All About: Ribs

Varieties Tips

A quintessential summer delicacy, barbecue ribs signify summer and are available in your backyard as well as at the famous and hotly contested summertime "rib cookouts." Many may argue about the best way to cook ribs, but there is no dispute that they are one of the best-loved meat cuts. Let us teach you a little bit more about the world of ribs with this beginner's guide to great barbecue.

There are two common kinds of ribs, each with its own subtle grilling technique. Ideal pork and beef ribs are juicy, mouthwatering, smoke flavored, and cooked to the level of tenderness you prefer. Experiment with different sauces to achieve your own individual flavor.

Varieties

Pork Ribs

Spare Ribs: These traditional meats come from the pig's shoulder and belly and are typically inexpensive.

Baby Back Ribs: These short pork ribs are uncommon and very lean. They cook quickly but are a bit costly.

Country Style Ribs: These are the fattest pork ribs. However, one of the great things about Country Style Ribs is the scarcity of marbling, hard-to-remove fat that doesn't burn away during a five- to six-hour barbecue.

Beef Ribs

Short Ribs: Although the fat content is high, short ribs are tough and filling.

Back Ribs: This thin prime rib is usually packaged as a set of seven ribs.

Back To Top

Tips

Pork Ribs
  • Impress your friends with your rib vocabulary. "Entrecote," or a rib steak, refers to meat cut from the section of beef between the 9th and 11th ribs. Essentially, this is a steak without the ribs.
  • As you baste, cover every inch of the meat with sauce. It will leave a savory layer of glaze across the ribs.
Beef Ribs
  • If you use a gas grill, turn on every burner except the one your meat rests on. The indirect heat will cook all sides of the pork without scorching.
  • Turn the pork over every 30 minutes.
  • Baby Back Ribs will cook in 30 to 45 minutesÑyou can tell they're done when the meat pulls easily away from the bone.

Back To Top