I read your post the other day; went to the meat counter at WalMart and asked for some cat ribs. The child of the woman standing next to me asked what were cat ribs, so I told him. Well, you'd have thought I... On second thought, let's just not go there...

I need to know how to cook pork spare ribs. I bought a box of various cuts from a door-to-door vendor and have eaten most everything except the ribs. By the way, the meat is excellent-- so tender and lean it's well worth the $8 a pound it cost. I'd by another box the next time they come around, no problem. But what I need now is the knowledge that only a master at cooking pork can impart. I am thinking a crock pot is the way to go as I like my ribs so tender that the meat can almost be sucked off the bones and slummed down without chewing. So how do I do it? Thanks for any intelligent input.

Boiling is the way to go for ribs like that. Put them is a pot of highly seasoned water and simmer for about 30 mineuts then test for doneness , if they are not as tender as you like let then go some more but be sure to test every 5 mineuts or so. After you have them as tender as you like just put them on a VERY hot charcoal grill just until they get browned or under the broiler on your oven. You can add your sauce now and slightly brown that or serve the sauce with out the browning step. OR the way I do my ribs is to hang them in my Bradley Smoker (any smoker/cooker will work) set it to smoke for 3 hours at 100F then cramk the heat up to 180F and let them go until done about another 4-5 hours.

We had 'em a few nights ago-- delicious. My mother boiled them and then baked them for about 2 hours in the oven in a covered aluminum roaster and drowning in a sea of BBQ sauce. I was in hog rib heaven eatin' 'em. I had three beers, a mess o' beans and corn-on-the-cob with them. Dessert was a strawberry cheesecake with FoolWhip on it. I get goosebumps thinkin' about how good that food was. Thanks for the lesson in cooking pork.

Your Mom is quite smart! The way I usually cook pork ribs (if I do not smoke them in my smoker) is to:

1. Season them with seasoned salt, garlic powder and pepper (or you can use a rub if there is one you like)
2. Put them in a baking pan or roaster with a tight-fitting lid and a cup or so of water - if you have some, you can add a teaspoon or so of Liquid Smoke flavoring to the water.
3. Bake at about 275 degrees for 3 or 4 hours (or more, if you like them more tender)
4. Cover with barbecue sauce and either grill them for a few minutes or leave them in the roaster, covered in sauce, with the lid off and turn the oven up to 350 degrees for about 5 to 10 minutes.

The low temperature and the moist heat really makes them fall apart! If you cook them too long, you'll need a spatula to get them off the grill! (Or a spoon to get them out of the pan.)

Glad your ribs turned out to your liking. Enjoy cooking myself, managed to make some money at it for a few years, don't do that anymore, good help is just to hard to find and don't really feel like doing it alone, to old and broke down.

Rootbeer, I had an old Chef tell me this little secret, when you boil the ribs add a tablespoon of white vinegar to the water it sure makes the ribs tender.
If your baking a ham add the vinegar to the water you use there too the ham comes out so tender and juicy it hard to believe.
Enjoy
Griz

Was in Costco yesterday; I always cruise past the meat cases just to look at all that beautiful, delicious red meat and imagine what I could do with that cut or that cut, ad infinitum. I saw massive packages of babyback pork ribs, already swimming in marinade, just waiting for me to take one home and cook it to perfection. I need a moment...