Page 48 - Amazing Ribs - Book

The idea for boiling and simmering ribs comes from Eastern Europe where Poles and Czechs simmer ribs in water with cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and caraway seeds to create a delicious pork stew. Boiling can make meat tough by caus-
ing proteins to contract and squeeze the moisture out of the muscle fibers, but gently simmering, poaching, or braising, can make sinewy cuts like ribs tender. 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.
Neither should you grill ribs directly over flame or glowing coals. If you are really, really in a hurry, you are better off steaming or microwaving them and then finishing them on the grill or under the broiler.
Skin & trim
Each slab of ribs has a meat side and a bone side. The meat side is convex (curving towards you), and the bone side is concave (curving away from you). The bone side has a la- tex-like membrane called the pulmonary pleura covering it. Sometimes it gets leathery and almost unchewable when cooked and sometimes it remains rubbery. A common myth about the membrane is that smoke and rub will not penetrate it when, in fact, it is permeable.
A few butchers and most restaurants “skin” their ribs, jargon for removing the membrane. Some restaurants find removing it to be a bother and leave it on. Those who steam or simmer their ribs find that the membrane helps hold the slab togeth- er. A few customers like the chewy texture. We think ribs are
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