Smoked Country Spare Ribs

Country Spare Ribs are not ribs at all, they are actually a cut from the shoulder. They are a bit tougher, but they are very flavorful. They lend themselves to many cuisines from BBQ, Asian, Pacific Islander, Cuban, and many more.  This preparation is to smoke them.   The basics here are: a good rub (spice blend), good wood, and slow and low even heat. For those without a smoker charcoal grills and even some gas grills can be modified to achieve pretty good results. Unfortunately the smoked Country Spare Ribs can not be made in an oven and liquid smoke flavoring products will not do the end result justice. To modify this for the oven reduce the brown sugar in half and baste the Country Spare Ribs with your favorite smokey BBQ sauce during cooking. It wont be the same, but it will still be delicious.  Lastly, if you don’t have all day to smoke the Country Spare Ribs, you can smoke them for about 1 to 2 hours, and then pop them in the oven set to 200 degrees, or a slow cooker on low for the remaining time.

5 pounds Country Spare Ribs

4 cups water

2 cups apple wood chips soaked
¼ cup kosher salt 2 tablespoons brown sugar 
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper 
1 teaspoon Everglades All-Purpose Seasoning or other all purpose seasoning.
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

2 teaspoons garlic powder

Step 1: 

Remove the Country Spare Ribs from the refrigerator, and place them at room temperature for 15 minutes. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl to make the spice rub. Rub (massage) the country spare ribs well. Place the rubbed Country Spare Ribs in a sealed container or zip top bag and refrigerate for at least 2 to 4 hours.

Step 2: Soak the wood chips in the water for 30 to 45 minutes, drain,  and reserve.

Step3: 

Remove the Country Spare Ribs from the refrigerator.  Get the smoker going to 180- 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the wood chips. Once the chips are smoking place the Country Spare Ribs inside the smoker. Ensure the temperature is no more than 180 to 200 degrees through out cooking. Smoke the Country Spare Ribs for 6 hours.

Smoked Salmon Filet

Ingredients
1  1 1/2 pounds salmon filet
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 cup alder wood
1 cup water

Step One:
Soak the wood chips in 1 cup of water for 30 minutes. While the wood chips soak bring the smoker to no more than 180 degrees F. Drain the wood chips and add the wood chips to the smoker. Wait ten minutes for the smoker to produce aromatic smoke.






Step Two:
Rinse and paper towel the filet of salmon dry. Notice the grain of the flesh and the whitish line that runs down the middle of the filet. Run your fingers against the grain (narrow side to wide side) along each side of the fillet. You may notice a bone or two. This is called a pin-bone, you can use a spoon or a pair of pliers to remove the pin-bones. The pin-bones must be removed.

Step Three:
Turn the salmon filet over look for any remaining skin, if you asked for the skin to be removed, remove any remaining skin. If you've  purchased a salmon filet with the skin on, that's okay.  The skin adds wonderful flavor complexities. To some, however, it is a fatty thing to toss away. In this preparation the fishmonger was asked to remove the skin, but it's not necessary.

Step Four:
Season both sides of the salmon filet with salt and pepper. At this point any additional ingredients can be added. This preparation doesn't add additional aromatics such as dill because the aim is to maximize the smoke flavor.

Step Five:
Smoke the Salmon for 20-25 minutes until it is medium.

 Step Six:
Place the salmon on a rack and reserve for 10 minutes.  Slice and enjoy.