Camping, Princess Style

[Smithy]

We're back to pork again. This time, it was an entire slab of spare ribs that jumped into our cart oh, a week or two ago. It's been taking up an impressive amount of space in the freezer all this time, while I went to San Diego and back. The price, and my darling's love of pork, was the incentive.

 

 

Two days ago I wrestled it out of the freezer and into the refrigerator to thaw. It's been so windy and cold that we've been essentially trailer-bound due to strong wind and blowing dust. It hasn't been pleasant to be outside and we've done it as little as possible. A slow braise in the oven yesterday seemed a good idea for helping to keep the trailer warm.

 

6.5 pounds is a lot of meat. Even if I'd wanted to cook it all at once I'd have had to layer it somehow; it was too long for the oven! So I cut it into 3 pieces, cooked one and vacuum-packed the others for later. They're back in the freezer again.

 

 

I finally found, by accident, the Espresso and Ancho Rub that I thought I'd left behind; it was stashed along with some extra spices I'd been looking for, in a container that used to hold dates and unshelled pecans. This rub is wonderful stuff. I didn't make it to this spice shop when I visited my sister in Reno earlier this year, but they also do mail order. When I exhaust this package, I'll probably buy more. I put a generous coating on the ribs, snuggled them into an enameled cast iron pan with a small amount of water in the bottom, added a temperature probe and the cover, and set the oven for around 285F.

 

 

I'm not sure how helpful the probe was. This is a small, fine needle but it's still hard to find a spot with no bone. I'd set the alarm for 165F, and it came up to that temperature long before the meat was done. After that it was a game of adjusting the oven temperature down and physically checking the meat. Two thermometers said it was around 195F before I thought it done.

 

The question in the meantime was which barbecue sauce to use. We're out of both our favorites from Texas, so we've bought some at grocery stores.

 

 

We didn't want to open all four bottles for a taste test. All need refrigeration after opening. We still have a little bit of refrigerator space open, and I'm trying to keep it that way!

 

I let him pick, and he went for our old standby.

 

 

Toward the end of the cooking, I painted some on the ribs and let it set up in the oven while I prepped and cooked broccoli.

 

 

Dinner! He added sauce at the table; I didn't. We both thought these were perfectly done: tender, toothsome, with the bones coming out cleanly. (We know that meat coming off the bone cleanly is considered to be a no-no in some barbecue circles. We don't care. This wasn't so overcooked as to be dry.)

 

 

The broccoli was barely steamed, then dressed with Meyer lemon juice and zest, butter and julienned sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil. Quite good, and a nice accompaniment to the meat.

 

We were surprised and a bit disappointed in the Jack Daniel's. It's much, much sweeter than we remember it being. A look at the label explains the sweetness.

 

 

Do any of you use this stuff? Have they changed its recipe? I think I'll be messing with it to try to tone down the sweetness. He wants to open more of the sauces and try them now, of course. 

 

eta: This reviewer and at least one commenter say that yes, the formula has changed -- and not for the better.

Edited January 27, 2023 by Smithy
Added link to WhiskyReviewer.com for Jack Daniel's info (log)

[lindag]

I've tried lots of others but I always  come back  to Bullseye.

[Anna N]

2 minutes ago, lindag said:

I've tried lots of others but I always  come back  to Bullseye.

That is the one I prefer. 

[Smithy]

2 minutes ago, lindag said:

I've tried lots of others but I always  come back  to Bullseye.

 

What's the flavor profile? Is it sweet, tart, sticky, hot,...?

[kayb]

I like Sweet Baby Ray’s, but I never tried the Visalia onion version. Traditional has just enough sweet for me.

[Smithy]

10 minutes ago, kayb said:

I like Sweet Baby Ray’s, but I never tried the Visalia onion version. Traditional has just enough sweet for me.

 

We've tried a few of theirs, but never this one. He's fond of Subway Vidalia onion sauce, so he has high hopes for this.

[Dave the Cook]

3 hours ago, Smithy said:

eta: This reviewer and at least one commenter say that yes, the formula has changed -- and not for the better.

 

I've never tried Jack Daniel's BBQ sauce. I'm only chiming in here to point out that that review is from 2012, and contains incorrect information. The sauce does include, as your photo and a visit to https://jackdanielssauces.com/ confirms, Jack Daniels whiskey. It is not made by Heinz (it's not clear that it ever was). The brand name is licensed to Golden West Food Group, which has been producing the sauce since at least 2019.

 

We are a former Bullseye house, lately converted to Stubb's. But that's another story.

[Smithy]

17 minutes ago, Dave the Cook said:

 

I've never tried Jack Daniel's BBQ sauce. I'm only chiming in here to point out that that review is from 2012, and contains incorrect information. The sauce does include, as your photo and a visit to https://jackdanielssauces.com/ confirms, Jack Daniels whiskey. It is not made by Heinz (it's not clear that it ever was). The brand name is licensed to Golden West Food Group, which has been producing the sauce since at least 2019.

 

We are a former Bullseye house, lately converted to Stubb's. But that's another story.

 

Ah, I noted that the comments were from 2021, but not that the original review was so old and full of misinformation. Thanks for the correction.

 

Which leads me to wonder again whether our tastes have simply changed. But that too is another story.

[Shelby]

Curley's BBQ is our favorite.

[lindag]

3 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

What's the flavor profile? Is it sweet, tart, sticky, hot,...?

 I've seen it described as having tastes of rich beer, sweet hickory, smokey chipotle and more.

 

 

 

[Smithy]

2 hours ago, lindag said:

 I've seen it described as having tastes of rich beer, sweet hickory, smokey chipotle and more.

 

 

Sounds like I'll have to try it!

[FauxPas]

Do you ever make your own BBQ sauce, @Smithy? 

 

We often do have a jar of something commercial in the fridge but, if I plan properly, I prefer to make my own sauce. 

 

I don't have a set recipe. I like to start with a basic one like this one called Kansas City BBQ Sauce and then modify it, if necessary. 

 

If you don't want it quite as sweet, you can use tomato sauce/paste in place of the ketchup, reduce the sugar, increase the spice, etc. 

 

Of course, BBQ specialists will know all about the variations between Kansas City, Memphis, Carolina styles and so forth. Serious Eats has an overview with some recipe links here.

 

I'm probably not telling you anything you don't already know though!!!!  🙂

And sometimes, it just makes sense to use a commercial product. 

[Anna N]

6 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

What's the flavor profile? Is it sweet, tart, sticky, hot,...?

I am completely useless when asked to describe a flavour profile. I think of it as a little bit smoky, a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy...  

[FauxPas]

7 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

What's the flavor profile? Is it sweet, tart, sticky, hot,...?

 

There are a few different versions but the Original version's contents are listed below. So I think it must be a fairly sweet sauce also. Sugar is #1 and molasses not far behind. 

 

[Anna N]

6 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

There are a few different versions but the Original version's contents are listed below. So I think it must be a fairly sweet sauce also. Sugar is #1 and molasses not far behind. 

 

Don't necessarily think that the requirement to list the most abundant ingredient first necessarily can be interpreted as being its primary taste. Vinegar can definitely modify the sweetness even if it's not in similar quantities. 

[Dave the Cook]

What do you suppose "cooking molasses" is? 

[FauxPas]

1 minute ago, Dave the Cook said:

What do you suppose "cooking molasses" is? 

 

I wondered about that, also! 

 

Cooking molasses is a blend of blackstrap and fancy molasses. It’s darker than fancy molasses and less sweet with a more “full flavoured” taste. Cooking molasses is a common substitute for fancy molasses in many recipes and has a much more robust flavour than fancy molasses.

 

https://www.gallowaysfoods.com/sweeteners/crosbys-cooking-molasses

[FauxPas]

4 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Don't necessarily think that the requirement to list the most abundant ingredient first necessarily can be interpreted as being its primary taste. Vinegar can definitely modify the sweetness even if it's not in similar quantities. 

 

That's true.

 

But many of us are looking to reduce unnecessary sugars.  🙂

 

[Dave the Cook]

Huh. I didn't even know that "fancy molasses" was a thing.

[Anna N]

12 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

That's true.

 

But many of us are looking to reduce unnecessary sugars.  🙂

 

Also true but we were talking about taste rather than health, I thought. 

[Kerry Beal]

 

I grew up with Fancy molasses in the cupboard - much more rare was blackstrap - can't even recall what we would have gone looking to buy that for. 

[FauxPas]

8 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Also true but we were talking about taste rather than health, I thought. 

 

I should have stated up front that I have tasted that sauce and found it too sweet for my liking. But I also don't want that amount of sugars in my food, especially if it's a hidden flavour. If I want a ton of sugar, I might as well taste it. 

Edited January 28, 2023 by FauxPas (log)

[Smithy]

Well. i'd never heard of Cooking Molasses or Fancy Molasses before this discussion, and I'm intrigued. My mother kept Brer Rabbit Molasses (blackstrap?) around for the occasional pie, and that's as much as I knew about it. This should tell you how often she used it: I suspect she had the same bottle of the stuff for all my growing-up years.

 

I have several recipes for barbecue sauce (and appreciate the pointers to more recipes, @FauxPas), but so far I haven't tried making them. I should. I came to our marriage convinced that all barbecue sauce is a sweet gloppy concoction designed to ruin the flavor of good meat, whereas his assumption is that all barbecue sauces range from great to merely acceptable. I began learning about the variety in such sauces thanks to eGullet; I began experiencing them and finding some to be good as we started traveling.

 

Hmm. I think I'll take a look at some of those recipes and see how I can use one or two to tweak that Jack Daniels stuff.

[Smithy]

The wind finally quit, and the skies finally cleared, and the weather finally warmed. I think this was the first campfire of our trip. Certainly it was the first time we cooked over a campfire this season.

 

It was dead easy: tube steaks cooked over the fire. We had a combination of Farmer John's Louisiana Style Hot Sausage, Kiolbasa Polish Sausage and Kiolbasa Beef Sausage. Kiolbasa is a Texas company, and I have @Dave the Cook to thank for bringing their other sausages to my attention. I was delighted to find them out here in Yuma, since I hadn't been able to find them anywhere other than Texas before now.

 

 

We included leftover vegetables in our dinners, but you can't tell it from the photo.

 

While we were waiting for the fire to die down enough for cooking, we marveled at the night sky. Most people don't manage to see much of it: because they're inside, because they're surrounded by city lights, because they're surrounded by trees. Out here the view is unobstructed except by cloud or moonlight. Tonight was a beautiful illustration of The Plane of the Ecliptic: Venus, Jupiter, the Moon, and Mars (just out of view) all in a perfect line. The photo is cattywampus because I wanted to include our neighbors' light (bottom left) to show how far away they are.

 

[rotuts]

Ill say BullsEye 

 

past , possibly present 

 

is a good place to start .

 

whether you end up liking it or not.

 

if not , the vast majority of commercial BBQ sauce 

 

starts w that sort of profile.

 

its very easy to start w something you like

 

ie  sugar content , and change it up

 

by what you add to it in a small bowl.