Ribs Silverskin - Strip Down or AuNatural ??


 
Jak Stepan

Jak Stepan

TVWBB Pro
Anybody with experience or opinions please weigh-in on this one: Do you strip the silverskin from the bone side of baby back ribs/beef back ribs or do you leave it on?

Have heard both schools but I want yalls ideas out here... some peel it off religiously for texture, tenderness, appeal. Others would never peel it off claiming it helps retain the moisture in the meat and it dissolves over a long cook anyway. ??

Please feel free to be detailed, opinionated and include anything you've figured out. Thanks!


don't lift the lid....
 
I remove the skin. I've done it both ways and just find it more appealing to do it up front vs have guests and family do it after the cook. I have not had the skin dissolve in a long cook. ...but then again I only cook ribs about 6 hrs (ST L Spares) so I am not sure if that is considered long in some books or not.
 
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It is about my least favorite job to do in BBQ, but I ALWAYS remove the silverskin. I don't care for the "bite" when left on the ribs. It's a personal choice, I guess, but I believe you will get better ribs with the silverskin removed.

FWIW
Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
I've been removing it for the past several years, but prior to that I never did. Honestly I've cooked so many racks since starting to remove the skin that I don't remember the eating experience prior to that. I want to say though that if you remove the skin, your meat will pull further back from the bone while cooking. However, and this is a personal preference, the meat is more likely to "fall off the bone" w/out the skin.

Actually, now that I think back. I do remember doing some loin back ribs (I usually do spares or SLC) right before getting my WSM and forgetting to remove the skin. I over cooked ribs (again, cause I'm used to doing spares) and the only thing that kept them from falling apart was the skin that I'd neglected to remove. I laughed about it when I realized what was going on, but they were some darned good ribs.

The last thing I'll say about my recent experience with spares. The last few rib cooks I've done, I've noticed a lot of fat hiding under the membrane. I've debated trimming it a couple times, but found that my finished product is less greasy and more desirable when I remove that fat, which I can only get to by removing the membrane.

Just my random thoughts!

PS. I'm on cold meds, so forgive me if this doesn't make sense.
 
I also remove it. I think it makes for a better experience on the back end. It also allows you to get rub onto he meat on the back side (between the bones) that will add flavor...

Regards,

John
 
I agree with the general consensus here. Before I found this website and the WSM, I used to do ribs and wondered why they were chewy. I never knew anything about that membrane.

Too me it is a big difference without it, for all the reasons stated. I recently did some beef ribs and the membrane was very thick and I couldn't imagine leaving that on there.
 
I like to remove the membrane on both pork BB and spares but I don't think it is 100% necessary but it does make them better especially at eating time. However, when it comes to beef ribs, that is another story. The membrane of beef ribs is like Kevlar. Removal is an absolute must with them IMO.
 
Im a remover myself. First i thought it was a gimicky thing couse i never gave it a thought before i tryed it. But eversince i always do it. Its a breeze and takes max 10 sec(if its butchered by someone that knows what he is doing)
 
Well , I'm going to buck the tide a bit and say that I remove it if it comes off easy , but if it gives me a hard time , I just score up the back side with a sharp knife and call it even. I have very bad osteo arthritis in both wrists and gripping and pulling with my fingers is really painful. So I don't fight it. I have had no complaints on my ribs and I don't really notice the silver skin I leave on.
 
I always remove it as that is how I was taught. I also believe it helps the rub penetrate better on that side as it is in direct contact with the meat.
 
I remove it. That's just one of those things I feel needs to be done. I don't know if it makes a difference because I've never not removed it. I got on this site and that's how I read to do it and that's how I do it.
 
Jak... I've always removed the silver skin. Gripping the tip with a paper towel usually does the job in about a minute or two. If you shop at Costco, their ribs have the skins removed already. I believe the brand I've gotten there is Swift. They're great ribs and come three slabs to a pack.
 
I always remove the silver skin, i don't care how long you cook the silver skin isn't going anywhere if not removed.
 
Frank H said:
Well , I'm going to buck the tide a bit and say that I remove it if it comes off easy , but if it gives me a hard time , I just score up the back side with a sharp knife and call it even. I have very bad osteo arthritis in both wrists and gripping and pulling with my fingers is really painful. So I don't fight it. I have had no complaints on my ribs and I don't really notice the silver skin I leave on.
Click to expand...

Somewhere I learned (maybe on here) if you use paper towel to grip the membrane, it grabs easier

oops, Cliff beat me to that one
 
I've done both. Most people usually don't know the difference. If the ribs are good, they're good. I guess I'm lucky, my butcher membranes and trims all they're ribs. I don't do much prep anymore :)
 
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