Spare Ribs

[cheeseonaplate]

What are some of your favorite rib recipes? People from the south speak up hehe. Meat that falls off the bone.

[shipscook]

does Southern Southeast Alaska count? Pork Ribs as in Bar-B-Q?? or beef as in short or long? Or??

[KYHeirloomer]

Actually, Cheese on a Plate, if the meat is falling off the bones it is overcooked. Ribs should have a little tooth to them, so that you are actually tearing the meat off the bone with your teeth.

Nan, being as he specified us folks from the south, it's a logical assumption he means pork ribs. Or so I'd read it.

Cooking ribs requires more than a recipe. There are techniques involved. Not everybody uses the same techniques, so it's a matter of personal taste. And, in places like Mephis, there's actually a war being fought, brother against brother, over technique. But, FWIW, here's my approach.

First off, I always remove the membrane from the backside of the ribs, as it helps them absorb any flavorings used, and cook more evenly. I then rub the rack with a little oil, and coat it liberally with a dry rub. This is done at least an hour before I kick off the grill.

I use my off-set cooker to actually hold the fire, which consists of mixed charcoal and hardwood. The ribs go in the main cooker, where the off-set heat maintains them at about 225-250F. It'll take about 2 1/2 hours for baby backs, maybe three for spares, at that temp.

Half hour before they're finished I brush them with my home-made sauce. Idea is to have the flavor cook in and form a glaze, but not have the sauce caremalize to the point it's burnt and crisp. The rack is taken off the fire, wrapped in foil, and allowed to rest another half hour before serving.

I will share my rub recipe with you, but not my sauce---which is as secret as my chile recipe.

Dry Rub For Meat

4 tbls salt
1 tbls celery salt
2 tbls black pepper
2 tbls ancho chili powder
1/2 tbls cayeene powder
1/2 tbls white pepper
3 tbls smoked paprika
1/2 tbls garlic powder
1/2 tbls dried lemon peel, powdered
1 tbls dry mustard

Mix all ingredients to well blended and store in an airtight container. Sprinkle generously on meat before smoking or slow cooking.

[cheeseonaplate]

You gotta check out this great recipe. You cook this for about 8 hours in a slow cooker. this is on kraft's site (creamcheese.com)

Braised Tomato Spareribs
Prep Time: 5 min
Total Time: 8 hr 5 min
Makes: 4 servings
2 lb. pork spareribs, cut into single-rib or bite-size portions
2 cans (14-1/2 oz. each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup KRAFT Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
4 cups hot cooked instant white rice



PLACE ribs in slow cooker. Add tomatoes, dressing, soy sauce and garlic powder; cover with lid.
COOK on LOW for 6 to 8 hours (or on HIGH for 4 hours). Skim fat from top of sauce; discard fat.
SERVE ribs and sauce over the rice.

[KYHeirloomer]

I don't use a slow cooker; or at least not in the traditional ways.

But if I were going to make that recipe, to avoid having mush, I would either use pork country ribs or beef short ribs. Even then, after cooking for 8 hours, their texture will leave a lot to be desired, IMO.

[cheeseonaplate]

KYHeirloomer . I've had a few ribs in my life that had the texture u are talking about. It depends how they are done I guess. do u cook a lot for the family or friends? if u want some cool ideas..check out this link:

http://www.kraftfoods.com/philly/recipewidget.htm

[KYHeirloomer]

>do u cook a lot for the family or friends?<

Yes I do. And also semi-professionally.

Fortunately, I have both the time and inclination to do it right. Most everything I cook is from scratch, and I do a lot of restaurant-style cooking at home.

What I don't do is any of the Sandra Lee kind of stuff; you know, 80% store bought, a little bit of relatively uncreative extra, and voila! A dish to call your own.

When I develop a recipe it's mine all the way.

As a food writer I perhaps am more deeply involved in what I prepare than others might be. Even so, I know there are several on this list who can outcook me any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Thanks for the link. But the one thing I don't need in my life right now is yet another cooking site; especially one that exists just to promote a company's products.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Hey KYH,

That rub sounds so delicious and I am going to try it on the next rack of ribs that we do! I like you also remove the silver skin, I also do the rub, but never tried rubbing the meat with oil prior to applying the rub, but that sounds brilliant and so I am going to begin doing it that way!

You are right about the meat not being over-cooked and falling off the bone, although I love mine that way best I guess it's just a preference thing.

Thank you for sharing the rub recipe, Cathy

[KYHeirloomer]

Truth be told, Cathy, I devised it as a Texas-style dry rub for brisket. But it works equally well on just about all barbecue, including ribs, pulled pork, and even chicken.

The purpose of the oil is just to provide a stickier surface for the rub. You could use mustard instead, if you like.

The real key is letting it rest so that the rub draws liquid protein from the meat and forms a pelicle. That, in turns, grabs and holds the smoke against the meat as it slow-cooks.

[Figgnbama]

This is my 1st post here, and I would love to share my rub recipe you all. Yes, I’m in the Deep South. This recipe was given to me be a coworker while in was in New Orleans doing Katrina clean-up. Everyone who has tried it just loves it. I have a sauce recipe made with some of the rub. If you contact me, I’ll share it too.
Makes 8 servings
Makes about 1 cup
Bar-B-Q Rub
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sweet paprika
3 tablespoons black pepper
3 tablespoons course salt
1 tablespoon hickory smoke-flavored salt or additional course salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

You'll find hickory smoke flavored salt at some supermarkets or from internet spice suppliers. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir to mix. (Actually your hands work better for mixing than a spoon or whisk does. Use your fingers to break-up lumps of brown sugar.) The rub should be applied to the meat before cooking. Up to a day in advance. Store in a vacuum seal bag and will keep for many, many months.