Korean-Southern Ribs

Theophan

I tried a new rib recipe today, and it was really good, "Korean-Southern Ribs."  I had thought I'd overcooked my last couple of rib cooks, but I overcompensated a little -- these were completely cooked, and really good, but had a little more of a bite than I prefer.  I guess I'm more of a fall off the bone kinda guy, even though I gather that's not what the experts like.

Anyway, a Korean chili paste called gochujang is the main flavoring, and these were really good.  A little more heat than I had been expecting, but really, just about right.



First you slather on the gochujang, much the way many people slather on yellow mustard, but unlike the mustard, this very definitely flavors the ribs.



Then the "Georgia Rub," which was a pretty normal rub except that it had Korean red pepper flakes in it.



Then I smoked them around 200-230 for about 5 hours, I think, and when I picked them up, I thought they bent pretty well, but it wasn't 90 degrees, so another time I'll cook ribs longer.  I brushed on the "Heirloom Market Korean BBQ Sauce" and let it set for the last half hour, and I raised the temp to 250 or so.

Wolfie51sb

Those look fantastic. Nice job.

JohnInCarolina

Very cool.  How was the heat on these in the end - spicy?

Smokehouse33

Looks delicious!

Theophan

JohnInCarolina said:

Very cool.  How was the heat on these in the end - spicy?

Spicy, made your mouth tingle, but not super hot.  A bite or two hardly seemed hot at all, but after several ribs, some pleasant heat.  My wife can't handle very hot food, and I asked her if she was OK, and she said she was.

Canugghead

Neat! I'm wondering about the heat level too... may be not since Korean BBQ sauce by itself is typically not spicy?
edit: never mind, just read the sauce recipe, unlike typical Korean bbq sauce, it's loaded with heat!
Thanks OP, bookmarked!

Theophan

I'm new to gochujang, have only tried one kind, but I think there are hotter ones and less hot ones.

SGH

Fine looking ribs for sure my friend  

Theophan

Thanks for the kind comments!

One more attempt to address the heat level:  It's hard to describe, of course, but especially regarding @Canugghead's comment, no, I wouldn't say it's loaded with heat.  It made our mouths tingle, yes, and different people have different levels of comfort with heat.  To me, there's "spicy" that doesn't really burn at all, there's mild burning, medium burning, and whole lotta burning.  I used to make a Southwestern style chili that was really hot, and by that I mean that it made you sweat it was so hot.  Your mouth was on fire, and without using unpleasant language, sometimes later in the digestive process one experienced the heat again -- let the reader understand.    That stuff was hot.  And really delicious.

My wife can't handle that kind of heat anymore, so I don't make things that hot.  This Korean-Southern Rib recipe wasn't anywhere near that hot.  It was hot enough that after a few ribs you could feel some burning in your mouth and tongue, but it wasn't a lot.  To some people, any feeling of burning feels "HOT" -- "my mouth is burning!"  So to them, these ribs would be hot.  But to people who like really hot food, this would have been quite mild, really.  Hope that helps.

jlsm

These look really great. I'll try this on my next rib cook. Thanks for sharing.

GATraveller

Heirloom Market BBQ is one of the best in Atlanta.  I don't get that magazine anymore but will have to try this one out.  Bookmarked.  Thanks!!!

Canugghead

Thanks for clarifying with details.

lousubcap

Theophan said: they bent pretty well, but it wasn't 90 degrees, so another time I'll cook ribs longer.

Great looking ribs and write-up.  Regarding checking for the rib "doneness" I use a toothpick in the thickest part of the meat.  No resistance and you are there.  I have better luck with that than the bend test.  FWIW-

Theophan

lousubcap said:

Theophan said: they bent pretty well, but it wasn't 90 degrees, so another time I'll cook ribs longer.

Great looking ribs and write-up.  Regarding checking for the rib "doneness" I use a toothpick in the thickest part of the meat.  No resistance and you are there.  I have better luck with that than the bend test.  FWIW-

I'll definitely try that, thanks!  I've been scratching my head on how to tell when they're done if I ever cut racks in half, because the "bend test" won't work on half racks.  If this works on racks, it ought to work on half-racks too!

Thanks again!

WeberWho

Those sound rediculously awesome!!!

NDG

Very cool cook & nice post . . . I will keep my eyes peeled for some gochujang.

CPARKTX

Very nice, those look great.

Judy Mayberry

I just stick the Thermapen in a thick part of the meat and not touching a bone. If it's 200+° it's done.

GregW

Another in a long line of excellent cooks. Nice work.

SSQUAL612

I really like the Gochujang...it has heat, but balanced with great flavor.   Ribs look delicious & I’m going to add this to my list of cooks to try.  Thanks for sharing.