It’s been a while. I hope your time away was as tasty as
mine :)
After some discussions with the good folks on my home away
from home, which I suppose I go to while at home… the MLB.com message board
(again try it, we don’t bite unless you ask)
I’ve decided to do another post on one dish like I did with burgers. This time,
we’re having ribs.
Ribs are a dish that pretty much 100% of the
non-vegetarian/vegan people will admit to loving if they’re done right. I can’t
say that I’ve ever heard anyone say “Oh man, ribs again? I hate those”, can
you?
Anyways, before I get into the actual cooking methods for
ribs, of which there are many, I thought I’d share some of my personal tips for
preparing them.
I personally prefer pork ribs over beef, but that is just my
preference. If you prefer beef then go with them of course. The first thing you
should do when you get your ribs and take them out of the package is remove the
membrane. The membrane is a white layer located on the backside of the rack of
ribs. It is fairly simple to remove, just pull up the corner with a knife and
then grab and pull. It may take a little force but it will come right off. Some
people leave the membrane but I find it just makes the one side of the ribs
tough to eat. It also acts as a barrier that stops flavors from marinades,
sauces, rubs and smokers from seeping into the meat. I’m all for removing
things that make food tough to eat and block flavor. 
After the membrane is removed it is time to decide how big
you want your servings to be. The easy way out is to leave them whole. I cut my
ribs into roughly 6 inch lengths. I do this for two reasons, first is to make
them fit better in my smoker which is my cooking method of choice and the
second is that it seems to be a serving size that appeals to a lot of people.
You can just take 2 or 3 if you’re a big eater or leave it at 1 if you’re not.
Now you need to decide on marinade, dry rub or leave it
alone. If you marinade you have almost unlimited choices. The easy method is to
buy a marinade or just thin out a BBQ sauce. Or you can make your own with any
number of combinations of ingredients. The same can be said for a dry rub which
is basically a marinade but with only dry ingredients. I stay away from salts
when making rubs for the same reason I don’t put salt in my burgers, it will
dry out the meat. Put your salt on at the last possible moment if you’re going
to use any at all. I like to leave my ribs in marinades over night so the
flavors can really sink in and I put on dry rubs about an hour or two before
cooking begins. Not a rule by any means, just my method. 
Time to cook the ribs. The one rule for making
fall-off-the-bone fantastic ribs is “low and slow”. That means low heat (170F –
180F) for a long time (4-6 hours or more). If you’ve ever had tough, chewy ribs
I can almost guarantee you that the cook simply cooked his/her ribs WAY too
fast. The reason for this method making the ribs tender is that they are full
of collagen, which is a tough fiber in the muscle that melts into a gelatin at
160F. However this process takes a while and if you heat it too fast the
collagen will not melt before the meat is cooked and it will stay tough. Slow
cooking actually cooks the meat more thoroughly and dries it out a bit in terms
of water content. However the gelatin produced when the collagen melts makes
the meat pull apart easily and gives it a fantastic silky, moist and tender
texture. This holds true for any meat you slow cook such as a beef or pork
roast for beef on a bun or pulled pork and it can make the toughest cuts of
meat come out fantastic.
That said; let’s look at some actual cooking methods for the
ribs.
Slow cooker – Put in your ribs, put in your sauce, set it on
low and forget about it for a few hours. I’m not a fan of this method but I
don’t like slow cookers as a rule.This is a effective method for busy people who want tasty food but don't seem to have the time.
Braising – Braising is slow roasting in liquid. It is a
method used a lot for pot-roast or pulled pork and works amazingly if your heat
source is the oven. Choosing a good braising liquid is important as it will
seep into the meat as you cook. If you marinade your ribs then braise them in
your marinade. I know people who braise ribs in cola, seriously. The cola helps
break down the ribs a bit and the sugars add tremendous flavor. Not heart
healthy I suppose but the flavor is fantastic. Anyways put your ribs in a
roasting pan with your braising liquid and any other flavor enhancers, set it
to 160-180 and let her rip for hours on end. 
Stove top boiling – I’ve seen people bring a pot of cooking
liquid (again whatever you choose) to a boil and add the ribs and keep it at a
simmer for a while. I’m not a fan of this method as I think it cooks too
quickly and keeps the ribs tough. Some folks swear by it, to each their own.
BBQ – I love my BBQ but I only use it as a finishing touch
for ribs. The BBQ simply cooks the ribs too quickly to be effective at making
them tender. I’ll get back to this in my recipe at the bottom.
Smoker – I use a digital smoker which I can set my cooking
temperature, the amount of smoke, how long I cook and how long I smoke. I love
this machine. I personally smoke my ribs for at least 4 hours at about 180 F.
Your choice if you want to dry rub or sauce the ribs prior to smoking and of
course it is your choice as to your flavor of wood used to make the smoke.
That is all I have for the moment. In honor of this post
here is my recipe for ribs
TheeDogg’s Damn Near Bacon With a Bone in it Ribs.
Ingredients: Ribs:
2 Racks pork ribs Garlic powder
Chili Powder
Black pepper
As much wood as needed for 5-6 hours of smoke for your
smoker
Directions:
- Remove membrane from ribs and cut into roughly 6 inch lengths
- Pat dry with a paper towel
- Apply spices to taste
- Preheat smoker to 180F and prep wood for smoke
- Put ribs in smoker and smoke for 5-6 hours changing the order of the racks roughly every hour
- When almost done (5-10 minutes left) preheat grill to medium high
- Apply hot and sticky sauce generously (recipe for sauce below)
- Grill for a few minutes per side until sauce is starting to brown
- Eat and then come back here to leave a thank you comment for me giving you the recipe for the best damn ribs you've ever eaten
Hot and Sticky Sauce
Ingredients: Sauce:
1 cup ketchup 2 tbsp pomegranate
molasses
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar 1 tsp
dry mustard
½ tsp cumin
½ cup brown sugar
3 tbsp Sriracha hot chili sauce 2 tsp chili
powder
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients in a saucepan
- Bring to a boil over med-high heat
- Simmer together for 10 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning
No comments:
Post a Comment