This cut of meat is a the most inexpensive making it ideal for a poor college kid like me. Although is called a "spare rib," this is not the rib that Adam gave up to create Eve (Sorry, that's a lame joke). There are two predominant explanations for spareribs' name. The first is derived from the German "Rippenspeer" which means "spear ribs," or ribs you roast on a spear/spit. When translated to English, it became "rib speer" which eventually evolved into "spare ribs" or "spareribs," both spellings are generally accepted. The other explanation is that this cut of meat is literally the spare ribs. After the butcher cuts up the pig the last part is generally the ribs. Baby back ribs are taken out first and whatever meat is left becomes spare ribs.
Because of their accessibility and the virtual universality of pigs after the Age of Exploration, spareribs are a common dish throughout the world. The dish I made is a family recipe and unfortunately, my mom told me I'm supposed to guard it with my life so unless you're kin, sorry. However it is a very traditional approach to Asian-style ribs so if you Google "Chinese Sweet Ribs" you will get something pretty close.
Generally, Asians use shorter cuts of ribs like the rib tips, but the University meat lab had a sale on St. Louis style so I bought those for under $1/lb. St. Louis style come from the mid section of the rib and are thus a bit longer and flatter that other rib sections.
This recipe is very simple. All you do is combine all the ingredients in a pot and braise the meat for an hour or so. When you braise meat, it is cooked in liquid at about 160-180F. At this temperature, the collagen in meat dissolves into gelatin. This method is generally used with tougher cuts of meat, like spareribs. However, this can be challenging because at 140F muscle fibers start to lose their juices. If this temperature is sustained for a long time, despite being surrounded by liquid, your meat will feel dry. To avoid this, you want to keep your meat just above the collagen melting level. Not everything in the cooking process is trying to rain on your rib parade. The connective tissue within the meat helps it keep moist and succulent. Once this tissue dissolves, its gelatin holds onto some of the juice that is squeezed from the muscle fibers and helps keep the juices where you want them. In addition, when the meat is simmering and your home is getting that sweet smell, the temperature will occasionally dip below 120F, below the muscle fiber breaking heat. At this temperature, connective tissue is weakened, but not melted, and reduces the amount of time needed to spend above fiber busting heats. As soon as the meat is easily pushed from the ribs, it's done. After an hour or so of cooking, you can finally taste the ribs whose smell has been tantalizing your taste buds during
