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8 replies

How should the butcher cut ribs?

FM Former Member
Newbie question from Switzerland again Big Grin

Ribs isn't something that is common - or even available - in Switzerland. I had a long talk with out butcher (one of the great things living in a small village that has an actual butcher) but he just doesn't know how to cut them - and he doesn't know what exact piece from the pork and/or beef the ribs actually are.

I searched the web for pictures on what he should do and checked out the 101 guides on here but it is still not very clear what exactely he should do.

Does anybody know a site - or can send me pictures to stuffcollector@gmx.net on what the different rib cuts (baby back, spare, loin etc) are and where the different pieces are located on the animal? I would really appreciate it!

cheers from Switzerland and thanks

Reto
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FM Former Member
Swiss Smoke, The "pork chop" portion and the "tenderloin" portion are removed first yielding a boneless pork loin and a pork tenderloin. The butcher then takes the remaining bone portion and saws the rib bones away from the plate (the top of the tee) and the remaining rib portion becomes the back rib. Loin backs are differentiated from baby backs by weight. As I recall it, the baby back is 1 1/4 pounds or less.

Hope this helps.

EZ
FM Former Member
Thanks EZ - this will help describing it to the butcher. GLH - no I don't expect ribs having a lot of meat. They were one of my fav foods while living in the US so I know what to expect when eating them. It is a whole different story to then explain how to cut them Smiler

cheers and thanks

Reto
FM Former Member
SwissSmoke -

I had always heard that the traditional European way of cutting meat was to separate it into individual muscle pieces away from the bones, in this case like tenderloin and boneless loin. In the US traditionally meats were cross cut from wholesale cuts, like pork chops, porterhouse steaks, and round steaks altho the US seems now to be leaning more towards boneless cuts.

Is that correct? If so, it seems like there'd be plenty of ribs somewhere left over from cutting the boneless pieces out.
FM Former Member
swisssmoke,
this may get a little expensive but "the national meat buyers guide" published by the national association of meat purveyors would give your butcher all the cutting guides he would need.
their address is;
1920 association drive, suite 400
reston, va 22091-1547
phone 703-758-1900
fax 703-758-8001
iwould list a website but my book is so old they didnt have one then!!!
hope it helps
jack,
2 Greyhounds....SMOKIN!!!!
FM Former Member
quote:
Originally posted by SwissSmoke:
[qb] This does help ez duzzit - gives me an idea where the different cuts come from - but for the butcher it might not be specific enough (for the backribs it seems that e.g. the whole porkchop would be included - not the case as far as I know).

thanks Smiler

Reto [/qb]
Reto,
You have found the route of the problem. The Meat next to the back ribs (closest to the spine) has lots of good meat next to them. Many butchers prefer to take that meat for sale by itself rather than leave it with the back ribs. This is why many people think there is not that much meat on a back rib. I've eaten restaurant back ribs with the meat only between the bones Frowner For me the right amount of meat is about 1 to 1.5cm of meat above the bone at the ends and about 2 to 3cm of meat above the bone at the apex looking from the side. Could not find great pictures but there were a few at images.google.com including this one CS Back Ribs

HTH,
~Konrad

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