Should I par boil spare ribs?

[TATTRAT]

Great info all , thanks Skillet Licker for the product recomendations. I will get some ordered ASAP!

 

[skilletlicker]

Okay mudbug; How do we divy up the commission?

Wait a minute, how does that private message thing work again?

 

[skilletlicker]

Great info all , thanks Skillet Licker for the product recomendations. I will get some ordered ASAP!

TATTRAT,
I don't want to discourage you. There are great ribs made in regular BBQs and there are simple ways to add a smoke box to an existing BBQ. Also there are simple smokers that are good at holding the heat in the low 200's for hours at a time that can be had for about $50. I own one but I confess it's rarely used. I prefer, as a matter of principle, to cook at home so I'm feeling a little guilty about my tone in this conversation. No offense to anyone was intended.

 

[VeraBlue]

rub a dub dub

There are many schools of thought regarding cooking ribs. Many people swear by the double cook method. I don't.
I'm a rub girl. Generously rub the meat the day before you plan to eat it. ****, sometimes I rub two days before.
The idea is to break down the muscle slowly, allowing time for it to tenderize. So, cook them sloooooooooooowly at a low temperature, 225-250. I usually cook them, covered, about 21/2 to 3 hours, depending on how many racks I'm doing. Start brushing some sauce on them about 40 minutes before they are done. Once sauced, keep uncovered.

 

[jpmcgrew]

I also dry rub put in low oven a couple of hours then grill they always come out great.

 

[Eaglelox]

i like to rub them with spices then cook at 250 indirect heat for a couple of hours with smoke. i then cut them up and put them in a backing dish. add liberal amounts of your fav BBQ sauce and cover. put in oven and cook about 220 for a hour or so more. these things ar so good they never see the next day. so tender you can pull the meat off with your lips, but go ahead and use your teeth or people will look at you funny.

 

[Corey123]

Well, what do you do to get falling-off-the-bone spare ribs? I've tried to par boil on top of the stove with spices, but you have to be careful, because sometimes it really dries them out.
Whose got an absolutely fantastic recipe? I do smoke them for my husband, but I really hate that smokey flavor, so I'm looking for something I can do just for me. Thanks, Deb

Want my advice? I'll gladly give it to you.

I USED to do that. My moms did it also. But to me, that's the old Dinosaur way! Sorry to offend anyone on this method, but I just don't do ribs that way any more.

Fall-off-the-bone spare ribs and babyback ribs do NOT have to be started that way. And I also found out that they don't even have to marinate at all. Peel the membrane off the back first. That serves no purpose and it just makes the meat draw up and become kind of tough. The dry rub, seasonings, or what have you don't get to penetrate through it to the meat. Get rid of it.

I just season them with dry rub, some sliced onion, green pepper and celery along with some liquid smoke, put them on a rack either in a half sheet pan, roaster or my Rival BBQ Pit Slow Cooker and slow cook them for about 7 to 8 hours.

If using the oven, cover loosely with foil, set the temp to the lowest possible setting. Put some water on the bottom of the pan to avoid the smoking and burning of any fat that might collect there. The best time to do this is before you go to bed at night and let them go for themselves!

Wake up the next morning to tender juicy fall-off-the-bone ribs!! I've been doing it this way for the last four Fourth of Julys, and to me, this is the best way to do it.

Trust me, it'll work everytime. If you don't have an outdoor BBQ grill, use some liquid smoke to get that real down-home authentic smoky flavor and taste. That's all there is to it!!

Put the BBQ sauce on last to avoid burning the ribs, thus it has a high-sugar content which can burn very easily.


~Corey123.

 

[thumpershere2]

Breezy, I'm with you on the ribs for family cooking and you are so right, they turn out great.

 

[kindground]

thanks folks

I found this thread through a google search....

Long story short I rubbed and baked the ribs for 2 hours at 250 and finished them with more rub them a trip to the grill for about 1/2 hour bone side down and 15 minutes meat side down.

Best ribs I've ever made.

Thanks for the tips guys!

Scott in STL MO

 

[Lynan]

I am a happy simmerer too Breezy!! I have never cooked ribs on the BBQ though, would make too much icky sticky mess IMO , so they are always done in the oven on a rack or in an oven bag. Yup. An oven bag!!

So, I simmer ribs for 10 to 15 mins, drain, put into oven and last 20 mins add the sauce which is most often a Chinese type with Hoisin, garlic, ginger, honey, dry sherry ( or Chinese rice wine) a pinch of 5 spice, tomato sauce ( ketchup) and a slosh of vinegar.
If cooked in the bag, I marinate for a couple of hours after simmering and then drain off most of the sauce before tying bag off and cooking. The sauce then gets cooked seperately for adding to ribs later with a scattering of chopped spring onions.

It is interesting to see the length of time most of you cook the ribs. Hmmmm. I wonder if our Kiwi swine are naturally more tender ( insert tongue in cheek smiley here) because mine need no longer than 40 minutes after the simmer! Im saving heaps on gas/power then.

 

[Corey123]

I like my method though.

To me, that seems to be the better way to go. BBQ restaurants do it this way as well. They slow-cook their ribs for about 7 hours in big giant smokers.

This process helps to lock in the natrural flavor of the meat, and lets the dry rub work its magic for the best tasty ribs you ever want to try!!


~Corey123.

 

[Gretchen]

It is interesting to see the length of time most of you cook the ribs. Hmmmm. I wonder if our Kiwi swine are naturally more tender ( insert tongue in cheek smiley here) because mine need no longer than 40 minutes after the simmer! Im saving heaps on gas/power then.

It isn't really a question of 'tender" in the US. It is called "falling off the bone meltingly good meat" which is the way we refer to our ribs and pulled pork. The low and slow method of cooking pork is "just the way it is done" for good BBQ pork. And if you simmer, you are just removing wonderful meat juices, in my opinion. And let me say I have tried it--I used to do that but learned a much better way.

 

[Corey123]

Yes, simmering or parboiling, as it is called, tends to lose some of the natural meat juices and flavor of the ribs or fresh shoulder in the water that it is parboiled in.

And then, what do you do with the water, throw it away?

My method, the ribs or shoulder get steamed and baked because you put a little bit of water on the bottom of the pan(s) with the meat on the racks, so there is a much less chance of the meat swimming in the water.

The small amount of water also keeps any fat that may drip from the meat that collects at the bottom of the pan from smoking and burning. And the meat is not sitting directly in that fat! During the last half hour or so, remove the foil or cover from the pan or roaster to let the outside of the meat dry or crisp up.

And you'll have perfectly browned smoky-tasting ribs!!


~Corey123.

 

[Claire]

I actually like beef ribs marinaded in a kal-bi sauce, then cooked over charcoal. As usual, I don't have a recipe per se -- soy sauce, vinegar or wine. a tablespoon or so of sugar -- however, honey, syrup or jam will do (one year I dispatched an entire batch of my sister's failed orange marmalade this way). Drop of sesame oil or a spoon full of sesame seed. Then hot sauce or dried chili flakes or a fresh whole chili pepper or two. Then I cook them over coals.

When it comes to pork ribs, I do sometimes par boil them. As mentioned, it doesn't take long and it takes some of the fat that flairs up away. If they look leaner, I don't. I'm in the dry rub camp. There are many on the market, but you can also just hit your spice cabinet and let your imagination take you away. Right now I'd use a lot of paprika because a freind brought me a lot back from a trip she took to Hungary .....

 

[Gretchen]

I think all ribs benefit from a pre-cook (preferably dry roast in foil) because the meat at the rib is not really a tender cut. It requires the collagen to be broken down to be tender by low slow cooking. That said, it isn't like a big clod of meat like a pork butt which would be chewy if just roasted over the fire. It is a small slender piece of meat so doesn't really "seem" tough and we can gnaw them there bones off!!.
Beef ribs are another quite tough piece and a slow roast first before putting on a grill make them really succulent.

 

[Corey123]

I have not had or cooked beef ribs, but I'm sure that they can be done the same way.


~Corey123.

 

[tellytez]

you cant rub the ribs with meat tenderize and seal them in a bag over night or you just have to take your time and cook them slow like everyone has said. Par-boiling ribs, to me takes most of the flavor out. try pulling off the layer of skin on the back of the ribs with a pair of pliers. this allows the heat to go all the way through the meat. baste your ribs with apple juice or apple cider vinegar too

 

[FraidKnot]

Well, what do you do to get falling-off-the-bone spare ribs? I've tried to par boil on top of the stove with spices

Absolutely NOT! Ribs need to be cooked low and slow but parboiling them doesn't help.

I simply rub them with a little oil and then pat dried thyme and salt & pepper all over them. Then grill over indirect heat using lump coal for several hours, turning them periodically. If you do them in the oven, keep the heat low and as I said, cook them slowly for a long time. The thing about ribs is people tend to get impatient. You're not cooking a steak. Could take 5 hours to get those ribs falling-apart tender.

If you want to sauce the ribs, please do so after you've cooked them. Slapping sauce on them while they cook will only result in burned sauce.

Fraidy

 

[FraidKnot]

Try pulling off the layer of skin on the back of the ribs with a pair of pliers.

Also known as silverskin, and yes it needs to be removed. It's not critical but it definitely helps.

Fraidy

 

[Corey123]

AKA (also known as) membrane.

Yes tellytez, that skin has to come off, otherwise the seasonings can't reach the meat and it causes the meat to shrink, draw up and toughen even more than usual!!

Yes FraidKnot, parboiling to me also, does not help at all, since, like you said, long slow cooking is the key to great-tasting tender juicy fall-off-the-bone ribs - any style or cut!!

Slow cooking helps to break down the tough fibers in the meat to make it more palatable, flavorful and tender, as well as easy to chew and swallow.

If it is going to be rushed through a fast cooking, it might just as well not be
considered at all!!

Parboiling is the old Dinosaur way to do ribs!! Most of the flavor is lost in the water that's used to boil the ribs - and then, what do you do with the water? Pour it down the drain! Along with most of the flavor that came from the meat.