When I was in college, I watched our fraternity cook boil ribs prior to putting them into the oven and then basting them with BBQ sauce. I thought the ribs were delicious and I thought that boiling ribs was the way you were supposed to prepare them so they fell off the bone like his did. While I never prepared ribs that way, mostly because I didn’t have pots large enough to boil the ribs in, I always thought boiling was the way you got the meat nice and tender.
Wrong!
Boiling ribs, while they do get the meat tender, washes away any flavor you could get into the meat and a big big no-no if you want some good tasting ribs. If you ever boil the ribs, they’ll never soak up the marinades and you’ll never get sauces to stick to it. It’s the difference between eating a stick of pure chocolate and a pretzel stick covered in chocolate, that flavor won’t permeate.
Instead, cook the ribs over low heat and let the juice and sauce permeate and tenderize the meat.
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I recently posted a recipe suggestion from a reader who first par-boils his ribs, then wraps them in saran wrap and slow cooks them. When I posted it I commented that I’d hear all kinds of “NO YOU FOOL” from the purists. One old sage wrote in and said something to the effect “Don’t worry about it CB. There is no Right and no Wrong. It’s what works for you. The purists do it because they can, not because it’s best.”
I appreciate that because it’s true. There are experts who tell me not to pour the beer in the glass directly, rather on the side, so the carbonation doesn’t get released – and there are experts who say to pour the beer directly and let it foam to ‘release the carbonation and the aroma properly.’ Uh, thanks – I take my Miller in the bottle please.
What I’m getting at is – if you par-boil ribs for say, 15 minutes in a mixture of herbs, salt and vinegar mixed in the water – what’s the difference from overnight brine in the same without the heat?
Or if you add so much spicy rub to the ribs so as to turn them into merely a delivery medium for the rub flavors – what difference does it make if you boil or brine them first?
What about the guy who does the multiple hours of slow cooking to break down the toughness and connective tissues in the meat – so the ribs are perfectly cooked – only to drown them in sauce?
I guess what I’m saying is boil – don’t boil, brine – don’t brine, rub – don’t rub, sauce – don’t sauce, slow – fast cook, microwave – oven – grill – smoker, it really doesn’t matter if YOU are happy with the results! What do YOU like? Try em all – figure out what you most enjoy and (drum roll puleeeeze) To hell with what the experts say!
Happy Grilling – CB
If you like boiled ribs you might as well put them in the microwave!!
YUCH!!!!!