Page 16 - July 2020 Barbecue News Magazine

amazing ribs
10 Steps To Amazing Ribs
Meathead, AmazingRibs.com
We know you love ribs. They are probably America’s second most favorite food after PB&J. They are also my heritage, right there in my website’s name: AmazingRibs.com. Like you, I’m crazy for amazing ribs and the site has plenty of rib recipes, techniques, equipment recommendations, and mythbusting secrets. In fact, we have just published an eBook devoted to ribs for only $3.99. It has everything you need to know about the different cuts, cooking techniques, mythbusting, and some great recipes. In Kindle for- mat, it can be viewed on all platforms and operating systems. Go here for more info https://preview.tinyurl.com/loveribs
1) If you boil ribs, the terrorists win
That phrase, which I first uttered in 2002 or so, is a motto of cooks
around the world now. The concept of boiling ribs comes from Eastern Europe where Poles and Czechs boil ribs in water with cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and caraway seeds to create a delicious pork stew. The problem is that much of the flavor ends up in the broth and not in the meat. If you are not making stew, by far the best technique is to slowly, gently, roast ribs in warm air, thus maximizing flavor. Here’s a video shot with our friends, the bril- liant geeks at ChefSteps.com that summarizes the process: https://youtu.be/5eASN1gUYNA
2) Skin & trim
Each slab has a meat side and a bone side. The bone side has a latex-like membrane covering it. Sometimes it gets leathery and almost unchewable when cooked and sometimes it remains rub-
bery. We think ribs are better without it and removing it is a cour- tesy to your guests or customers.
If the butcher has not removed the membrane, turn the slab bone side up. Insert a butter knife between the membrane and the meat. Once you have separated a small section of the membrane from the bone, work your fingers under it to loosen it so you can get a good grip on it with a paper towel and gently peel it off, try- ing not to rip it.
You'll see a layer of fat and some chunks. With a sharp knife cut and scrape some of the excess fat off; trim excess fat from the other side too.
3) Rinse
There is some risk to rinsing meat in the sink because juices can splash and aerosolize with tiny droplets containing bacteria that could land on things in the dish-drain or the counter. However, ribs are cut with a bandsaw and there can be small bone bits on the slab, so rinse gently being careful not to splash.
BarbecueNews.com - 16
JULY 2020