Houston's famous ribs

Hi Joel,

Je ne suis pas francaise; mais, je suis chef de cuisine. The most important thing to do when making "Knife and fork " ribs is to remove the thin membrane from the back side of the rack. Usually you can shave it with a razor sharp boning knife or ask your butcher to "peel" the rack. Next, Houston's uses Danish pork baby back ribs at about 1-1/2 pounds each rack. I prefer an all-natural Berkshire (Danish are Berkshire, but not natural) at about a pound each. Anyway, Houston's cooks theirs in an Alto-Shaam oven which is a cook and hold oven used for very slow cooking. It cooks for about 4-6 hours (depending on how many pounds of ribs are in) at 230 degrees and then turn the oven down to 150 degrees until the ribs have been in for a total of 8 hours. This "melts" the collagen in the muscle and produces VERY tender meat from otherwise inferior cuts. If the meat goes over 240 degrees, it will seize up the collagen and not be fork-tender. You would have to cook it to oblivion to make it mushy - not really the meaty tenderness you are looking for. The ribs are seasoned with salt, pepper and white pepper before cooking. After cooking, they are basted with sauce and finished on the grill. So, how to cook at home? 2 ways...Either simmer (I mean just barely bubbling) in water with garlic, onion, peppercorns, bay leaf (to preserve flavor) for about 2 hours until as tender as desired. Finish with sauce and grill. OR...place seasoned ribs on a rack inside a roasting pan. Put 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of liquid smoke in bottom of pan. Cover entire pan tightly with plastic wrap, then cover plastic wrap tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil. Place in 230 degree oven for 5 hours. Reduce oven heat to 170 degrees and let cook another 2 - 3 hours. It is IMPORTANT not to open oven or roasting pan until at least 6 hours have elapsed as this will let out steam and cause slowing down of cooking process - could take hours longer. Remove ribs from pan, baste with sauce and finish on grill. I have found it is easier to finish ribs on grill if you have chilled them a bit in refrigerator first. Happy Grilling! Joel