Tough Pork Ribs? NO PROBLEM! How Do You Make Them Tender?

Howdy & a happy weekend everyone!

We’ve come to the weekends and there’s finally time away from work to sit-back, relax, grab a beer, watch football… or JUST COOK UP SOME AMAZING PORK RIBS!!!

I love pork ribs. Everybody loves a good pork rib. It’s the go-to hearty food when you have a gathering with family and friends, right up there with burgers, wings and steaks.

Now the regular Asian and Singaporean do love a good pork rib too, and we have plenty of delicious recipes that do justice to this wonderful ingredient besides the usual grilling! Also, it doesn’t really matter if you do not own an oven or a grill, there are actually really interesting recipes that require minimal cooking equipment to still make absolutely delicious pork ribs. I will be sharing some of these uniquely Asian and Singaporean recipes with you on this blog so make sure to stick with us!

Back to the question then: So how do you actually make pork ribs tender in the process of cooking? 

I’ve heard many a disgruntled people – friends, fellow foodies, family all complaining about their pork ribs not being tender after cooking them. The pork ribs come out tough instead of the tender chewy goodness.

How can it be???

They found the perfect celebrity recipe, bought all the necessary ingredients, measured the quantity perfectly, followed the cooking instructions and yet, the end product isn’t what they expected. It’s a major downer especially when you’ve put in so much effort for that get-together.

Well, there are tons of logical explanations why the ribs don’t turn out the way you want them to be. The most obvious explanation would be LACK OF EXPERIENCE. An experienced chef is able to make adhoc minute adjustments in the moment whilst cooking. In the cooking process, they are constantly re-evaluating and improving their dishes through the use of their 5 senses: touch, see, smell, taste, even hearing!

The regular us just want a fool-proof recipe to follow… how hard is that??? We know we aren’t chefs. We don’t have the time to experiment as we have so much to do at work. So we read reviews online before attempting a recipe that is easy enough to follow yet can impress.

One thing I noticed in many a modern recipe is that they obviously leave out the intricate details in order to make the recipe look easy enough to attempt. It’s only when one embarks on that particular conquest that one realizes the things that can go very wrong very fast…

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Generally, Pork ribs benefit from a lengthy cook time over low temperature. So don’t just chuck them in the oven immediately and you don’t have to necessarily use the grill from start to finish. It can be hard to control the temperature if you’re not experienced enough which will result in burnt and tough meat.

Very quickly, do follow these rule and method that I’ve experimented with in order to achieve that tender yet chewy texture found in the PERFECT PORK RIB:

“Boil your meat first”

• Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add in the ribs and turn the heat low. Allow the ribs to simmer for about 45-minutes until just tender but the meat is not falling off the bones. Remove ribs from boiling water and set aside.
• You may now start following the recipe you found online. Take note to adjust the cooking time on the grill or in the oven. Once again, Pork ribs benefit from a lengthy cook time over low temperature. 
• If it’s going into the oven: Set the oven at 170-180 Degree Celsius. Place the tray/pan with the pork ribs in the middle of the oven. Bake for 30-minutes first before turning the pork ribs and baking for another 30-minutes. To finish, after 1 hour, remove the tray/pan from the oven and put it back onto the stove. Turn the heat up high and when the sauce starts to bubble, turn the ribs over and over to glaze them in their own sauces that will thicken and sufficiently coat the ribs.
• Rule to follow if you’re using the grill: DO NOT grill the ribs completely over direct high heat! Doing so will burn and dry the ribs out. While a few minutes over a high flame can leave a nice finishing char, the majority of cooking should happen over low or indirect heat. This guarantees more even cooking, and will help lead to more tender ribs.

So there you go! I hope this helps you make that perfect pork rib whichever recipe you’re using! Do try out the recipe I shared on this blog too, Gordan Ramsay’s Sticky Pork Ribs 😉 Happy cooking!

XOXO

Chef Glen

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