Ribs

What's the best rib, country style or the other one who's name I can't remember?

What's your favorite way of preparing them?

[cmcvean]

I just made ribs for dinner tonight. Searched high and low everywhere for good recipes. I ended up boiling them for 45 minutes with a bay leaf, then added some bbq sauce (regular for everyone else) and put them into the oven for about 20 minutes. I actually made Dr. Atkins BBQ sauce I got from his website. It was basically his pancake syrup, chili powder, onions and vinegar. It was okay, but I'm going to keep experimenting.

Christine

[tiny toes]

I used Walden Farm BBQ sauce.

I baked them in the oven for a good long time...cooled them, refridgerated them. The next day I slathered on the sauce and warmed them on the grill.

Those sound really good - thanks!

Does anyone have an opinion on the type of ribs to buy? Or do you just have one style. In St Louis we have country style and St Louis style, I know there's a baby back style too, but those don't seem to have much meat on them so what's the point.

[dizneegirl]

We've made WONDERFUL baby back ribs.

I use Bruce's bbq sauce (see recipe below), and have cooked them several different ways...

We've boiled the ribs first, then covered in bbq sauce and put in a 350° oven for 3-4 hours.

We've cut the rack into 4 sections, and layered bbq sauce & ribs in the crockpot & cooked on low all day (8+ hours).

We've bought western-style spare ribs (boneless - as far as I can tell, same thing as the country-style), covered them with bbq sauce in a covered casserole dish & baked at 375° for 2 hours or so.

All of them came out absolutely delicious, and falling-off-the-bone tender!

Here's the bbq recipe (and I've made it with & without the bourbon, and have made it in half batches several times... ALWAYS come out great!)

Bruce's Bourbonque Sauce

32 ounces tomato sauce
6 packets Splenda
4 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 teaspoons liquid smoke flavoring
3 tablespoons sugar free maple syrup
2 tablespoons dehydrated onion flakes
1/2 cup bourbon, optional

Bring ingredients to a slow simmer in a small sauce pan and reduce by about a third if you want to use it as a brush-on sauce.

That sauce looks really good! I'm going to have to make it soon, I have everything except the tomato sauce.

Thanks for sharing!

[ImaBeliever]

I found a great BBQ rub to put on chicken and it has no sugar no carbs- It's called. Stubbs BBQ rub. I put it on my chicken or turkey and then add regular BBQ sauce for the rest of the family.

[coastcat]

I prefer spice rubs to sauces, and use a mixture of cracked black pepper, red pepper flakes, kosher salt, sage, rosemary, and olive oil on the ribs.

Since our grill is kaput, I roast the ribs (slab cut into individual ribs, 400 degree oven for 40-50 minutes depending on the size of the ribs). They're not tender like classic long-cooked BBQ ribs, but they're flavorful with crisp edges. Mmmm.

Country-style vs St. Louis ("regular" slabs)... I prefer St. Louis ribs for eating as is. I buy a lot of bone-in country-style ribs, though - I cut up the meat for stir-fry (it's kind of fatty and chewy, which I love!) and save the bones and scraps to make pork stock.

I've got to second Sheri's opinion about baby back ribs - sure, they're tender, but they're tiny and (to me) haven't much flavor.

[auntie3]

I'm unfamiliar with the terms you have used, but my understanding is that "Country Style" ribs are individual ribs? I have no idea about the "St. Louis" style! We have the "Country Style" as I described, here, and I really don't like them.

I'm wtih Sherie and coastcat - the baby backs are tender, but they are so small, and expensive for the amount of meat you get. Give me a slab of side ribs, tail end and all any day over those baby's!

What I do with my ribs is wash them off before I do anything. Then I cut them into slabs with a minimum of 5 ribs. I place them in my lasagna pan (first sprayed with Pam), add a small sprinkle of pepper (do not salt, as it draws the juice from the meat, and it will end up tough). I cover the pan tightly with heavy duty foil, then place in the oven at 300 for about 2 hours. After 2 hours, I remove the pan from the oven and drain the fat, and return to the oven for another hour, or so. The meat is basically cooked at this point, but doesn't look too appealing!! I rinse the slabs, since there is an accumulation of "gunk" from the melted fat.

The meat is then ready, so I fire up the BBQ. At this point, dinner is almost ready - it should take no more than about 15 - 20 minutes. All I do is place the ribs on the grates, add a bit of salt & pepper, and smear a bit of low carb BBQ sauce (I like the flavor of a bit of lime juice in the sauce) on the top side. After about 3 - 4 minutes (the meat should have a nice brown color on the bottom) I turn the slabs over, and add some BBQ sauce to the browned side. After another 3 - 4 minutes, I turn the ribs again, and give a very thin coat of sauce to the side that'snow on top. In about 2 minutes, the ribs are done, and ready to eat.

If it isn't BBQ weather, I find these are also delish done in the oven. When the meat is cooked, and all the gunk washed off, I coat the ribs with the BBQ sauce, and return to the oven, uncovered, at 375. I turn the ribs every 20 minutes, and add a bit more sauce to the top side every time I turn them. They are done in one hour. Tender, juicy and delicious.