So here’s how my leftover ribs adventure kicked off. Opened the fridge yesterday after the big barbecue, and bam – stared at this giant pile of naked pork ribs sitting there. Couldn’t just toss ’em, felt like wasting good food, ya know? Figured, why not try whipping up a few completely new things? Gotta be easy stuff though, lazy Sunday vibes only.
The Great Rib Pull
First job: get all that yummy meat off the bones. Was too dang lazy to pick at it. Just grabbed the whole slab, threw it into my biggest pot, dumped in enough water to cover it, cranked the heat. Let it bubble away for maybe an hour and a half, maybe two? Honestly, just kept checking until the meat practically jumped off the bone by itself. Super tender.
Drained that pot, let the ribs cool down enough so my fingers didn’t scream. Then sat my butt down at the table and shredded every single piece off. Felt like forever, but ended up with this mountain of juicy pulled pork rib meat. Divided it into six little piles, ready for action.
Making Magic Happen (Six Times!)
Alright, experiments time! Tried to keep things super simple with stuff already hanging around.
Creamy Rib & Tater Soup
This one felt like instant comfort. Chopped up an onion and a couple of carrots kinda rough, tossed them into another big pot with a big dollop of butter. Fried ’em until soft. Sprinkled flour over the top, gave it a good stir until it soaked up the butter.
Then poured in milk – whole thing. Kept stirring so it got thick. Dumped in one of my shredded rib piles, a chopped-up potato, salt, pepper. Let it all bubble away on low heat until the potato turned soft. Needed more pepper at the end, truthfully. Thick, ribby, and warm.
Superfast BBQ Rib Hash
Breakfast lifesaver! Had leftover cooked potatoes from two nights ago, chopped those into cubes. Diced half an onion too.
Hot pan, splash of oil, potatoes went in first. Let ’em sit a bit to get crispy. Shoved ’em aside, threw in the onion. When the onion looked ready, dumped in another pile of shredded rib meat and a giant spoonful of my favorite BBQ sauce. Stirred it all around like crazy until everything got hot and sticky and the sauce coated it all. Threw it on a plate beside two fried eggs. Runny yolks + smoky BBQ hash? Unreal.
Cheesy Rib Noodle Bake
Easy oven stuff. Preheated oven to 190ºC. Cooked some egg noodles following the bag instructions until just done, drained.
Grated a bunch of cheddar cheese. Mixed the cooked noodles, one pile of the rib meat, a cup of the cheese, a small tub of sour cream, some salt, pepper, and a spoon of dried onion flakes in a big bowl. Dumped the whole sticky mess into a baking dish. Sprinkled the rest of the cheese on top.
Threw it in the oven for about 25 minutes, just until the cheese on top melted and got little brown spots. Bubbly cheesy noodle rib goodness!
The Rib Salad Surprise
Cold rib action! Chopped up one of the rib piles pretty small. Added it to a big bowl with:
- A big squirt of mayo
- A good squeeze of yellow mustard
- Chopped celery (for the crunch)
- Chopped red onion
- Salt & pepper
Stirred it all up until it looked like a kinda weird rib salad. Honestly thought it’d be gross. Spread it thick on some toasted bread. Surprise winner! Savory and weirdly delicious.
Spicy Rib Fried Rice
Used day-old rice! Perfect. Scrambled two eggs in a super hot pan with oil, took them out quick. Added another diced onion, half a chopped bell pepper (whatever color I had). Cooked ’em fast.
Scooted the veggies aside, added a big dollop of chili garlic paste straight into the oil in the center of the pan, stirred it around fast to wake it up. Then threw in my final pile of shredded rib meat, dumped in the cooked rice, and the scrambled eggs. Splashed some soy sauce all over, kept tossing like mad until everything was mixed and hot. Serious flavor punch. Spicy, meaty rice magic.
Bonus! Rib Bone Broth Simmer
Wasn’t wasting those bones! Collected all the bare rib bones after shredding. Tossed ’em back into that big pot, covered ’em with fresh water. Added a roughly chopped onion, a couple of smashed garlic cloves, a carrot cut into chunks, two bay leaves, salt.
Brought it to a bubble, then turned it down crazy low. Let it just barely simmer for, like, hours. Maybe four? Didn’t really watch the clock, just checked occasionally. Strained out all the bones and veggies at the end. Ended up with this rich, golden broth. Jarred it up for soup later this week.
Bottom line? Starting with those leftover ribs felt kinda bleak. Taking the time to cook the meat off properly made everything else so easy. Shredding by hand was a chore, but totally worth it. Ended up with six completely different, tasty meals and a bonus broth! Never saw that coming from boring leftover ribs. Proof you don’t need fancy ingredients or skills, just a hungry stomach and no fear of leftovers!
