Ribs or Chops?

When you think of barbecues, ribs and chops immediately come to mind. The cut of a rib and the attached muscles is called a rib or rib steak when speaking of beef and a chop or rib chop when speaking of pork, lamb or veal. Used alone, the word chop refers to a rib chop. But because there are so many kinds of chops—rib, loin, shoulder—butchers and customers often specify rib chop to avoid any misunderstanding. “Ribs” is short for spare ribs, a barbecue classic. And spare ribs, whether side or back, are always cut from pork. Veal and lamb riblets are the equivalent of pork back ribs.

• Choose thick chops for barbecuing; thin chops cook too quickly and aren't as tender.
• For tender meat, marinate it in the refrigerator and baste it during cooking. Remember to boil or steam ribs for about an hour before grilling them.
• Make a few cuts around the edges of your chops to keep them from curling during cooking.
• For stuffed chops, cut a pocket in the thickest part of the chop and insert the stuffing (ex. fresh rosemary, garlic, dried figs or apricots soaked in a little white wine) then close the edges with a toothpick or a mini-skewer.
• Figure on 6-7 minutes grilling per side for chops that are 3/4 in. (1.5 cm) thick and 10 to 15 minutes grilling for ribs. Turn slabs of ribs every 5 minutes.
• For maximum tenderness, without risk of food poisoning, pork and veal chops can be enjoyed slightly pink, while lamb chops and beef rib steaks can be eaten rare or medium rare as one likes.