Is there a difference between pork shoulder and pork ribs when used in stews?
In the local chain supermarket (western US) they sell both "pork country-style ribs" and "country-style pork shoulder". Both are cut into 2-4" strips, bone-in or no bone.
In recent times the pork shoulder we have been using has been hard to find and expensive. The pork ribs have been plentiful and much lower cost.
We cut these into 1" squares to use in stew dishes. Is there any significant differences in how these will come out in stews?
Or maybe it's just a naming convention to confuse people?
EDIT: These are regular oven baked stews, maybe 1 hour, not slow cooking. Either pork and vegetables in broth, or in barbecue sauce.
My main concern is whether there would be any significant difference in texture or taste, fat content, or how well the cubes hold together.
Best Answer
There is a difference, one comes from the shoulder of the pig, the other from the ribcase.
And where shoulder bought whole can have a bone in, when sold in smaller portions or as on your case strips, the chances on bone are slim. Ribs will mostly have bone in but can be sold without.
Cooking times between various parts of the ribcase can vary, shoulder times are, as far as I know, within the same range.
If you cook your stew slow till the meat is almost falling apart there should not be a huge difference.
What makes more difference is how much fat is included in the cuts and that is up to the butcher.
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