Recipe: Coffee Cardamom Beef Ribs (Guest Post from Fearless Grill)

Recipe Source: (Rub) Raichlen, Steven.  Barbeque Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades p. 82

We stopped at the butcher shop a few days ago, scouting out what they had in anticipation of doing a large BBQ cook next weekend.  While there, we noticed that they had some nice looking beef ribs for a good price, and we bought a package.  I wasn’t completely sure what I wanted to do with them, but I wanted to try something a bit different.  I’ve had good luck with coffee based flavors on beef in the past and hadn’t tried this on ribs yet, so I decided to give it a shot.  I wanted to use a different set of flavors than I had used on our Coffee Grilled Pork Tenderloin or the Java BBQ Rub from our Beef Roast, and I perused my cookbooks looking for something good.  I focused in on Jake’s Coffee-Cardamom Brisket Rub in Steven Raichlin’s book.  I thought the addition of the distinctive flavor of Cardamom would give this a really interesting twist. 

I made a few modifications to the rub.  I added some garlic powder and cut back the amount of chopped fresh garlic, since I didn’t want a bunch of chunks on my ribs.  I also added a bit of spicy chili powder to the rub, since I used regular paprika, rather than the hot paprika called for in the recipe, and the rub just didn’t have much kick when I sampled it.  I was a bit skeptical of using this as a ‘wet’ rub, and almost decided to leave out the oil and just use it dry, but I decided to try it, and I think that was a good idea, as the coffee seemed to blend with the oil and really permeated the meat and gave it a great color. 

To add to the coffee flavor and to keep the meat moist while cooking, I filled the drip pan in my Big Green Egg smoker with some coffee – I have no idea if this actually accomplished anything, but it seemed like a good idea, and certainly didn’t hurt anything.  I had originally planned to use a coffee-based barbeque sauce with this, but after sampling a bit of the meat after it had been in the smoker for 5 hours or so, I decided it really didn’t need any additional flavor, and we ate the ribs ‘dry’. 

Overall, I was really happy with the way the ribs turned out.  The meat was nice and tender, and the cardamom and coffee rub gave them a really unique and tasty flavor.  The wet rub made for a really nice bark on the outside of the meat.  To improve this the next time, I would cut back on the salt just a bit (maybe use 1/3 cup rather than _), and I would crank up the heat a bit more by adding additional spicy chili powder or some cayenne pepper. 

Coffee Cardamom Beef Ribs (Serves 1 per 21b of ribs – they’re mostly bone)  Approx. Cost Per Serving $5)

Equipment Required
_    Big Green Egg or other smoker
_    Wood chips or chunks for smoking
_    Meat thermometer (optional)

4 lbs beef ribs

1/2 cup ground coffee (I used some pre-ground espresso that I had around)
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
2 tablespoons ground cardamom
2 tablespoons ground ginger
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon hot chili powder
2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
Approximately 1/2 cup olive oil

2-3 cups coffee

1. At least one hour before you begin smoking prepare the rub.  Mix the dry ingredients together and store in an airtight container, as the recipe makes more than you will need for this amount of meat. 
2. Pour the olive oil into a mixing bowl, and begin stirring the dry rub into it until a thick paste is formed.  Add the fresh garlic and mix thoroughly. 
3. Prepare the ribs by removing the membrane from the back side.  You can usually get one corner of it up, and remove it in one piece by pulling.  If you have trouble, work a dull knife such as a butter knife under it to help get it loose. 
4. Liberally coat both sides of the ribs with the wet rub.  Let sit in the fridge until your smoker is ready to cook.  Right before putting in the smoker, apply another coat of the rub to the meat side of the ribs.  Use the rub dry this time, allowing the dry ingredients to soak into the wet rub that is already there.  This creates a nice bark on the meat. 
5. Prepare your smoker for cooking.  In my Large Big Green Egg, I set up for indirect cooking, with my plate setter legs up, and a drip pan sitting in the plate setter.  I used hickory wood for smoke flavor.  I poured the coffee into the drip pan, and put the ribs directly on the grate since I was only cooking 2 smallish racks.  If you’re cooking more, you can use a rib rack. 
6. Stabilize your smoker at about 250 degrees Fahrenheit, and cook for at least six hours, or until the meat has noticeably withdrawn from the end of the bones, and the rack bends when picked up.  I measured the internal temperature of the meat at 175 degrees Fahrenheit when I pulled it.  In the Big Green Egg, I don’t usually need to mop and I didn’t, but if your smoker tends to dry meat out, I’d spray some espresso or coffee onto the meat periodically to keep it moist. 
7. Serve immediately after removing from the smoker. 

Comments

[Shari]

A very interesting post! I like the coffee cardamom combination. The dry ribs sound amazing and worth all the effort! Thanks for sharing!

[Chris]

Those ribs look awesome, nice how the meat is just pulling back. I have the hardest time finding beef ribs here for some reason.

[Fearless Kitchen]

Chris - Thanks! They're not easy to find around here, so whenever we see them we buy them. I personally prefer them to pork ribs, although Fearless Grill respectfully disagrees.

Shari - Thanks! They were pretty spectacular. FG used the same rub on a sirloin roast this past weekend to similar great success.

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