This weekend I developed my OMINATOR skillz with a second attempt at spare ribs, this time with a pepper rub and a bourbon-based sauce.
Seeking to improve my technique from my first attempt a week ago, Erin and I ventured to Costco in search of meat, and therein found what can accurately be called the Valhalla of Pork. Wow. The rib racks there were huge compared to New Seasons. Maybe the pigs were on different diets, or had different lifestyles: if the New Seasons pigs were thin, wiry, and hipsterish, then the Costco pigs were lusty and Rubenesque from a lot of fast food and couch surfing. Whatever the case, I was pretty happy with the selection there.
Using a recipe from Smoke & Spice as a starting point, I noticed (sheepishly) that the rub recipe I used last week was intended for twice as much meat as I used, so ... no wonder it was a little heavy, oops. I tried a pepper-based rub this time, and a bourbon-based sauce.
I found a cornbread recipe to try as well, which I'll reproduce here because I found it on a forum and promptly lost it:
1C yellow cornmealTurned out pretty dense, but I was happy with the results.
1C flour
2T sugar
1/2 t salt
1 egg
1C buttermilk
1/3 C sour cream
1/4 C vegetable oil
Multiply ingredient portions by 1.5 for 12" skillet. Add jalapenos, corn, whatev.
Mix everything together, pour into a 10" cast-iron skillet, and cook it for 220 for an hour in the smoker.
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teh meatz ... Took the meat out of the fridge, put the rest of the rub on, and let it warm to room temp while the cornbread was cooking. To get an idea of the size, the pan they're sitting on is 18" long. |
| teh sauce ... 4 hours after I put the meat on, I started the bourbon BBQ sauce. It didn't smell very good, so I had my doubts at first, but it looked better once it thickened up. I brushed it on a couple times during the final 45 minutes of cooking. |
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OM NOM NOM! My guests arrived hungry, so I had to fend them off with alcohol, as indicated by the facial redness in this shot when I took the meat off and started carving. |
| food yey Joining me: Erin, TJ, Tori (the birthday girl) and Isaac. Tori was so moved by the mouthwatering delectability of the feast that she wept. I felt honored. I asked Erin how they compared with last week. I think "MMMPHLLGGGMPH" means "better". |
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After dinner, the true silliness commenced. Tori had requested Erin to revive her Frankenstein Dessert Monstrosity of Wonder and Majesty for b-day dessert. Steve and Betsy joined us.
 Betsy gets really excited about pie. |
 Betty Krunker, displaying her creation. |
 Oh, sweet, gooey, gleamy goodness. |
 "MMRGRPHH WFF MH PPHMPH!" (translation: "How much fucking sugar is in this?!") |
Steve, being Steve.
Sugar high aside, I was really happy with my second effort. This time I started with a much better cut of meat, didn't overdo the rub, cooked an hour longer, and kept the meat moisturized by spritzing it every couple hours with a mixture of bourbon and apple juice. The taste was much better overall.
I think I'm going to try cooking for my family next weekend, and I'll probably stick with ribs one more time. But I have my sights set on brisket next.
