Ribs 101.1 - Class, we are making QUESADILLAS from LEFTOVERS

Remember this post for December 26th... Turkey leftover quesadillas taste almost as good as Rib meat quesadillas...

Good morning students, Take your seats and settle down, class is in session again.

In last semesters' class (OK, yesterday's post, work with me, it's a metaphor), we covered the basics of Ribs 101 - Class, we are making SPARERIBS !!!. This semester we are going to work with the leftovers. I made two racks of ribs a couple days ago. Two nights in a row, my wife and I enjoyed full meals of ribs. 4 or 5 bones per person is usually enough for a meal. We both also ate ribs for lunch (2 or 3 bones) and I even ate a couple for breakfast. Easily, the two racks of spareribs, just of the rib section, would feed 6-8 people. Make no mistake, I love ribs and would eat them as often as possible. But I also like to use the "flap meat" for leftovers. If words like "Flap Meat" and "rib section" and even the concept of "leftovers from ribs" confuse you, you are thinking those sad, pathetic, anemic Baby Back Ribs (great song, obviously has a press agent) and not the thick and juicy Cadillac of ribs, the Pork Spare Rib (half the price, thicker, meatier, juicier... in desperate need of a song and press agent). Take a refresher course, and read my original class post by clicking HERE!

This is a standard 9X13 casserole pan, filled with the leftover flap meat that I cut from the Rib section. This is what I will be making leftovers from. Notice the 4 different colors of the four sections (for ease of handling, I cut each flap section in half). Each one has a different type of wet rub/dry rub combination. I have a very spicy section, a sweet section, an Asian influence flavored section and a section that I just put my wife's favorite rub, a sweet cherry rub. You guessed it, I will be making a different leftover meal from each of these sections...

Quesadillas are among my wife's favorite snack/meals. So, for today's class, I grabbed the section that just has a rub, and no wet rub. In addition to pleasing my wife (top priority in all things), I chose this section BECAUSE it does not have a wet rub. The tortillas are thin, and lots of moisture will seep into the tortilla, making them gooey instead of crisp. Had I used a section that has a wet rub, I would saute the meat and pat dry with paper towels before adding them to the guts.

A major ingredient in quesadillas is cheese. Volume is important. You want to add enough cheese so that it melts and coats the meat and all the additives and makes it all stick to the tortillas. You can use the expensive specialty cheeses, and they will taste better. BUT, that gets expensive. Much as I would like to try a brie/stilton rib meat quesadilla, the cheapskate in me is going to use that bag of premixed, pre-shredded Mexican style cheese (at least it is advertised as fancy). I can buy a bag of 2 cups for $1.50. To use the better quality specialty cheese and get the same amount, I would be spending $10... I am cheap.

OK, Quesadillas are a great way to use up whatever you have in your fridge. Tonight, for mine, I had some ...
green onions (caramelized sweet onions would be great, "raw red onions with a snap to em would work great),
some mushrooms,
jalapeno peppers,
some spinach and
I highly recommend those sweet cherry tomatoes.

Whatever you can think of to put on a pizza, you can put into a quesadilla (pineapple, pepperoni, artichoke hearts, you name it).

Quesadillas cook fast once you start. Have everything chopped and cooked (the spinach) ready to go before you start on the cooking...

It is also important to heat up the meat. Dice up the flap meat about the size of a dime. Do your best to pull out any large bits of fat, tendons, etc, just leaving the good stuff. Also, you can pat dry the meat with a paper towel to remove some of the fat. Heating up the meat will make it easier to melt the cheese!

You can make these in a large skillet, or buy one of those silly expensive clutter magnet quesadilla machines, or...

I make mine on a large electric griddle. Mine is large enough to work with two tortillas at once...

I use a little spray on canola oil to help crisp them up. You can also use a brush to add a bit of oil.

Heat one side of the tortilla for abut 3 minutes, and turn over... and now it's time to goop up the guts of the quesadilla.

Cheese first, and then add whatever toppings you like, evenly spread around...

Add a layer of meat, and a top of cheese...

And to za za zing it up a bit, I added a drizzle of BBQ sauce. I have a wonderful sauce that has a sweet citrus flavor that will blend well with this combo...

Do all that quickly, as you don't want to burn the quesadilla bottom (soon to be top).

Let it cook for about 3-4 minutes, until the cheese has melted. Take a big spatula and flip (fast). Cook the other side for the same 3-4 minutes...

Cut into wedges and listen for the...

OHHHHS and AHHHHS!!!

Rib meat quesadillas... Easily adapted for turkey, even (shudder) vegetarian or some simple hamburger. A great leftover consideration!

Class dismissed, but I do have a quick ad...

As I am writing this I have one of those news shows on. They just did a report on the WINTER STORM OF THE DECADE. They talked about the storm interfering with the final days of shopping...

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BUT, it is from Florida, and is not sold commercially in Kansas. Where did I get a bottle you might ask...

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A snowed in and not gonna get out
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Suppose you love a pale ale, but you hate a stout... you still get that stout included in your package.
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