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Is there a trick for pulling membrane off ribs?
Captainjimpark
Posts: 299
is there a trick for removing the membrane off ribs?
ive tried it a few times but give up...
ive tried it a few times but give up...
Comments
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Just grab with a paper towel and pull
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There are quite a few you tube video's on this, but ... if you bought from Costco, they are pulled off by the butcher.
If they are still intact, get a butterknife and gently try to get between the membrane and rib. Once you get a bit lifted off, get a dry papertowel and pull the membrane off.
Practice makes it simple over time.I've slow smoked and eaten so much pork, I'm legally recognized as being part swine - Chatsworth Ca. -
What @Tony_T said. Sometimes I need to use a sharp paring knife to get it started.~ John - https://www.instagram.com/hoosier_egger
XL BGE, LG BGE, KJ Jr, PK Original, Ardore Pizza Oven, King Disc
Bloomington, IN - Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoosiers! -
I start seperating with a pair of kitchen shears held perpendicular to the ribs and work them under the membrane until I can get a good grip on it. Then pull firmly but gently while working my fingers underneath.Jefferson, GA
XL BGE, MM, Things to flip meat over and stuff
Wife, 3 kids, 5 dogs, 4 cats, 12 chickens, 2 goats, 2 pigs.
“Honey, we bought a farm.” -
I use a spoon handle to pull up the corner of the membrane by the end rib. Once I get a little flap started, I grab it with a paper towel and pull..............do it right and it all comes off in one movement.Living the good life smoking and joking
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Yep, paper towels. I get the peel started between two ribs with my finger, then grab it with a paper towel, and it pulls off easily with a nice grip.
Funny story, I did the same with my kids teeth when they were young and were loosing teeth. They didn't want to wait for the tooth to hang by a thread, they wanted them OUT!. Works like a charm!+++++++++++++++++++++++++++Austin, Texas. I'm the guy holding a beer. -
Use the force.
....but really. Use the knife, paper towel solutionXL & MM BGE, 36" Blackstone - Newport News, VA -
there's a membrane along the inside of the ribs, the inside of the chest cavity if you will. that's what you take off.
but there's also a membrane around each rib. this one ain't coming off.
when you buy a slab of ribs that has been trimmed, you'll sometimes find one exposed bone, down the small end, with a tail of membrane completely off the bone, flapping in the breeze. happens if they trim this bone with a saw.
if you grab that whole thing and try to pull it off, it won't come off, because you are ALSO grabbing that sheath membrane around the bone. and
instead, take a piece of paper towel or paper napkin and grab/pinch at the membrane near the tip of a rib. it should pull off easily. start at the small end, and you can often take the thing in one go. but it may come off in a couple strips
hard to explain word-wise.
you are NOT looking for perfectly exposed bone, so don't pry a knife down to the bone and pry up. you will be working under the sheath around te bone, and that's not going anywhere. just the outer membrane of the cavity wall.
[social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others] -
Also seems to help if you let them warm up some on the counter.
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Paper towel...comes right off...one of the first things I learned from "Bub-A-Q" at one of my 1st competitions ....Have:
XLBGE / Stumps Baby XL / Couple of Stokers (Gen 1 and Gen 3) / Blackstone 36 / Maxey 3x5 water pan hog cooker
Had:
LBGE / Lang 60D / Cookshack SM150 / Stumps Stretch / Stumps Baby
Fat Willies BBQ
Ola, Ga -
Melissa Cookston, Memphis Barbecue Company does it best. I was amazed that they do pull the membrane in her restaurant. It is at 2:43 in.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/baby-back-ribs-recipe.html#lightbox-recipe-video?oc=linkback
Large BGE, MiniMAX BGE, 2 Mini BGE's, R&V Fryer, 36" Blackstone Griddle, Camp Chef Dual Burner 40K BTU StoveBGE ChimineaProsper, TX -
paper towel, grab membrane in the middle of the rack starting at the side, pull till i can get a finger under it, pull the thing off. seems this is hard for the first few rib cooks and then you never think about it again =)once the towel gets wet, get a dry one
fukahwee maineyou can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it -
I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!
MichaelCentral Connecticut -
Thanks everyone,great advice as usual.i never thought of using a paper towel.
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I use a fork to get started then pull with a paper towel. Look for an edge that is already loose that helps me and I think it works better when they are cold. Duroc ribs usually have the membrane's already removed in cryovacs. Look for them they are great pork as well.XL, WSM, Coleman Road Trip Gas GrillKansas City, Mo.
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One other tip besides the paper towel. Take a sharp knife and slit the membrane down the length of the slab. That way it takes only half as much force.
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@Darby_Crenshaw you answered my question of the 2nd membrane! I always thought i got the membrane off then noticed that 2nd membrane.Austin, Tx
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I worked as a cook years ago when I was was younger and had to peel a few hundred a day...best thing i found was a tomato corer.
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The paper towel trick has worked for me 99% of the time. The1% that it didn't was a Costco batch that I spent 10 minutes looking and examining it before I realized it was pulled already!!!!!
LBGE #19 from North GA Eggfest, 2014
Stockbridge, GA - just south of Atlanta where we are covered up in Zombies! #TheWalkingDead films practically next door!
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theyolksonyour mentioned it above, but it's worth repeating, it comes off much easier if they've been sitting out a bit rather than fresh out of the fridge.Stillwater, MN
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Yo butcher....can you remove that membrane for me please?Ellijay GA with a Medium & MiniMax
Well, I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life,
Run me out in the cold rain and snow -
Disposable chop sticks from a Chinese restaurant work very well to get under the membrane and work it loose for the paper towel. They don't seem to tear the membrane as easily as other devices.A poor widows son.
See der Rabbits, Iowa -
Have yet to figure this out
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Dare I ask...does the membrane really need to be removed?LBGE & Masterbuilt 30" Stainless Electric Digital Smokehouse w/Cold Smoker
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Homebrewguy said:Dare I ask...does the membrane really need to be removed?Narcoossee, FL
LBGE, Nest, Mates, Plate Setter, Ash Tool. I'm a simple guy. -
Hmm...I left it on ours over the weekend and I didn't even notice it. That was with extremely tender meat that pretty much fell off the bones.LBGE & Masterbuilt 30" Stainless Electric Digital Smokehouse w/Cold Smoker
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Homebrewguy said:Hmm...I left it on ours over the weekend and I didn't even notice it. That was with extremely tender meat that pretty much fell off the bones.Narcoossee, FL
LBGE, Nest, Mates, Plate Setter, Ash Tool. I'm a simple guy. -
I don't really see any difference with the membrane removed vs simply scoring it with a sharp knife. I still remove it most cooks since "tradition" tells me I should.
JimLBGE/Weber Kettle/Blackstone 36" Griddle/Turkey Fryer/Induction Burner/Royal Gourmet 24" Griddle/Cuisinart Twin Oaks/Pit Boss Tabletop pellet smoker/Instant Pot
BBQ from the State of Connecticut!
Jim
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