Spareribs Cooking Tips
• Select meat that is pink with white (not gray or yellow) fat.• Cook within 3 to 4 days or freeze up to 3 months. Due to high fat content, even properly-frozen spareribs can deteriorate rapidly and turn rancid if not used timely.
• Avoid thawed, previously-frozen spareribs.
• Plan on 1 to 1-1/2 pounds per person when purchasing spareribs.
• Remove the thin membrane on the backside of the ribs before cooking, if the butcher has not done so. Loosen a corner with a sharp knife, grip tightly and tear from the ribs.
• General baking instructions: bake at 325 degrees F for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
• If you plan on marinating the ribs in a liquid or spice rub for more than 4 hours, choose a marinade with very little salt. The salt will begin to cure the ribs resulting in a flavor more like ham or bacon.
• When finishing spareribs on the grill, add the sauce during the last few minutes to avoid flare-ups and burns or just after removing from the grill.
• If you wish to use your marinade as a basting or baking sauce, be sure to boil it for about 5 minutes before reusing.
• When oven-baking, place the ribs on a rack inside a baking pan lined with foil so the fat can drip off.
• When the ribs are done, the meat will shrink back from the tips of the bones and the bone should wiggle easily in the meat.
• In general, plan on at least 1-1/2 hours to braise ribs.
• For baking, plan on 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours.
• The large end of the rack will generally have more meat.
• Baby back rib and sparerib recipes can be used interchangably in most cases.
• For more information on grilling and smoking spareribs, visit About Barbecues and Grilling.
More about Spareribs and Sparerib Recipes:
• What are spareribs? - FAQ• Should spareribs be boiled? - FAQ
• Sparerib Cooking Tips
• Sparerib Recipes
Spareribs Photo © 2007 Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, licensed to About.com, Inc.
