![Balinese Roasted Pork Ribs - Iga Babi Panggang Bali](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Balinese_Roasted_Pork_Ribs_-_Iga_Babi_Panggang_Bali.JPG)
Pork ribs are a
cut of pork
File:British Pork Cuts.svg, 400px, British cuts of pork
poly 187 219 187 194 173 196 Trotters
poly 372 226 373 207 361 204 359 216 Trotters
poly 171 141 166 104 287 117 294 152 Belly
poly 167 102 178 27 315 23 274 102 Loin
poly 361 201 371 181 ...
popular in
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
and
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
cuisines. The
ribcage
The rib cage, as an enclosure that comprises the ribs, vertebral column and sternum in the thorax of most vertebrates, protects vital organs such as the heart, lungs and great vessels.
The sternum, together known as the thoracic cage, is a semi- ...
of a
domestic pig
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...
, meat and bones together, is cut into usable pieces, prepared by
smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...
,
grilling
Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above, below or from the side. Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat a ...
, or
baking
Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferred " ...
– usually with a sauce, often
barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...
– and then served.
Cuts of pork ribs
Several different types of
ribs
The rib cage, as an enclosure that comprises the ribs, vertebral column and sternum in the thorax of most vertebrates, protects vital organs such as the heart, lungs and great vessels.
The sternum, together known as the thoracic cage, is a semi- ...
are available, depending on the section of the rib cage from which they are cut. Variations in the thickness of the meat and bone, as well as levels of fat in each cut, can alter the flavor and texture of the prepared dish. The inner surface of the rib cage is covered by a layer of connective tissue (
pleura
The pulmonary pleurae (''sing.'' pleura) are the two opposing layers of serous membrane overlying the lungs and the inside of the surrounding chest walls.
The inner pleura, called the visceral pleura, covers the surface of each lung and dips bet ...
) that is difficult to cook tender; it is usually removed before marinating or cooking.
Back ribs
![Ribs from the pit](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Ribs_from_the_pit.jpg)
Back ribs (also back ribs or loin ribs) are taken from the top of the rib cage between the spine and the spare ribs, below the loin muscle. They have meat between the bones and on top of the bones and are shorter, curved, and sometimes meatier than spare ribs. The rack is shorter at one end due to the natural tapering of a pig's rib cage. The shortest bones are typically only about and the longest is usually about , depending on the size of the hog. A pig side has 15 to 16 ribs (depending on the breed), but usually, two or three are left on the shoulder when it is separated from the loin. A rack of back ribs contains a minimum of eight ribs (some may be trimmed if damaged) but can include up to 13 ribs, depending on how the butcher has prepared it. A typical commercial rack has 10–13 bones. If fewer than ten bones are present, butchers call them "cheater racks."
Spareribs
*Spare ribs, also called "spareribs" or "side ribs," are taken from the belly side of the rib cage, below the section of back ribs, and above the sternum (breast bone). Spareribs are flatter and contain more bone than meat but more fat, making the ribs more tender than back ribs. The term ''spare ribs'' is an
Early Modern English
Early Modern English or Early New English (sometimes abbreviated EModE, EMnE, or ENE) is the stage of the English language from the beginning of the Tudor period to the English Interregnum and Restoration, or from the transition from Middle E ...
corruption (via ) of , a
Low German
:
:
:
:
:
(70,000)
(30,000)
(8,000)
, familycolor = Indo-European
, fam2 = Germanic
, fam3 = West Germanic
, fam4 = North Sea Germanic
, ancestor = Old Saxon
, ancestor2 = Middle L ...
term that referred to racks of meat being roasted on a turning spit.
*
St. Louis style ribs (or St. Louis cut spare ribs) have had the sternum bone,
cartilage
Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints as articular cartilage, and is a structural component of many body parts including the rib cage, the neck an ...
, and rib tips (see below) removed. The shape is almost rectangular.
*
Kansas City style ribs are trimmed less closely than the St. Louis style ribs and have the hard bone removed.
Rib tips
Rib tips are short, meaty sections of rib attached to the lower end of the spare ribs, between the ribs and the sternum. Unlike back ribs or spare ribs, the rib structure is provided by dense costal
cartilage
Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints as articular cartilage, and is a structural component of many body parts including the rib cage, the neck an ...
, not bone. Rib tips are cut away from the spare ribs when preparing St. Louis-style spare ribs.
Riblets
![Smoked country style pork ribs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Smoked_country_style_pork_ribs.jpg)
Riblets are sometimes prepared by butchers by cutting a full set of spare ribs approximately in half. This produces a set of short, flat ribs where the curved part of the rib is removed and gives them a more uniform look. Loin back ribs do not always have this removed. When not removed, they look rounded and are often referred to as baby back ribs. Riblets, as defined by the
North American Meat Processors Association
The North American Meat Processors Association (NAMP) was an industry group for meat processors, packers, and distributors. It was a nonprofit, membership-based group with significant presence in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. Its Executive ...
as pork cut number 424, the pork loin riblet, is the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae and any accompanying lean meat that is left after the loin and tenderloin are removed. These riblets, number 424, must include at least four transverse processes from the lumbar spine but no more than two rib bones. Riblets used to be thrown out by butchers but have become popular due to their excellent flavor and lower cost.
Button ribs (or ''feather bones'') are often confused with riblets mostly because
Applebee's
Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain. The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salads ...
sells these as riblets. What Applebee's sells is found just past the ribs near the backbone, just underneath the tenderloin. This cut of meat has no bones but instead has "buttons" of cartilaginous material with meat attached.
Rib tips (or brisket) are found at the bottom of the
spare ribs
Spare ribs (also side ribs or spareribs) are a variety of ribs cut from the lower portion of a pig, specifically the belly and breastbone, behind the shoulder, and include 11 to 13 long bones. There is a covering of meat on top of the bones and ...
by the sternum. The
rib tips
Pork ribs are a cut of pork popular in Western and Asian cuisines. The ribcage of a domestic pig, meat and bones together, is cut into usable pieces, prepared by smoking, grilling, or baking – usually with a sauce, often barbecue – and then ...
have a high proportion of cartilage. The rib tips give the
spare ribs
Spare ribs (also side ribs or spareribs) are a variety of ribs cut from the lower portion of a pig, specifically the belly and breastbone, behind the shoulder, and include 11 to 13 long bones. There is a covering of meat on top of the bones and ...
a rounded appearance. This piece is sometimes removed to provide the meat with a more uniform appearance and make it easier to eat, and the remaining spare ribs are referred to as ''Saint Louis-style ribs''.
Other cuts and preparations
![AppleCrownPorkRoast](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/AppleCrownPorkRoast.jpg)
*Button ribs are flat, circular-shaped bones located at the sirloin end of the loin. They are not actually ribs, as they are not taken from the rib cage. The button ribs consist of the last four to six bones on the backbone; they do not have actual ribs connected to them. The meat on the button ribs consists of meat that covers each button and connects them.
*Country-style ribs are cut from the blade end of the loin close to the pork shoulder. They are meatier than other rib cuts. They contain no rib bones but instead contain parts of the shoulder blade (scapula).
*Rib roast (or bone-in pork loin rib roast, bone-in loin rib roast, center cut rib roast, prime rib of pork, standing rib roast) is a whole pork loin with the back ribs attached. They can be up to long and thick. They are sold whole or in sections.
*Rib chops are
pork steak
A pork steak, also called Boston butt or pork blade steak, is a steak cut from the shoulder of the pig.
Pork steaks are mentioned as far back as 1739, though without details about how they were cut or how they were cooked.
Shoulder steaks are c ...
s or chops that include a back rib bone and the loin meat attached. They are lean and tender.
*Rib patties – The meat from the ribs is taken off the bone and ground to make rib
patties
A patty or burger (in British English) is a flattened, usually round, serving of ground meat and/or legumes, grains, vegetables, or meat alternatives. Patties are found in multiple cuisines throughout the world.
In British and American Eng ...
.
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
McRib
The McRib is a barbecue-flavored pork sandwich periodically sold by the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. It was first introduced to the McDonald's menu in 1981, following test marketing the year before.
After poor sales, it ...
patties contain pork meat mostly from non-rib sections of the hog.
*Christmas ribs – About half of Norwegian families eat oven-cooked ribs on Christmas Eve. Normally, they are referred to as or . Traditional recipes include steaming for half an hour before cooking in the oven to achieve a crisp surface.
Recipe from klikk.no
/ref>
See also
* Ribs (food)
Ribs of pork, beef, lamb, and venison are a cut of meat. The term ''ribs'' usually refers to the less meaty part of the chops, often cooked as a slab (not cut into separate ribs). Ribs of bison, goat, ostrich, crocodile, alligator, llama, al ...
* Beef ribs
A rib steak (known as côte de boeuf or tomahawk steak in the UK) is a beefsteak sliced from the rib primal of a beef animal, with rib bone attached. In the United States, the term rib eye steak is used for a rib steak with the bone removed; h ...
* Galbi
''Galbi''
* (), ''galbi-gui'' (), or grilled ribs, is a type of ''gui'' (grilled dish) in Korean cuisine. "''Galbi''" is the Korean word for "rib", and the dish is usually made with beef short ribs. When pork spare ribs or another meat is used ...
* Rack of lamb
A rack of lamb or carré d'agneau (though this may also refer to other cuts) is a cut of lamb cut perpendicularly to the spine, and including 16 ribs or chops. At retail, it is usually sold 'single' (sawn longitudinally and including the 8 ribs on ...
* Pork belly
Pork belly or belly pork is a boneless and fatty cut of meat from the belly of a pig. Pork belly is particularly popular in Hispanic, Chinese, Danish, Norwegian, Korean, Thai and Filipino cuisine.
Regional dishes
France
In Alsatian ...
References
External links
*
{{barbecue
Cuts of pork
Chinese cuisine
Indonesian cuisine
Korean cuisine
Vietnamese cuisine
German cuisine
Italian cuisine
French cuisine
Mexican cuisine
Soul food
Cuisine of the Southern United States