Braising Week: Braised Pork Riblets

C – I often get complaints about too many bones in the ribs I serve.

When I hear that I wonder, silently, “Well, they are called ribs for a reason.” What are they thinking, anyway? I guess they have eaten too many ribbed shaped meat patties from a well-know fast food chain. I try not to serve these people ribs ever again.

It’s sad. I love the bones on the ribs. It keeps a count of how many ribs I’ve eaten. Well, for those people who hate the bones … but love the taste of ribs … here’s a good recipe.

We wanted to try a braised rib recipe. Luke suggested we just remove the bones completely by doing pork riblets. Pork riblets come from the lower edge of the rib cut, where there is more cartilage and a few small bones. The small bones are removed before serving.

They were good, but I still missed the bones. It wasn’t finger food anymore … just more elegant. I couldn’t remember how many I’d eaten, either.

Luke’s technique for these riblets were interesting. We grilled them first then added them to a pan and let them cook in their own juices. It’s much different than the normal braising when you all vegetables and stock and cover it completely.

Braising Week: Braised Pork Riblets
Recipe type: Mains, Sides
Author:
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 7 hours
Total time: 7 hours 20 mins
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 2 riblet strips cut from lower end of pork rib cut.
  • Canola oil for grilling
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • Homemade BBQ sauce (recipe below)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
  2. Salt and pepper the riblets.
  3. Place pork riblets on an oiled grill heated on high. Sear both sides. About 5 minutes on each side.
  4. Place in a roasting pan.
  5. Add enough water to cover ½ of the smallest piece of the riblet.
  6. Cover with foil.
  7. Place in oven for 7 hours or until riblets are tender. Make sure not to overcook. The meat will turn dry and flavorless if cooked too long.
  8. Remove riblets and raise oven temp to 350 degrees.
  9. Once the riblets have cooled a bit, slide out the small end bones and discard.
  10. Cut riblets into 1 inch “ribs.”
  11. Coat with BBQ sauce and heat in 350 degree oven until well warmed.
  12. Serve immediately.
  13. Enjoy!

Chipotle BBQ Sauce recipe

We added my chipotle BBQ sauce at the end. They were delicious. These ribs were great. But, make sure you eat them right away. They tend to dry out a bit when you reheat them.

Thanks Luke for showing me another way to braise. You’re just full of surprises this week .