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Rib question for you butchers

chef-boy-arniechef-boy-arnie"If you can't smoke it, you probably shouldn't eat it!"
We want to do ribs for a church fundraiser so I stopped by our local locker to see what they could do for us.
I told the gal behind the counter I was looking for loin backs by the case.
She hadn’t heard of them but was sure they were baby backs.
I’ve always been told they’re the same thing but different
Then she tells me they sell side back ribs and shows me a cryopack with 2 side back ribs in it, now I'm lost again
They looked larger than baby backs, but not as meaty as the loin backs I've been buying
The loin backs I’ve been using are a bit bigger than the baby backs available around here and they have quite a bit more meat on them.
A couple of farmers have told me I should always choose loin backs over baby backs regardless of the cost
Most of the time they are priced the same, but occasionally the loin backs are on sale.
This is the first time I’ve ever seen side back ribs
Does the size of the pig and the amount of meat left on the ribs have anything to do with what the ribs are called?
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M maxqMember
To the best of my knowledge, "baby back" ribs were first marketed by Plumrose - a Danish importing company. These weighed in around a pound each and one rack was easily consumed by one person.

At some point in time, IBP began selling boneless pork loins. Club stores sold them whole, supermarkets cut them as boneless prok chops.

What resulted was the rack of bones left behind from the boneless loins. They were marketed as babybacks...mostly "shiners"

Over the years as the grilling/BBQ craze caught on, the processors left a little more meat on the bones, less on the loin. Further, they sold these ribs at a higher mark-up...hence, bonelsss pork loins usually sell for $1.50-$1.99 @ lb vs "babybacks" at $2.50+ @ lb. These ribs were about twice the weight of the original Danish babybacks so the term "loinback" ribs started to seque into the pork industry.

As for "side back ribs"...I'm not sure what these are. A picture would help. My best guess is that these are rib tips (Chili's has them on the menu) These are another by-product of the pork loin production process.

In order to create the boneless loin, a band saw removes the Chine bone, which has the "feather" bones attached. Some bean counter probably said, "hey, let's leave a little meat on these and we'll sell feather bones at a high mark-up".

So yes, the size of the processed hogs has a lot to do with the size of the loin backs or spares. Different parts of the USA may use differing terms for the same product.

Two racks of ribs in Cryo is quite common...they'll either be loin backs or St Louis Spares or full cut spares.

And there you have it...to the best of my knowledge, anyway.
C cookoneMember
quote:
Originally posted by MaxQ:
To the best of my knowledge, "baby back" ribs were first marketed by Plumrose - a Danish importing company. These weighed in around a pound each and one rack was easily consumed by one person.

At some point in time, IBP began selling boneless pork loins. Club stores sold them whole, supermarkets cut them as boneless prok chops.

What resulted was the rack of bones left behind from the boneless loins. They were marketed as babybacks...mostly "shiners"

Over the years as the grilling/BBQ craze caught on, the processors left a little more meat on the bones, less on the loin. Further, they sold these ribs at a higher mark-up...hence, bonelsss pork loins usually sell for $1.50-$1.99 @ lb vs "babybacks" at $2.50+ @ lb. These ribs were about twice the weight of the original Danish babybacks so the term "loinback" ribs started to seque into the pork industry.

As for "side back ribs"...I'm not sure what these are. A picture would help. My best guess is that these are rib tips (Chili's has them on the menu) These are another by-product of the pork loin production process.

In order to create the boneless loin, a band saw removes the Chine bone, which has the "feather" bones attached. Some bean counter probably said, "hey, let's leave a little meat on these and we'll sell feather bones at a high mark-up".

So yes, the size of the processed hogs has a lot to do with the size of the loin backs or spares. Different parts of the USA may use differing terms for the same product.

Two racks of ribs in Cryo is quite common...they'll either be loin backs or St Louis Spares or full cut spares.

And there you have it...to the best of my knowledge, anyway.


WOW! good stuff there.

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