Picking the right ribs.....

theelballew

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May 27, 2014

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Lexington, SC

• Jul 18, 2016

• #1

I stuck my head into Aldi grocery store for the first time this weekend.  They have some pretty good pricing on several items and I will be making return visits.

While looking through their meat selection (a little limited) I found their ribs. They were individually wrapped racks, which I thought was nice because sometimes I want to do enough just for me, but seemed to be very lean.  They didn't have the fat on the top that I'm used to seeing. I don't normally have a fat-cap on my ribs like I do butts or brisket, but there is usually some fat on the racks.  These were beautiful and meaty, but no hardly any fat.

Has anyone else seen this?  Does anyone have experience with very lean BB's?

 

SmokinAl

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• Jul 18, 2016

• #2

I always look for fatty well marbled ribs.

I think the lean ones will dry out.

Al

 

sota d

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• Jul 18, 2016

• #3

I'm with Al, I like the fat for flavor and juiciness. I rarely trim fat from my ribs, only if there is a huge piece of fat attached. Good luck finding the perfect rack, David.

 

lancep

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• Jul 18, 2016

• #4

SmokinAl said:

I always look for fatty well marbled ribs.

I think the lean ones will dry out.

Al

Click to expand...

Sota D said:

I'm with Al, I like the fat for flavor and juiciness. I rarely trim fat from my ribs, only if there is a huge piece of fat attached. Good luck finding the perfect rack, David.

Click to expand...

I'm the exact opposite. I prefer spares and look for the leanest slabs I can find. Of spares are pretty fatty so even after trimming they're not going to dry out. For BBs I usually go for the smallest racks. It sounds odd I know, but when it has a lot of loin meat on top it ends up more like an over cooked pork chop. Really, though, it comes down to personal preference.

 

chef jimmyj

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• Jul 18, 2016

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Can't say about Aldi's in SC but the one by me in York PA, had terrible meat. The case was filthy. Broken seals on packaging, some items you could tell from the smell that they were bad. New labels over out dated Sell By Dates. Look hard at those ribs. Dry goods I did not worry about and yes they do have great prices...JJ

 

timstalltaletav

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Llewellyn PA aka God's Country

• Jul 18, 2016

• #6

I've had decent luck with Aldi's ribs. I got a few racks this summer that came out good. Your observation is similar to my experience. They are lean, most racks required little trimming.

I got 2 racks there a few months ago that were huge. They were some of the best ribs I've made to date and I think I paid $11-12 for both racks. Can't beat that price!

 

worktogthr

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• Jul 18, 2016

• #7

Aldi's ribs are usually enhanced so they end up tasting kind of hammy. Not saying that is bad, I made them and everyone enjoyed them, just giving you a heads up