Cooking Outdoors Grilling, Camp and Dutch oven Cooking!

How to Smoke Ribs at Camp!

IMG 2193 640x480 How to Smoke Ribs at Camp!

BBQ ribs in camp? Yes it is possible and easier than you think when you have a simple tool such as the Camp Chef Big Gas Grill. This is the grill you see me using all of the time in my outdoor cooking adventures. I have found the Big Gas Grill one of the most flexible tools in my Outdoor Cooking arsenal; quick set up, portable, versatile and great heat control. One of the challenges I had was producing my boys favorite meal, BBQ Baby Back ribs while camping. They specifically requested ribs on our next camping trip and how could dad refuse? But low and slow takes a lot of time and extra equipment right? So I thought until I realised that the Big Gas Grill has everything I need already and it is the unit I will be bringing to camp along with my Dutch ovens.

So how did I do it? Here is the practice run:

How to smoke ribs at camp

My Camp Chef Big Gas Grill, perfect for smoking Baby Back Ribs at camp!

What you’ll need: Single rack of Baby Back Ribs (cut in half), aluminum foil, smoker chips, yellow mustard, BBQ rib rub of your choice (I used Camp Chefs “Log Cabin Grub” all-purpose seasoning) and your favorite BBQ sauce.

First you need to remove the membrane on the back of the ribs, then cut the rack in have to fit the Big Gas Grill. Apply enough yellow mustard to coat the ribs lightly, this is only placed on the ribs to use as a binder for the rub.

Apply BBQ rub generously to all sides including the ends.

Add about 2 cups of smoking wood chips to a large sheet of aluminum foil. No need to soak the chips, we are using them dry.

Here is the foil smoking packet. Notice that I pierced the packet on the top with several holes to let the smoke escape and I placed the packet at the bottom of the Big Gas Grill barbecue box under the grilling grate. You could just throw your wood chips in the bottom of the barbecue box but I think the clean-up would be a lot worse.

temperature control: You are using only one burner so make sure it is the burner under the smoke packet. Mine was on the left so I used the left burner. Preheat your barbecue box to 300 degrees F then turn the single burner down to low. I found that this maintained a uniform heat of 250 degrees F for the whole cook time.

Here you can see the smoking packet placement under the grilling grate to the left of the ribs.

We are going to smoke the ribs at 250 degrees for about 5 hours using the 2 – 2 – 1 Baby Back Rib BBQ method.

2 hours smoking with just the rub, 2 hours in the foil packet and 1 hour of sauce time.

If you are using a larger rack of ribs just increase the first 2 hours cooking time to 3 hours.

I added some potatoes to make Twice Baked Potatoes.

At the two-hour make we are going to wrap the Baby Back Ribs in aluminum foil and cook for another two hours.

Here the Baby Back Ribs have been removed from the foil packet for the final hour of cooking. Notice the “pull back” of the rib meat from the bones. You want about a 1/4 inch to 3/8 inch pull back exposing the rib bones on the side, indicating the ribs are cooked completely or very close to it. Sauce for the next hour two to three times creating a beautiful glaze.

Here is a teaser shot of those Baby Back Ribs and the Twice Baked Potatoes!

I can’t wait to prepare a rack of smoked Baby Back Ribs for my boys on our next camping trip!

Happy camping everyone!

Grilling Pork Steaks with Allegro Marinade

I love to hear different perspectives on grilling, dutch oven, camp and cooking outdoor cooking from all of my friends. Everyone has a different take on the how-to and why of cooking outdoors. This article is from Jerry Daschofsky, a friend of mine that I know through Camp Chef and Twitter. He was nice enough to take the time and review Allegro’s Original Marinade that I was unable to get to but I knew it was a good one.

The following is Jerry’s article but with my photo’s. Jerry’s photo’s where deleted by the time he sent the article to me, turning out a loss of photos into a big win for me. I prepared the same meal, based on Jerry’s recommendations, using my Camp Chef Big Gas Grill with the BB-90L barbecue box attachment.

My pork steak are cut from a pork loin, which if not cooked correctly will become tough and dried out on the grill. IMHO, those marinated pork steaks were juicy and tender just like Jerry said they would be. Thank you Jerry, Allegro and Camp Chef for delivering a great grilled meal for the family and I.

Cooking with Allegro Marinade.

I use marinades very rarely. I’m very big on using dry rubs on everything. I raise my own pigs, so have plenty of pork to use it on. Which is where the lightbulb went off.

Have some pork steaks that are pretty tough. I keep thinking the butcher gave us the wrong steaks, since the rest of our pigs texture and flavor are TOTALLY different. Needless to say, I haven’t been eating many of them (though I do love a good pork steak cooked on the grill). After seeing that Allegro is “The FLAVORIZER that TENDERIZES” I figured I’d give it a shot on these pork steaks.

I followed the instructions on the bottle. Grabbed a ziplock, tossed the pork steaks in, and poured just enough Allegro in to cover the steaks and removed all air from the bag. Tossed it into the refrigerator to marinate for a few hours. Every half an hour I went back to the fridge to turn the bag to make sure they steaks were given a good coverage (per instructions). Per the bottle, since these were a ‘less tender cut”, I let them marinate for a good 7 hours.

Now, this is where the proof was in the pudding. Pulled the steaks out and shaked off excess marinade. I tossed them on my preheated grill. The marinade put a nice sear on the steaks. Sugars in it worked well adding that nice char. Let it cook for a few minutes, then flipped to finish the cooking process. Pulled them off the grill to rest before serving.

Myself (and my family) were in utter shock as we ate dinner. Not only was the flavor fantastic, but the meat was very tender. Thankfully, I did set one steak aside “un-marinated” so as to have a comparison. They were all off the same cut. The one with simple seasoning was still super tough under same cooking conditions. Could cut without a knife, where the marinated steaks were almost fork tender (I say almost). Easy to chew, and flavor was wonderful.

I’d highly recommend this product for any tough meats. I’m thinking of picking up another bottle or two to try out a few other beef and pork products that are a “tad tough” to eat or have to be so slow cooked at a low temp to make it edible.

Jerry

Pork Loin Rack

Pork Loin Rack – Cook Number Electric Grill LG20ie

“And now for something completely different” …. For me anyway.

Perusing the meat counter at the local grocery store revealed a beautiful Pork Loin Rack “French cut” that I could not refuse to purchase. It was the perfect opportunity to give the Cook Number Electric Grill LG20ie another test run. Grilled Pork Loin Rack and baked potatoes where on the menu tonight!

The Pork Loin needed a quick wash and the EVOO to coat.

The Cook Number Electric Grill LG20ie comes with a neat sear plate. A simple switch of the dial to sear, 5 minutes later I seared as much of the Pork Loin surface as possible. Next, I used EVOO as a binder for my rub, which consisted of some of my favorite spices and herbs – rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, and fresh minced garlic, I then gave it a good coating.

Flip the switch on the Cook Number Electric Grill LG20ie to grill, set the cooking probe to Pork and grill away!

Right?

Wrong … I made a classic mistake; I walked away for about 10 minutes, became distracted in the house, walked back outside and saw a billowing cloud of smoke coming out of my grill. OK, so I burnt it just a little bit on the bottom.

Recovering quickly, I moved the Pork Loin Rack and continued grilling away until I heard the delightful beep of the Cook Number Grill telling me my dinner was done. (160 degrees F)

Ignoring the slightly burnt bottom side, I was delighted to slice into a moist, juicy and tender Pork Loin Rack. Coupled with a couple of perfectly done baked potatoes and a veggie, I was quite pleased with the outcome.