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Cooking the perfect rack of ribs is hard enough. Now try to cook them, then reheat them and still have them be good. It’s difficult, but we believe we have a workable solution. Saddleback takes a contrarian point of view with ribs, we don’t believe they should “fall off the bone”. This helps when it comes to reheating because the ribs will have more room to be cooked before becoming overdone.

Our Process:

1. Wrap the rack of ribs in aluminum foil.
2. Place them in oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
3. Take ribs out of oven, check for 165F.
4. If not done, put back in and check every 5 minutes.

We’ve tried multiple blind taste test with this process and have been unable to distinguish between the fresh ribs and the reheated. We hope you enjoy as much as we do!

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We try to hold our smokers at a temperature of 250 degrees for our briskets.

Very rarely do we go above that temperature but we have cooked at a lower temperature, around 225. I think anywhere in there you are pretty safe. We fire up our pits half an hour before putting our meat on the smoker. Once the pit is hot I place the point towards the hottest part of the grill. Most of the time that means where the heat is coming from. I smoke at that rate till about 160-170 degrees. At that point I wrap.

To learn more about wrapping and finishing the brisket, check out this article!

Wrapping can be done with either butcher paper or aluminum foil. Wrapping helps keep moisture in and also helps the brisket get through the stall. The stall is the time when moisture leaves the brisket and the brisket actually cools in the process. It can be a painful time when using a stick burner. You are constantly loading the firebox and nothing is happening inside. It can be hours of no movement in temperature.

After the brisket is wrapped, it’s back to smoking as normal. We pull our briskets off the smoker when they reach an internal temperature of 203 degrees.

The rub is the key to creating a great bark. There are thousands of rubs out there and all of them are probably pretty good. The bark is what you want to make of it. It can be as simple as the Texas Style “Salt and Pepper.” Here at Saddleback, we use a blend of brown sugar, salt, chili powder, garlic, and onion powder

You can spend a lot of time trying to develop your own personal rub recipe. In my opinion, do not reinvent the wheel. Just go with someone else that you can order online or snag a recipe from the internet. I think the process is more important than the rub.

Everyone trims differently. Not only does everyone trim differently they do it for a purpose. I categorize all things barbecue into three categories. Profit (Restaurants), Backyard, and Competition. Most BBQ can be broken down one way or another into those categories.

I also think that you can take little things from each but the Restaurant guy most likely won’t survive following the methods of the competition guy. Just like the Competition guy probably won’t be winning World Championships using the restaurant’s secret recipe. Everything that we will be talking about is coming from Backyard Guy. A backyard guy can mess around with things. He isn’t handing his perfectly cut, trimmed, seasoned, with his magical wood, secret sauces, and rubs into a table of judges. Chances are he is bringing that bad boy inside and if it’s worthy might make it on on his or her Facebook page.

Steps to Trimming a Brisket

Trim Top fat down to about a pencil eraser in depth. When getting it from the butcher it might already be trimmed that low if not lower. If it is lower don’t worry just leave it as is.

Briskets can have over-hanging fat on them I tend to get rid of that and make it a little more straightforward like a box. It’s mostly for aesthetics but I don’t think a lot of that fat renders into anything.

The flat can at times be pretty thin towards one side or another. Sometimes it is good to just cut that away. It tends to burn and can be a difficult part to eat.

On the underside of the brisket, there is a shinny silver skin. This is totally debatable but I think it is worth removing. This can be a time-consuming effort but makes it easier to cut and more enjoyable to eat. The trick is getting your boning knife slightly under the silver skin without taking too much of the good meat away.

There are two large chunks of what I call hard fat that have to be removed. One is found on the bottom of the brisket and one is kind of between the brisket and the point. Both take some work to remove but with practice, it isn’t as hard as it seems.

A full brisket can be classified as a “Packer Brisket”. This means it contains both main muscles the point and the flat. Rarely do I hear of people smoking just the “point” but you can find the “flat” at grocery stores. That can be good for pickling and making corn beef.

The brisket point and flat confused me when I started barbecue. I always got them mixed up. Flat means just what it sounds like, it’s flat. The brisket kind of forms a point and that is what always confused me but the flat part or the part that is slim is considered the Flat. The hump or part that seems a little meatier is the Point. Both are great when it comes to brisket. Typically the flat is known for being a little leaner. The Point is known for being a little fattier. Neither are wrong choices and both have their benefits. For pictures, I like showing off the flat, but to eat I am more of a point kind of guy.

Beef Brisket is what some consider the Cadillac of the BBQ world. For me, the true test of a barbecue restaurant rests with its brisket.

There are some key characteristics that I am looking for when looking for an ideal slice of brisket. I want a great outer bark, which comes from the seasoning or “rub” that is applied to the brisket before smoking. I love a nice red/pink smoke ring around the edges of the brisket. Lastly, I like a perfectly cooked brisket, not too tough but also doesn’t crumble right in front of you. You will know the perfect brisket if it can be pulled apart with almost no effort. If you place a slice of brisket on your finger, the two ends should be able to meet.

One of the things that you should pay close attention to is the USDA grading system. It’s broken down into three main classifications:

Prime – Best

Choice – Second Best

Select – Worst

The main aspect that separates each score is marbling. The best way to describe marbling is the white streaks that flow in your steak. The more streaks of fat the better the grade.

When shopping you may notice meats that don’t fall in this category. One example is Certified Angus Beef or CAB.

Certified Angus beef is a brand that has its own grading scale. CAB comes mostly from black Angus cattle. When graded on the traditional USDA system, CAB typically falls somewhere between Prime and Choice.

Another example of something outside of the USDA classification system is Kobe/Wagyu. When it comes to these two categories it is good to have an educated butcher in your back pocket.

Alight, so here it goes…. Kobe beef is actually a place in Japan that is known for its Waygu or translated to “Japanese Cattle.” True Kobe beef is very very hard to come by in the US. Maybe, just maybe the high-end, big-city steakhouse might carry it. If they do, ask for documentation before buying it.

American Waygu is probably what most people are commonly seeing at their local Costco or maybe on TV. American Waygu is typically a breed of Japanese Waygu crossbreed with an American Black Angus.

Our BBQ Sauce was just named the Best BBQ Sauce for Brisket in 2021!

Saddleback BBQ is a locally owned BBQ restaurant in Lansing, Michigan. We were founded in 2016, and follow traditional BBQ principles, using all-wood smokers, and simple yet powerful ingredients.

– Saddleback BBQ was named the Best BBQ in Michigan by Mental Floss

– We were was named the Best Small Business in Michigan by the SBDC

– Both of our sauces are Gluten Free

– Our retail products as a result of a successful Kickstarter campaign – raising over $16,000

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Sweet & Savory

Sweet & Savory is Saddleback’s staple sauce. The recipe hasn’t changed since we’ve been open. It has a sweetness, balanced out by its cumin and black pepper. Our Sweet & Savory sauce is utilized on one of Food Networks “Best Sandwiches in America”

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Michigan Mustard

An up-north twist on a Carolina Mustard sauce. Little sweet, little tangy, little spicy. For a full powerful flavor.

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Mother's Day Meals 

Thank you for purchasing a Mother's Day Meal, we wanted to make it as easy possible to have your meal ready to eat! 

Turkey - Preheat your oven to 375°F. Place the cold (not room-temperature) turkey in a roasting pan, breast-side down. This allows the fat from underneath the bird to drip down while it heats up, ensuring a moist, tender breast. Cover the turkey with foil and place in oven. Drop oven temperature to 275°F. You’ll want to reheat your turkey for around 5 minutes per pound. So a 10lb turkey would need to reheat for around 50 minutes. Use a meat thermometer before removing. USDA recommends cooking and reheating all poultry to an internal temperature of 165°F.

Ham - Reheat in a 325-degree oven until it reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees. Figure no more than 10 minutes per pound. for reheating.

Mac & Cheese - Either microwave or stove will work great. For microwave place the mac & cheese in a microwave safe dish, heat in the microwave for 45 seconds, take out stir, add butter as needed for desired creaminess. If needed, place back in the microwave for 30 more seconds. 

For stove, place the mac & cheese in a pot on medium heat. Stir frequently adding butter or milk as needed to reach your desired creaminess. Heat until you reach your desired temperature. This will take 10 to 15 minutes. 

Brussel Sprouts - Preheat oven to 350 degrees, keep the brussels in the tin they come in, remove the plastic lid. Cook for 15 minutes, check the brussels to see if they've reached your desired doneness. If you like less crunch, place back in oven for up to 10 minutes. 

Corncake - The corncake is fine to serve at room temperature. If you would rather eat the corncake warm, keep in tin. Bake at 350 for 5 minutes and check. The corncake is designed to be enjoyed with as much moisture as possible, so be sure to bake for a very limited time. 

Please email info@saddlebackbbq.com if you have any questions! 

Blogs about BBQ! 

General

What Causes Meat to be Dark? - https://www.saddlebackbbq.com/what-causes-meat-be-dark

What Makes Meat Tough? - https://www.saddlebackbbq.com/what-makes-meat-tough

What Internal Temperature Does my Meat Need to Be? https://www.saddlebackbbq.com/what-internal-temperature-does-my-meat-need-be

What Internal Temperature Does my Meat Need to Be? https://www.saddlebackbbq.com/what-internal-temperature-does-my-meat-need-be

How to Make a Dry BBQ Rub - https://www.saddlebackbbq.com/how-make-dry-barbecue-rub

Initial Start-Up and Burn-In Process for a Pellet Smoker? https://www.saddlebackbbq.com/initial-start-and-burn-process-pellet-smoker

Ribs

When Cooking Baby Back Ribs, Should You Use Mustard? - saddlebackbbq.com/when-cooking-baby-back-ribs-should-i-use-mustard

When Cooking Pork Butt or Brisket - Should You Spritz? https://www.saddlebackbbq.com/when-cooking-brisket-or-pork-butt-spritz-or-not-spritz

How to Reheat Baby Back Ribs - How to Reheat Baby Back Ribs 

Brisket

Which Side Should be up When Smoking a Brisket? https://www.saddlebackbbq.com/which-side-should-be-when-smoking-brisket

When Cooking Pork Butt or Brisket - Should You Spritz? https://www.saddlebackbbq.com/when-cooking-brisket-or-pork-butt-spritz-or-not-spritz

Pork

How to Tell if a Pork Butt is Done? https://www.saddlebackbbq.com/how-tell-if-your-pork-butt-done

When Cooking Pork Butt or Brisket - Should You Spritz? https://www.saddlebackbbq.com/when-cooking-brisket-or-pork-butt-spritz-or-not-spritz

Steak

How to Make an All Purpose Steak Seasoning - https://www.saddlebackbbq.com/how-make-all-purpose-steak-seasoning

How To Reverse Sear a Steak - https://www.saddlebackbbq.com/how-reverse-sear-steak

How to Make a Chimichurri - https://www.saddlebackbbq.com/how-make-simple-chimichurri-sauce

Chicken

Why is Smoked Chicken Pink? - https://www.saddlebackbbq.com/why-some-cooked-chicken-pink

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Gluten Free

Nut Free

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