In Houston barbecue, there’s more than one way to make fried pork ribs.
Fried pork chops are a staple of Southern cuisine and soul food.
At its most basic, a rib cut (bone-in) pork chop is seasoned, dredged in all-purpose flour and deep fried until crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.
There are variations. Smothered pork chops, for example, feature a crispy fried pork chop that’s covered in a savory, rich cream sauce or brown gravy and served over rice or mashed potatoes.
At the late, great Burt’s Meat Market (closed in 2021) in Houston’s Fifth Ward, you could order the fried pork chop sandwich, which featured a boneless pork chop that was flattened with a meat tenderizer, fried and served between two slices of white bread.
Fried pork chops are rare in Texas barbecue, even in the East Texas-style, which takes its culinary cues from Southern cuisine and soul food. Smoked pork chops show up on the occasional Central Texas-style meat market menu at places like Smitty’s Market and Kreuz Market in Lockhart, and Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin.
When it comes to pork in barbecue, of course, ribs are king (though our friends in the Carolinas who cook whole hog may disagree). Spareribs, St. Louis cut and baby backs are featured items across all styles of barbecue in Texas and beyond.
Long, thin slabs of pork ribs fit efficiently on a barbecue pit’s rectangular cooking grates, cook relatively fast and are easily “painted” with sauce, if that’s your preference. When the average consumer thinks of barbecue, they arguably envision sauce-mopped pork ribs.
Again, there are variations. One of the most common is the fried pork rib, occasionally found on East Texas-style menus. You’ll usually find these at joints that also feature other fried dishes, such as catfish or chicken.
Classic fried pork ribs are cooked in the same way as fried pork chops. The raw slab of ribs is cut into individual bones, seasoned, breaded and then deep fried. At Ray’s BBQ Shop in Third Ward, co-owner Herb Taylor uses a baby back rib for his fried pork ribs. This cut is meatier and more compact and works well with the high heat of the deep-frying process.
At Blood Bros. BBQ in Bellaire, pitmaster Quy Hoang has created an Asian-inspired version of a smothered pork rib. The chefs at Blood Bros. are well-known for their clever and delicious transformations of popular food items like the Sloppy Jack Tacos featuring a barbecue-centric version of a notorious fast-food restaurant taco.
Hoang’s latest masterpiece is his sweet and sour fried pork ribs. This is a barbecue twist on the classic sweet and sour chicken or pork you will find at any neighborhood Chinese restaurant. He cooks a St. Louis cut pork rib until smoky and tender, then gives it a light breading and a quick flash-fry so it has a slight crunch when you bite into it.
He then smothers this in a classic sweet and sour sauce spiked with chunks of bell pepper, onion and pineapple. The smoky flavor and crisp snap of the fried rib meat combined with the slightly sweet and tangy sauce makes for a remarkably Asian spin on classic American soul food. A half-rack (six ribs) at Ray’s goes for $19, and a half-pound of sweet and sour fried ribs (three to four ribs) goes for $12 at Blood Bros.
These are great deals if you’re looking for something different from the usual brisket plate at your local barbecue joint.
