My friend Chef Ethan Diness, who is a culinary instructor at Central New Mexico Community College, is also a barbecue aficionado who competes on the cookoff circuit. A few days ago he asked if I would like some smoked elk ribs. I only had to think about this for about a tenth of a second before I enthusiastically agreed. They were absolutely delicious and I asked him for his method.
Ethan responds here:
I was hired by the New Mexico MOTO-GUZZI riders club to cater an event this month. As we discussed the menu details, the local state representative Matt Forslund and I talked about some elk Matt had at the time. I chose a smoker full ribs and some venison.
I used my favorite off-set smoker which is well seasoned and started with half a charcoal chimney of lump-mesquite charcoal. I then added my blend of woods to use : hickory, apple,and a small amount of plum wood. After the smoker heated up to temp I added 9 racks of elk ribs which had my 5-X Rib Rub applied the night before.
I used a rib rack and smoked these racks for 4 hours at low heat, turning them each hour. I then painted them with Weasel #9 sauce as the finish from the smoker. I then gave them to Dave DeWitt and suggested he finish them at 190 F. in the oven for 3 hours in a small covered cooking vessel with beer added for moisture and flavor. He did that but told me he ran out of beer and substituted a hearty red wine.
For information on : 5-X Rib Rub,OR Weasel #9 Sauce contact me via e-mail at asecondmeal@yahoo.com.