Pork ribs contains a high amount of connective tissue in the form of collagen. Heat must be broke down the collagen in the pork ribs in order to make the ribs tenderly. If a person cook the ribs for too short of a period of time, the collagen will not have had time to break down, and the result will be ribs that are too tough to enjoy.
In order to ensure that the pork ribs is tender, a person must cook the ribs until the collagen turn into a soft substance. This can be determine using a meat probe; the ribs are done when the meat probe easily slide into the thickest part of the ribs without encounter any resistance. Not all cut of pork ribs require the same cooking process.
How to Make Pork Ribs Tender
For instance, baby back ribs contain fewer fat than other cuts of ribs and may dry out if cooked too quick. Spare ribs, in contrast, contain more fat and are thus more forgiving of cooking errors. Country style ribs is thicker and act more like small roasts so they must be cook with care.
Each cut of ribs can be selected with the amount of time and fat content that you would like in the cooked ribs. The method that is use to cook the ribs will impact the way in which the ribs are cook. Smokers use low heat and smoke to cook the ribs over a long period of time.
Smokers often require more time and more attention to cook the ribs than an oven. Using an oven allow for the ribs to be wrapped in foil to retain moisture during the cooking process. Using a grill use indirect heat to cook the ribs.
Lastly, a pressure cooker cook the ribs in steam for a much more shorter period of time than either smokers or ovens. In order to cook large rack of ribs, the ribs are typically cooked through three stages. First, the cook will cook the ribs unwrapped for three hours.
After the three hour period, the ribs are wrapped in foil for a two hour period. After cooking for two hours, the ribs is glazed and cooked for one hour. During the cooking process, the ribs can be spritzed with liquid to maintain moisture.
Heavy foil can be used to cook the ribs so that the steam remain inside of the package of ribs. Three sign that indicate that the ribs are tender include: the bones will be visible from the ends of the meat; the rack will bend and break when lift; and a meat probe will easily slide in to the meat. Using each of these indicators will allow a person to avoid serving ribs that are too chewy.
Prior to cooking the ribs, some preparation are required. The silverskin must be removed from the ribs; otherwise, the meat may feel rubbery. Additionally, a person can apply a binder like mustard to the ribs to allow the spices to adhere to the meat.
The spices can be applied generous to the meat. Finally, wood smoke can be used to add flavor to the ribs; wood such as apple or hickory can be used. There are some mistake that must be avoided when cooking ribs.
For instance, the sauce should not be add to the ribs too early in the cooking process; the sugar in the sauce will caramelize and burn to black. Additionally, the ribs should not be cut while they are very hot; the juices will fall out of the ribs. Boiling the ribs before cooking them is another mistake that should be avoid; boiling the ribs will rinse the flavor away.
Finally, the ribs should be allowed to rest after cooking; they should be sliced meat side up between the bones.