Rosie Makes St. Louis Ribs With Spice Rub And BBQ Sauce And Some Other Stuff

 

 St. Louis pork ribs were on sale at Food Lion, $2.99/pound, so I got a few racks to freeze.  With prices being what they are these days, I try to stock up on whatever meats I can when they're on sale and freeze them for later.

First, I thought I'd give you an explanation of the different types of ribs available for you.  Or you can just skip this part and go straight to the cooking, but I like to know what part of the animal I'm eating. So here's a primer of sorts for the different types of pork or beef ribs.  

In the pantheon of ribs, you have pork butt country ribs, baby back ribs, spare ribs, and St. Louis ribs.

Pork butt country ribs, to confuse you, are not true ribs like baby back, spare, and St. Louis.   Country ribs are cut from the rib end of loin meat at the shoulder, or the area called the pork "butt."  They have a bone and look sorta like a rib, but technically they're not ribs.  If your country style ribs are marked bone-in, that's not a rib.  It's the scapula or shoulder blade.  These "ribs" tend to be fatter than true ribs, but that just gives you more flavor.

 Now, the "butt" is not the rear end of the pig.  It's from the shoulder.  Why is the shoulder area called "butt?"  Because in colonial times in New England, butchers packed the inexpensive, less prized, cuts of pork into large barrels for storage and shipping.  These barrels were called "butts."   Boston butchers packed a particular shoulder cut, which was known as a New England specialty, and it became known as the "Boston butt."

Let's move on to baby back ribs.  These are true ribs.   Baby backs typically come in a rack and they're from the top section of the ribs, where the rib meets the spine after the loin is removed.  They're slightly curved and are more lean than spare ribs.They're called "baby" because they're smaller as compared to the bigger spare ribs; they're called "back" because they're attached to the backbone of the pig. 

Spare ribs are also true ribs.  Mostly bone with meat and fat in between.  They're located farther down the side of the pig toward the breastbone.  They're flatter, straighter, larger, and meatier than baby backs.  Spare ribs come from the ends of baby backs, along the breast bone, and extend around the belly.  They're sometimes considered more flavorful than baby backs, but they take a longer time to cook and get tender.

 

Lastly, we have the St. Louis ribs, so called because St. Louis, MO, was a major meat-packing hub in the mid 1900s and  St. Louis butchers developed a specific cut of the spare rib rack.  The gristle and cartilage was removed from the pointed ends of the spare ribs, resulting in a cleaner, more uniform, rectangular-shaped rack which was more consistent, meatier, and visually appealing.  The popularity of this particular cut eventually led to the USDA to officially designate it as "St. Louis" style.

 

   Whatever type of ribs you're using, the same preparation and cooking techniques apply to all of them.  First, I'm removing the silver skin (more on this later), then preparing a rub to massage into the ribs, then cooking the ribs wrapped in foil, low and slow. Along the way, I pull together my BBQ sauce to slather on at the end. 

 

Rosie's St. Louis Ribs 

 Top side.  Remove fat.

 Bottom side.  Remove as much of the silver skin as you can.

 

To prepare the ribs for cooking, I remove any fat on the top side, the I remove the silver skin on the bottom.  The silver skin, seen here on the back of the ribs, is a thin, silvery-white membrane of tough,connective tissue found on various meats. This tissue, made of collagen, does not break down during cooking and can cause the meat to be tough and chewy, plus it contracts during cooking, causing the meat to curl.  I always try to remove it before cooking.  Take a sharp knife to slice under the membrane, then tease it diagonally to pull it off.

 

Do the best you can.

 

Silver skin was dispatched as best I could.

Now, for the rub.  I make it differently each time.  All depends on what's in my cabinet and what catches my eye.

 

Today's rub:

 

 

 

 

Rub ingredients:

 1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp kosher salt

2 TB coffee espresso powder

2 TB paprika

1 TB granulated garlic 

1 TB onion powder

2 TB oregano

1 TB dry mustard powder

1 TB cumin 

1 TB thyme

1 TB ground pepper 

1 TB cayenne 

Combine all ingredients.

Remember, these are simply guidelines.  If you don't have some of the ingredients, no worry. 

Mix rub ingredients together.

 

Sprinkle rub onto both sides of meat.  Massage it in.

Set the ribs in heavy duty foil, wrap, and seal.

Place on baking sheet. 

Place rib package in a 225° oven and bake for 4 hours.

Set it and forget it.  You can go for 5 hours if you want.

  It's not going to dry out and it's only going to get more tender. 

While the ribs are baking, make the BBQ sauce.

Rosie's BBQ Sauce 

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup cider vinegar

2 TB yellow mustard

2 TB Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce

 Mix all ingredients in small pan over low heat.  Bring to simmer and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat.

 

Stir in: 

2 tsp Texas Pete

1/4 tsp liquid smoke 

 

Taste test and adjust how you might like it better, but this is spot on for me. 

 

Rosie Note: 

Whenever I'm making sauces, or anything for that matter, I don't measure exactly.  Or at all.  I primarily eyeball it.  That being said, I'm trying to measure now, and write it all down as I go along, because you never know when the planets will all align and you'll just hit something SPOT ON.

 

That's what happened the first time I made the BBQ sauce.  It was noticeably different and better and ... perfect, for lack of a better word.  I've never cared about the term "mouth feel," but I understand now what they're talking about and it applies to how I tasted this particular sauce. The taste was THERE, but after the taste, there was a warmth and flavor that spread across my palate that was particularly pleasureful and satisfying.  It made my mouth feel good.

 

Now, back to writing things down.  I didn't the first time. But I thought I could reprise it a second time.  The second time, I wrote down the ingredients and amounts, tasted it, and knew I had missed the mark.  The taste was there, but that appealing and enticing "mouth feel" was not there. 

 I'd kept a container of the #1 sauce to compare to later recreations, and my efforts were successful.  Third time was the charm.  

And now you have the recipe.

  And you're welcome.

 

Cook ribs at 225°.

4 hours

5 hours

It all works. 

Unwrap and pour some BBQ sauce over top.

 

Save some of the BBQ sauce for dipping.

       

Meat is fall-off-the-bone-tender.

And that's some tasty marrow.

Suck it. 

Now, while my ribs have been slowly cooking away, I started on a bunch of side dishes.

Whenever I think of side dishes for ribs, I think of cole slaw, cornbread, and some kind of potato, whether potato salad or sweet potato casserole. I have recipes for all that offer a little something extra than the usual standards, and are well worth trying. 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Rack of St. Louis ribs and my side dishes. 

From left to right:

Cornbread

Salsa (for cornbread)

Dilly potato salad (NO MAYO!) 

Rosie's cole slaw 

 

And after I shot the pictures, I changed the cornbread dish from cornbread with salsa on the side to my Fiesta Cornbread, in which the salsa is cooked on top of the batter and cheese melts over all.

 

 SIDES:

 

 Cole slaw is always a good partner with ribs.  My cole slaw brings in the tartness and sweetness of craisins and apples in the body along with the tang of buttermilk in the dressing. The coolness and acidity of the slaw are perfect counterparts to the warmth and unctuously pleasant meatiness of the ribs. 

 

 

Rosie's Cole Slaw: 

4 cups chopped cabbage

1 small red pepper, chopped (You can use any color pepper. I was feeling the red today.)

1 small carrot, very thinly sliced 

1 apple, peeled, cored, and chopped 

3 TB mayonnaise

2 TB sour cream 

 2 TB cider vinegar

2 TB sugar 

2 TB buttermilk

kosher salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup Craisins 

 

 

Combine cabbage, pepper, and apple.

 For the dressing, mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, sugar, and buttermilk, stirring until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over cole slaw mixture and toss to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        

 

 Dilled Potato Salad 

  

 This dill potato salad is my favorite.  Mayonnaise-free, the dressing is a nice diversion from your standard potato salads.  It boasts a tart, emulsified Dijon dressing with fresh dill to accentuate and make those potatoes pop.

  

Potato Salad With Dill

1 ½ lbs small potatoes, cubed into ½ - ¾ inch pieces  (I like to use the bag of assorted red, purple, and white potatoes.)

3-4 TB white vinegar

 Boil cubed potatoes in salted water until tender, about 15 minutes.  Drain in colander.  Immediately pour white vinegar over potatoes and cool.  Place potatoes in medium bowl.

 Make dressing:

 

2 TB white vinegar

2 TB Poupon Dijon gray mustard (Do not substitute a generic brand.)

½ cup neutral flavored olive oil (I use Bertolli Extra Light Olive Oil.)

½ - 1 cup chopped fresh dill

Briskly, mix together vinegar and mustard.  Slowly dribble in the olive oil, whisking constantly, incorporating the oil to make an emulsion.  Take your time here and don’t hurry so the emulsion doesn’t separate.  Stir in the chopped dill.  Pour dressing over potatoes and toss to coat.  Add in additional dill as desired.

 Ribs and cornbread are a natural match and I have a recipe for cornbread that's been well-received by those at my table.  While my ribs were slow-cooking, I decided to change my cornbread offering.  Instead of a pan of cornbread with salsa on the side, I decided to make a different cornbread with the salsa factor built in. Now, if you already have a favorite cornbread recipe, by all means use it.  But I urge you to try the toppings on it that I've suggested here for you.   

 

      

 

 

 

 That's one of my favorite photographs in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rosie's Fiesta Cornbread 

 

While preparing ingredients, start heating an 8-inch iron skillet, lightly filmed with oil, to 400°

 

1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal 

1 cup flour

1-2 TB sugar (If you like it sweeter go with 2 TB.)

1 TB baking powder 

1 tsp Kosher salt

In a medium bowl, mix all dry ingredients together. 

 

To the dry ingredients, whisk in: 

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

2 eggs, beaten, 3/4 cup buttermilk

1 11-oz. can corn, drained

Mix until just combined. 

 

Pour batter into hot (400° ) 9-inch cast iron skillet.  This step gets a nice crust started on your cornbread.

 

Toppings:

sliced tomatoes

sliced onions

sliced jalapeños

sprinkling of cumin

shredded cheddar cheese

 

Top with slices of tomato, onion, and jalapeno.  Up to you on amounts there.  If you prefer your jalapeños mild, remove the seeds and cut the white ribs (pith) out. The capcaisin is the compound that makes peppers hot and is concentrated in that membrane.  For milder spice and heat, scrape it out. 
 Dust toppings with cumin, then add grated cheese.  I used 4 oz. of cheddar which covered nicely, but you might consider Monterey Jack or a combination of cheeses.
Place in 350° oven for about 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out fairly clean.  Let rest before slicing.  Place cornbread on a platter. Do not keep it in the iron pan.  The pan does the bread no favors at this point.
  

 

This cornbread has a lovely texture to it.  For leftover uses, you might consider slicing it and sautéing in butter until golden brown. Or buttering and toasting it.  Eat like it is for a nice side dish, or crumble it and use for croutons on salads and in soups.  

 

 

I used the crumbles on some stuffed jalapeño poppers I made for a quick snack later.  Simply slice your jalapeños lengthwise. If you want to tame some of the heat, then slice off the white membrane (the pith) and the seeds.  That's where the capcaisin, the element that contains the heat, is concentrated.  So you can control the heat factor as you like.  I filled the peppers with wild rice (since that was leftover from a bygone meal), but you could go with white rice, corn, and/or black beans, if you like.

  I use stuffed peppers often, if only for a way to use up those little bits of leftovers in the fridge that otherwise would get pushed to the back, forgotten, then have to be thrown out weeks later.

  I topped the peppers with chopped onions and roasted red peppers, then I crumbled on the sautéed cornbread pieces and sprinkled grated cheese to cover.  (Cheddar or Monterey Jack or a combination)  Run under the broiler until everything's heated through and the cheese is nice and golden and bubbly.

 

I didn’t think the ribs would be complete without a sweet potato dish to accompany them.  I used small ramekins here for individual servings, but you could use a larger casserole dish. 

 

 I’ve also used a hollowed-out orange for a serving dish here.  (Something to think about for a Thanksgiving presentation.)

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of spreading a thin layer of the sweet potato mixture in a rectangular casserole dish so you have more room for more toppings. 

 

I'm  thinking of this like I think of Nachos Platters in restaurants.  Don't pile UP the chips like it's a little mountain.  Spread the chips out and you've got more surface area for the toppings, and really, I'm all about the toppings here. 

 

This could be a dessert.  Seriously.  This would be great with ice cream.  I'm thinking Brown Sugar Bourbon Vanilla or Vanilla Salted Caramel, both from Turkey Hill. 

 

And now I'm thinking about toasting some coconut and sprinkling that on top of the ice cream. 

 

 

Rosie's Sweet Potatoes

2-3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed.

1/4 stick butter

1 orange, zested and juiced

splash of cream 

 brown sugar

mini marshmallows

pecans

butter slices  

Peel sweet potatoes and dice.  Cook in boiling salted water until tender.  Drain and transfer to bowl.  Add 1/4 stick butter, cut into pats, stirring until melted.  I use a beater here on low.  Beat in orange juice and zest, saving some of the zest for the topping.  Add a splash of cream for good measure so it's all nice and smooth.  Spoon mixture into individual buttered ramekins.  Top with marshmallows, pecans, sprinkling of brown sugar, remaining orange zest, and extra pats of butter.  Bake in 350° oven until marshmallows melt and slightly brown and sweet potatoes are hot all the way through.  Maybe 20 minutes.

 

Enjoy.