On Fri, 20 Jan 2006, Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
> Can anyone tell me what cut to look for at the grocery store if I
> wanted to make my own riblettes? Can they be baked or rottiserized,
> or do they have to be grilled or smoked?
>
> We love these things, but it'd be nice if we could make our own,
> assuming that we'd come out ahead financially. We only go to
> Applebee's after 9pm. Half price appetizers. 
)
>
> Carol, the Frugal Diner
>
Hi Carol,
First have you checked the freezer section of your grocery store? Here,
I'm finding more and more restaurants are now marketing their products. I
don't recall seeing applebees, but I do see Boston Market and TGI Fridays,
etc.
I can't help you with the Applebee's sauce - sauce really gives ribs the
flavor. BBQing gives a fabulous flavor, but each cook then puts his/her
sauce on them for (hopefully) a unique flavor.
I've never eaten the Applebee's riblettes, but I noticed a pic of them on
the menu once when they were promoting them.
IIRC, they looked "fleshy" (unlike regular ribs that are closely trimmed
and look like long bones with a thin wrap of meat.) and bone-in.
If that is true, you might want to look for a pork cut called
"country-style" ribs. 'Round here, they are like slab ribs that are not
trimmed close. They still have the "flap"of meat on the bottom, so they
are very meaty.
The pic seemed to indicate that the "riblettes" were just regular lenghts
cut into smaller sections. Rib bones are irregular in lenghts, so cutting
would make them all similar. It helps with cooking time (as with anything)
for pieces or sections to be similar in size. As well, Applebees can stack
a bunch of pieces on a plate to make a more generous presentation than one
or two whole ribs would make. As well, since ribs are different lenghts,
uniformed pieces makes sure of portion control each time - and keeps a
customer from grousing because they got 3 ribs last time and only two ribs
this time (which is the importance of portion control <g>).
You can ask your butcher to cut the bones in halves or quarters, if you
wish to have "riblettes". There may also be options available where the
butcher has already cut the bones into some smaller size and calls them
something like cocktail ribs. Here, they just sell them in a slab.
The last ones I cooked were toward the end of summer. I marinated them
over night in homemade BBQ sauce and BBQed (cooked over a low slow charcoal
fire for about 6 hours). They were heavenly. I may never go back to
"skinny" ribs
If I were cooking them inside (which I would, have done before, and will
do again - for the purists that are about to chew on my ears), there are a
several options. I don't have a recipe and I have used several different
methods.
I leave the ribs together instead of cutting them apart. I try to use a
pan that is long enough for the whole slab. If I can't do that, I try to
cut the slab in half or in quarters
I marinate in bbq sauce. I usually make my own, but there are some good
bottled sauces out there or you can add some homemade to a bottled sauce.
Since pork ribs need to be tender, there are several cooking choices:
Pressure cooker
Parboil first, then bake
braise
or bake
I usually braise (though I have parboiled). Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
Since I like to keep the ribs in a slab, I would
use a baking pan that I could turn lenght-wise over two burners (one back,
one front). Add a little oil to the pan, heat to pretty-much hot, add
ribs, and brown. The sugar in the bbq sauce will burn (and pretty
quick) so watch the heat. They'll brown at a lower temp ok.
Pour some of the bbq sauce over the ribs, coating well on both sides. If
it is a thick bbq sauce (and/or a pan larger than the ribs [this should
be the case], add some water to the pan (just enough to create steam,
not poaching or boiling). Make sure the ribs are bone-side down.
Cover tightly with foil if pan does not have a tight-fitting lid. Slide in
oven.
Check about every hour. Make sure there is enough water (just a tenth
of an inch or so) to keep some steam going. Baste with bbq sauce.
When I am cooking them on the grill, I spritz them with water to give the
meat some moisture. The steam effect will help keep them moist.
If too much fat and liquid accumulates, dip it out. if you have a baking
rack that fits in your pan, you can elevate the ribs. You can turn two pie
plates upside down or use some mini loaf pans, etc to make the elevation.
This will make for a "dryer" rib as the meat juices move away from the
meat. I generally just toss them in the pan.
I would think they would have to cook slowly for 3 hours or so. I've never
cooked the "country style" in the oven and they are so much thicker and
meatier than "skinny ribs". I can't always get country style and I just
don't buy ribs anymore when I can't.
They will be done when you can stick a fork in the meat, turn the fork,
and the meat will fall apart. If you can slice off a piece of meat, like
you can with a pork chop, they aren't ready. I'd check them at 3 hours, if
the meat is tender all the way through a thick section but not yet
"falling apart" tender, I'd recover the pan, cook 10 minutes more, turn
off the oven (without opening the door) and let them set for about 2 hours.
Elaine, too
