Pork Spare Ribs

[Anna Blume]

So, there's a topic established on baby back ribs, but I favor the bigger, meatier kind that come from the belly of the pig.

Cedarbrook's Dave recommended a cooking method he just tried for the first time. It's from Alton Brown and can be found here. Basically, you coat the ribs w a dry rub, then seal them in heavy foil along w braising liquid to bake for a long time in a slow oven. Liquid is drained from pierced foil to reduce before it's brushed on the ribs to glaze under broiler.

I'd like to experiment w the technique since I am starting to get sick of stove-top braises, figuring spareribs would probably require more time than baby back ribs. However, I have a question about adjusting the recipe without sacrificing the final glaze.

Fresh sage, rosemary (might skip), black pepper, salt and garlic will be the main components of rub. For braising, I am combining apple cider w apple cider vinegar. Sides: braised cabbage w onion & apple. Mashed golden turnips.

I am veering from an Italian braise by adding a sweet component (cider), but think brown sugar or even a little honey would clash with everything else. I might reduce the cider before baking, but in the meantime, welcome any further suggestions.

[leleboo]

There are some ideas in the Boneless Spareribs thread that might be applicable. This one looks interesting, although may only be helpful if you go the clay-pot route:

My wife makes a similar dish using both bone-in and boneless pork. But instead of sugar, she uses palm sugar. It comes in a solid block and is a dark brown color. She always uses this type of sugar when making any dish slow cooked in a clay pot.

[mdt]

So, there's a topic established on baby back ribs, but I favor the bigger, meatier kind that come from the belly of the pig.

Cedarbrook's Dave recommended a cooking method he just tried for the first time. It's from Alton Brown and can be found here. Basically, you coat the ribs w a dry rub, then seal them in heavy foil along w braising liquid to bake for a long time in a slow oven. Liquid is drained from pierced foil to reduce before it's brushed on the ribs to glaze under broiler.

I'd like to experiment w the technique since I am starting to get sick of stove-top braises, figuring spareribs would probably require more time than baby back ribs. However, I have a question about adjusting the recipe without sacrificing the final glaze.

Fresh sage, rosemary (might skip), black pepper, salt and garlic will be the main components of rub. For braising, I am combining apple cider w apple cider vinegar. Sides: braised cabbage or Tuscan kale. Mashed potatoes or polenta.

I am veering from an Italian braise by adding a sweet component (cider), but think brown sugar or even a little honey would clash with everything else. I might reduce the cider before baking, but in the meantime, welcome any further suggestions.

I make ribs like this all the time but use no added liquid and they come out wonderfully. I rub the ribs the night before, wrap them in foil, and then the next day put them in a 200F oven for about 4 hours. The ribs, usually St. Louis style, come out tender and juicy.

[hm212]

I make ribs like this all the time but use no added liquid and they come out wonderfully. I rub the ribs the night before, wrap them in foil, and then the next day put them in a 200F oven for about 4 hours. The ribs, usually St. Louis style, come out tender and juicy.

I just recently did babybacks very similar and they were very good, I did a 250F for about 2.5 hours. I do think that dropping the heat to 200 for longer time might even be better. I am now thinking ribs this weekend

[laniloa]

I make ribs like this all the time but use no added liquid and they come out wonderfully. I rub the ribs the night before, wrap them in foil, and then the next day put them in a 200F oven for about 4 hours. The ribs, usually St. Louis style, come out tender and juicy.

What do you use in your rub?

[Scott Johnston]

I also followed AB's recipe for Superbowl. While I like the results, I found that they needed more time to be tender and they really were helped by a trip under the broiler for a while to get a crispy top. The sauce takes forever to reduce as well.

What do you use in your rub?

[Anna Blume]

Thanks, everyone!

Leleboo: I was thinking more about flavor profile ( trite food list?) than alternative ways to deliver sweetness, though you provided a link I overlooked!

Ended up using mdt's advice: 4 hours at 200 F. Not all of the meat was meltingly tender, but enough was and one of the points of ribs is you get to chew and pretend no one addresses you as "lady" in e-mails.

I recommend adding a braising liquid. Since I baked only 2 lbs.--one long slab, reducing took very little time once I spooned off all the fat. 1 cup cider & 2 T cider vinegar worked really well.

[mdt]

What do you use in your rub?

Something that mimics a KC style rub:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/8 cup paprika

1/8 cup smoked paprika

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon chili powder (I sometimes use a one or more of ancho or chipotle if I don't have a generic chili powder)

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

[goodeats]

I make ribs like this all the time but use no added liquid and they come out wonderfully. I rub the ribs the night before, wrap them in foil, and then the next day put them in a 200F oven for about 4 hours.

mdt- stupid question - do you put the ribs in the oven with the foil on? When do you glaze if you want to do an added liquid to them? Thanks.

I've been tasked to make ribs for Thanksgiving in the oven. I think they might be baby backs, but could be spare ribs and really need a primer, just in case. Am a nervous wreck already! Yeesh.

[leleboo]

mdt- stupid question - do you put the ribs in the oven with the foil on? When do you glaze if you want to do an added liquid to them? Thanks.

I've been tasked to make ribs for Thanksgiving in the oven. I think they might be baby backs, but could be spare ribs and really need a primer, just in case. Am a nervous wreck already! Yeesh.

Ribs in the oven are surprisingly forgiving, even baby backs. A tight lid, including a foil cap, will retain moisture you need. I do mine with the foil on until the last half hour or so, when I baste with sauce/glaze. Totally different than on a grill, but still delicious, and tender.

[mdt]

Ribs in the oven are surprisingly forgiving, even baby backs. A tight lid, including a foil cap, will retain moisture you need. I do mine with the foil on until the last half hour or so, when I baste with sauce/glaze. Totally different than on a grill, but still delicious, and tender.

That works. I keep mine wrapped in foil the entire time. Depending on how you like them, finishing them under the broiler to crisp them up a bit is an option.

And don't sweat it, you certainly cook many more things that are much more complicated.

[stilgar]

I believe in the Alton Brown recipe referenced here he uses a cup of orange juice and a cup of margarita mix in the foil pouch. This makes for a tasty sauce when combined with honey, ketchup, and worcestershire sauce and reduced. The high acidity in the liquid helps break down connective tissue making for a tender rib. I finish mine on the grill.

I didn't see the link for the recipe above. It is different. Here is the one i am talking about.

Edited November 12, 2010 by stilgar

[Sthitch]

Ribs in the oven are surprisingly forgiving, even baby backs. A tight lid, including a foil cap, will retain moisture you need. I do mine with the foil on until the last half hour or so, when I baste with sauce/glaze. Totally different than on a grill, but still delicious, and tender.

I find that the meat on the baby backs is better if you leave them uncovered and allow the moisture to leave the meat. Cooking them at a low temperature keeps them from becoming dry - I set the oven for 180 which is a good finished temperature for ribs (my mother prefers 200). At this temperature they cook for quite a long time, but it is well worth it. They are done when the meat has retracted and the tips of each of the bones are visible. I also find that they improve if stashed in the refrigerator after cooking, keep them there overnight, and re-fire them on the grill adding a sauce or glaze right at the end.

As for Alton Brown’s recipe, I know a couple of people that swear by it, but when I tasted it the meat was wrong, the liquid in the pouch steamed the meat, and… well that is just wrong.

[Anna Blume]

As for Alton Brown’s recipe, I know a couple of people that swear by it, but when I tasted it the meat was wrong, the liquid in the pouch steamed the meat, and… well that is just wrong.

I believe the method is more like oven-braising. For braised ribs, cf. Marcella Hazan's costicine di maiale alla Trevigiana which she describes as "pan-roasting"; meat's seared first.

[mdt]

I find that the meat on the baby backs is better if you leave them uncovered and allow the moisture to leave the meat. Cooking them at a low temperature keeps them from becoming dry - I set the oven for 180 which is a good finished temperature for ribs (my mother prefers 200). At this temperature they cook for quite a long time, but it is well worth it. They are done when the meat has retracted and the tips of each of the bones are visible. I also find that they improve if stashed in the refrigerator after cooking, keep them there overnight, and re-fire them on the grill adding a sauce or glaze right at the end.

As for Alton Brown’s recipe, I know a couple of people that swear by it, but when I tasted it the meat was wrong, the liquid in the pouch steamed the meat, and… well that is just wrong.

I agree with you about the AB method. I tried it once and never again. I will do mine uncovered next time though.

[Banco]

I use fast, direct grilling for baby backs with Szechuan flavorings adapted from one of the recipes in Dunlop's "Land of Plenty": first a marinade of xaoshin rice wine, soy sauce, black vinegar, and potato starch, then a glaze of chili bean paste, chicken stock, ginger, sugar, garlic, and peanut oil while they are cooking. The result is pleasantly chewy but moist meat, and a very welcome change from traditional BBQ style ribs. In fact this is the only way I do them now. But these flavorings would work equally well with spare ribs using one of the slower and lower oven methods described above, and I think I'll try one of those next time, esp, now that grilling season is ending.

[Sthitch]

I believe the method is more like oven-braising. For braised ribs, cf. Marcella Hazan's costicine di maiale alla Trevigiana which she describes as "pan-roasting"; meat's seared first.

The AB recipe does not have enough liquid to braise the meat, it steams it in a pouch. I have no problem with braised ribs as long as they are being served as braised ribs, it is when you take a wet cooked rib and try to present it as a grilled/bbq/roasted rib is what I do not like. An example of what I mean are the ribs at most soul food joints, the texture of the meat and the lack of any caramelization on the meat makes it obvious that they have been boiled or steamed before being doused in neon red sauce that reminds me more of the sweet and sour sauce you get at a bad Chinese takeout than BBQ sauce.

[goodeats]

Thanks to all for the wonderful advice given!

I ended up making a marinade of:

Brown sugar

Salt and Pepper.

Chilis were avoided because the mass children were also eating the spare ribs. Ribs were also slathered in beer (corona) pre-baking. 3 racks of spare ribs were roasted for 4 hours in the oven at 200 degrees. 2 racks were slathered in "Sweet Baby Ray's" bbq sauce. Based on mdt's advice, they were under broiler but only for the last 15mins.

Below are the pics of the two. Sis pronounced it the most moist and soft ribs she has ever eaten. Nice that they asked why I didn't parboil during the entire process but then didn't have any complaints after. :-)

(With sauce)

(Without sauce)