Not sure really, on how to start this one. So, I think I’ll do it this way.
Oh yes I did.
I had a little rack of ribs all ready to go. It was too icky outside, the wildfires are way out of control and makes being outside just plain miserable. Um, but I had a rack of ribs to cook. I sat around the house with the air filter going, attempting to come up with something simple, good and smoky. Wildfires are kinda inspirational that way.
What if I put the ribs in my kitchen’s gas oven, at 250 or so and put a smouldering pan of hardwood dust in there? Jack the exhaust fan way up and let’er go for a few hours?
Oh yes I did. Didn’t think Wedgewood made a smoker, did you?
It all came together really quickly and easily. The pork ribs got a marinade of kosher salt for about an hour and a half. Install a metal rack to a cookie sheet and it’s all prepped.
Jack vent hood ventilation to high and leave there. I pulled out one of the aluminum filters to help the flow.
Preheat oven to 275 or so, give or take, depending on when you want to eat. Put rack on second rung from the bottom. Put hardwood dust/chips in a cast iron skillet and heat until smoky!
Get them smoking pretty darned well.
Lookie what happens when you bounce your flash off of a red cabinet door, creepy.
Install rib tray to oven and slide fry pan full of smoky bits to the very bottom of the oven. Close the door and come back every 15 to 20 minutes. Remove fry pan and install to burner for another blast of heat and smoky goodness.
I checked the meat temp at about 2 hours, they were just a tad over 210 degrees. Pull and let rest for 15 minutes. While the smoke goodness was light, it was there. I smoked a slab of ribs in my oven. They were exceptionally juicy, meat pulled from the bone with a light tug from your teefs. The salt marinade really brought out the flavor of the pork, perfection. And I didn’t even have to buy a propane grill, either. Nyah.
Biggles
Author’s Note: You’d have to be insane to try this, do not recreate. I was standing directly in front of the oven the entire time, checking and maintaining. The oven was set so low, there was no way that wood was going to ignite, but even so. Hoses and extinguisers were at the ready. Along with a cutting board, large knife with some napkins. It would have been a perfect time to use my homemade sauce from last week, but was so hungry I didn’t get to it.
See, we’re drowning in smoke here, and you’re setting a wood fire in your kitchen?
Men. Can’t live with them; can’t kill them.
Sirs,
You didnt comment on how well the exhaust flow kept the smoke from leakin into the rest of the house.
A tight fitting Foil cover with a dozen tiny holes will preclude combustion, while allowing smoldering ignition. A thinner container (I use empty 5 lb coffee cans) will allow the heat of the main burner to keep the chips ignited. The inside of the oven takes on a dark patina of resins from the smoke. The next apple pie will have this wonderful smokey taste and smell.
And the kitchen just keeps having that campfire aroma…….Reminds me of the cooking fish in the dishwasher trick.
This confirms the fact that you are totaly insane. I guess that is why we look forward to your next adventure!!!
You are nuts and we love you!
This is really, really scary. Sounds like a case of “double dog dare you” and you rose to the occasion. Just glad it wasn’t in my kitchen with its new but not terribly efficient exhaust system!
The flash point of PAPER is 451 degrees Farenheit.
Why on earth would you be worried about wood in an oven set to 275?
You could bake a phone book at 400 and it might eventually char and crumble, but it won’t catch fire.
But my goodness those ribs look GOOOOOOOD!
Hey Carl,
Um, the 2″ blue gas flames just below the metal floor? That I can see through the ring of holes all around the inside of the oven?
Juicy!
And, a week later the smoky smell is gone from the kitchen.
Biggles
A week? Is that really distinctive from the wildfire stench that finally dissapated Saturday (after a very rude awakening the Sunday morning prior in my Oaktown digs).
Well, I suppose you can claim 7 days, but then so can the rest of the Bay Area. Hee. That does not preclude me from imagining you and the boys left the house each morning last week with the lingering scent of Eau de Kitchen Experiment aka. Thank [insert deity or non here] I didn’t Burn Down My House.
Hot DAMN. I’ve never tried smoking anything but I do love the taste of smoked meat. Mm mm mm.
While I would be standing there with hose and extinguisher, if my wife let me try this at all, Carl is right. Unless the flame actually came in contact with the wood, which isn’t likely through the cast iron skillet, I don’t see how you could get ignition.
Hey guys,
Well, yeah and I knew that. But I also know what the situation looks like from a cartoon standpoint. Pan back a bit, picture Biggles in his kitchen and decides to smoke pork ribs in his gas oven. The smoking hickory gets placed on the bottom of the oven and the meat slides in, ever so gently.
Picture Biggles turning to the audience and saying, “What? This is perfectly safe, what could possibly go wrong?”
Next panel we find Biggles in the street watching the firefighters hosing down the embers. Mr. Fire General dude asking Biggles, “So, tell me again what the fack you were doing in your oven?”
Can you see?
Biggles
Doc,
I owe you a major apology, I haven’t visited in weeks. But truth to tell, it’s not my fault. Apparently Bloglines has decided not to keep me informed of your posts. So I’m glad you dropped by SG and reminded me you’re still alive, and I see from this post you’re still crazy. Both good things to know.
Hey Kevin,
Don’t give it a second thought. If it’s one thing blogging and bloggers have tought me is that it all comes in waves. People such as yourself, me and other fine people? We’re here for the long haul and we can’t be there all the damned time. Sit back, enjoy and we’re getting there.
xo, Biggles
Actually, Kevin’s right. Bloglines is skipping MH.
Those of us who figured that out just check you out daily, the hard way.
Something about stolen fruit up there, f’rinstance.
Shoo, that was hard.
What’s bloglines?
Yep. Still crazy! That cartoon…we did that years ago when we bought a house and they swore, in writing, that they had cleaned the chimney. First fire of winter and the chimney goes up in smoke and flames. The firefighters kept repeating, “they always say they cleaned it” while stifling laughter.
btw, I stalked you here from cookiecrumb’s place but I don’t recall seeing you in my Google Reader feeds lately. Hmmm.
YAY KitchenMage !!!
How’s it going? Good to hear from you, certainly.
I think what happened was that with the redesign, I lost my RSS action. POW, gone.
Biggles
Have you tried viagra? http://www.instructables.com/id/Oven-Cooked-Ribs-with-Dry-Rub/#step1