Montréal Smoked Meat / Pastrami Style Deboned Short Ribs

paqman

I was planning on smoking some deboned short ribs sometime during the weekend but I got lazy and did not cook them...  They are about to "expire" and I won't have time to cook them this week.  I also do not have any room left in the freezer.  What to do?  Smoked meat is the answer!  I am starting with a corned beef brine (recipe from Charcuterie) for a few days.  I will then rub the meat with Schwartz beef spices, let it dry until the weekend and smoke it for a few hours.

Sounds like a plan?

YukonRon

Looks like a killer cook. 

Canugghead

sounds like a great plan! nice marbling, since it's not hunk of brisket I suppose brine time will be shortened? also love the briner bucket.

paqman

@Canugghead I am planning on a 2-3 days brine time.  I'll remove from the brine when the meat is firm to the touch.

GrateEggspectations

@paqman: My most burning question - is that Clamato for the recipe or the Chef?! Would love to see the final results (of the beef, not your Ceasar). 

GrateEggspectations

*Caesar*

EggNorth

Very interesting ... Looking forward to the outcome.

paqman

@GrateEggspectations The Clamato is always for me

gmac

GrateEggspectations said:

@paqman: My most burning question - is that Clamato for the recipe or the Chef?! Would love to see the final results (of the beef, not your Ceasar). 

I would like to see the Caesar. But great idea. Looking forward to the final pictures 

paqman

I let the brine cool down in the fridge and put the meat in.  @Canugghead The Briner bucket was a good investment.   I don't use it often but when I do, it is a lifesaver.

gmac

@paqman. Does that recipe use #2 curing salt or just Prague powder? I haven't done any cured beef products, sausages and back bacon I have done but I'm looking very closely at this one. 

paqman

@gmac it uses Prague powder #1 AKA pink salt

GrateEggspectations

@paqman: Did you buy the Prague Powder locally? Hard to findaround here, in my experience.

gmac

@grateeggspectations, where are you? I can send you some. A local store always has it but it's not pink. It's white but it's Prague powder. I use it for sausages and back bacon. Seriously, in Canada and I'll gladly send you a bag. 

GrateEggspectations

@gmac: That is an exceptionally kind offer. Thanks brother. After quite a bit of searching, I was finally able to find some at Nicastro's on Merivale Road, in Ottawa. Must say, it was quite a struggle to find it. A lot of shop keepers weren't sure what it was I was looking for. The curing salt I finally found at Nicastro's is not pink either, but I've used it for some bacon with great success.

gmac

Well the offer still stands. Just let me know. 

paqman

@GrateEggspectations I ordered it online from http://www.stuffers.com/prague-powder-p/rcuprague1.htm

The local stores I visited could not provide details about the percentage of nitrite sobI did not take a chance.

@gmac The one I use is white but it has the right percentage of nitrite in it.

gmac

@paqman yeah, gotta be careful that people don't have ready-cure 1% instead of real Prague. My local grocery store originally sold me Ready cure, telling me it was the same thing. Good old internet saved me and I used it but at different rates obviously. 

fishlessman

are you going to water soak it after the brine, made the mistake once of smoking corned beef ribs without a soak and it really condensed it into a salt lick   i have never seen the cure added to corned beef ribs here, its done salt only here, they dont turn red

paqman

@fishlessman The ribs were 3 days in the brine.  They were nice and firm but kinda gray.  I drained the brine and let them spend 1 day in fresh water.  Last night, I removed them from the water and rubbed them with Schwartz's beef seasoning.  My goal was to let them air dry for the night but I ran out of fridge real estate so I had to let them rest in a ziploc bag.  I've just put them on the egg @ 250F

If the whole things tastes like the small slice that I cooked in a pan to make sure it was not too salty; I'll be in business.

It is pouring rain right now, I'll take pics on the egg later.

gdenby

I await the result eagerly. The seasoning blend looks like a winner

(BTW, regarding your tag line,

" Without doubt princes become great when they overcome the
difficulties and obstacles by which they are confronted, and therefore
fortune, especially when she desires to make a new prince great, who
has a greater necessity to earn renown than an hereditary one, causes
enemies to arise and form designs against him, in order that he may have
the opportunity of overcoming them, and by them to mount higher, as by a
ladder which his enemies have raised. For this reason many consider that
a wise prince, when he has the opportunity, ought with craft to foster
some animosity against himself, so that, having crushed it, his renown
may rise higher."

is the closest I could find. I hadn't read "The Prince" for many years, but I recognized "entreprenuers" as a French word from a few centuries later.)

paqman

@gdenby I hope that you looked up that quote and did not remember it in full I read The Prince for the first time when I was 12 years old; that was a heavy read back then.

paqman

It is coming along nicely... The first bite was out of this world.

paqman

I have no words to describe... Perfection 

Plate ribs with a side of home made short ribs smoked meat:

GrateEggspectations

@paqman: Nice cook brother. That looks truly fantastic. My only question: where's the caesar?