Hey Folks,
Cooking a good rack of Ribs is near and dear to my heart for a few reasons.
First, eating ribs is an art for a Man. Yes, my wife loves them too, but to be honest there is just something incredibly carnivorous about gnawing on a bone, until every last ounce of meat is vaporized... and, it's incredibly sloppy - a favorite practice of my kids too. So, in short, a good rack of Ribs pleases the whole family.
Secondly, they are pretty fun to cook. I am big on not having a lot of skill with respect to cooking - I like the KISS principle for cooks, "K-Keep, I- It, S- Simple, S- Stupid". Honestly, it frees me to spend more time ranching, and still eat like a King.
My biggest problem with ribs used to be this - how do you get them tender? There is nothing worse than getting into some ribs and realizing that they are just too tough to enjoy. Well, I have found a technique that really helps out in this area. Are you ready? Yep, you guessed it... a slow cooker!
My tried and true technique for taking cuts of Beef or Pork and giving them the tenderness of a Filet Mignon is to use a slow-cooker, and Ribs are no exception. The common misconception is that a crock-pot is for making soups and stews, so as a result, whenever people use one, they typically add some type of liquid to it, drop the meat in there and walk away for 12 hours. Then end product tends to be a really dry piece of meat and some very delicious liquid. The way to prevent this is to cook the meat for a limited amount of time, removing it long before the total cooking time has expired. This keeps the meat moist and tender, by adding it back near the end, the full effect is realized.
My Rib method calls for a crock pot, but you could just as easily use a Dutch Oven, Steamer or even an oven on Low temperature.
Now, this gets really complicated, so pay close attention. I've outlined the steps below...
1. Turn on the crock pot (low)
2. Place the Ribs in the crock pot, and replace the cover
3. Wait 8 hours
Did you get that? Pretty intricate, huh? Just cook the darn things... no spices, no rubs (not yet), no water, beer, oil - nothing! Just dry heat - trust me.
When you get done, they should look like the photo below (note the white bone showing)
Now, carefully take the Ribs out of the Slow Cooker. Heat your gas or charcoal grill to high and season the Ribs with your favorite mixture. I always try two or three seasonings - my favorite is a homemade BBQ sauce with a Root Beer base, and about 2 or 3 different dry rubs.
If you are using a sauce, turn the ribs frequently on the grill for about 5-10 minutes, and continue to baste them with sauce. For a dry rub mixture, try to keep them on one side and only turn two or three times.
For Pork, serve Hot. For Beef, (Short Ribs) serve after letting rest for about 5 minutes - if you are not set up or have kids that come to the table slow, this will happen by default.
Get ready for the best Ribs - Ever!
This week's coupon is for 10% off Pork Spare Ribs, which we have in good supply, so you can try it for yourself. They are cut around two pounds per package and are a deal at $8/lb.
Enjoy,
Douglas Lindamood
SonRise Ranch
