Absurdly, stupidly basic cooking questions (Part 2)

[robirdstx]

46 minutes ago, SLB said:

<deepbreath>

 

What is the difference between a steak pounded flat and a steak cut thin?  

 

ETA:  I mean, what is the difference in outcome. 

 

Pounding tenderizes the meat.

https://www.thespruceeats.com/tenderize-tough-cuts-of-meat-995834

Edited August 1, 2020 by robirdstx (log)

[heidih]

25 minutes ago, robirdstx said:

Pounding tenderizes the meat.

https://www.thespruceeats.com/tenderize-tough-cuts-of-meat-995834

 

 

Exactly - thin Steak frites in France with grazed pasture raised beef is a jaw exercise though tasty. The pounded stuff takes me more to Schnitzel. 

[Toliver]

I think I know the answer to this but would like to her your opinions...

I like the Country Style Ribs that our local grocery stores sell (not sure if that cut is national or just from California). They tend to be on sale quite often.

The issue I have been having is that they tend to be tough to chew. My mom used to parboil country ribs in a pot of water with lemons, then finish them off on a grill slathered with BBQ sauce. I don't own a grill so that option is out.

I bake them in the oven in a foil lined 13 x 9 pan at 350°F. I put a rub on them and cover the pan with foil for about 30 minutes, then remove the foil cover and put BBQ sauce on them and return them to the oven for another 30 to 45 minutes depending on the thickness of the ribs.

But, like I said, they're quit chewy. I'd like to see if I can get them to be more tender.

I think the answer is to cook them low and slow...perhaps a 250°F oven for 2 to 3 hours. Would that do the trick to make them more tender? Or is there a better method? A pressure cooker is not an option since I don't own one. Thanks in advance for any suggestions...

 

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

7 minutes ago, Toliver said:

I think I know the answer to this but would like to her your opinions...

I like the Country Style Ribs that our local grocery stores sell (not sure if that cut is national or just from California). They tend to be on sale quite often.

The issue I have been having is that they tend to be tough to chew. My mom used to parboil country ribs in a pot of water with lemons, then finish them off on a grill slathered with BBQ sauce. I don't own a grill so that option is out.

I bake them in the oven in a foil lined 13 x 9 pan at 350°F. I put a rub on them and cover the pan with foil for about 30 minutes, then remove the foil cover and put BBQ sauce on them and return them to the oven for another 30 to 45 minutes depending on the thickness of the ribs.

But, like I said, they're quit chewy. I'd like to see if I can get them to be more tender.

I think the answer is to cook them low and slow...perhaps a 250°F oven for 2 to 3 hours. Would that do the trick to make them more tender? Or is there a better method? A pressure cooker is not an option since I don't own one. Thanks in advance for any suggestions...

 

 

I usually give the man hour or so brine.    Then bake in slow oven until tender, then cover with sauce and finish for another 15 minute or so.  

[heidih]

@Toliver In my experience what I get in Los Angeles as "country ribs" are pretty lean things. When I ended up with them - on a pan, with sauce., foil covered, low and slow in oven. But still never the lip smacky goodness of the "real" ones. In my opinion pre boiling just toughens them. They don't have the wonderful collagen.

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, Toliver said:

I think I know the answer to this but would like to her your opinions...

I like the Country Style Ribs that our local grocery stores sell (not sure if that cut is national or just from California). They tend to be on sale quite often.

 

I like them, too! 

These are some country-style ribs that I bought at Sprouts a while back.  The top 2 pieces were ~12 oz each, the bottom one, with the bone was 16 oz.  I often see them thinner but like these meaty ones.

I cook them fairly low and slow, as I would a piece of pork shoulder.  They're actually a pretty good sub for that cut when cooking for 1 or 2. 

I believe these guys got browned, then went into the oven at 350°F to braise with some liquid for 90 minutes covered, then another 30 min uncovered.  

At that point, they were quite tender.  Possibly more tender than you'd prefer so maybe something in between?

[Dave the Cook]

1 hour ago, Toliver said:

I think I know the answer to this but would like to her your opinions...

I like the Country Style Ribs that our local grocery stores sell (not sure if that cut is national or just from California). They tend to be on sale quite often.

The issue I have been having is that they tend to be tough to chew. My mom used to parboil country ribs in a pot of water with lemons, then finish them off on a grill slathered with BBQ sauce. I don't own a grill so that option is out.

I bake them in the oven in a foil lined 13 x 9 pan at 350°F. I put a rub on them and cover the pan with foil for about 30 minutes, then remove the foil cover and put BBQ sauce on them and return them to the oven for another 30 to 45 minutes depending on the thickness of the ribs.

But, like I said, they're quit chewy. I'd like to see if I can get them to be more tender.

I think the answer is to cook them low and slow...perhaps a 250°F oven for 2 to 3 hours. Would that do the trick to make them more tender? Or is there a better method? A pressure cooker is not an option since I don't own one. Thanks in advance for any suggestions...

 

 

 

You might find the discussion that starts here and continues for eight or nine posts to be helpful.

[rotuts]

@blue_dolphin 

 

very interesting cuts you have there 

 

these can actually be cooked very hot and very fast on

 

charcoal .  as long as you pull them off very rare.

 

the meat wont tighten up , and you let them rest for a few minutes 

 

then de-bone and slice very thin for a mighty fine rare pork sandwich.

 

 the lowest picture :

 

note the 7 bone ;  this is from the shoulder 

 

Beef , Pork , etc   its all the 7 bone , which is the scapula :

 

this :

 

 

is about the most flavorful cut you can reasonably get

 

but please note this  :

 

 

 

its the very very very tough tendon that runs between the

 

actual two muscles that form the ' blade roast '

 

use your very sharp knife and cut it out

 

5 years  of SV will not help the tendon to get tender.

 

the meat on either side , once de-tendon-ized 

 

and cooked rare and fast or 130 f SV for a few hours

 

is as good as it gets

Edited August 6, 2020 by rotuts (log)

[weinoo]

They're (country-style ribs) basically weird pork chops from the shoulder. Rare-ish and fast as @rotuts suggests. And brining certainly couldn't hurt.

[heidih]

5 minutes ago, weinoo said:

They're (country-style ribs) basically weird pork chops from the shoulder. Rare-ish and fast as @rotuts suggests. And brining certainly couldn't hurt.

 

OK so low and slow or fast but in between sucks. Like calamari. I am being serious for a change.

[weinoo]

I think if I were doing them low and slow, I'd want to be braising them?  I wonder if they would be good in a black bean sauce type braise, as I"ve done with chicken on the bone.

[rotuts]

low and slow  130 F  

 

all the flavor stays in the meat

 

then add to what ever you want to do with the meat after the SV

[robirdstx]

I have used this recipe for many years; I use a cast iron skillet; they come out very tender:

 

Mexican-Style Pork Chops

 

Recipe By: Adapted from recipe in Texas On The Halfshell from Texas Dept. of Agriculture

Serving Size: 2

 

Ingredients:

 

- 2 Bone-in Pork Chops (or Pork Butt Steak)

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

- 1 cup onion, sliced

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1/3 cup Heinz chili sauce

- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

- 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

- 3/4 cups boiling water

 

Directions:

 

1. Preheat oven to 375℉.

 

2. Trim excess fat from pork. Rub with salt, pepper and dredge with flour.

 

3. Heat oil in deep skillet (with oven-proof handle) and brown pork.

 

4. Remove pork from skillet and keep warm.

 

5. Add onion to skillet; cook about 5 minutes. Then add garlic and cook for about a minute, do not let burn.

 

6. Return pork to skillet.

 

7. Mix chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, sugar and boiling water in 2 cup measure. Add to skillet and cover with foil.

 

8. Bake pork for 40 minutes.

 

9. Remove cover and bake another 10 minutes.

 

 

Edited August 6, 2020 by robirdstx (log)

[weinoo]

I've always liked Bruce Aidells, both for his books and for the sausage company he started in a little shop in Sonoma.

This is an interesting recipe  of his, from Fine Cooking, where he both grills and braises the ribs:

 

https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/barbecue-braised-country-spareribs-with-beer-and-mustard-glaze

 

 

[heidih]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

I think if I were doing them low and slow, I'd want to be braising them?  I wonder if they would be good in a black bean sauce type braise, as I"ve done with chicken on the bone.

 

 the ones I used to get did not have enough collagen oomph to merit braise.  It = to me  tightens them up. They are  cheap - experiment and let us know.

[Toliver]

Thanks everyone for the feedback and suggestions!

 

@blue_dolphin my mom would sometimes use the country ribs in her oven-cooked sauerkraut if the price was low enough and she couldn't get a decent pork roast. Just delicious...

 

@Dave the Cook Thanks for the discussion link. In that discussion, @Smithy mentions that country ribs don't have much fat. I have found they (mostly) have a strip of fat along one side. When I bake them in the oven, I stand them up on their side (sometimes adding crumpled foil balls between the strips to help keep them standing on their sides) so the fat strip hopefully bastes the meat as it renders during cooking. It's quite unctuous!

 

 

Edited August 6, 2020 by Toliver
added more comments (log)

[kayb]

19 hours ago, Toliver said:

I think I know the answer to this but would like to her your opinions...

I like the Country Style Ribs that our local grocery stores sell (not sure if that cut is national or just from California). They tend to be on sale quite often.

The issue I have been having is that they tend to be tough to chew. My mom used to parboil country ribs in a pot of water with lemons, then finish them off on a grill slathered with BBQ sauce. I don't own a grill so that option is out.

I bake them in the oven in a foil lined 13 x 9 pan at 350°F. I put a rub on them and cover the pan with foil for about 30 minutes, then remove the foil cover and put BBQ sauce on them and return them to the oven for another 30 to 45 minutes depending on the thickness of the ribs.

But, like I said, they're quit chewy. I'd like to see if I can get them to be more tender.

I think the answer is to cook them low and slow...perhaps a 250°F oven for 2 to 3 hours. Would that do the trick to make them more tender? Or is there a better method? A pressure cooker is not an option since I don't own one. Thanks in advance for any suggestions...

 

 

 

I'm a fan of the low-and-slow, and I've either braised or roasted, covered with foil. I also love them in choucroute garnie.

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

As @Toliver suggests, depending on the cut, country ribs can be quite lean or reather (or very) fatty.    That's why each purchase needs to be appraised before choosing a cooking method.    The fatty cuts are usually pretty tender while very lean can be tough as owl.

[lindag]

Really?  Owl???

[liamsaunt]

I also have a question about pork ribs.  In his latest order from Heritage Foods, my husband mistakenly received two pork 4-bone rib racks.  They are marked country rib.  This is one large piece of meat, not individual ribs like discussed above.  I have never seen this cut before and am unsure how to cook it.  Should I just break it down into individual ribs and then cook as described above?  Should I cook it as one piece of meat?  Pictures for reference.  Thanks for any help!

 

 

[robirdstx]

17 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

I also have a question about pork ribs.  In his latest order from Heritage Foods, my husband mistakenly received two pork 4-bone rib racks.  They are marked country rib.  This is one large piece of meat, not individual ribs like discussed above.  I have never seen this cut before and am unsure how to cook it.  Should I just break it down into individual ribs and then cook as described above?  Should I cook it as one piece of meat?  Pictures for reference.  Thanks for any help!

 

 

Since you have two, perhaps braise one whole and break down the other into chops and grill. Heritage Foods’ website says they are good either way. I bet they will be delicious however you decide to cook them!

[rotuts]

@liamsaunt 

 

im not sure what your have :

 

do you have this ?

 

https://heritagefoods.com/collections/pork/products/country-rib-two-2-3lb-four-bone-chops

 

I did not see any other CR's  on the site

 

the issues is simple :  

 

can you SV'd ?

 

if you can , how do you personally compare 

 

SV  w Braise ?

 

so different.

 

and Pork these's days 

 

are outstanding , esp Heritage 

 

on the lower side of cooing.

 

let me know hat you have 

 

andIll make suggestions

 

based on  Braise vs SV

 

or rapid hot grill.

 

cheers

[liamsaunt]

@rotuts, I do have a Joule, but have only used it to pasteurize eggs (it was a gift, I have never been that interested in sous vide cooking but I am willing to try).  I also have a grill.

 

And yes, that is the meat he received.  Any advice is appreciated!

[rotuts]

if you haven't done SV and work w it

 

defrost the PK's

 

and send a pic of what they look like

 

the grill very dry hot

 

plain   ....  why burn the spice and the pepper ?

 

then cool off and add your flavors

 

and slice very thbin

 

very rare

 

and its going to be delicious 

 

as is , on on a but w what ever you have.

 

bun like and green like

[Katie Meadow]

Let's change the subject; it's summer. Too hot for hunks of meat floating in a water bath.

 

Finally I have a question that qualifies--or I think it does--as stupid enough. However it isn't a cooking question exactly, it's more of a botany question. Here goes.

 

You must have noticed that seedless watermelons are taking over the world. In my experience they usually don't taste as good as the ones with seeds. For the past few years I was able to chose seeded over seedless. My farmers' market reliably sold them both. But my husband came back from a shopping trip to one of our regular markets claiming that there were ten varieties of watermelon for sale and ALL of them were seedless.

 

Okay, so I'm getting to the stupid part. If you grow seedless melons where do you get the seeds to plant the next generation? And what kind of seed would genetically self destruct so it doesn't reproduce itself? The questions probably get stupider from there. And are we growing a whole generation of kids who don't know about seed spitting contests at picnics?

 

I'll go now. Quietly.