I am feeling lucky!
The #1 hit returned from a quick Googlin’ of “GREAT SPARE RIBS” was http://mcraigweaver.com/ribs.htm. I took a look at this site by Craig McWeaver, a man who has many hobbies (see HERE) and obviously a great love of ribs.
A man after my own heart! I read his recipe for what Google says are the greatest spare ribs on the Internet. Simple and basic. The summary of Craig’s ribs recipe is:
Cover raw ribs with sauce.
Use rib-rack to cook ribs standing up.
Cook in smoker or oven at 225°F for 4½ to 5 hours
Add more sauce just before serving.
I thought, maybe Google (and Mr. McWeaver) is right. Seems like most of the recipes I have tried so far have been “fast” cooking recipes, so it’s about time to do the right thing, and cook some ribs nice and slow at 200+ degrees.
So, the next question was, what ribs? I remember my housemate Kelcey had told me about a good butcher shop in Jersey City, up by the Courthouse. I drove up there, and on a block full of great old store fronts, many advertising bail bonds, I found Maloney’s “For Meats” Market.
I immediately liked the look of the place, and it has obviously been there for many years. Inside, it was bustling with meat shoppers, most of whom were regulars who the butchers knew by name, trading jibes back and forth. One customer did not appreciate being hailed as “Pauli,” which I guess was not his name. I asked for half a rack of spare ribs, $2.19/lb. The butcher took out a rack and quickly started cleaving them into individual ribs out of habit, but gave me a nice intact rack when I clarified what I wanted. I thought it was a little odd that you had to pay for the meat at a little plexiglass booth in the back, pushing your money through little hole like a late night gas station purchase. The woman working in the both was not overly friendly and she stamped my paper receipt with an official looking ink-stamp, marking it “PAID.” I wondered if there were ever a time when the cashier actually needed that plexiglass protection from meat shoppers. That seems unlikely, especially in a room full of hefty butchers wielding cleavers.
Next I drove off to the local supermarked and picked up a additional half rack of the standard supermarket ribs, $3.19/lb, for the sake of comparison.
I brought the ribs home and slapped both racks on the cutting board to compare the cuts.
The Shoprite ribs had the skirt/diaphram attached but had the most of the brisket bone and cartilage cut out with a small stip of rib meat from the other side of the brisket still attached at the top of the rack. I cut the strip and the skirt off.
The Maloney’s ribs were less trimmed, containing all of the brisket, but no skirt. Following some of the tips from my previous post about trimming ribs, I also cut off some of the bottom of “california” from both racks, and tried my best to pull off most of the membrane on the bone side of both racks, and some of the bigger chunks of fat. Getting all of that skin off will take a little practice.
Then I coated the both racks with left over sauce from this recipe (http://pig.spacebarcowboy.com/2007/02/20/maybe-that-sauce-is-pretty-good/) and popped them in the oven on a rack in my crappy roasting pan, using a thermometer to monitor the oven temperature, making sure it stayed under 225.
After that it was pretty hands off. They sat cooking in the oven for about 3 hours and then I flipped them over and re-coated them with sauce. I let them cook that way for 45 min or an hour and the turned them back over and coated them with sauce again. At about 5 hours I took a look, cut one rack in half, and decided they should cook a little more, and I turned them over and put them back in the oven. All and all I let them cook for about 5 3/4 hours.
So, the big question: Are these the greatest spare ribs on the Internet? They sure look good!
I took the ribs up to Kelcey and Mike’s place–she had made some kale and cornbread and salad to go with the ribs. I was ready for some chow! I enjoyed these ribs very much. The were very flavorful, however the sauce may have been on a little thick, but it was still good. I thought the Maloney ribs, which were thicker and meatier, were cooked a little better than the Shoprite ribs, which were a little drier. Nevertheless, I think I preferred the cut of the Shoprite ribs, call me a wimp. On both of them, I think it would have made a difference to have done a better job removing the bone-side skin.
As for if these are the best ribs on the internet…they were enitirely respectable, but I don’t think so. Sorry Google. At least, it’s not that easy. These ribs were respectable as they were, but this is a method that is quite general in its commendable simplicity. It definitely has room to benefit from some experimentation and adjustment according to your personal taste, and that is a fine thing. I think this method will be revisited, as it is a simple, reputable method…long and slow. This method is definitely a good proving ground for sauces. I also think that the trimming of the ribs is essential, and something to keep learning. Anyway, again, I very much enjoyed these ribs, enough to put away six and a half of them. I believe that adds up to a delicious 37 ribs in the Year of the Pig. I thank you Pigs, sincerely.
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