Direct Hickory Smoke on Country Style Pork Ribs?

dabrodas · July 2017

Hey guys,

I have had my egg for a while now and cook Country Style Pork Ribs pretty often. These are the boneless ribs you can buy from Publix and advice was to always cook them direct @ 350 until about an internal temperature of around 140. So kind of like a pork chop.

Recently, I bought a bag of Hickory Smoking wood, since I haven't done any big smoking cooks since buying my grill.

So tonight, I figured I would just place a fist-sized piece of hickory over the direct flame and then throw on the ribs.

They came out pretty bad.. way too much smoke flavor and was almost un-bearable to eat.

Do folks just not use smoke wood for direct cooks? Is it the Hickory wood I chose and just not used to that much smoke flavor? I recently had a friend's pork butt who used a ton of Pecan Wood in his slow cook and I really enjoyed the smoke flavor. Just trying to understand if it is a direct vs indirect thing that caused the difference?

Thanks!

td66snrf · July 2017

Hickory is pretty strong flavor. Did you wait for the VOCs to burn off? I would also suggest cooking your ribs at a lower temperature. Country style ribs are just pork shoulder roasts cut into strips so they have a lot of fat and collagen that would benefit from a low and slow.

dabrodas · July 2017

I waited for the VOCs to burn off the lump coal. Didn't think there were VOCs on the hickory smoking wood?

onedbguru · July 2017

My country ribs are done L&S at ~225-250 for 3-4hrs (IT ~185-190) Really Good!!

Biggreenpharmacist · July 2017

td66snrf said:

Hickory is pretty strong flavor. Did you wait for the VOCs to burn off? I would also suggest cooking your ribs at a lower temperature. Country style ribs are just pork shoulder roasts cut into strips so they have a lot of fat and collagen that would benefit from a low and slow.

I see two different kinds here. Some are indeed cut shoulder roast which cook well low and slow. Others are cut from the loin end and are better cooked like chops.

dabrodas · July 2017

Yep, I was always told to cook these like chops. My question is more geared towards using smoke chunks on direct cooks. Wanted to get your guys thoughts on if you have used smoke wood on direct cooks and if you think it is the type of wood - hickory - that caused the issue ?

Biggreenpharmacist · July 2017

I dont use smoke wood on direct cooks. Seems to me with high heat the smoke would be bitter and acrid

td66snrf · July 2017

@Biggreenpharmacist I've never seen them not cut from a shoulder around here in SoCal. You've got my curiosity up. How do they cut them from loin? Lengthwise? Please understand I am not disputing what you said just trying to learn. Thanks, Tim

tjv · July 2017

If the burning chuck was right under the food I could see how it could be off. With grilling cooks, using wood for smoke is a bit tricky. It takes some practice and more times than not, a smaller chunk than you think.

Book ends the chunk: you did big, next time do extra small and work to the middle ground with following cooks.

Remember some proteins and such absorb smoke at different rates. What might work for a big hunk of steak may kill a grid full of chicken breasts.

You'll get the hang of it.

t

Biggreenpharmacist · July 2017

td66snrf said:

@Biggreenpharmacist I've never seen them not cut from a shoulder around here in SoCal. You've got my curiosity up. How do they cut them from loin? Lengthwise? Please understand I am not disputing what you said just trying to learn. Thanks, Tim

http://www.thekitchn.com/what-are-boneless-country-style-pork-ribs-and-why-dont-they-have-bones-meat-basics-216740

YukonRon · July 2017

First, welcome to the forum, and the learning curve which accompanies the use of the BGE.

The two woods I hardly ever would consider on a direct cook, due to the taste profile I have found that suits my family and I, are hickory and mesquite. Both impart a very heavy and acrid flavor, and must be used in small quantities in order to not overpower food on a direct cook. A very little bit goes a very long way on most proteins.

I have basically gone to just 4 types of smoking woods, one of them is pecan, as you had mentioned you enjoyed, in your post. The other three I use is peach, sugar maple and white oak.

I very highly recommend peach and sugar maple with pork, although any of these will work very well.

When cooking indirect, the window for success is a bit more open for the use of smoking wood for desired flavor profile. This does not mean you can dump a lot of smoking wood in and forget it.

A direct cook will pound smoke into the protein, so choose wisely the smoke flavor you want, and use less in the cooking process.

You may wish to look for lump charcoal that is also neutral burning, so that the smoke you want is not compounded by the charcoal.

I do not wish to turn this post into a debate on charcoal selection, however, I noticed a huge improvement, once I switched from BGE brand lump, to Rockwood. The difference it has made is night and day.

Hope this helps.

SmokeyPitt · July 2017

I like to have chips on hand for direct grilling. You can also just use a smaller chunk. I also agree you might try a different wood. A small handful of apple or peach chips will do thr trick.

Direct Hickory Smoke on Country Style Pork Ribs?

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