[?] Subscribe To This Site

Riblets

Riblets. Pork riblets. Kind of resemble the old McRib patty don’t they? But, really, what are they?

Simply put, they are the brisket bone/cartilage that is cut from the top of a rack of spareribs, thereby making a normal rack of spareribs into St. Louis cut ribs.

In the picture below, you can see the little rectangles above the main rack of ribs. These are the little guys removed from the main rack.

Why bother devoting a page to the little Mcrib type things? Well, they are being actively marketed from wholesalers to restaurants so you might see them on a menu or two.

Also, they are being sold in grocery stores now so you need to know how to cook them.

But first a bit about them:

• They are a bit fatty.So you need to cook them long enough to render the fat.

• They are meaty, but can be tough so need to be cooked thoroughly.

• They are cute. But like wings, you need a few to fill you up.

• They are cheap- or should be, so you should try them some time!

Now how to cook them?

• You can smoke them like authentic bbq, at the same temperature as spareribs. They will typically take about 4 hours at 200 degrees. For these I like oak hickory or apple wood. Serve with your favorite bbq sauce.

• You can grill them, either over hardwood or gas. Believe it or not, I do like gas for these guys as you can put them over a low flame and sweat out a bit of the fat.

My new favorite way to make these porksicles? Well, they do resemble the mcrib, which was served on a bun with pickles, onions and sauce, bbq style, but to my mind they also remind me of a chicken wing. So I make them buffalo wing style.

Wait. Bear with me. They are small, have a bit of bone and fat, and are natural finger food. And their tasty white meat just loves sauce.

So, I make them on a gas grill, roasted over slow heat until crispy and then toss them in buffalo wing sauce. Really, really good, and great for parties or Super bowl snack.

Here’s how:

1. On the lowest possible flame, grill the pork for 1 ½ to 2 hours turning every 20 minutes. No need to pre-season- the sauce has plenty of seasoning.

2. Make a buffalo wing sauce. My favorite is the standard Franks Red Hot-based one. Click here to find it!

3. Toss with sauce, serve with bleu cheese and celery. Enjoy!

Return from the Riblets page to the bbq-recipes-for-foodies home page.

Couldn’t find what you’re looking for? Click here to Search this site!