Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Ribs: to peel or not to peel

DANG IT!!! ah hate a nice rack dat's hard ta chew.

LOL I knew that was coming!!!

280 is right, properly cooked, the ribs won't fall off the bone...membrane or no membrane

back in the day, when i was growing up, we always kilt two fattening hogs each year. one about the Friday after TG, and the other between Xmas and New Years.

we cut the ribs into strips, and almost always boil them. always good, and flavorful. we never knew to take the peeling off the back.

but nowadays, i must admit, i can't cook a proper rib on the Weber w/o peeling the backskin off the rib. it's just the thing to do, maybe a ritual, but oh so important.

I'm a peeler... to me the membrane never gets "crispy" and is almost always chewy... I will admit, I have over cooked ribs to the point that they fall off the bone but I am getting better and they still tasted delicious if you ask me...

I'm of the school that never even heard of peeling until reading on here about it. I've since been peeling, and to my unrefined tastes can't tell much of a difference.

Yup----when I go to someones cookout I can always spot the parboilers right off the first bite..

I kicked that habit a long time ago.

(whoops, except for my chicken wings)

I'm not sure I follow, are you saying that for rib meat to fall off the bone it must be parboiled first?

I have never peeled or parboiled. I just rub right over the membrane. We mostly use just baby backs.

Concur. I actually like te little bit of strucure that the membrae gives and it doesn't bother me to strip it off. I don't think it blocks flavor at all.

I've got kids. Lots of 'em. They'll notice the membrane left on in a second.

They have become quite finicky about their Q - grins.

They can simply be overcooked. In a water smoker you can litterally steam them to mush.

You bet. Taking them off the pit and wrapping in foil for a while will cause them to fall off the bone, also. Parboiling isn't required.....I know a lot of women and kids that prefer falling off the bone ribs. It's a personal preference. If they like, I like.

very true. it's my own estimation that the average Joe and his missus and kids are moving toward a more tender cut of meat or the cooking thereof.

not to say the bbq and chili judges aren't right in their decisions, but the "average" consumer is probably moving more toward tender and less toward chewy. but, it really is a question of personal taste. i love boiled ribs that still have some chew left, but not everyone agrees with this.

Spoiled rotten! Why I rememember as a kid they made us eat North Carolina BBQ! Oh the humanity.

I confess to par boiling early in life... glad I got that off my chest!

Closet parboiler...

I swear I only did it once and I didn't eat them...

No. I'm not saying that at all. But for me I AM saying that falling off the bone is NOT my preference.

Whatever works for you brother! And yup tin foil used wrongly produces mush.

David

ok parkay boy