What is a pork Riblet?
True pork riblets are basically a full rack of baby back ribs that have been cut through the centre of the rack to make the ribs half the normal length. Obviously preparation and cooking will follow the same guide as for the full length baby back ribs.
What are the different pork rib cuts?
Some pork ribs have more meat on the bone than others while some are more uniform in shape. Some pork rib cuts are better suited for smoking and cooking low and slow than others. Each rib cut has some unique characteristics and variations. In this article, we’ll break down the different pork rib cuts and what to look for when buying your ribs.
What is a Riblet cut?
There is still some debate in the meat cutting world over the true definition of a riblet. The popular pork appetizer served by Applebee's and other "fun food" outlets may be called a riblet, but many professional meat cutters would actually call it a feather cut, carved from the thin outer tips of the lower ribs.
What are riblets made of?
Riblets are different in that they come from the round bone ends of the rib rack, which are often discarded by butchers when trimming pork ribs for the sake of presentation. Because riblets essentially come from discarded bits of pork ribs, they’re often fairly cheap to buy.
What are pork riblets made of?
Riblets are made from regular pork ribs by cutting the rib rack lengthways and then into smaller pieces. They can also be made from the discarded rib parts that butchers make when trimming ribs. They are cheap, easy to cook, and are a great barbecue appetizer.
Are riblets the same as baby back ribs?
Riblets are baby back ribs that have been cut in half through the bone, making each rib roughly half the size that it was before. This technique doesn't save time, but it makes the portions more manageable.
What cut of pork are Applebee's riblets?
However, what Applebees refers to as “riblets” are actually “button ribs,” which are actually not ribs at all. They're from a long, thin cut of meat that runs along the spine just after the rearmost rib, a cut that's around 6 inches long, 1 ½ inches wide, and ¼ inch thick.
Are riblets short ribs?
Short rib riblets are an English style cut where the bones have been cut apart individually and then cut into shorter, approximately 1 to 2 inch long pieces with the thick meat on top. These are great for braising or in a slow cooker.
What's the difference between a rib and a Riblet?
Restaurateurs, butchers, and grocery store owners capitalize on the popularity of ribs when they sell pork riblets and rib tips. Riblets are simply smaller pieces cut from a full rack, while rib tips are meaty chunks from the underside of spare ribs that contain cartilage but no bone.
Are Applebee's riblets pork or beef?
porkThe Riblet is back at Applebee's, albeit for a limited stretch. The longtime Applebee's signature—a short, flat pork cut trimmed from spare ribs—will be offered for an unspecified time chainwide, according to the franchisor.
What cut of meat is riblets?
Riblets are cut either from the last couple bones at the back end of a spare rib rack, or they come from the long finger bones coming out from the spine just beyond the last of the rib bones.
What does Riblet mean?
Definition of riblet : one of the rib ends in the strip of breast of lamb or veal — see lamb illustration.
Are beef chuck riblets the same as short ribs?
Chuck short ribs tend to be meatier than the other two types of ribs, but they are also tougher due to the more extensive connective tissues (collagen and reticulin) in them. Plate short ribs tend to be fattier than the other two types.
How do you cut riblets?
Separate each rib with your knife, then cut the ribs down into small pieces, making them riblets; or. Cut the ribs sideways directly without separating them to make long strips of meat with the rib bones in between.
What is the best cut of meat for short ribs?
Flavorful, easy-to-prep boneless short ribs aren't actually cut from the rib section of the cow, as their name implies. They are cut from the chuck, or shoulder, of the animal. For that reason, chuck roast is the best substitute when boneless short ribs are unavailable.
What cut of meat is similar to short ribs?
The Best Substitutes for Short Rib are – Beef Chuck roast, Beef plate short ribs, beef back ribs, Beef shank, Beef flanken ribs, Lamb legs and shank, Veal, and Pork, .
Does Applebee's riblets have bones?
All-You-Can-Eat Riblets: Your first order features 12-ounces of riblets expertly cut from the most tender pork for a delicious bone-in flavor, then slow cooked and served dripping in either Honey BBQ or Spicy Texas BBQ sauce, with Classic Fries and cole slaw.
How do you cut ribs into riblets?
3:586:06Break Down Spare Ribs - Easy How To Video - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd cut them down two bones one rack of ribs usually for us it's about two to three ribs a personMoreAnd cut them down two bones one rack of ribs usually for us it's about two to three ribs a person depending on how hungry they are. And then we like to leave a couple extra for lunches the next day.
What is the meaning of Riblet?
Definition of riblet : one of the rib ends in the strip of breast of lamb or veal — see lamb illustration.
Are beef chuck riblets the same as short ribs?
Chuck short ribs tend to be meatier than the other two types of ribs, but they are also tougher due to the more extensive connective tissues (collagen and reticulin) in them. Plate short ribs tend to be fattier than the other two types.
What are pork riblets?
That’s right, these are different from regular pork or beef ribs, although you’d be forgiven for the confusion.
What do pork riblets taste like?
Because they essentially are pork ribs, they taste almost exactly how you’d expect. Any variety will depend on what BBQ sauce or rub you use.
How to buy pork riblets
You can sometimes find them already prepared, but it’s more than likely that you will have to get regular pork ribs. You can ask your butcher to cut pork loin back ribs in half to create two slabs, and you can then do the rest at home.
How to store pork riblets
Like a lot of meat cuts, riblets can be stored in your refrigerator for up to three days. They’ll need to be tightly packaged, but should last fine within that time period.
Pork riblet recipe
These pork riblets are coated in a thick layer of deliciously sweet BBQ sauce and slowly smoked to give you fall-off-the-bone goodness.
Smoked Pork Riblets
Smoked pork riblets cooked low and slow to give you deliciously tender, fall-off-the-bone rib ends. Perfect for an addictive BBQ party treat or appetizer!
5 Different Types Of Pork Rib Cuts
A pig has a total of 14 ribs attached to the center section of the spine. Each type of rib cut comes from a different section of the ribs. Where the ribs are cut from on the pig matters a lot when it comes to how much meat is on the bone, the length, and even the taste.
Selecting Good Quality Pork Ribs
The quality of your pork is just as important as the type of rib cut and cooking technique when it comes to great-tasting pork ribs. Pork doesn’t have the same kind of grading specifications as beef, which goes by the level of fat marbling. But, there are still ways you can determine good quality pork ribs.
Wrapping It All Up
Now, with this article on pork rib cuts explained, you should have a clearer picture of what differentiates different types of ribs and also what to look for when you are buying your pork ribs.
Summary of the Key Findings
While spare and baby ribs are prepared similarly, they have distinct flavors.
The 4 Main Types of Ribs and How to Prepare Them
There are quite a few different ribs out there, especially when it comes to styles and how people prepare them.
3. St Louis Style Ribs
St Louis cut ribs are basically spare ribs - just trimmed a little more.
4. Rib Tips
Rib tips are the small bones and cartilage you will find connecting the front ribs to the breast bone.
Other Types of Ribs
Since this is a “pork ribs explained” type of guide, I’ll also mention some other types of ribs you should consider trying.
Which Type of Pork Rib is Better?
Since there are a few different types of pork ribs, the answer depends on your taste.
Pork Cuts From The Shoulder
As you can imagine, this part of the animal carries the weight of the head, and is constantly working as the animal lowers and raises its head to eat. With all that workout comes tougher sinews and muscle fibres, and so longer slower cooking is required to break down those muscles into tender eating.
Pork Cuts From The Loin
A whole pork loin forms the back of the pig leading from the shoulder down to the leg and includes the pork fillet / tenderloin.
Back Bacon
In the UK especially, the boneless pork loin of the pig is also used for making bacon. Independent butchers will use a dry cure method by packing the fresh pork loin with salt and flavorings. Commercially produced bacon is usually cured with a wet brine solution.
Pork Cuts From The Belly
The belly of the pig is predominantly smoked and used for making bacon in the USA.
Pork Head, Hocks & Trotters
Many times the pork head, hocks and trotters are overlooked by shoppers as an undesireable cut of meat. However, these cuts can often be picked up very cheaply and often have a lot of meat that can be used.
Baby Back Pork Ribs
Pork baby back ribs are usually sold as a full rack when purchased raw from a supermarket or meat market. The full rack will contain 10 – 12 ribs and weigh approx 1.5 – 2lbs of which 50% of the weight is bone. The ribs will be about 6″ long at one end of the rack tapering down to about 3″ at the other end.
Pork Riblets
True pork riblets are basically a full rack of baby back ribs that have been cut through the centre of the rack to make the ribs half the normal length.
Pork Spare Ribs
The pork spare ribs come from the side / belly of the pig where the bones are removed and the meat used for making bacon.
St Louis Spare Ribs
St Louis spare ribs are the same as the spare ribs above, however they have had the cartilage ribs ends removed to make them a more uniform rectangle shape.
Belly Pork Ribs (UK Style)
In the United Kingdom, pork belly is sold as a skin on roasting joint or cut into slices / ribs. This cut is simply known as ‘Belly Pork’
