KFC and ribs, New and Confusing.

Factual Questions
1

Where I live they are currently heavily advertising the latest new item being added to the menu at KFC, and, you guessed it, it’s ribs.

Of courset the commercials show delicious looking ribs but no mention of how they are cooked. Just a “come and get some of our great new ribs” kind of thing.

Now I’m a curious enough person to have peaked into the kitchen of the KFC whenever I am waiting on line for chicken and I have never seen anything but deep fryers. These ribs sure didn’t look deep fried but that begs the question, how are they making these ribs?

Perhaps pregrilled, frozen, shipped, thawed, microwaved?

Do they have microwaves at the KFC ?

Anyone else curious?

(No, I am not thinking of trying them, I, myself make wicked ribs. Truth is I don’t even care for their chicken but Mr Elbows has a fondness for it, so it is on our menu from time to time. I always peel off the skin and just eat the chicken, but he seems to really enjoy it.)

2

Chicken ribs are pretty small, so it really wouldn’t be hard to just cook them quickly in the deep fryer at your local KFC.

It’d be different if it was pork or beef ribs, of course.

3

Well, first thought is the ‘industrial food’ thang, where the ribs come already cooked and packaged so they just have to nuke them, but I suppose they could get them, and boil them in a water filled pressure cooker, then soak them in the sauce. Why not just ask them how they are prepared?

4

I worked at KFC a looong time ago. I remember that they had ovens that they used to bake big aluminum pans of macaroni and cheese, barbequed chicken, and baked beans. I’m thinking that the ribs probably come in pans and they cook them in the ovens.

5

Nope. KFC doesn’t deep fry.

6

From your link:

Fried under pressure is, for all intents and purposes, deep frying raised to the power of ten.

7

Well, have a look at this link.

KFC’s new ribs are a “fully cooked rib product” being provided to them by Cardinal Meats. Cardinal’s press release in the link above will tell all.

FWIW, I haven’t seen an actual pressure fryer in a KFC in years. It’s my understanding that they bring in nearly everything pre-cooked / frozen and use warming ovens for final prep.

8

Right. Over. Everyone’s. Heads.

9

Not necessarily over our heads, we just chose to ignore it.

10

Yes, we don’t want to encourage him. :wink:

11

‘Ribs’ in fast food terms doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be a portion of meat served on a bone, nor does it necessarily mean a ribcage was ever part of the picture. McDonalds McRib, for example, is just a rib-flavoured, vaguely rib-shaped, boneless, reformed meat patty.

12

In KFC’s case, however, they are on bones which were once part of ribcages. They aren’t made “from scratch” at KFC, though.

13

Now I know why you’re in prison, doc. :smiley:

14

KFC did indeed used to serve BBQ Beef ribs. Early '70s? Quite tasty, too. That was when the gravy was still the best thing on the menu, instead of the warmed over library paste they use today. :mad:

15

KFC’s gravy is the best congealed fat to ever exist!!! (the brown gravy, anyways).

16

Gee, when you say it like that it loses all the magic…

mm

17

Rather like the making of the Ribwich, shown in the third row of images here …