Coffee-Cardamom Beef Ribs

Here's another attempt at beef ribs, and I think these are the best ones I've done yet in terms of the meat itself. I also really liked the rub, which gave these a really unique flavor. A full writeup on this cook is posted on our blog at http://www.fearlesskitchen.com/2009/07/recipe-coffee-cardamom-beef-ribs-guest-post-from-fearless-grill.html



I have had good luck with coffee-based rubs in the past, and when I picked up some beef ribs the other day, I decided to try this on ribs. I poked around a bit, and found this wet rub in one of Steven Raichlen's books, Barbeque Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades. I was originally going to serve this with a coffee-based BBQ sauce, but after sneaking a sample of the meat during the cook, I decided the flavoring just from the rub was good enough on its own, and we ate them 'dry'.

To make the rub, I mixed coffee, kosher salt, brown sugar, paprika, cardamom, ground ginger, garlic powder, and chili powder. I then made this into a paste by mixing it into some olive oil, and added some chopped fresh garlic. I rubbed this onto both sides of the ribs, and let them sit while getting the Egg up to temperature. I applied some of the dry rub over the wet to increase the bark on the outside, and put them in the smoker with some hickory chunks. I also put about 3 cups of coffee in my drip pan to give a bit more coffee flavor and to keep them moist, since my last beef ribs dried out a bit. I smoked them for about 7 hours at 250 degrees dome temp.

Enjoy!

-John