One of the things about yellow sticker bargains, is that you never really know what you are going to find, and chances are that you may grab something a little different from the items you normally purchase.
I came across these 'Meaty Beef Bones' as a yellow sticker reduction from Morrisons and was a little hesitant to buy them, as I always considered this type of item to be something you would buy, to give to the dog to gnaw on!
I did a quick search on my phone, and found dozens of recipes using this type of product, and so took the plunge, and grabbed a couple of packs, to give them a try!
I had cooked ribs before, many a time, and so figured that it would be a pretty similar thing to cook, using the cook 'em low and slow method, which should result in a some fall off the bone, meaty goodness!
While in the store, I grabbed a BBQ flavour, seasoning mix, and used this to coat the bones, to give them a nice BBQ style seasoning. I let them sit in the fridge for a couple of hours to soak up the flavour.
Once marinated, it was time for the cooking. As I say, these type of products are best cooked as low as possible, and for as long as possible, due to the meat being of a lower quality than other cuts.
There are a few different ways to cook them low and slow. The oven will work fine, just put them on a very low setting, baking them on a baking tray, with some water and covered in foil, for around 4 or 5 hours, checking them from time to time, to make sure that they aren't becoming too dry, or burning, adding extra water if needed.
If you have a slow cooker, this is the easiest method, as just place them in the slow cooker, add some water, or beer if you fancy, and cook on low for around 6 hours, checking after 4 hours to see how they are getting along.
I actually used a pressure cooker for these ribs. I recently obtained a Ninja Foodie, which is an all in one cooking system, which multi tasks as a oven, air fryer and pressure cooker, and I've been using it a lot, as it's really fast and can be used in so many ways! In this case the pressure cooker feature was what I needed. If you aren't really sure what a pressure cooker is, or does, it is an airtight cooker, which creates steam, under pressure, and this then cooks things very quickly, and also keeps food very moist, which is ideal for this particular cut of meat. As it's so quick, it's also very energy efficient, as it uses around 90% less energy, than cooking something in a pan, on a stovetop.
I added the ribs to the pressure cooker, ensuring that there was water added as well, as that's important, as no water, equals no steam! Time is one of the biggest benefits of the pressure cooker, as the ribs will only take 15 minutes to cook! The whole process takes around 30 minutes in total, as the pressure cooker needs to get itself up to the correct pressure first, before it starts to actually cook, and that takes around 15 minutes as well.
It really is very simple indeed, I put the ribs on a high pressure, and voila, 30 minutes later, I had perfectly cooked, and I mean fall off the bone, ribs! It would take hours to get that result with a conventional method, and so now you can see why I've gone all retro and embraced, what is often considered, an old fashioned cooking method!
I finished these off, by giving them a squirt of BBQ sauce, and then sticking them under the grill for a couple of minutes, to give it a little bit of a extra flavour, and a bit of a char, for a more authentic BBQ feel... the end result was a delicious, fall off the bone, rib dinner, that was enjoyed by everyone!
The cost was pretty low, all in all, it was a little under £5.00 to make the ribs, and we also had fresh sweetcorn from the garden, with a zero cost, and a bag of 5p, yellow sticker, potatoes, which I turned into homemade wedges, and so I fed 3 people for less than £2 per head, which makes for a pretty frugal meal!
It's always worth experimenting when you come across yellow sticker bargains, grab something a little out of your comfort zone, and try making something a bit different, it's always nice to have something different, and even nicer if you are getting it a reduced cost!
Ps. If you decide you want to buy a Ninja Foodie, then firstly go via Top Cashback, as you can get up to £20 cash back from Ninja, and also make use of the pay in 4 instalments plan, as it's interest free, and keeps the money in your pocket longer!