Ribs are Like Hope – Boiling
Ever felt like you were putting your head inside the lion’s mouth? You knew that it's probably not going to end well for you. Waiting for the beast to clamp its jaws shut, ending your life in the blink of an eye.
Ever been in a place when you feel like the ground is about to fall from beneath your feet? When the bottom is just about to fall out, leaving you hanging out, exposed, and defenseless.
It’s like riding The Tower of Terror at Disney World (1). Everything is ok, life is going along fine, normal. And then the bottom of everything you’re depending on drops out of sight. You drop so fast that your hair flies up, anything that is not tied down flies up in the air.
This is exactly how I feel right now as I approach one of the more controversial areas about barbeque ribs. Some people call it boiling, some parboiling. Some people also call it braising, but this is wrong because braising always involves frying.
The questions go something like this.
To boil or not to boil?
How long do you boil?
What do you boil them in? Some add vinegar to the water, others boil their ribs in 100% Dr. Pepper.
How to finish cooking the ribs once the boiling is complete?
The ideas behind boiling are what you’d hope for in ribs: remove/melt fat and add moisture to the meat. The added benefit is that boiling is a shortcut, shortening the overall time to cook and serve ribs. All worthwhile goals.
But some question the overall impact of boiling ribs. They say it makes the meat either mushy, rubbery or having a stringy texture. They also claim that a good bit of the meaty flavor is lost and there is no way to recover it.
I don’t care where you stand when it comes to boiling ribs. But I do deeply care where you stand when it comes to hope.
How valuable is hope to you? To your life?
How desperately are you trying to replace hope in your life?
Are you trying to shortcut your way to hope?
Take your time, be patient, and be persistent. Choose hope today.
(1) https://youtu.be/c1EiPjZ9ovg?t=112