How To Cook Ribs

Ribs are one of the best BBQ items at any decent BBQ restaurant, but they are frequently only so-so when you order them out. Instead of paying extra for mediocre ribs, why not learn how to make your own at home?

Make sure to try this Homemade Worcestershire Sauce recipe to use with your ribs! Don’t forget to serve your ribs with a side of Grilled Cauliflower!

How To Cook Ribs

Ribs are one of the first things that people think of whenever they consider getting BBQ, and for good reason.

The best ribs are soft, tender, juicy, and should basically fall off of the bone, with that beautifully crispy, thin layer of BBQ glaze around the exterior.

The worst ribs, however, are chewy, have no real BBQ flavor, and are basically just tough, boring meat.

The best way to ensure that you get only good quality ribs is to make them yourself. However, how do you actually make good, tasty, tender ribs without falling prey to the tendency to overcook and ruin them?            

What Are The Different Kind Of Ribs You Can Cook?

Before you can first start preparing some delicious home-cooked ribs, you need to decide what kind of ribs you are making first.

The most common type of rib to cook with at home would be pork ribs, but what kind of pork ribs?

Here are a few of the different styles of ribs you might want to consider picking up for your next BBQ.

• Spare Ribs

Spareribs come from the lower part of the rib cage and tend to be the fattiest types of ribs you can get.

These will turn super tender and juicy, so long as you don’t overcook them!

• Baby Back

Baby ribs come more from the upper section of the ribcage, and are shorter than spare ribs, and tend to be a lot leaner and have less fat on them. If you go baby back, you are going to want to cook them a lot slower, to help the meat get nice and tender. 

• Country-Style Ribs

Country-style ribs are actually cut from the chuck eye roll and are really more accurately referred to as pork shoulder steaks.

However, they can be cooked a lot like a rack of ribs, and have many of the same flavors, though they will definitely take a bit longer to cook properly.

Oven Or Grill – Which Is Better?

The next step to preparing ribs at home is deciding just how you want to cook them.

The most obvious choice is the grill, both for its smoky flavor and for the high heat that it is capable of achieving.

However, cooking with the grill means getting coals together, waiting for it to heat up, not to mention choosing and buying the wood chips to flavor the grill with as well.

The grill is definitely the option that is going to take the most time, simply because it takes so many hours to just get everything ready.

It does, however, have the best flavor, because the smoky aromas of the charcoal will imbue every bite of the meat with a ton of that rich BBQ flavor, not to mention ensuring that the meat gets tons of lacquering when you apply the sauce.

The other option is a lot easier, though is definitely a lot more boring; the oven.

Just throwing your ribs into the oven and calling it a day might give you well-cooked ribs, but it won’t result in the best flavor profile.

It is, of course, massively easier, so you need to decide what is more important – your time, or your tasting experience.

How To Glaze Your Ribs Properly

One of the most critical steps when it comes to making the best BBQ ribs you can is that you need to properly glaze them.

Glazing is more than just pouring over your glaze or your favorite BBQ sauce, though. You need to be frequently applying the glaze over several different applications, giving the ribs time in the heat between each application.

This accomplishes two things: firstly, it allows the ribs to stay moist and juicy, by giving them plenty of additional liquid as it cooks.

Secondly, and most importantly, it allows the glaze to cook onto the meat in layers, an effect called lacquering.

This results in shatteringly crisp, thin layers of caramelized glaze, which crunches in your mouth in a delicate bite almost like filo pastry.

The only way to get this super thin layer on every bite of your ribs is to be applying your glaze frequently.

Some do it every 5 minutes, some every 15 minutes, but as long as you make sure to adequately coat each and every bit of rib with your glaze while it cooks regularly, then you should end up with some properly glazed wings.

Looking for more great How To Guides? Try these out:

• How to Spatchcock a Chicken

• How to Cook the Juiciest, Most Tender Oven Roast Turkey

• How to Cook a Boneless Pork Loin Roast

Happy Cooking

Love,

Karlynn

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