In praise of country style ribs

BluesnBBQ

When we talk about ribs, we're almost always referring to spare ribs or baby backs. It seems that country style ribs are very overlooked. Maybe it's because of the way they are cut or shaped (I've never seen racks of them together, just packages of cut up ribs), but they are great for barbecuing and are usually cheap (Giant has them on sale for $.99/lb this week!).[p]I've done some recently that have turned out great. Last night I bought a package that had four big, meaty country style ribs. I rubbed them with mustard and Southern Succor rub (from "Smoke and Spice") and smoked them over hickory and pecan, direct for about four hours. The temp stayed around 200 the whole time. They were damn good! They probably could have cooked for at least another hour as they still had a lot of fat on them. I ended up cutting off most of the fat from the one I ate (plenty of leftovers for the rest of the week!) and giving them to my very grateful dog. [p]Next time I might try brining them, since they are usually very thick. They would probably be great with all kinds of marinades. Try some country style ribs soon! I'm sure you'll be pleased.

Nature Boy

BluesnBBQ,
I agree. They are often overlooked. The tough part for me is that Country Ribs mean so many different things. [p]Sounds like you got the boston butt cuts, that are nice and fatty. They really do great with marinades (I submitted a recipe some time ago called Vietnature Pork, which is a marinade of fish sauce, heavy garlic, lemongrass and some other goodies. Cooked several hours or more allows most of the fat to render. Finished off direct with a sauce to crust it up a bit. They really soak up the flavor, and cook up very moist. Thanks for the sale tip. I am on my way to Giant.[p]Let's hear it for the fatty COUNTRY RIBS!!![p]They also sell another type of country rib (from the loin I believe), and it is quite the opposite of the shoulder cuts. Very lean, and need to be cooked fast like chops. Go figure why they have to call those country ribs too.
Thanks![p]NB

BluesnBBQ

Nature Boy,[p]Giant also has chicken leg quarters on sale for some ridiculously low price - something like $.50/lb! So make sure you pick some of them up too! I'm going to get some more this week to throw in the freezer.

Unknown

Nature Boy,[p]Real Country Style Ribs are cut from the section that joins the shoulder to the loin. The front csr's are reall fat and basically shoulder and the rear csr's are more like pork chops. The confusion is when grocery stores sell quasi-csr's that are actually cut from the shoulder/butt. I just butchered a hog and got some real csr's that were pretty good and were cut as described above. Actually I have a bunch of hog and probably won't be buying anymore pork for a while. Cut and wrapped including hog from market was .37 a lb. I am glad I'm not a hog farmer, but my processor is in the sausage business and will probably retire in the next year. He sells his sausage for about $2.00 a lb and buys hogs for about .17 a lb. [p]Ashley[p]Sausage anyone?

[ul][li]Ribs![/ul]

Nature Boy

BluesnBBQ,
Thanks. They sell legs for 29 cents on occasion. Maybe that is what it is. Will stop there later today. Cooking Chicken and Pork T-loins for Dad's Bday friday. Might as well stock up! See ya
NB

Nature Boy

Ashley,
Thanks for the info. I guess the difference between "what should be" and "what is" is great. At least in this area.[p]Guess immonna have ta get me a big ol freezer, and me own hog![p]NB