Ideas for Pork Rib Tips/Brisket Bone

[jehlydonuts]

Hi Folks,

Yesterday morning, I received six pork rib racks directly from a butcher who did virtually no trimming. After trimming the racks into something resembling St. Louis style, I am left with ~3lbs of pork rib tips (the long strip that I cut away to make the rack more uniform in shape). I have the skirt and the breast bones earmarked for soup, but am looking for something to do with the rib tips and flaps. My typical recipe haunting places are not giving me much, and I am not finding anything in past posts here....any suggestions (preferably with a link to a recipe)?

Thanks all and good luck if you are cooking for the upcoming US holiday (or for anything else).

[GolfGeezer]

I don’t have a recipe, but after trimming spares to St. Louis style, I smoke the trimmings along with the ribs and then use them in chili. Or as snacks.

[fzxdoc]

Me too.

[jfmorris]

That is what I do. Just smoke them at the same time. They usually get done a couple hours sooner than the ribs.

[Bkhuna]

Can we get a consensus on this?

[jehlydonuts]

FWIW, I ended up searing the pork rib tips/brisket pieces, then adding them to a combination of two thinly sliced and caramelized onions, a cup of crushed tomatoes, 2 Tbsp tomato paste, 4 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp of Herbs de Provence, and S&P. I then put the whole mess into a slow cooker for 8 hours on low. When done, it was surprisingly good.

If I had to do it over again, I would probably just trim the original rack less aggressively, or use the scraps for soup, but I post this for anyone who finds themselves in the same predicament.

[fzxdoc]

Sounds like you came up with a tasty solution. Thanks for the recipe. I bet those tips were tender. Served with pasta?

I like trimming off and smoking the rib tips that sometimes come along with SLCs and then putting their shredded meat into bean dishes. The smoked pork adds a lot of great flavor to beans.

Kathryn

[Spinaker]

Sorry I missed this but I usually throw stuff like this in a dutch oven for braising. It works great.

I sear the meat in the dutch oven, then throw a bunch of onions, garlic and peppers into the pot. Then add a generous amount of tallow or ghee. I typically add my Carnitas Machine Rub (Listed Here) and then fill it up with stock and braise it for at least a few hours. Once the liquid is cooked down and the meat is tender, I feast!

Great for making tacos! And to think, this great meal was made with trimmings.

[Troutman]

DAYUUUUUM

[LA Pork Butt]

Your solution brought to mind flanken ribs. I wonder if those rib tips could have been cooked like flanken ribs. I think I‘ll give it a try next time I have some.

[Mosca]

Looks like you got autocorrected twice, in different directions!

[LA Pork Butt]

Mosca Thanks!

[jehlydonuts]

That’s an interesting observation. You are probably right. Please let me know if you try it.

[Mosca]

I try to buy all my ribs as full spares any more (not that I would EVER turn away a deal on any other ribs). One of your solutions, trimming less aggressively, is the same one that I’ve settled on for the tips. For the brisket bone, flap, skirt, and meat “above” the tips, I smoke that along with the ribs and then use it for baked beans.

With the tips themselves, it’s just easier to separate the meat from the cartilage with your teeth and tongue than with a knife, or fingers and knife. Some folks are squeamish about using teeth and tongue, which is cool. I’m squeamish about some foods, too, just not that one; when I was first on my own, tips were all I could afford, so I ate a lot of them!

[jehlydonuts]

Thanks for that summary. It has been a learning experience. The slow cooker recipe is good for the pork brisket with mushrooms and pasta (as Kathryn guessed).

[LA Pork Butt]

@jellydonuts I found some rib tips in my freezer and I have a plan. I have used my vortex in my Weber to make blasphemy robe in about 45 minutes. They are good but different. So here’s the plan. I’ll cook 1/2 like blasphemy ribs and the other direct like flanken ribs. Stand by.

[texastweeter]

Sausage pile or pork and beans here

[LA Pork Butt]

jehlydonuts I did the experiment today, but the rib tips were not representative of what you would have from trimming spare ribs. The rib tips I used was what I trimmed from the St. Louis ribs when I squared them up. I cooked some around the vortex and they were done in less than 40 minutes. I did one on top of the vortex which required turning every 15 seconds. Since I have never cooked flanken ribs I have nothing to compare it to. I think I want to give it another try. Here is the verdict so far. The meat I cooked around the Vortex was similar to cooking blasphemy St. Louis ribs around the vortex - crispy and not as tender. The rib tips cooked direct were too chewy for my taste. But, I think full rib tip trimmings might cook differently.

[jehlydonuts]

Thanks for that update. I have been collecting suggestions for the scraps and will report back when I try it again.