(Sorry, I should have multiquoted these, but didn’t realize how many I wanted to respond to.)
I don’t know if there’s really a “primal need” or not, but I definitely get a bit more satisfaction with bone-in food. It seems to do a couple of things. First, in a stew or braise or soup, it makes the gravy a little bit richer and silkier because of the gelatin.
Second, it slows down my eating a bit, so I take a little more time to enjoy each bite and, hopefully, end up eating a little bit less as a result.
Third, it seems to taste better to me and, in the case of shanks, you have that lovely circular bone with the marrow in it that you can put on toast. Now, I understand if the thought of marrow disgusts you, but to me it’s like “meat butter.” Love that stuff on toast with a little bit of salt.
Fourth, I think there must be some kind of primal urge that is satisfied, because I do like gnawing on and around a bone to get at every last nook, especially with chicken wings. I can see why some prefer so-called “boneless wings,” but to me that misses everything that makes a chicken wing so great: the crispy skin, the biting and sucking the meat off the bone, gnawing at the edges to get the last morsel. It’s such a sensory experience for me.
This is not to say I don’t use boneless meats. I use them all the time for certain stews and stir fries and things like that. But I generally prefer bone-in.
Yeah, I don’t care for ‘fall off the bone’ much. I appreciate that there are an endless number of ways to make great ribs, and to make great sauce! And I would never slag how someone else does it. But I like mine to be tender, juicy inside, and a little crispy on the outside with some carmelization, of course. But without coming off the bone in one bite. It should still take some work to get it off, in my opinion.
What’s the appeal of ribs? If you can’t smell it, and see it on the happy faces of those enjoying them. And if that doesn’t tempt you enough to step outside your comfort zone and daringly try one, then I’m afraid you will never know. You’ll just have to stand on the sidelines and ponder, I suppose, and accept that you’ll never get it!:D:D
Yeah, I actually thought I didn’t like ribs for the longest time because my earliest exposures to them had been of the braised variety, slathered in barbecue sauce, and maybe sometimes briefly grilled. They just had this off-putting gelatinous texture to them (which I have actually come around to enjoy every once in awhile.)
It wasn’t until around 2003 or 2004 that I really discovered why people go crazy over ribs (and barbecue in general), when I had my first experience with traditional barbecue ribs: smoked slowly over a wood fire to a texture that’s closer to something like filet mignon or with a slightly chewier bite. I bought my first smoker a few months later and haven’t looked back. I know I can get a bit excited about food, but it seriously was one of those food “epiphany” moments for me.
What do you like about eating meat that’s practically already been chewed for you?
(I’m half-teasing. Traditionally, barbecue is not fall-off-the-bone. You can make it that way, and a lot of people like it that way it seems, but it’s not crazy to prefer it this way as That’s The Way It’s Supposed To Be. So it sayeth in the Bible somewhere.)
I remember one time my friend, who loves to barbecue and has gatherings of 30 or so a few times a summer at his house, made two batches: one fall-off-the-bone and one traditional. I believe this would have been during his first barbecue gathering where he was still a bit unsure as to what people would like. (Fall-off-the-bone achieved by foiling for two hours during the middle of cooking and finishing without foil for one). I fully expected the fall-of-the-bone ones to go first, but the traditional ribs were the ones that were gobbled up and the fall-off-the-bone had leftovers. Tasting both batches, the fall-off-the-bone were cooked fine for fall-off-the-bone but, given the choice, it seems people discovered they preferred the one with more bite. I was really, really surprised. I would have put money on fall-off-the-bone winning.
It may have been that the on-bone ones “looked” better and were easier to grab. The off-the-bone, I’d imagine would look like a sloppy mess. I wouldn’t have minded. More slop for me.
That’s certainly a possibility. I also think a lot of people had non fall-off-the-bone ribs for the first time and found they liked it. I’ll have plenty of time to eat fall-off-the-bone ribs when I’m old and toothless, god willing.
I can’t say I’ve ever had wings that are “fall off the bone” except in soup. If they’re deep fried hot wings, they’re not going to be what I think of as “fall off the bone.” Ah, but if you bake them or braise them, I suppose you can get them that way. Never seen it, though.
There is a chain here (in Arizona) called Bashas. A lot of their outlets made hot wings in the deli, and back in the 90s, the Bashas near my house would sometimes make these big, hot wings where the meat would practically be falling off the bone even before you picked it up. You’d put it in your mouth and it would just come loose automatically almost.
It was delicious. My father and I used to hope they were like that every time we bought them (which was about once a week, every week, for almost 10 years).
They weren’t like that all the time…but one out of every 7 or 8 buys it was. So delicious.
Oh, I know Bashas’. I’m in Phoenix at least once a year to visit the inlaws. I’ll have to try the wings next time I’m in town (which actually may be this month.)
Man, I’m really surprized by the results of this thread…
There have been a few times when I was whatching the Food Network and the guy or gal on there would talk about their “fall off the bone ribs” or they would talk about “fall off the bone” ribs at such n such place.
I in turn would yell at the TV: “You’re doing it wrong! Why are you doing it that way?” Now I see why. I stand corrected.
I’m actually surprised by how close it is. I expected “fall off the bone” to be in a bigger lead, to tell you the truth. I also wonder what the split is between people from areas with strong barbecuing traditions (i.e. the South, for the most part. And Texas, in case you don’t include Texas in “the South”) vs the rest. I’d wager the barbecue states would skew towards not-fall-off-the-bone, while the others would skew “fall off the bone.” I mean, christ, I live in an area where many people think parboiling their ribs before throwing them on the smoker or grill is a good idea. Egads, man. E. Gads. (But there is also an indigenous style of barbecue–well, indigenous via migration up the Mississippi–that would never do that. I’ve never had anything remotely close to “fall off the bone” ribs at the more traditional barbecue joints here in Chicago.)
