THE TOTALLY UNOFFICIAL AAPK COOKBOOK

[zp4ja]

Another cook today. Low and slow overnight.

Bought 10 of these country style pork ribs. Zero to very little bone. Over a inch thick slabs at local Mom and pop butcher. 3.99 a pound
3 bucks a slab basically. Nice in trying times to find a diamond in the rough...

Oh and a 10 pounder boston butt to slab/ steak, not pull. Last and first ever try at a but was phenomenal. Low and slow 17 hours. 3 or so hours rest. Target temp 165 or 170. Extremely moist and tasty.

Before...

[zp4ja]

So the pork ribs (never seen ribs like that) or steaks, whatever , took 8 hours to come to temp.
Butt is still on going on 16 hours...

There is no sauce on that, just rub. Looks like it has sauce but it doesn't...

Hmm, thinking my homemade rub may have caramelized is my guess. Whatever the case, they look great to me...

Jerry

[zp4ja]

First Pic does no justice as it is muck darker to the eye...

17 hour cook with 4 hour rest.

[cudgee]

Last nights dinner.

[zp4ja]

Look phenomenal cudgee! I am a hardcore carnivore (good rubs under that name I use as well.

16 hour overnighter, low and slow at 165 and pull at same IT. Juicy, good ring and flavor.

Country Style Pork Ribs. Cut closest to spine with lower half of that being baby back of course. If available again,
will take these over baby back any day.
Never sauce my smoke except for chicken but some on a few last half hour.

Full packer brisket going on in an hour.

Have a great day.

Jerry

[zp4ja]

Brisket on a couple hours ago. My Dalmatian rub with granulated onion / garlic and smoked paprika to boot.

Full 16 pound packer prior to fat trim.

My name is Jerry and I am a hardcore Carnivore...

Cook progression in pic is bottom to top on post.

[philco]

Jerry would you be so kind as to post your rub recipe?

[zp4ja]

Of course Sir. Dalmatian rub is heavy application of sea salt and ground pepper in a good coverage and copious/ generous application.

That is Dalmatian like a firehouse dog as in black and white coat. Salt and Pepper. This one I did each spice at at time heavy application to include also as I stated, granulated garlic and onion with lighter coat of smoked paprika.

I will always wing it on spices and vary from time to time but that my sold basic rub foundation. Most time I pre mix all 5 I mentioned in an empty store bought rub shaker. Had none left so applied one at a time this cook.

Extremely rare for me to use bbq sauce. If I am on my game, spices will caramelize.

Take care Phil. Post your cook if you do them please or please offer how you do it to maybe incorporate into my efforts.

Regards, Jerry.

This one is going fast on IT. Already wrapped and going through stall. Pic before and after peach wrap.
If you don't rest meat long enough, a dry expensive chunk of beef.

[zp4ja]

Craziest brisket I ever did. Every cut reacts different to the same procedure. Bizarre. Honestly, had zero clie what was going to be what when I ripped juice soaked peach paper after rest to carve.

First two inches of very thin flat were like a rock. Oh no.

Rest of brisket was perfect cook. Juicy, great ring.

Rub flavor was on point. Other's tastebuds approve as well.

Jerry

[zp4ja]

Biggest brisket yet and longest for certain. Request from my ex/ one of my best friends for her food truck at the races tonight.

"You cook the best brisket ever"
"Thanks, what time does it need to be done?"
"I want you to cook at 250 smoker temp"
"What time does it need to be done?"
"I want you to use my spices"
"What time does it need to be done?"

"No offense but if best ever, do I need the confusion to an already, each cut has own personality type of meat"

"You know what you are doing", she responded. I am thinking in my head, think of the time we could have saved by starting there and with a desired finish time.

Almost wrapped me around the axle on the cook. Just did as usual and delivered a huge meat football to rest and serve.

Pic before wrap..

[treefarmer]

That sure looks delicious!
Treefarmer

[zp4ja]

It is my friend TF. Wish you all were around to share some.

Put another on at 9pm again last night as she has same event at 5 pm again tonight. Love cooking and helping her but no pitmaster here.

Last one pictured that you commented on came out pretty darn good as I hear from her truck trip last night
Likely will be at local stock car races tonight with the truck, roasting in the heat and sipping cold ones while watching the races. Hopefully, with her food truck doing well.

The second and last monster cut of a brisket for the weekend shown on this post...

9 hours so far. On at 9 pm last night with 18 hour total target before rest and meat football off grill handoff again. Picture taken 5 minutes ago.

Off to wrestle with my swamp cooler bearing rebuild. Oh what fun.

Take care all! Jerry

[zp4ja]

Before wrap, juicy one for sure. If I am doing it right, peach paper sopping wet after rest. Good indicator of what is wrapped in package...

[zp4ja]

Looked over this morning to find my pup drinking liquid fat from Traeger grease bucket like a dog at a water bucket. Have the external spout grease bucket.
Stern HEY to save her from herself followed but your gonna regret that comment. Violent liquid vomit just 2 hours later outside.
Love her and she is not feeling too hot I am sure. But I was stunned followed by what the heck are you doing when I caught out corner of my eye.
Crazy stuff.

[zp4ja]

Country Style Ribs yesterday. Great and less expensive cuts to cook...

Three separate seasonings batches and two with bbq sauce.

Jerry

[Waukonda]

Looked over this morning to find my pup drinking liquid fat from Traeger grease bucket like a dog at a water bucket. Have the external spout grease bucket.

Ewwww! I have a Traeger and consider myself fortunate that I have never had that experience with any of my dogs. Sometimes, they just can't resist those delicious smells.

I was just now looking at, and enjoying, all of your posts over the last few weeks. Please continue.

We bought 1/2 a beef recently and I have a brisket in the freezer that I will tackle one of these weekends.

[zp4ja]

Thanks Ike.

I enjoy cooking and the experimentation process along with it. Turned out some stellar stuff and is pretty challenging, yet easy if that makes sense.

Really pondering an offset wood smoker hard. Much more challenging as I understand as it is easy to ruin a cook but worthwhile when it goes as planned.

I personally see smoking meat and cooking as same as sharpening my knives, therapy of sorts.

Deep clean on smoker today than an overnighter boston butt going on.

Take care. Hope life finds you well. Post your cook pics as well please.

Jerry

[zp4ja]

About a 9 pound Boston Butt just spiced up. Heavy coat of salt, pepper, granulated garlic, granulated onion and paprika. Ready to hit the smoker soon...

Slab cut, not pulled. IT target 165 or 170 degrees. Prefer much better than pulled. To each, his own.

Jerry

[treefarmer]

Jerry, you're making my mouth water! Boston Butt is what we use in our venison sausage. The pork shoulder gives the lean venison some moisture and also binds it together when made into patties (burgers or breakfast sausage). Our local Piggly Wiggly store will run a special on the vacuum-packed butts from time to time. They come 2 to the package, 20 pounds more or less. A couple of years ago they were selling for 89 cents a pound, the last we bought was $2.19 a pound.
Country style ribs are great when someone else is cookin' them but personally I enjoy cooking the honest to goodness pork ribs with the bone-in. We've always enjoyed cooking on the grills and in the smokers but have slacked off quite a bit in the last few years for some reason. Plates of whole ribs individually sliced are out favorites, not the Baby Back ribs.
Learned about cooking them about 55 years ago in Orlando. There was a BBQ place called "Unkle Ben J's BBQ", we frequented his establishment regularly and always begged for the recipe for his marinade. No luck with that! One Saturday evening he told us, "I'm moving back to New York and if you come by tomorrow evening after church, I will give you a list of ingredients for the marinade." (The strangest thing about Unkle Ben J, was he was Jewish and cooked the best pork in the county. Our old Baptist preacher had become friends with him and recommended his restaurant, that's how it all started.) We stopped in and he gave us a list of ingredients, no volume or measurements, reminded us to cook with oak wood and marinate for at least 12 hours. Also take the time to separate the ribs, don't cook as a slab. He said each rib would have a "bark and glaze" if we did it right. Miss Joy came up with the quantity/measurement of ingredients by trial and error. The marinade seems to work on most any meat.
Ben's pit was a brick affair, probably 4' X 12' about 4 foot deep on the inside of the kitchen against a wall. The grill was several sections of expanded metal that could easily be lifted to tend the fire. A hood and fan above it kept most of the smoke out of the restaurant. (I have no idea how he handled the ashes. )
Just some good memories from a half century ago.
Treefarmer

[zp4ja]

Sweet story and memories Phillip! Thanks much for sharing as I really enjoyed the read.
Funny story about Ben. I like it. Cooking keeps me out of the bars. Most days at least as I did the "small town, downtown " thing today and knocked back a couple beers over a few hours with the old timer hay farming crowd interspersed with a local barfly. I love that atmosphere.
I have come to the conclusion that country style ribs covers alot of pork rib cuts. Bone in or out and a significant variation of pork cuts. All of it good.

Take care, Jerry

[zp4ja]

15 hour Boston Butt overnighter with 1.5 hour rest. Juicy is an understatement...

Jerry

[Eustace]

Zucchini roll with three types of cheese and ham. Chicken kebabs. My daughter made the dessert according to a Japanese recipe - dango.

[zp4ja]

That looks phenomenal Eustace!

Here is my weekend cook plan...

4 smoked chuck roast for burnt ends, smoked mac and cheese. Tomorrow smoked full packer brisket at 15# and some of my homemade Cole slaw. Topped off with some smoked bacon wrapped cream cheese jalapeños.

Chuck roast just went on at about 2 pounds each..Smoked then 1" cubed to foil pan covered for 3 hours at 350 in oven with bottle of bbq sauce, hot sauce, garlic, beef broth, butter for 3 hours. Bovine meat gold...

Jerry

[zp4ja]

Chuck roast burnt ends to oven covered for 3 hrs at 350 with bottle of Stubbs Spicy, butter, beef broth and minced garlic. Stir at 1.5 hours. Pics in reverse order...

Have four jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese and fresh garlic, bacon wrapped on now for a test run. First attempt.

EDIT: Added burnt ends results. Darker than pic shows. Carnivore gold...

Oh and I put one of those curled end, sharp and pointed meat hook turners deep in my calf in the cook process. Prior to cook, all good.

Jerry

[zp4ja]

18 hour smoked brisket, pecan pellets and my rub. Did some pretty stellar smoked mac and cheese as well.

Have a great day.

Jerry