I am tailgating at the race this weekend, and really wanted some ribs. The mumu concept of burying them seems to be a good way to have them cook throughout the day. I guess my questions are how long to leave them in the ground, how much charcoal to use, how to wrap, etc.
My plan at this point after checking a few sites is to wrap the three racks in aluminum foil, then wrap them in a wet sheet, place directly on the coals (I thought I would use 25lbs or so), and cover with dirt. After 7 hours, I will take them out and see what things look like, and at that point decide whether to cook the burgers I will be bringing as backup!
Ok, first, the ribs are going to shred and not hold any semblence of bone because the method is so moist and long, not that there is anything wrong with that, it’s just something to be expected. I’m sure they will be delicious, but personally, my ideal would be a Shoulder Roast.
I’ve never done it, so I can’t offer any practical advice, other than your method just doesn’t seem quite… well, " conductive and insulated enough". Somewhere in my mind I am thinking a pit, some pork, some hot stones, some green corn husks, and some wet burlap.
I mused a bit with some buddies over this particular method… a Midwest Mumu, so to speak, A whole Picnic, a whole Butt (or ideally a whole front quarter). a three by three pit dug out, build a massive natural wood fire, throw some river stones in to “pave” on top of the fire, drink some beers… let the stones get super hot and the fire burn down to embers, throw down a big pile of corn husks. Wrap the well seasoned Hog Roast in Banana Leaves, toss into the insulating pile of corn husks with some corn on the cob and some whole Potatoes and Yams. Cover with another thick insulating layer of Wet Green Corn Husks, lay down the wet burlap, pin the corners sides in place with rocks, cover the whole deal with the dirt you dug out of the pit. Maybe 5-7 hours.
See mumu cooking is more about a intense, indirect, steam pressure cook with vegetation. Yours seems a little too intense and direct. 25 pounds of what… charcoal? That seems a little much for three racks… I could be wrong, however.
Well, I have a tendency to underestimate charcoal amounts, so being as I wouldn’t dig it up for several hours, I wanted to make sure that I had enough…Maybe 10lbs? Several wet sheets for insulation? Is this just a bad idea all around?
My Wife wasn’t happy at the prospect of losing 3 racks of ribs, although I have prepared her for the worst, so I can experiment a little bit.
Well, not to cast aspersions, because I think your method will work just fine, your ribs will definitely be cooked, although I can’t guarantee the results, and I think your method might be a little too hot… although I have nothing to base that off of other than an educated guess and intuition. I have called for reinforcements.
And perhaps, for mollification and safety reasons, as wet river stones can violently explode when superheated. I should perhaps clarify that when I talk about using “river stones” colloquially, I am referring to a particular kind of local stone that isn’t necessarily directly out of the river, but rather a particular kind of land borne stone that has been deposited along the rivers and their banks of this area of Ohio’s glacial plains.
