why are ribs deceptive ?


 
S

Sandy B

TVWBB Super Fan
I generally prefer to do shoulders but due to time I thought I would break out the ribs for the superbowl. The ribs turned out great, but I end up eating a whole lot less of them than I anticipated. We had a lot of other things for the superbowl ( buffalo wings, abt's, smoke chicken drumsticks, homemade guacomole and chips),

The funny thing is that if I go to a restaurant I can eat a whole rack easy. when I make them its 3 or 4 of the big bones and that's it. there is NO way I could eat a whole rack of homemade ribs. Is it that ribs at home are more meaty/fatty than in restaurants ? is it that the smoke from home somehow an appetite suppressant ? It does not affect my ability to consume pulled pork at home. Same for steaks, I can make steaks WAY bigger at home than in a restaurant and eat every bite.

I could see if I was cooling on the thought of ribs, but I really did like them. I was thinking that it might be all of the adult beverages consume while making them or the food I eat while smoking them but this does not affect me when I do pulled pork.

I'm stumped, anyone have any ideas ?
 
I know how you feel and it happens to me and my wife....

We came to the conclusion that we eat a few ribs so we can have lots more ribs for our guest. Since they don't eat bbq as much as we do.
 
I smoked 6 slabs of baby backs yesterday for the Super Bowl, and we only ate three slabs between 8 adults. I think it's all of the chips, chicken wings, baked pretzel bites, tater tots, and veggie platter we snacked on before the ribs and baked beans were ready. :)
 
Same here wife and I had a couple of ABTs a couple of moinks and a few taco scoops during the stupid bowl and we were done, skipped cooking the brats for dinner.
If we go out to eat and I can destroy three times what I ate last night and come home looking for a snack.
 
What they serve in a restaurant are probably 'baby' backs (which are maybe 1 1/2 to 2 lb) whereas what I find is normally sold at the grocery are 'loin' backs and are from a more mature pig (2 1/2 to 3 1/2 lb) and are naturally bigger.

It's the same part of the pig.

Same as wings: you can get little wings or jumbo.
 
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Glad to hear this thread; I took my first stab at ribs on my new WSM and could have made half as many slabs and still had leftovers.
 
Maybe you fellers are looking at this the wrong way. I always do a three pack of ribs whether it's baby backs (large BB's from Costco) or St. Louis cut simply because that's the way they come. We eat whatever seems desirable at the time (it varies) then vacuum pack any left overs for the freezer. Then, I LOVE left overs whether it is pulled pork, Pepper Stout Beef, or ribs. They are so easy to heat up and they are VERY close to being as good as right off the smoker.

It's a "can't lose", fellers and gals, it's a "can't lose"...

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
Robert McGee said:
...then vacuum pack any left overs for the freezer...
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On this note, I like my ribs KC style. I finished them on the grill, with a light mop of sauce to caramelize. Oh boy good. Do any of you prefer to hold off on the wet stuff just for long term storage and reuse in different recipes? I'm thinking that I'm locked in to ribs as-is until I've eaten the leftovers - not that that's a bad thing.
 
I also know that. The cook is never as hungry as the guests. Because he tastes and trys and eats something beside cooking...and so on.
Also he usually drinks a couple of beers while cooking...so ....not hungry...hahaha.. :)


Cheers

Stefan
 
I don't know that I've observed that my wife and I eat less when it's homemade vs from a restaurant, but I do know that I tend to think "If I'm paying this much for ribs, I want ribs and not sides!" When I'm at home, I think I tend to eat more sides, or at least make a conscience effort not to just eat meat.

That said, I tend to make no fewer than 3 racks of pork ribs at a time, mostly because I get them at Costco, so I don't really pay attention to how much I eat.
 
Every one of us is right ! All these things factor in. I did 4 racks for the superbowl last night and there was tons of food. Everyone ate , like , one rib each. I was bummed at how much was leftover thinking the people didn't really like them. But at the end of the night , people were clamoring to take home ribs and saying how great they were ....made me feel good.
 
Frank H said:
Every one of us is right ! All these things factor in. I did 4 racks for the superbowl last night and there was tons of food. Everyone ate , like , one rib each. I was bummed at how much was leftover thinking the people didn't really like them. But at the end of the night , people were clamoring to take home ribs and saying how great they were ....made me feel good.
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its not about being disappointed, I liked the ribs and thought they turned out good, it just seems that when i make them if I go by what I can eat in a restaurant then I'm off. Not a little off, like 2 or 3 times off. it makes no sense.

I'll get to run an experiment tonight as I haven't spent all day today making them and I had to skip lunch so I am starving but based on pase experiences I think 3-4 ribs will be my limit.
 
I like wings and I can appreciate that they are different sizes but I have a relatively good idea of how many wings I need to sate ( I wont embarass myself by saying the number) and it does not seem to vary between restaurants and home.

Same for pretty much everything else I eat, with ribs being the exception. it might just be me, i might be subconciously eating more than I think preparing them or something else it at play. If it was a one time thing I would write it off as a coincidence but it seems to happen pretty much every time I make them.
 
This is an interesting discussion and we will probably never know the exact answer. I find that I do the same thing. Not just with ribs. If I spend all day cooking something, I tend to eat less when it is ready. Maybe standing around a smoker (or in the kitchen) decreases appetite, or maybe its because if I'm cooking, I'm salivating all day so I snack more prior to dinner.

Restaurants do follow studies that have shown that music, lighting, ambiance, etc., affect your mood, which affects your appetite. Maybe there is something to that.

But like Robert said, leftovers are great, its a cant lose
 
Great topic and so true! I'll go with a combo answer: true baby backs versus loin backs; beer / snack consumption; and for me...if I'm paying $15+ for a rack, I'm eating everything!
 
Jim McKelvey said:
Great topic and so true! I'll go with a combo answer: true baby backs versus loin backs; beer / snack consumption; and for me...if I'm paying $15+ for a rack, I'm eating everything!
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It's not the snacks, nor the beer. I skipped lunch and came home famished. Slowly warmed them up and 4 bones. I'm not thinking it's so much the amount but my scientific gut says different meat/fat ratio.
 
When I make ribs they're so good it's hard to stop eating them.

I'll say this...I was not that thrilled with ribs until I stopped foiling them.
 
Len Dennis said:
What they serve in a restaurant are probably 'baby' backs (which are maybe 1 1/2 to 2 lb) whereas what I find is normally sold at the grocery are 'loin' backs and are from a more mature pig (2 1/2 to 3 1/2 lb) and are naturally bigger.
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Yeah, this.

A rack of babybacks from Chili's is a LOT smaller than a rack of spares cooked at home. Even more so if you don't do a St. Louis cut at home.
 
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