BBQ Ribs Are Overrated And Quite Frankly Dumb
Truly, I don't understand the obsession with ribs. There's this whole "tendernism" trend where people rave about ribs so soft they fall right off the bone as the ultimate ideal. Yet that wouldn't even place in a real BBQ competition. I'm surprised we even have those events, born from a world where survival is no longer a daily struggle.
I don't care much for the tendernism debate. To me, ribs—from any animal—are possibly the worst edible part if you're actually trying to get the most value for your money. Sure, if you butchered a whole chicken or cow yourself, go ahead and enjoy them. But dropping $40 at a restaurant for a single rack? That's a horrible, almost disgustingly consumerist choice that doesn't help society—it hurts it in the long run.
Ribs shouldn't cost that much, so why all the fuss over whether they fall off the bone or not? Just toss the rib in the trash, or give it to your dog who will genuinely and passionately enjoy it, and treat yourself to a proper slab of steak instead.
I would never spend my own money on ribs.
The low an slow method of BBQ started as a way for slaves and lower classes to cook off cuts.
The slave owners would get the prime pieces of meat and give the ribs to slaves who had to come up with a way to cook it.
It is interesting that a method for cooking the inexpensive pieces of meat morphed into gourmet food.
Apparently the same thing happened with lobsters and squid (calamari).
I order ribs at restaurants. I haven't bothered making them myself because the cooking takes too long.
!WINE