How can you tell when silver skin is already removed in the pork ribs?


 
H

Howard V

TVWBB Member
I am embarrassed to ask this question. I have done ribs in the past where I just pull the silver skin off the back with the butter knife and napkin (easy trick I learned from Chris' video). Today, my wife picked up some baby back ribs from Costco - pack of 3 (main place we get our ribs in the past). I started to do my butter knife trick but can't really get it under any membrane. It's just cutting into the fat layer on top of the bone. I went at it for 30 mins and thought I was going crazy...the back side looked butchered up with cut up patches. I keep peeling the thin fat layer right on top of the back bone.....no membrane or skin that I could latch on to when I pull up. Since I am used to peeling silver skins from ribs brought from Costco, I was wondering if they have a new supplier that already peeled off before the silver skin before vacuum packing it.

I believe in the past the Costco ribs were from Smithfield label. The one I got today was Swift Premium brand. Wonder if anyone has any insight?
 
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Pics attached...forgot to take pics before I vacuum sealed them

can you tell from pics if silver skin has been removed already?
 

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I've had the same thing with Costco ribs, when buying the three pack more times than once. I guess it might be which processing plant they came out if it's there or not.
 
Sometimes there's a membrane, sometimes not. Consider yourself lucky if it's not.
You already know the answer.....if there's nothing to stick a knife under and pull up there's no membrane.

Some people don't even pull the membrane, restaurants usually dont. it's got a little snap to it so I like to remove it but it's really not a big deal if you don't
 
Howard V said:
can you tell from pics if silver skin has been removed already?
Click to expand...
Can't tell from your photos once they're in vacuum bags.

I can't tell you the last time I removed the membrane from Costco baby back ribs, it's been literally 15+ years, they're always skinned, and here on the West Coast they're Swift Premium. Maybe Smithfield is different.
 
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