Ribs are ribs,
Right?
Not exactly. In addition to where it is originated, there are quite a lot of differences in the taste, cooking style, and cooking recipe of pork and beef ribs. Some ribs connoisseurs go as far as to claim that you cannot call yourself a foodie unless you don’t know the differences between both of them.
So which one of these two would tantalize your taste buds more?
Go through this article to find out.
Contents
Everything You Need To Know About Pork Ribs
Just so you don’t have any difficulty in making a choice, we rated both the pork as well as beef ribs on various factors. Once you’ve gone through them, making a choice will become a whole lot easier.
Cut Types
Ask pork rib enthusiasts, and they might tell you that when it comes to cuts, pork ribs originate from four significant cuts. They include:
- Baby Ribs
Want your rib to be tender when cooked? Won’t mind if it ranks low on the fat count either? Then you cannot go wrong with the baby ribs. They owe their origin to the lower back of the pork’s rib cage.
- Spare Ribs
Running short of money these days? Want something that, despite being delicious, weighs light on your pocket? Then you must go for spare ribs. Coming from the chest part, they tend to be the cheapest.
- Back Ribs
At the cost of sounding rude, these ribs come from, ahem, the loins of the pork. As you might guess, they aren’t that meaty and tend to be the most expensive. How do they taste? Well, I can’t care less for obvious reasons.
Taste
For people who have never tried pork ribs, they should because not only do these ribs taste mild, but they also have a sweet flavor. Hence the reason why you could quickly season them and invent your recipes to complement your taste buds.
In case you are wondering – if the three types that we mentioned above, baby ribs are the most delicious. Why? They have more meat in it, which tends to be tenderer and has low fat count.
Size
Compare them to beef ribs, and you’d note that pork ribs tend to be smaller. Why? Because the animals that these ribs come from is much smaller in comparison.
That, however, doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to see small-cut beef ribs in the market. Slaughterhouses generally sell the largest beef rib sizes to special customers and restaurants. And if you don’t belong to either of these categories, you might have to suffice with a small-sized beef rib.
Cooking Method
As you might know already, BBQ grilling is the first method that comes to most peoples’ minds when they think of cooking a pork rib. However, since their size is on the smaller side, there are plenty of other methods too which you can check out.
For instance, if you like the taste of coals in your meet, try smoking your pork ribs. Or, if you favor oven-cooked food, you can bake them as well. Finally, you can turn to roast as a method for cooking pork meat.
Fat Content
Do you know why pork ribs tend to be milder than their beef counterparts? Because they have low-fat content. That means that if you’re conscious about your health, pork ribs offer you a brilliant alternative of beef. A small rib can contain 6gm of fat with 90 calories.
Price
Here’s the best part about pork ribs: they cost less than their beef counterparts.
Everything You Need To Know About Beef Ribs
Now that you know (nearly) everything about pork ribs, let’s look at what is it that makes some people addicted to beef ribs.
Cut
In contrast to pork ribs – which come from three cuts – beef ribs originate from two cuts. They include:
- Back Ribs
Once you take out the ribeye meat from the upper area of the animal’s rib part, whatever left behind form’s back ribs. Obviously, then, these ribs tend to be less meaty.
- Short Ribs
While back ribs from the rib’s upper part, short ribs come from its lower part. They are meatier and have an excellent taste, though they tend to be expensive as well.
Taste
Provided someone is cooking beef ribs in your neighborhood, their strong smell will make sure that your nostrils get a scent of it. Similar is the case with their taste, which, provided the meat is correctly cooked, is very beefy and robust.
Cooking Method
In contrast to pork ribs – which get cooked in no time – beef ribs took a little longer. It isn’t only their relatively big size which makes cooking beef ribs a challenge. Instead, depending on the type of beef you want to cook, it will have a specific cooking method. BBQ is a nice option to cook beef ribs.
Therefore, if you don’t follow the cooking method to the letter – and want to improvise – the chances are that you may well end up with ribs that are chewy and tough to eat.
Fat Content
Since their fat content isn’t high in cholesterol – which isn’t the case with pork ribs – you do not need to remove the meat’s fatty layers before devouring it.
Price
As stated earlier, beef ribs tend to be way more expensive than pork ribs.
Pork Ribs Vs. Beef Ribs – Which One Should You Choose?
Choose Pork Ribs: If you want something that weighs light on your pocket, it is relatively easy to cook and can let you improvise with the recipe.
Choose Beef Ribs: If you can afford to pay a little extra, looking for an intense flavor but not at the cost of high cholesterol, then you should go for beef ribs.
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