It is at this point I notice that my cart is already over-flowing and I've gone well past what I "told myself" I was going to spend. But the chef in me kicks in and throws caution to the wind and I snag up those ribs and toss them on top of the pile. I'll just close my eyes at the register. But, they're on SALE I reaffirm myself with, so it's OK! I get home, toss the receipt aside and put my ribs in the freezer. Yeah, they're such an impulse buy that I don't have time to make them that night, and probably won't have time the next, or the next after that, so they are stashed in the basement freezer for another week.
The first time I did this, I really had no idea what I was doing. Ribs.. right, you just cook them, don't you? So I had slathered them in BBQ sauce and dropped them on a hot grill. 25 minutes later I had "ribs." Yeah, they were edible, but they weren't mouth watering, finger licking good. They were sub-par at best and kinda tough.
Every rib eater has their own style of ribs. Some like 'em dry, some like 'em wet. Some like 'em to fall off the bone, others want to play T-rex and rip 'em down.
I grew up in a house-hold where all pork was par-boiled first. What does this mean? Well, the pork chops were placed in a big pan, filled with water, covered and simmered for about an hour or so. When they came out, they were shreddable. Yum, right? Yeah, well, I love my mom, she's a GREAT cook, but pork in our house, was a night of pure misery for my sister and me. That's all we got on those chops, no flavor. You got a spoonful of applesauce, while she delightfully covered hers in saurkrap (aka sauerkraut), I shudder today at the thought of saurkrap. My sister and I went through almost a whole jar of applesauce to choke those chops down, and I can remember sitting at the table for hours trying to get the chops down with milk in my glass. My mom's a great cook, but this is very German, and it's how her mother did it, and her mother before that. Not.. my... style.
So then, my next introduction to pork chops was actually through my husband, then boyfriend. Fast forward to college, where he's cooking for himself. He would skillet fry his, with salt and pepper and other things. This would result in a tougher piece of pork, yet flavorful. So, experimentation began once we were married and I have found a happy medium between these two methods for pork chops that allows them to tenderize but not shred, and also have a massive amount of flavor. They key, is the CUT. I tend to now purchase more dark meat pork than white and I've changed up my cooking methods. But I digress, we're talking about ribs, not chops. Chops is another blog for another time.
I like my ribs to be tender and fall off in pieces, but still be chewable enough you have to rip them from the bone. Here's how I accomplish that. Let's play.
Like any meat, you want ribs that have some fat on them. That's what makes them juicy and keeps them that way. So, select your rack, large or small, doesn't matter, the timing is all the same.
I like to give mine a nice rub down and let them marinate all day. I use a dry rub. I vary this rub from time to time and use store bought this or store bought that. Emeril's line of seasonings make a good Southern style spice rub. Right now I'm actually using a rib rub I purchased at an Amish Country Store in Branson, MO. I like my rib rub spicy, and then I slather it in sweet BBQ, so your end result is a sweet lips and a zesty tongue. So give your ribs a good rub (you did remember to defrost them in the fridge overnight, right?), massage those spices right in. Get your hands dirty and rub that rub right into every crevice of those ribs. Place on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Let them sit from morning until afternoon in the fridge. Take them out 3 hours before you want to eat. That's your cooking time. Hey, I never said this was a quick one!
- Pre-heat your oven to just 300 degrees
- You're going to need a roasting pan, with a lid. If you don't have a roaster with a lid, use a deep baking dish, and heavy duty tin foil that you can press on tight and seal really well, let no steam out.
- I prefer to lay my ribs on a rack inside the pan so they're not touching the bottom. Not required. So remove your ribs from the fridge and place them into your pan
- Cover, put into oven. Set timer for 2.5 hours. They're actually going to be in there for a full 3 hours, but 2.5 will remind you that you have to make sides and start finishing the rest of dinner. If you're doing these not as dinner, then set for 3 hours.
When the ribs are done, take them out of the oven. If you like them dry, let them sit for about 15 minutes for the juices to redistribute. Slice them up, and serve. If you used a spicy rub, oooohhh yum, look out!
If you like them wet, fire up your grill. Get the grill going at about the same 300-350 degrees. Grab your favorite BBQ sauce. Put ribs down on grill top up, slather in your BBQ sauce. Close the lid, let them sit 10-15 minutes. Turn, slather with more sauce. Let sit 10-15 minutes. Turn, slather with more sauce, let sit 10 minutes. Remove from grill. Let them sit on your cutting board for another 10 minutes to let the juices redistribute. Slice them up, and serve.
Hey, I NEVER said this was a quick recipe. Yes, total cooking time is just about 4 hours from the time you put them into the oven to when you can put them on your plate.
And you know, I'm pretty sure if you opt out of the oven, you could put them in the slow cooker/crock pot on Low for 4 hours and they'd be just as good, for those of you who enjoy using your crock pot. And no grill? No problem, place them back in your pan, no lid and turn on the broiler on high.
AND, this recipe works for both PORK and BEEF ribs. Beef ribs come out AMAZING this way.
My sides were peas and garlic/cheesy mashed potatoes. Also good are home made steak fries. Hmm.. yet another blog.
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