to share here on OBL one of these days…

Fire your smoker and heat to 225; being long time Texas folk, my lovely wife and I are partial to using pecan and/or oak for our rib cooks, though they’re great with cherry as well.

Place the racks in the smoker and cook for 3 hours at a steady 225; many aficionados insist that ribs should be spritzed very 30-45 minutes (liquid of choice, often apple juice, a secret mop recipe, or water and ACV mix). To be honest, most days we don’t do that around our camp as I’ve never really be able to see a meaningful difference with or without.

At three hours, pull the rib sections, place meat side up on a large piece of heavy duty foil, and brush with a braising liquid of choice – once again, there’s a huge amount of variation in what folks are using out there. When we’re really needing to make an impression, I’ll melt 4-5 tablespoons of grass fed butter and combine with an equal amount of organic honey, and brush that over the meat side and underside of each rack. Then wrap with the foil and seal snugly; by the way, I typically place the racks meat side down when in the foil to expose the meat to more of the braising liquids brushed on before wrapping.

Now the ribs go back on the smoker (or in the oven – they’re not absorbing smoke while wrapped of course) at 225 for 3/4 to a full hour; experiment a bit to see what produces the results you like the most.

When that cook has finished, carefully remove the ribs from the foil, sauce with the sauce of your choice (there are lots of nifty low carb and keto options out there, or better yet, make your own), and throw them back on the smoker for another 30-60 minutes, meat side up.

How Do I Know My Ribs are Done?

A quick confession is due here – I cook just about everything on the grill or in the smoker to internal temperature targets these days instead of using time; if you’re not you should be, and my food has never been better since doing so.

Ribs are probably the only protein we don’t cook to internal temp targets – it’s very difficult to get accurate internal meat temps given the thin bands of meat on pork ribs (baby backs more-so than spareribs) and the proximity of the rib bones.

That said, and pending a host of variables including the actual size/thickness of your rib sections, baby back ribs are typically done in 4-5 hours using this approach, and the thicker, fattier St. Louis Cut rubs or spare ribs will take 5-7 hours (consider using a 4-0.75-.5 hour run to start) to finish.

Finally, you’ll know your ribs are done to perfection when you perform a bounce test – pick up a rack with tongs and give it a gentle bounce – if the meat cracks along the edge of a bone – you’re in rib heaven and it’s time to eat.

Grab some ribs and git ‘er done this weekend.

Enjoy.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know: Older Bolder Links, Reads, Podcasts, Recipes and More 16 March 2022

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Inquiring Minds Want to Know is Back

After a several month absence posting links, reads, podcasts, recipes and more, we’re back this week with a pretty damned eclectic list of things I’ve been reading and studying the past several months.

There’s a very interesting story behind the pause in posting here on the Older Bolder Life that I’ll share over the next few weeks; we’ve been busier than ever before in terms of our mission to promote and teach tools, concepts, and practical actions to optimize health for those of us over 30 during the pause.

Suffice it to say for now that simply asking hard questions during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic – questions directed toward many of my (former) colleagues in traditional / conventional medicine and related fields – invoked some fascinating and very unexpected reactions and what has been at times even extreme pushback.

It’s a stunning story in some respects and we’re deliberating the best way to tell the tale without being put on big Pharma’s hit list. More to come.

More Shameless Plugs for Exercise Regardless of Your Age

Surprising benefits from playing Pickleball.

Traditional medicine may be coming around on minimalist footwear.

Sisson on simple balance drills and why you should be doing them consistently.

Power walk for your brain health.

More steps, longer life.

Here’s the Lancet reference for the article above.

High intensity exercise preserves bone health better than Pilates in postmenopausal women.

Digging a little deeper on improved brain health from late life physical activity.

An Eclectic Collection of Nutrition and Diet Data

Why I continue to change my diet. A great testament to dropping dietary rigidity for customized nutritional plans.

Olive oil is still a superfood.

More dietary fiber = less dementia risk?

How caffeine plays a role in heart disease risk reduction.

Coffee and tea might lower risk of stroke and dementia.

Does that one extra drink a day matter? Yep, it most likely does.

A major regional health care organization “discovers” that IF reduces inflammation.

Another plug for overall calorie restriction.

Brown adipose tissue reduces insulin resistance.

COVID News You’re Not Hearing in the Mainstream Media

Experts in the UK ask why is infection acquired immunity in COVID-19 being ignored.

An impressive look at natural immunity in COVID-19 and reinfection rates.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Damned Authentic Jamaican Jerk Pork

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Longtime friends and readers know that we tend to favor spicy and robustly flavored foods around our camp; this week’s recipe – Damned Authentic Jamaican Jerk Pork – fits that bill perfectly.

I’ve always loved the floral heat that authentic jerk pork (and chicken) brings to the flavor table, though I have to admit, I’ve at times been a bit intimidated by what looks to be a somewhat daunting prep to prepare the spice paste essential to true jerk pork.

In all honesty, it’s simply not that big of a production, and can be done (with decent knife skills) in under 20 minutes (really more like 13-14 minutes) if you stay on task and work efficiently.

Jamaican Jerk features the floral heat of Scotch Bonnet peppers, which can be a bit of challenge to find in some parts of the States, but take note that habaneros are a kissin’ cousin to the Scotch Bonnet (though to our palates they not quite as floral).

The peppers are potent – try a recipe with the low end of the pepper range listed, and move up the pepper scale to suit your tastes – my wife loves the front-end, short burst of heat of the habanero and keeps telling me to up the pepper count in the next batch.

And while I typically handle all other peppers without gloves, I do wear a glove when seeding and cutting up habaneros or Scotch Bonnets – one eye rub after not doing so years ago taught me an indelible lesson.

Of note, you can cook this one entirely on the grill (indirect for most of it, finish direct heat) or do as we do and smoke the pork to an internal temp of 150ish, then finish on the grill (to 190-195) for a nice crispy and caramelized crust. That’s our latest cook in the smoker (left) and finishing on the grill (right).

Another point of Jamaican Jerk tradition has to do with the cooking wood involved – typically it’s pimento wood – which can be a bit tough to source in many locales. We’ve found that oak or pecan with a bit of apple works damned well with this prep, and while many recipes call for throwing bay leaves and or allspice berries on the fire, I typically don’t. (We’ll experiment more and report back in a few weeks…)

Hot damn, this one’s really good.

1/4 to 1/2 pound Scotch Bonnet peppers (see comment above about using Habaneros), stemmed and rough chopped
1/2 large green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, chopped medium
1 small white or yellow onion, chopped medium
1 medium shallot, chopped medium
1/2 bunch green onions, white and green parts cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium garlic cloves, chopped
1.5-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled, chopped medium
1 tsp dried thyme (a generous 2 tsp if using fresh)
3/4 tsp dried basil (3 large leaves chopped if using fresh)
2 and 1/2 tsp ground allspice, you’ll probably want more…
1 tsp good ground cinnamon
1 tsp good fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup coarse salt
2 tbsp avocado or olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce (perhaps more)

4-5 pounds of pork shoulder, deboned, butterflied

Combine the hot peppers, green bell pepper, onion, shallot, green onions, garlic, ginger, thyme, basil, allspice, cinnamon, pepper, salt, and your oil of choice in your trusty food processor bowl and process to a smooth paste.

Pulse in the soy sauce, and taste the robustly spiced, pretty damn salty mixture, adding more seasoning (allspice and soy sauce usually for me) as needed, along with up to 1/4 cup water to loosen the paste up if needed.

Now take the deboned pork shoulder and pound to a uniform thickness (shoot for 1 and 1/2 inches) if needed, then make a series of 1/2-inch deep cuts, 2 inches apart, aligned with the short side of your flattened pork shoulder. Now flip the shoulder over and make a similar series of cuts on the other side parallel with those on the first side.

Slather half of the spice paste onto a nonreactive pan (or whatever you’re using to marinate the pork), lay the pork on, then coat with the rest of the spice paste. Marinate for a minimum of two hours and up to eight.

When ready to cook, you have a couple of options – complete the entire cook on the grill or smoke the pork shoulder first, then finish on the grill for a nifty crust.

We like to smoke this over low heat (225-250) until the interior temp is 145 to 150 ( that’s 90-120 minutes typically for us pending the size of the shoulder), then finish over hardwood charcoal on the grill to get a tasty and attractive char on the shoulder sections. For those cooking to internal temp (as I do), you’re looking for 190-195 typically.

If completing the entire cook on the grill, most recipes call for a 40-60 minute cook using indirect heat, with a finish using direct heat to lay in a nice caramelization and crust.

Rest for 10-15 minutes, then slice or do as the Jamaican’s do and whack it into bite size pieces with a cleaver.

Beware, this one’s really good and you’ll be coming back for more. The spice paste recipe easily doubles and will keep sealed in an airtight container in the fridge for several weeks.

Enjoy.

The Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Old School Broccoli Salad (Bacon and Pepitas!) with a Twist

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Now and again I’m reminded that so many of the great recipes we all enjoy today are really just updates of classics that have been around for decades (or longer); today’s Old School Broccoli Salad (Bacon and Pepitas!) with a Twist is a perfect example.

Though the details are a bit fuzzy, I remember as a young child decades ago turning my nose up at a fresh broccoli salad prepared by my Ma-Ma (maw maw, maternal grandmother) at her beach house on the Texas coast.

She was a GREAT old-style, Texas coastal cook – she could work wonders with fresh shrimp, fish, and crab, and spent many an hour slaving over a blistering gas stove in the un-air conditioned kitchen cranking out meals for the clan that always seemed to be in attendance.

I’m sure her broccoli salad (with a classic mayo or Miracle Whip based dressing) was damned tasty as well, though to my 6 or 7 year old mind at the time, it was worth a hard-fought battle to avoid even touching it, much less eating it. We didn’t eat fresh broccoli back in the day around our house, and the frozen blocks of broccoli that were available back in the day didn’t convert many broccoli skeptics around our dinner table.

Fresh broccoli salad still showed up on the buffet tables of my youth at family, friend, and church gatherings, and I’m sure somewhere along the way I’m mustered up the courage to try some (probably to please some girlfriend’s mother or aunt); the dish otherwise stayed off our radar until years later.

Living in San Antonio during graduate school was an eye-opening experience in so many ways, including the burgeoning foodie culture there. As Texas is today, San Antonio was a melting pot of a variety of food cultures and traditions, and among those were some great classic Texas barbecue sides – including updated broccoli salads.

These were still largely mayo-based, but included toasted nuts (often pepitas or pecans, red onions, bacon, and raisins, dried cranberries, or even dried peaches from Fredericksburg.

Over the years we found ourselves subbing in a mustardy or balsamic based vinaigrette for the classic mayo dressing, and have finally settled on this mustard-based version as our standby.

Several thoughts on the dressing – I usually end up using half avocado oil and half good EVOO for the oils, and we find that while any vinegar works here, the combination of apple cider vinegar and red wine vinegar is our favorite. Likewise use any mustard you want, classically it would have to be Dijon, though I’ve been using a coarse, spicy mustard of late with this recipe and it’s incredibly tasty.

The recipe is written to make a big batch, we usually eat it all the day it’s made, but this is one of those rare salads that gets better over the next day or two.

1 and 1/2 pounds broccoli florets, chopped
1/2 cup* toasted pepitas (almonds, sun flower seeds, pecans, etc)
1/2 cup* red onion, chopped fine
1/2 cup* crispy bacon, chopped medium (3-4 slices)
1/2 cup* dried tart cherries or cranberries
Optional
1 jalapeño pepper, stemmed, cut into thin slices
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced or grated coarsely
(*or more)

Dressing (see note above)
1/4 cup avocado oil
1/4 cup EVOO (the good stuff)
3-4 tbsp good vinegar (ACV, red wine vinegar, etc)
1-2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1-2 tbsp good honey or maple syrup
1-2 large garlic clove (minced or pressed)
2-3 tsp good fresh ground pepper
1/2 – 1 tsp fine sea salt

Toast the pepitas, and cook, cool, and chop the bacon.

Prep the vegetables and place in a large bowl, add the optional dried fruit, nuts, and bacon.

Mixed all dressing ingredients in a small bowl or lidded jar, then whisk / shake until well combined and emulsified. Taste and adjust for acid/vinegar, mustard, sweet, and salt.

Pour the dressing over the vegetables in the bowl, stirring to mix well, evenly distributing all the goodies and coating them evenly with the dressing. Chill for at least 30 minutes before giving the salad a good stir at service.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Grilled Tiger Salsa (Sauce)

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Alongside last week’s Spicy Cumin Coriander Tri-Tip Steak recipe we served up this nifty Grilled Tiger Salsa (some might argue it’s a sauce as well).

As with almost any dish you might search to find a recipe for, there are a number of versions of this salsa; most are damned tasty and a few are great.

And as I often do, I reached out to our compadre Chef Libby in Austin to see what her spin on the recipe was (is?); and as is most often the case, she had some definite opinions and had tweaked some of the best recipes to make her’s suit the Tex-ified palates she serves catering in Austin.

Like a lot of great grilled salsas, this one is built around grilled tomatoes, rubbed with olive oil and good salt and roasted over high heat until there’s a bit of char present and some of the tomatoes are just beginning to burst.

Many Tiger Salsa recipes you’ll see call for cherry tomatoes; I agree with Chef Libby that Campari tomatoes have a deeper, richer flavor grilled, and are a tad bit easier to handle on grill grates given their larger size.

Given that we can find uber-fresh serranos all around the neighborhood here in North Texas, we lean to using serranos (as does Libby) instead of Thai chiles, but feel free to use whatever peppers are handy and whose flavors you most appreciate.

The salsa prep is rounded out using a chopped shallot (a very nice touch) and a bit of cilantro, with the acid component being freshly squeezed lime juice (I usually add a bit of lime zest out of habit), and a strong umami boost comes from fish (use the good stuff) and oyster sauces.

We think this one is best freshly made with the tomatoes still warm, but it does hold pretty well for a day or two – ours never really lasts beyond the first day…

1 and 1/2 cups Campari or cherry tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, minced
4-6 Thai or 2-3 serrano chiles, stemmed, finely chopped
3-4 green onions, trimmed, grilled, chopped
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
1/2 cup (or more) cilantro leaves + small stems, chopped
Juice of two limes (more if need to thin)
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce

To start the sauce, lightly oil and salt the tomatoes and green onions in a medium bowl, then grill until lightly charred and the tomatoes are beginning to burst. Remove from the grill and cool the tomatoes in the original bowl, chop the green onions and set aside.

Into the food processor go the chopped green onions, garlic, Thai or serrano chiles, shallot, and 1/4 tsp salt; process to a paste consistency. Now quickly pulse in the cilantro.

Crush the cooled, grilled tomatoes by hand, then add the shallot-chile mixture, lime juice, fish and oyster sauces. Adjust for salt and lime juice (acid), serve immediately or hold in the fridge for a short time.

Enjoy.

The Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Spicy Cumin Coriander Tri-Tip Steak

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Several weeks ago I posted a nifty recipe for our spin on a Santa Maria Tri-Tip, and wrote a bit about what makes the tri-tip cut so interesting…

Recently we’ve been playing around with tri-tip, a somewhat unique cut of meat that is kinda’ve of a cross between a largish steak and a smallish roast; my butcher buddies argue that it’s really a roast cut from the lower part of the sirloin, so it shares some of the (lesser marbled and chewier) characteristics of sirloin steaks.

Most tri-tips you’ll run across today have their generous fat caps and silver skin already trimmed for you, weighing in somewhere in the 2-3 pound range most often; untrimmed they can run close to 5 pounds.

Steve Raichlen in his ginormous book BBQ USA has a nifty, and fairly detailed explanation of the tri-tip’s apparently indisputable ties to Santa Maria, California; if you’re into food history it’s a great read with Raichlen’s typical dry humor woven in nicely.

Raichlen’s story telling can be compelling reading, and the piece referenced above from his tome BBQ USA covering the regional history of the Santa Maria tri-tip is very good, and offers some great tips on cooking this somewhat unconventional cut of meat.

We’re all in for spicy marinades and slathers around our camp, and have been tweaking this one around the edges for a while now since coming across its predecessor in Bon Appetit some time back.

The peppercorns play very well with the cumin and coriander seed, and the oyster and fish sauces serve as a flavorful binder for the spices without overwhelming the core flavors at all. Note that this one needs time in the fridge once rubbed/slathered, at least 4 hours and overnight is better.

Tri-tip is a damned easy cook once you’re ready to roll, and I must say we’ve really been enjoying tri-tip of late smoke/grilled on a pellet rig at 250 to target temps and rested for 15 minutes before slicing…

2 tbsp sichuan peppercorns
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1/4 cup avocado or olive oil
3 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce

2-3 pound tri-tip

Toast the peppercorns and seeds until fragrant and slightly darkened, cool and grind. Combine spices with the oil, oyster sauce, and fish sauce, pour into a large resealable bag, add the meat, turning to coat, and throw in the fridge overnight (at least 4 hours).

When ready to cook, let tri-tip rest at room temp for an hour.

Grill over medium-high (indirect) heat to an internal temp of 128 to 132 for medium rare; rest for 15 minutes before cutting. Alternatively smoke-grill on pellet grill at 250 to internal temps above (about 75 minutes typically for us).

Slice across the grain (don’t forget the grain runs on different angles in each “wing” of the tri-tip) and serve with your favorite sauce. I’ll post our version of the tiger bite sauce mentioned above (and seen in several images) next week.

Hot damn, this one’s really good.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: In Pursuit of the Perfect Home Baby Back Rib Cook

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Like many of you, we’ve enjoyed our share of baby back ribs over the years.

Growing up in Texas and living around the Southern Tier of the country for half (more or less) of our adult lives, we’ve sampled more ribs that I’d care to recount, including those prepared by an army of home grill and smoke masters as well as enjoying those offered up by some of the most hallowed barbecue joints in the nation (which probably actually means the world, dammit).

Some have been sublime, with taste and textures approaching perfection; some have been nigh on inedible, and like you, we’ve seen everything from ribs ruined by a par-boil, some undercooked and raw, or otherwise burned to a crisp, tough as a boot and so bad the dog wouldn’t touch ‘em.

Though we almost always think of a low and slow cook over live fire when conceptualizing the perfect back rib recipe, like many of you we’ve experimented with all sorts of approaches, including a faster grill over live real-wood fire (or damn nice hardwood charcoal), slow roasts in the oven, and even a braise now and again.

For a host of reasons that most of you really wouldn’t give a damn about, this year I pulled the plug on a pellet grill/smoker rig; it’s a nifty tool, damned efficient, insanely convenient, for the most part child’s play easy to use, and can often achieve results close to what I’d (and many others) would argue is the absolute gold standard for smoking proteins at home – an offset, wood-burning smoker.

Pellet grill / smokers versus off-set wood burners can still invoke colorful and contentious debate in some circles, most often for good reasons, though I’m choosing very intentionally to steer clear of such today; I use both, and dammit the pellet rig is far easier to use and doesn’t need the nursing and attention that the wood burner does.

When it comes to baby back ribs, many pellet rig acolytes insist that the only way to go is to use what’s become known as the 3-2-1 approach, which entails starting a prepped and rubbed rib for 3 hours at somewhere around 225 (classic low and slow), then wrapping in foil (the Texas Crutch) with various additional ingredients and cooking for another 2 hours at 225, then unwrapping and most often saucing with another hour at 225 required to finish the cook and set the sauce.

I first tasted baby back ribs cooked using this method at the table of a friend who’s actually quite handy in the kitchen, and at the grill/smoker. His sauce was delicious (a classic Dr. Pepper based, Texas-style sauce), his base rub perfection, but the ribs were of a decidedly off-putting texture – they were in reality too tender to the point of being mushy. My compadre was all about the ribs being “fall apart” tender, which they were to the point of not being able cut into single serving rib sections without crumbling, and being unable to lift meat using a single rib as a “handle” to one’s mouth.

This example is of course illustrative of a key concept in cooking for one’s family at home – you have the ability to cook your food exactly how you and yours enjoy it maximally. For most food there’s unquestionably a range of what perfection is to you and yours, and you get to make the call.

That said, we fall into the “mushy ribs suck” camp, and prefer our back backs to be as tender as can be without falling apart as you pull them off the smoker rack, with the perfect tooth remaining.

The Best Rib Cook in Our Book: The 3 – 3/4 – 3/4 Approach

Hey, let’s face it, this isn’t rocket science, and experimenting a bit to attain the best results is part of what makes cooking at home such a rewarding approach.

Getting great tasting, amaze your family and guests results with baby backs is really pretty damned easy, and starts of course with selecting the best baby backs you can find. If not prepped by the butcher, remove the membrane from the underside of the ribs before seasoning with your favorite rub.

A quick thought on rubs – there are literally thousands available commercially, and if you do a bit of digging, they’re almost all built around a common formula – salt, sugar (or other sweeteners), and complementary spice arrays. By all means experiment, shop around, compare ingredients, and see what your family enjoys the most, though I’d encourage you to make up your own rubs to control the quality of ingredients and freshness of spices used. We have a go to rub recipe for pork that I make up in bulk, after looking quickly today I see that I haven’t shared it and will do so here in the next few weeks…

Though there’s some debate among chefs and food scientists as to how much time is needed to allow rubs to maximally flavor meat before cooking, we lean to rubbing pork baby backs at least 6 hours (and up to 12 hours) before throwing in the smoker, resting uncovered in the fridge once rubbed.

Our son Jake is a fan of using standard American yellow mustard as a binder for rubs on pork; I tend to lean to apple cider vinegar (probably out of habit as much as anything).

Once ready to start a cook we’re now using a 3 – 3/4 – 3/4 approach to our baby back rib cooks, with the first three hours typically in the smoker at 225.

Another quick aside on temps – I cook just about everything on the grill or in the smoker to internal temperature targets these days instead of using time; if you’re not you should be, and my food has never been better since doing so. Ribs are probably the only protein we don’t cook to internal temp targets – it’s very difficult to get accurate internal meat temps given the thin bands of meat on pork ribs (baby backs more-so than spareribs) and the proximity of the rib bones.

Once that first three hour cook has been complete, we use the Texas Crutch approach, wrapping each rib section in heavy duty foil after brushing both sides liberally with a mixture of melted butter and honey as shown below. There are dozens and dozens of “magic mixtures” touted as being best add-ins or pour-ons for the wrapped portion of rib cooks, you’ll want to experiment a bit, though we keep coming back to the butter and honey mixture given its rich flavor contributions that don’t overwhelm the spices in our rub.

Once wrapped, the ribs go back in the smoker at 225 (or the oven, wrapped they don’t absorb any flavors from their environment) for 45-60 minutes.

Once that cooking window has been completed, unwrap the rib sections carefully (there will be liquid in the foil packages), sauce the ribs, and throw them back on the smoker for another 30-45 minutes, until the sauce has set and a bend test shows the ribs have reached perfection.

It’s time to round up your next batch of ribs, your favorite rub, and fire the smoker – git ‘er done.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Two Fire Pork Belly

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As many of you have, we’ve played around with pork belly over the years, most often doing a home cure in the fridge to make pancetta, which then hangs in a closet during cooler winter months to dry and tighten up, though the inclusion of a bit of pork belly in our Christmas Eve tamale filling has been nothing short of revolutionary in terms of taste and texture too.

That said, a buddy was recently in Kansas City on business, and dined at what appears to be a damned nifty restaurant called Q39. My friend gushed poetically (an unusual move for him) about their smoked and grilled pork belly, and has been pestering me almost daily for a recipe to try and replicate the dish at home.

After consulting our own files, and finally me pestering Chef Libby down in Austin as well, she steered me to a recipe that Raichlen published a few years back intended to mimic this very dish pioneered at Q39.

While I didn’t have a full or half belly on hand last week, I did have some pork belly strips (attaboy Costco) totaling about 4 pounds, so I gave them a spin using our go to rib rub developed by my son and I some years back.

In a nutshell, the pork belly is trimmed (you’re cooking skin-off pork belly here), seasoned well with a flavorful rub, slow smoked at 225 to golden perfection, then chilled before a quick flash-type grill over high heat.

The idea behind the rest overnight (or at least 4 to 6 hours) in the fridge is apparently to tighten up the smoked bellies so they’re a) easier to slice, and b) the fat holds up better during a quick grill over higher heat to caramelize and crisp up the slices.

This is one of those stupid simple recipes that literally takes a few minutes to get started, and offers a fairly blank canvas for you to paint upon in terms of different rub spices and flavorings to consider.

As Raichlen noted, bacon is about smoke and salt, and barbecue is about smoke and spice. The marriage of the two in this dish yields a damned tasty, and most unusual treat most of us haven’t enjoyed before.

The main caution with this recipe is to smoke this one low and slow so as not to melt the belly’s fat off during the initial cook, and to grill quickly over higher heat during the second cook to crisp and caramelize the pieces to perfection.

Hot damn, this one’s good.

3-4 pounds pork belly, skin off

Your favorite pork rub
Good salt
Fresh ground pepper

Remove the skin from the pork belly, and score on all sides using a sharp knife in a 1-inch crosshatch pattern (roughly 1/4-inch deep).

Sprinkle the rub over all sides of the belly (pieces), and massage in.

Fire your trusty smoker to 225, and smoke to an internal temp of 165 (for most will be in the 3-4 hour range); you’re looking for the belly to tighten, become a nifty bronze color, and hit the temp target noted.

Set on a wire rack at room temp to cool, then into the fridge overnight.

Cut into 1/2-inch thick slices (against the grain), season each slice generously with salt and pepper, then grill over medium high heat until sizzling and caramelized on both sides (2-3 minutes per side).

Serve immediately with your favorite sauce or aioli; Q39 serves this with a bacon onion marmalade (savory marmalades are a great concept – we’ll post our favorite soon).

Enjoy.