How do I instruct a butcher how to cut pork ribs?
As I explained in my self-introduction, I live in a place where American style cuts of meat don't exist. I have searched near and far looking for pork ribs. I have ordered from all three online Taobao stores that list frozen ribs for sale, and all of them never shipped anything and refunded my money. It has been a long, wearisome quest.
Just yesterday I went into a local grocery store I had never visited, not expecting it to be good, and sure enough it had a terrible selection of everything. Didn't even have butter. Just for the sake of completeness, I went to the small butcher's counter and asked if he had ribs. He pointed to the gigantic ribs that were sitting open with no refrigeration in the counter in front of him. These were individually cut and were all one piece, baby back + spare ribs together. No thanks. I showed him my reference photo of ribs I took the last time I was in the States (a picture is worth a thousand words) and he nodded and went into the back room. "He has ribs? Well, we'll see what comes out," I think to myself. I had been in this kind of situation before, and you never know what they'll come up with. Probably something unsuitable, like a bag of ribs chopped into bits. We'll see shortly.
(the reference photo I showed him of good, American ribs)
The guy comes out from the back room and he's holding HALF A PIG. He drops it on the counter, BLAM. It is six feet long from snout to tail. He unfolds it with a big smile, and is like, "what part ya want, buddy? you name it, I'll carve it straight off this carcass." I pause for a moment and consider the difficulty of translating "St. Louis cut" into Chinese. It is always at these times when I reflect on the yawning gulf between East and West. Even if I could say St. Louis in Chinese, which I can't, he wouldn't understand it. St. Louis is something like the 55th largest US city. Who in China has ever heard of it? The 55th largest Chinese city is called Hohhot, nobody's ever heard of there either. And cut? How do you say that? Meaning the stroke of a blade? But in this case it means carving a piece of meat in a very specific way. I am at a loss.
Like a mute, I just turn on the photo in my phone and point to it again. He nods and starts carving the pig. He has a large, extra-heavy Chinese cleaver, almost like Jason from Friday the 13th. He is going through bone like butter. When he was finished, he handed me this piece of meat which was 3.2 pounds and cost $3.66/lb.
So, what is this piece of meat? It's too wide and too short. Did he shave it too thin? It looked like he was leaving an awful lot of meat on the carcass when he was carving it. It's a good start, though. I bet it will cook up all the same.
My question to the group: Having at last found a butcher who will cut the kind of meat I want, how can I teach him to cut ribs the way that I want? I am delighted to have at last found ribs. In fact, it inspired me to join this site as a paying member. But now that I've found my dream butcher, I want great ribs, not just good ones. Are there step by step instructions, or better yet a video, that I can show him on my phone? Something that shows him how to take half a pig carcass and carve out ribs just like the ones in my reference photo?
Just yesterday I went into a local grocery store I had never visited, not expecting it to be good, and sure enough it had a terrible selection of everything. Didn't even have butter. Just for the sake of completeness, I went to the small butcher's counter and asked if he had ribs. He pointed to the gigantic ribs that were sitting open with no refrigeration in the counter in front of him. These were individually cut and were all one piece, baby back + spare ribs together. No thanks. I showed him my reference photo of ribs I took the last time I was in the States (a picture is worth a thousand words) and he nodded and went into the back room. "He has ribs? Well, we'll see what comes out," I think to myself. I had been in this kind of situation before, and you never know what they'll come up with. Probably something unsuitable, like a bag of ribs chopped into bits. We'll see shortly.
(the reference photo I showed him of good, American ribs)
The guy comes out from the back room and he's holding HALF A PIG. He drops it on the counter, BLAM. It is six feet long from snout to tail. He unfolds it with a big smile, and is like, "what part ya want, buddy? you name it, I'll carve it straight off this carcass." I pause for a moment and consider the difficulty of translating "St. Louis cut" into Chinese. It is always at these times when I reflect on the yawning gulf between East and West. Even if I could say St. Louis in Chinese, which I can't, he wouldn't understand it. St. Louis is something like the 55th largest US city. Who in China has ever heard of it? The 55th largest Chinese city is called Hohhot, nobody's ever heard of there either. And cut? How do you say that? Meaning the stroke of a blade? But in this case it means carving a piece of meat in a very specific way. I am at a loss.
Like a mute, I just turn on the photo in my phone and point to it again. He nods and starts carving the pig. He has a large, extra-heavy Chinese cleaver, almost like Jason from Friday the 13th. He is going through bone like butter. When he was finished, he handed me this piece of meat which was 3.2 pounds and cost $3.66/lb.
So, what is this piece of meat? It's too wide and too short. Did he shave it too thin? It looked like he was leaving an awful lot of meat on the carcass when he was carving it. It's a good start, though. I bet it will cook up all the same.
My question to the group: Having at last found a butcher who will cut the kind of meat I want, how can I teach him to cut ribs the way that I want? I am delighted to have at last found ribs. In fact, it inspired me to join this site as a paying member. But now that I've found my dream butcher, I want great ribs, not just good ones. Are there step by step instructions, or better yet a video, that I can show him on my phone? Something that shows him how to take half a pig carcass and carve out ribs just like the ones in my reference photo?
Attached Files
However, the meat still didn't pull cleanly off the bone. So it's either underdone or overdone...how can it be both? 
I even bought the grill thermometer on a recommendation from this site!
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