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Aromatic Bone Broth: Quick, Tender, Juicy, Beautifully Pink Ribs

When it comes to grilling ribs, there are a few key tips to keep in mind to ensure a delicious and visually appealing dish. Pay close attention to the following expert advice, as it will elevate your rib game to the next level.

Administrator

24 February, 2024

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Choose quality ribs

When going to the market, you need to choose ribs that are naturally bright pink in color and have a dry surface. Use your hand to press the meat on the rib, if it feels dry, not sticky and has elasticity. Do not buy ribs that are pale gray or dark in color, have a strange smell, and feel wet and sticky when touched. These are ribs from unhealthy pigs or ribs that have been left for too long.

Prepare the ribs

Wash the ribs with diluted saltwater and fresh lemon juice. Salt helps remove dirt and kill some bacteria. Fresh lemon juice helps clean the ribs and eliminate unpleasant odors.

Simmering/boiling the ribs

You can choose to simmer the ribs in hot water or cold water. Each cooking method will yield different results.

Pork ribs contain a lot of hemoglobin – a red coloring agent in blood. If you put the ribs in boiling water, when cooked, the ribs will have a pink color. The reason is that when the meat comes into contact with hot water, the outer surface of the meat will quickly contract, and the hemoglobin from the outside will move into the center of the rib. For ribs with thick meat, after simmering over low heat for a long time, the ribs will be tender and still retain their pink color. This method is often used in many restaurants to boil chicken meat or make salted chicken, helping the meat to be beautifully pink and juicy. When making Vietnamese sausage, many people also use this method to give the sausage a pale pink color.

On the contrary, if you put the ribs in the pot when the water is still cold and gradually heat it up, the meat fibers will expand. At that time, the hemoglobin will also flow out and dissolve in the water. When cooked, the simmered portion will have a pale or light white color.

Note that if there is not enough water to submerge the ribs, the exposed meat will become dull and discolored.

When simmering the ribs, you should use low heat. If you use high heat, the water will evaporate quickly, and the nutrients will evaporate as well. In addition, the water evaporates quickly, causing the ribs to be exposed to more air, leading to whitening, drying out, or discoloration. When simmering the ribs with high heat, the sweet flavor cannot be fully released, and the dish will be less flavorful.

Therefore, you should simmer the ribs over low heat, covering the pot tightly to let the ribs cook slowly.

Nowadays, we can use slow cookers or pressure cookers to simmer the ribs. These types of cookers have preset settings, you just need to put the ingredients in and choose the appropriate mode. If you don’t have these types of cookers, you can boil the ribs for about 15-20 minutes. Then cover the pot tightly with aluminum foil and turn off the heat. Let it sit like that for half a day to make the ribs tender. This method helps conserve gas, save electricity, maintain heat for simmering the ribs, prevent oxygen from entering inside, and keep the ribs beautifully pink.

Seasoning

You can season the ribs according to your preference. If you want the ribs to be flavorful, you can add some salt from the beginning. If you want the broth to be naturally sweet, you shouldn’t add salt from the beginning. Let the ribs simmer until tender, then dissolve the natural sweetness from the bones into the broth before adding salt.

Frequently asked questions

The key to achieving tender and juicy ribs is to cook them low and slow. This means cooking the ribs at a low temperature for an extended period of time, typically around 275-300 degrees Fahrenheit for about 3-4 hours. This slow cooking process breaks down the tough collagen in the meat, making it tender and allowing the flavors to penetrate deeply.

The aromatic bone broth adds a depth of flavor to the ribs that cannot be achieved with plain water. By simmering beef bones with vegetables, herbs, and spices, you create a rich and flavorful broth that infuses into the ribs during cooking, resulting in juicy and delicious meat.