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smithfield ribs from walmart

Picked up 4 racks of the Smithfield ET ribs over the weekend and cooked them yesterday. They are meatier than what I've been getting at Costco (Swift Premium), average weight was over 4 lbs! Cooked them up in the Gateway drum using same recipe I've been doing in competition for the past year. Timing was very close and since I have some extra time build in I won't need to adjust that. Results were very promising, very tender and juicy. I didn't get nearly as much bone pullback but I'm fine with that, appearance was still very nice. I'll be giving them a run at my next contest.
 
Well, I'm ready to try something new (again) I guess. I've only tried enhanced ribs once several years ago (Hormel were on super sale at Target). I wasn't really pleased. I can't say it had a real hammy taste, but it did have a somewhat hammy texture. I swore off ET ribs after that and haven't looked back. I've been getting my comp ribs at Sam's club for the last couple years because I have a large selection to choose from, the price is awesome, and despite being twin packs, I've been able to pick some very meaty racks that have done well for me.

I'll have to give the Smithfield a try...
 
Scottie said:
I must be the only guy that has looked at 5 Walmarts and the ribs all sucked butt. Nothing meaty to them.
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I went today and they only had a few slabs. I asked a guy in a white coat what he had in the back. He brought out a cart with at least 20 slabs. I grabbed 4 good ones and left. :)
 
I found two pack full spares at mine. Grabbed a few. They look meaty!
 
Scottie.....get there earlier....seriously they are selling more ribs....find out what day of the week they get their shipment. Make friends with the meat person. Our day in La Quinta is Thursday morning
 
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I finally cooked up 2 racks this weekend. Boy were those ribs meaty. Straight-ish bones, but meaty as heck. Hung them in the drum. Followed what i learned in the drum class. Came out salty, but really good. I think for my region, I need to add some more sweet. But man, those were some meaty ribs!
 
2015 - Compart
2016 - Smithfield
2017 - waiting on endorsement offers?
 
Big Poppa said:
Scottie.....get there earlier....seriously they are selling more ribs....find out what day of the week they get their shipment. Make friends with the meat person. Our day in La Quinta is Thursday morning
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At 3 of the places I was able to go through cases that they had. If I find some, I am more than willing to sample them. And I always make friends with.my meat guys/gals. Picking through cases of means the only way to go!
 
Stopped by a Walmart on my way to work this morning just to check things out. This particular Walmart had a pretty decent selection of ribs but none that really seamed meatier than what I get from my local butcher already. They also didn't have any Smithfield butts, only Tyson. I'm probably going to check out the one by my house and possibly do up a rack this weekend.
 
sweetracks said:
Stopped by a Walmart on my way to work this morning just to check things out. This particular Walmart had a pretty decent selection of ribs but none that really seamed meatier than what I get from my local butcher already. They also didn't have any Smithfield butts, only Tyson. I'm probably going to check out the one by my house and possibly do up a rack this weekend.
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My walmart carries the same. I've really wanted to try out the smithfield butts but unfortunately only tyson here.
 
We used Smithfeilds at our last comp, (from restaurant depot though) We came in 6th... the appearance wasnt all that great. and its pretty hard to find a rack with straight or even consistent bones. (which played into our 6th place with a couple 7's maybe eon appearance , But as far as taste and tenderness we got 8's and 9's almost across the board.
 
Surprised no one has brought this up, and the topics is discussed many times in the archives, but early in my competing career, i went thru an entire season with off and on 'Hammy' ribs. Always got my ribs from costco, and im pretty sure they were smithfield, non enhanced.. but I can remember during turn-ins many times hunting for 6 ribs that werent hammy...

Then there was an epiphany :idea: , i was using head country rubs at the time.. LOADED with salt.. I was also putting the rub on 8-10 hours ahead of time.. (Gimme a break, i was a rookie). So, with that rub, and that lead time, I was actually salt curing my ribs. When i cut the lead time, or switched the rub, the hammy went away.

Im not saying this is the case here, but just throwing out something else to consider. High salt rubs put on for any length of time can contribute to that hammy texture.


On EDIT: I looked at some old notes.. the ribs were SWIFTS PREMIUM.
 
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I mentioned this in a thread the other day... I thought it was this thread but couldn't find it so I guess not. I read this a long time ago and stopped putting my rub on over night.
 
I used the Extra Tender this past weekend in competition. I took 7th place out of 44 teams but have no idea how. I cooked 6 slabs and was lucky to get 8 bones to work with. Hard to move away from a brand that got you 7th place, but I doubt I'll use them again. Some of the ribs are just too meaty, some of them way too much fat, most of the bones pulled through the backside of the rib during foiling. Basically just inconsistent enough for me to stay away from them. However, I will say that I might need to adjust my cooking times as well. I'll probably just stick with Durocs.
 
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