How to get smoke favor in ribs?

Doing Baby Back ribs and would like to get that hickory flavor not using Hickory
Liquid smoke.

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Can you get your hands on smoked salt? It has a different profile than the liquid smoke, it tastes more “real”.

If not that, then you’ll have to involve a smoker either before or after the SV.

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See what @acs commented, but short of a smoker loaded with hickory, I’m not sure you’re going to get the results you’re looking for.

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Thanks for the reply. How about rubbing the ribs, cooking sous vide, then cold smoking smoking for two hour?

Thanks for the help

Cold smoking after the meat is cooked and the proteins are set can yield unpredictable results. Better to cold smoke before.

Smoking pre-sous vide dhould result in a better smoke flavour. As @acs says, there is the set proteins to take into account. But there is also the compression factor if you’re vacuum packing which would potentially help drive the flavour into the flesh.

I am planning on experimenting further on the sous vide and smoker combo.

I’ve tried the cold smoke prior to SV, and I seem to recall that it worked out alright (I think). I just prefer regular BBQ better.

If memory serves, it also made about half the house smell like a concentrated BBQ as the odor leeched through the vacuum bag.

It’s been about a year or year and a half since though, so I might be mixing things up and likely forgetting details.

Thanks for the help, keep me informed about your progress if possible. I usually don’t vac, I use the water immersion method.
Bruce

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Thanks for the reply, it helps.
Norm

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Also very interested in this. Cooked baby back for 18 hours at 70C (158F). Loved the texture and happy with the taste but would like to increase the smoke flavor.

I’m thinking of using liquid smoke and maybe injecting the ribs prior to sous vide. Thoughts?

Thought about smoking it for a further hour or so as suggested here but figured it’s far too much work to be doing all the time. Too much hassle heating up charcoal every time I do ribs. I’ve got a gas griller so I can easily sear it to look good, but wont get that really smokey flavor.

You can definitely use liquid smoke. That’s what I use frequently. You can also use smoked herbs and spices in your rub (if you use one). Good luck!

Not a fan of liquid smoke, it simply doesn’t tase like smoked meat should. At least not to anyone with any experience in the matter.

It’s ok in a finishing sauce if you must.

If you do use it, just toss some in the bag. It’ll get around.

Agree with shop-vac, liquid smoke just doesn’t do it, bad taste. Try a cold smoke usinga smoke tube filled with hickory pellets on a gas grill. Get the smoke and not cooking the ribs. Smoke Tube available on Amazon.

I turned the carcass of one of my old gas grills into a cold smoker with the A-Maze-N
5x8 grid and it works great. Couldn’t even begin to guess how many 100’s of lbs of cheese, lox and so on have been smoked on there. That thing is probably the most incredible $30 I’ve ever spent on BBQ stuff.

How do you like the tube design ones?

Saw this vid:

Tried it and works pretty well.

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