Has anyone had success smoking elk ribs?

[MCgunner]

I tried it with venison once. Turned out REAL tough. I do good with pork, so figured it was the leanness of the meat. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[film495]

no, but if you need a taste tester, smile. not sure what you're goal is, but if you just want to get them smoky flavored - only smoke for a couple hours then cook in conventional oven to finish.

 

[JeffG]

Or, you can par boil them, then slow roast them in the smoker.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

Consider braising after soaking up smoke for a couple hours. Should do a good job keeping the flavors of the meat + infusing the flavors in the braising liquid.

I've never cooked elk ribs but I have cooked beef ribs.

 

[Duster340]

I season them up and braise them in liquid at low temp for 1.5 to 2 hours or until tender but not falling of the bone in a Dutch oven. Then onto a hot grill to finish them. Lathering on my bbq sauce at the end. Good stuff.

 

[IdaD]

I use a Kamado style smoker but other types should be similar. I've never smoked elk ribs but I'd treat them like beef ribs. Put a liberal rub on them before the cook, or even just salt, pepper and garlic. You'll want to go low and slow (225 at the dome), wrap in foil around 160-170 where it typically stalls and then take them up to an internal around 200-205 depending on how tender you want them. Your instant read probe should slide in easy when you're there. Let them rest after.

 

[Glockula]

They don't have near the fat content of beef or pork. Put them in a foil pan with aome carrot onion and celery. Pour about 2 inches of beef stock in the bottom. I put some kind of fat on top, ie bacon, pork butt or if you have a good butcher get some beef fat. Cover tightly in foil and cook 2 to 3 hours at 300 or so in the oven or a grill. Thake them out and smoke them lime normal ribs at that point

Season them from the get go as you would your normal ribs

 

[MCgunner]

Or, you can par boil them, then slow roast them in the smoker.

I have this LL Bean wild game cook book which has a recipe for elk ribs in it that you par boil first. They list some seasonings to use, of course, but it's essentially what you're saying. I think I'm going to try this first.

 

[Obturation]

Add fat if you need. Bacon always works.
My go to method for ribs is to dry rub, tightly wrap in foil, bake at 250° for 3-4 hours, bone side down. Unwrap, glaze and if possible put onto to grill for 15 minutes or so, if they are falling off the bone (likely will be), just eat them. I'm no master smoker so I can't help much there but my ribs have been known to make other cooks cry with envy. Good for pork, beef or any other critter you got. Boiling is never the answer in my opinion.

 

[JeffG]

I have this LL Bean wild game cook book which has a recipe for elk ribs in it that you par boil first. They list some seasonings to use, of course, but it's essentially what you're saying. I think I'm going to try this first.

Parboiling has always been my secret to tender ribs. Good luck. If you use shake on seasoning, shake it on heavy after boiling, brush on Sweet Baby Ray's during the last hour. Go slow. 275-300 for a couple hours, will be better than 350-375 for one hour.

 

[GooseGestapo]

I cook venison ribs much the same as pork. After searing the outside over hardwood/charcoal, I wrap them in aluminum foil and let them slow cook on a gas grill. You can also finish them by cutting the up to fit a large slow cooker. Otherwise, even pork or beef ribs can be dry/chewy.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

You could try this guys method,


His took 5hrs at 250 degrees and that seems right to me. He marinaded his in a pineapple juice marinade which pineapple juice is acidic and is a good meat tenderizer. He never checked his meat with a thermometer but they should have been at 180-190. That's the way I cook all my ribs in my offset smoker and the combination of long cook time and high meat temp breaks down the colligens that make meat tough and helps tenderize them further.
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You could also par boil them ahead of time like the other members said they do, but you won't need to leave them on the smoker for longer than it takes to heat them back up to about 140 degrees internal or when good and hot, because they are already cooked. Just putting some smoke on them at that point.