Do you like your ribs “fall off the bone” tender?
Or do you prefer tender, but not so tender it falls off the bone? As in, you can take a bite off of the rib and not have the whole thing fall apart right there in your hands.
I’m not answering the poll, since for me it depends. Sometimes I love the super-slow cooked, falling off the bone tender, and other times I prefer them to by drier and chewy.
Thinking about it, I suppose I prefer beef ribs to be fall off the bone, and pork ribs to be more done and chewy.
We start them in the sous vide until they are pretty much done, then finish them off on a grill over wood coals, and then sauce them at the table. We like to make our own BBQ sauces - I like a ‘bullseye’ tomatoey one, our roomie is from NC and likes the NC type, and mrAru is a nutter from Fresno and makes one that lights my nosehairs if I try to sniff it.
I don’t like gnawing food off bones - that’s just one of the reasons I don’t do chicken wings. So if we go out for ribs, I’m happiest when I can slide the bones right out.
I like them to come off the bone easily, but also like the meat to be a crisp in the mouth.
The meat should come off the bone with a little bit of force. You should be able to pick up a rib and eat it one bite at a time. If you take a bite and all the meat comes off it’s overdone. If you pick up a rib and the meat falls off the bone onto your plate it’s way overdone.
You shouldn’t have to work real hard at it, but the meat should be bite-able, not tear off the bone when you try.
I prefer my ribs to have just a little fight in them; if I don’t want a fight, I’ll order the pulled pork. But my husband likes 'em where you can just slide the bone right out. And, y’know, it’s not like they’re actually BAD that way! 
Mmmm…ribs…
The ideal BBQ rib is one that leaves a perfect semi-circle when you take a bite. They’re close to the same texture as pulled pork, but not fall-off-the-bone tender.
That being said, BBQ blowhards who think their way is the only way really bore me to tears. Like every other cutbof meat on the planet, there is more than one way to prepare it. Sometimes ribs are excellent when they’re braised and falling off the bone.
Good point. I don’t think I’ve ever met a rib I didn’t like.
Unless you count the McRib. Which we wont, because… Yuk.
Wow. All tied when I voted. I thought the gourmet rib-eater consensus was tender, but not falling off the bone. That is what I shoot for when I cook. But its hard to get the charcoal heat just right. I’ve made them slightly tougher, and I’ve made the fall off the bone, too. Side fact, my mother likes her food cooked soft (she has teeth, just prefers not to use them, for some reason.) However, she enjoys my tender-not-falling off just fine, and doesn’t prefer fall off the bone.
It would be nice to compare boneness to geographic regions.
I feel as though I’m auditioning for Quest for Fire when I eat ribs.
Okay, please pardon the hijack. Don’t take anything below as criticism as it is not meant to be. I’m genuinely curious.
I’ve never had ribs. In fact I haven’t eaten any type of meat on a bone in over 20 years. The very thought of it revolts me. I eat chicken breast, certain cuts of beef, and certain types of fish, but never, ever with bones.
Now, I’ve been to restaurants where ribs are ordered, and have also seen instances of the meat literally falling off the bone. With the visible marbleized fat, sauces, and gravies, it looks downright disgusting to me, and is definitely messy, so what’s the allure?
I like baby back ribs to be more tender than “regular” ribs (like the kind you get at a Chinese restaurant). Regular ribs I like well done.
It… tastes good? I know that sounds like I’m being a smartass, but I’m really not. The allure, like the allure of all good food, is that it tastes good (and, in the case of really slow cooked ribs, the texture is pleasing). Were you expecting some more esoteric explanation than that?
Zog kill pig. Zog build fire. Zog EAT pig!
Yeah, in addition to simply being delicious there’s also the benefit of it being acceptable to just pick 'em up by hand and eat them like fried chicken. You can’t really do that with a filet or ribeye or prime rib. But ribs are meant to be eaten that way. A knife and fork kinda ruins it for me, so there’s that.
No, no. If that’s your answer, it’s fine.
I thought it may have had something to do with satisfying some primal need. I don’t know. My mind wanders into weird places when I don’t understand something that I feel should be obvious.
They should be tender, but still have tug to them. They absolutely, positively should not be falling off the bone. That’s ribs for people with no teeth.
That’s for barbecued ribs. Now, for braised ribs, I’m a bit more forgiving. I don’t mind them fall of the bone, then. But barbecued ribs should never be fall of the bone, IMHO. Them’s overcooked ribs.
It’s pretty damned easy to cook fall-of-the-bone ribs. It’s a bit more difficult to hit that sweet spot between chewy and undercooked and overcooked jello. You want it soft, but with a bit of give or “tooth” to it. It should require chewing. It should stick to the bone. I don’t mind if it requires a little tearing, either. I’d rather err on that side vs. fall-off-the-bone. But the fat and collagen needs to be well-rendered, too. It’s a delicate balancing act to get just right. I’m not saying it’s extremely difficult, but it’s more difficult that cooking fall-off-the-bone. I’m also not saying that the difficulty of executing a dish has bearing on my enjoyment, but I do like it in that sweet spot, and it’s a little disappointing to me when people overshoot it to get it into the mush territory. But, it’s still ribs, so I’ll eat it without complaining. But I do have opinions on the matter. 
I think you have this backwards. “Fall off the bone” is more done than the non-fall-off-the-bone. But, yeah, when it comes to something like beef short ribs, I tend to agree that I prefer them fall-off-the-bone or just a smidge less done.