A restaurant owner screwed me over on some work I did for him (he screwed many folks...including his cooks). So, I made it my mission to get his recipe for smoked ribs that he was very protective of. This recipe is a true prize winner! People came from miles around, just to eat his ribs. 2 of his cooks cooperated and both of them verified this recipe exactly as stated. You are going to impress anyone that you serve these ribs too...trust me We'll call this "Grant's Stolen Recipe", LOL.

For best results, prepare the ribs a couple of hours before smoking or the night prior.

You will need the following items:

LeGout Ham Base - This is a very heavy base that is like a thick paste.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar
Dark Brown Sugar
Mels Seasoning They are in Kaukauna WI and can be Googled. I found that any mild spice mixture will work. Just made the last batch using a good dose of Obie-Que's Sweet Rub Spice in place of the Mels and they turned out wonderful.
Rubber Gloves are good to have making these, BTW.

Mix 50/50 RWV and EVOO. Add the Mels seasoning (or whatever) and enough dark brown sugar to make the mixture into a very heavy sauce or almost a paste.

Next, skin the ribs, wash and towel dry.

Next, rub the LeGout ham base into the ribs fairly rigorously. Takes a couple of minutes per rack.

Next, grab a handful of your mixture and rub this all over and well into the racks. You want a good coating, but you should still be able to see the meat.

I like either pecan or hickory with a couple of Kingsford briquettes in my Smokintex/Cookshack smoker. You can smoke by whatever method floats your boat.

Please put your review on here after you try them

Thanks for the recipe. The ham base has me wondering if the ribs will turn out tasting more like ham than ribs. Sure sounds good though. When the weather breaks, I will definately give this one a try.
Sure sorry the guy screwed you and others though but sometimes revenge is very sweet.

Mike

Actually, they come out tasting very GOOD. The ham base goes on VERY lightly, but it is well rubbed into the surface.

Just threw a batch in the smoker for some guests later today.

I am not familiar with this ham base. Is it likely to be in a grocery store?

Good to see ya back,Donna,as we miss you.

Our latin and oriental markets,as well as chain stores carry it here.

Ham Bases

This is the product line many chefs and cook teams use.

Donna, I ended up getting mine here ---> CLICK Again, apply very sparingly and rub in well. After 7 racks of ribs and 3 huge spare rib racks, I'm only 1/4 way through that 1st one pound tub of LeGout's.

I made 4 more racks yesterday. Two racks had a sprinkling of dark brown sugar and 2 had a sprinkling of granulated maple suger applied 1 hour before I pulled the meat out. I like a little sweetness in my ribs and this did it. The racks from Sunday needed just a hint more sweetness to suit my tastes is all.

When I use my smoker, I normally smoke at 225 and use 2 Kingsford briquettes along with a small handful of pecan wood chips. It normally takes 4.5-4.75 hours before the meat pulls back from the ends of the rib bones about 1/4-3/8". The 5-6# racks of spares take another 1.5 hours and sometimes a little more before they fall off the bone.

I've heard of others adding a charcoal briquette to the wood box, as indicated by gpalma, too. What extra does it provide that a hunk of wood alone doesn't?

I've noticed that the wood at the front of my CS55 gets burned to ash, while that at the rear merely goes to charcoal. Would it change that?

Also, any difference between a 'Kingsford' briquette, and natural charcoal? (they call it Cowboy Charcoal out here a lot).

Curious is all. My CS is new and I haven't had a chance to experiment a lot...and of course meat prices what they are, we'd all like to make every smoke the best we can.

Their discussion is about the pink smokering on large hunks of meat,like butts & briskets.

The Cookshack burns such a small amount of wood,efficiently,that you may not get the ring.

It provides the nitrites/nitrates that aid in the formation.

It has no taste IMO.

Kingsford seems to be the one charcoal that does this the best.

Just leave the unburned wood/charcoal in the cooker.

It will act like a briquet.

Mels Seasoning finally replied to my calls. Seems they were on vacation. 920-766-0550

Dumb question: exactly what animal are these ribs from?

Methinks a cloven hooved beast that makes an oinking sound.

Hmmm, a "cloven hoved beast that makes an oinking sound..." Do you mean my Great Aunt Agnes????

Sounds more like my eldest wicked stepsister.

Been using granulated maple sugar from Ebay (user id sainttpierrefarms) to finish the ribs about an hour before they are finished. Just sprinkle it on down the center of the ribs and it will disolve/flow. Brown sugar can be used as well and that adds quite a bit of sweetness to the finished product.

Anyone tried this recipe yet and if so, what results did you see?

gpalma,

I had to see if this recipe was really worth stealing. I prefer to call it borrowing under
coercion as thou shall not steal. Anyway, I got the ham base and followed your recipe using
a BBQ spice/rub called Wild Willys number wonderful. The ribs were great! The ham base didn't overwelm the meat and the paste mixture was just right. Anyway thanks for posting the recipe.

I tried this recipe this weekend using BILLYBONES competition rub...Turned out fantastic...thanks for the post.

Got a batch of baby backs in as we speak. I went very light on the ham base simply because the wife was almost out of it, finished it up for her. To be a little more specific on the amounts. I used 1/2 c. each of the EVOO and RWV. To this ended up adding about 10 oz of the Cookshack rib rub, one of the small containers. In the end I had 2 c. of the mixture. Next time I'll just throw in the same amount of rub as what I have in liquid. Had a little over 7 lbs of ribs and when I was done rubbing them I had about 1/2 c. of my mixture left. Smoking at 225 with 1 oz hickory and 2 oz apple. At the 4 hour mark, I'm going to spray with apple juice, foil and leave them in for another 4 hours. My goal is to be able to eat these with a fork. I layed these on the rack, past rib cooks I've hung them. Just wanted to try something differant. Maybe I'll post some pics.

I'd skip the fork and go right with a spoon and a couple slices of light bread.

Picture time:



What was left of my mixture. Started with 1/2 c. EVOO, 1/2c. RWV, 1 c. rib rub



After 4 hrs @ 225.



Foiled, sprayed with apple juice. Back in for 4 more hours @ 225.



Spoon is right, forget the fork.



Good eats. But I probably won't cook them as long next time.

Nice food porn. Please explain to this hick what the green stuff (zucchini?) and the brown stuff (hash?) is. I recognize the cucumber salad. I am not very well versed in yankee cuisine. Thanks.

Hey,
Do you think the ham base paste will do any good on a pork shoulder? Just curious, might try it this weekend
Thanks
Bob

There is a certain sentiment that chicken should taste like chicken,beef like beef,pork like pork,etc.

I'm no rib expert,but I do cook with some.

I can't figure why anyone would want to put ham base on ribs,since many of the solution pumped ribs have a "hammy" taste,which we try to compensate for.

We don't put our rub on,until an hour,or so,from cook time to keep from curing the ribs and giving them a "hammy" flavor.

The same thing for butts/shoulders, when we are trying to get our rub , sauce, and wood to compliment the PORK flavor.

Just my $0.02

I have cooked ribs with this 4 times now. With no ham base. And they have been the best ribs. I can't find ham base here in Dallas. I have seen the ham base on the internet. Just can't make myself order it. Is there a place in Dallas that stocks it?

Cannot speak to the supply of ham base in Dallas. Any food distributor should have it.

Again, the key with the ham base is "use very sparingly and rub in well". It adds a peculiar flavor to the ribs unlike any other, that is for certain. There is a decided difference in flavor when it is used.

sounds like a good try as soon as i get the items rounded up will try .it is always neat to get out of our comfort zone . i know some times my taste buds become seared and the flavors become mondain. will report the results.


earl

quote:

Originally posted by Derek:
I have cooked ribs with this 4 times now. With no ham base. And they have been the best ribs. I can't find ham base here in Dallas. I have seen the ham base on the internet. Just can't make myself order it. Is there a place in Dallas that stocks it?

Derek - You can get the ham and other bases from Penzey's Spices at their retail store on Preston Road.

I've tried the recipe several times with good results using their pork base instead of ham. I guess I concur with Tom and others in that I don't think I want ribs with a "hammy" flavor.