Which cut of ribs?

Spares have more meat than the others, and in my opinion they present best when trimmed St. Louis style, which cuts them down quite a bit. You trim off the skirt flap from the bone side, and the brisket section, and the rib tips. Of course, you cook all that too.

That said, I would go with loin back ribs. They are larger and meatier than baby backs, and they bite and taste really great. A half rack is a big serving, and it looks really good on a plate. If you are used to smoking baby back,the loin back will be very similar.

When I first started cooking ribs, I went with loin backs exclusively until I felt I was good at them, then I started on the St. Louis style trimmed spares. I found the spare ribs a bit more challenging to get good at.

If the people you are serving are used to BBs, then definitely go with loin back ribs. Spare ribs are quite different.

Sams and Costco sell the loin back ribs in cryovac with three racks per package.

Edit: There are many far more experienced Q'ers on this forum than I, so be sure to wait for some more advice from them. Their advice is likely worth more than mine.

I,too, am not a rib expert but have done a few spares in my CS020. As SkipQ pointed out they cook a little different. They will take more time if not cut St Louis style, and even then, they will take more time than the BB.

I wouldn't recommend trying them out for the 1st time on company, not that they will taste bad only thinking of the time part of it.

Most consider BB under 2lbs and loinbacks are 3lbs and up. I also like cooking the 3lb slabs of loinbacks, but one must remember when cooking ribs. Weight will effect the cooking time, maybe 30-45 min. each half pound gained or lost. Thats why Smokin' tells use that as rib cooks notes on weights are important.

I am no rib expert but I think pork loin ribs are BB's. They might be from an older /larger pig cause they are meatier than traditional restaurant-style BB. The Costco and BJ's crovac 3 to a package ribs are ok not great. They are smart when packing these suckers. Typically you get 1 great rack, one mediocre and one terrible rack. Just enough to keep you coming back. I am still trying to find a meat/wholesale supplier who sells to restaurants for better quality ribs.I have lived all over the US, and for the last 25 years have found it almost impossible to find a retail outlet , including expensive butchers, that sell consistently good ribs. This is the one product in the meat world that is pretty well unavailable to the consumer. It seems the restaurants buy them all. When I lived in FL, I was lucky to know a restaurant owner who let me buy raw ribs from him. Here in NJ the meat selection is pretty bad. They don't understand BBQ out here.

quote:

Originally posted by BigDjersey:
I am no rib expert but I think pork loin ribs are BB's. They might be from an older /larger pig cause they are meatier than traditional restaurant-style BB...

Well I don't know if I'm an expert, but you guys think I am...

Sorry, Big D, they're not from old pigs. They're they exact same rib as a Baby Back, they just don't trim off the loin meat which sits right over the rib. Hence the name.

They're just Meatier BB's.

I don't like BB. I don't know why you guys do (I know I hear all the reasons). The price per pound is STUPID high and there is so little meat. The loin backs have plenty of meat, but at that price per pound, yow it's expensive.

Loin backs, bone for bone have more meat. They're the right just below the BB/LB and so the meat is basically the same, just more of it.

Price per pound is cheaper.

You can buy full spares, trim them or not and experiment with them.

Do you're practice cooking, new recipes etc on Spares.

Trimming them is easy, just get a SCARY sharp knife and it goes really well.

Thanks for the responses!

Not being an "expert",I never have figured out a "babyback",except the meat dept has a CODE to help market loinbacks?

The "danish pork ribs",riblets,rib tips can all be falsely marketed at the market,or in retail restaurants as"babybacks".

Canadian Babybacks-because the loin is removed to make Canadian bacon.Button ribs (a.k.a. Applebee's riblets). These are technically not ribs. They are a thin, flat strip of meat and round bone, perhaps 1/4" thick, about 6" long, and 1 1/2" wide, cut from the sides of hog's spine behind the rearmost (14th) rib. There are no ribs on the hog there, just little nubs, or "buttons" attached to the backbone. Applebee's restaurants calls this cut riblets, but they are not what had been called riblets in the past. Because Applebee's has made them so popular, they can occasionally be found in stores under the name riblets. See riblets

I have even seen chain groceries cut 5-6 lb slabs of spares across the length of the slab,and because the bones are shorter,label them "babyback" ribs of 2.5 to 3 lbs.

You ask the kid that hoses out the meat market this week,and he can't tell bonein country syle ribs from pork rib chops.

Like Smokin' constantly preaches,weight,weight,weight ! and look at what you buy.

Butchers may cut out a little loin away from the rib slabs and leave much of it attached to the loin ribs,because they sell pork loin for $3/lb,and "babybacks" for $7/lb.

Figure where the money is.

Does a "babyback" have all the meat on top of the bones-rather than under the bones?

The famous Memphis ham sandwich joint,Rendezvous,at one time bought all the under 20 oz slabs available in corners of the quad state area,because they were grilling them high over a charcoal fire and they called them babybacks.

Without going to custom cutters,many of us buy IBP loinbacks in the 3 pac[from Sam's-or wherever] and with not much trimming ,make good backyard ribs.

Like Smokin' always says, the six lb 3 pac will cook a lot different than the 11 lb 3 pack,so you must weigh them,and take good notes to develop your personal time frames for feeding the family.

Just a couple of thoughts.

Well. Dang it Smokin. Now you got me thinking. Not sure if that is a good thing.

Eleven yrs ago, I picked up "The Great Rib" book by Hugh Carpenter and Teri Sandison. In it, they state baby backs are "are the Rolls-Royce of ribs. With more meat and less fat than most ribs" yada yada yada. After that, that's all I bought. Not saying the authors are right or wrong, but they just placed me on the BB Wagon. Although I really pick up loin backs quite a bit since typically the racks of 3 are around 11+ lbs.

I guess a lot of people think like Carpenter and Sandison because that's what we see most often in restaurants. There may be other reasons restaurants serve them. Like ease of prep. More room for sides on the plate. Easier to store. But by seeing them so often in restaurants I guess we think that's the way to go. Indoctrination. Understand I say this having lived in the Chicago, Buffalo, and Sacramento areas. Not really known as the barbecue belt. So full or St. Louis may be more prevalent in the belt.

Now with all that said, on the couple occasions when I've done full spares, I've really enjoyed them. I've even trimmed them to St. Louis style after becoming a member of this forum.

Based on your feedback. I'm going to give St. Louis ribs a try more often, then see what I wind up liking the best. I haven't really given them a fair shot.

Tom. After reading all your posts the past year, I've got just one thing to say. YOU KNOW MEAT!

I love loin backs. They are so convenient and easy to cook, and everybody I feed them to loves them. I get a pretty consistent product from Costco, and I've been satisfied with the quality.

Lately I've been tending more toward St. Louis trimmed spares, mainly because I find them more challenging to cook, and I really want to master them. I picked some lovely ones on sale at Sam's Club a couple weeks ago. They are third on my line up for my AQ when it arrives. First up is boston butt for pulled pork, per Toms recommendation in another thread. After that is brisket, then the spares will be next.

I have only done BBs a couple of times, and that is mainly because of the price relative to quality. I just cannot find any BBs that look good without carrying a price I'm not willing to pay. I can eat a rack and a half all by myself, easy.

Thanks Pags,I think.

Sorta like cooking mistakes,"don't ask how I know".

A forum like this,where we learn from each other,helps with the purchasing/selecting as much as the cooking.

The learning to prep could be the reason for many home cooks.

Many experienced cooks will prefer to cook/eat St. Louis,

Yes,there is more fat-where the flavor comes from-which we take the extra time to render from spares.

There is more rib meat on spares[which is what we are looking for],which is different than eating a pork loin.

The marketing may have something to do with it,i.e everybody is selling "angus",even in burgers and sausage.

Of course we know "angus" could be 10% angus of some color on the cow/mother side and a dairy bull on the other.

What makes angus desirable,anyway?

They are small,and sure footed,and can get around on rocky slopes in Scotland.They are gentle and easier to handle.They have dark faces,so less pink eye and other infections that need treating and might lead to blindness.
They might be leaner meat?

Sounds like a great steak to me.

I'm not knocking a fine Angus bloodstock program,by any means.
Just commenting on retail marketing techniques.

quote:

Originally posted by Pags:
Well. Dang it Smokin. Now you got me thinking. Not sure if that is a good thing.

Eleven yrs ago, I picked up "The Great Rib" book by Hugh Carpenter and Teri Sandison. In it, they state baby backs are "are the Rolls-Royce of ribs. With more meat and less fat than most ribs" yada yada yada. After that, that's all I bought...

Unfortunately, a LOT of info in books is very, very much pointed the way the authors belief, guess that's why they wrote the book.

Not right, not wrong, it's their thoughts.

But they're wrong, I'm just sayin'

I like to educated and teach you what to look for, regardless of conventional or "old" thought. Then you decide.

I think it's more indicative of what you've learned in the forum, that except for Tom and I, not everyone is right about BBQ (See rule #10 if in doubt)

Rule # 10 is embedded.

OK. St. Louis for the next few rib Q's.

Well. While a work in progress, for the most part, I've learned my smoker and general barbecue methods/techniques. I think the next best thing I can do to improve my results is improve in the area of meat types and selection, not just ribs.

For example, until this forum, I really didn't know the difference between baby backs and loin backs. Just thought the grocers were interchanging names, which they may be doing and don't know leading to more confusion for the rest of us. Then, what really makes a good baby back or loin back or full spare? Even a brisket--packer vs. flat, thin flat, uneven flat, marbling. Cross cut roast vs chuck roast. Etc.

It's amazing what we've learned wrong over the years. My mom used to tell me ALWAYS buy meat colored bright red. Dark meat has been sitting around too long and is spoiling. They shouldn't even be selling it. Then I got a job at a Chicago grocery chain working my way through college, and I'd watch the meat guys leave the store with the darker meat, discounted, with a big smile on their faces.

Joined this forum and peruse other barbecue sites and learn some more. Then I hear Smokin/Tom/Rib Dog others talk about selection'. Dang. I know I can do better. I could probably speed up the meat type/selection process if I buy all of Tom's groceries for the next 3 months just to watch him select and talk about his cuts.

So I'm off to reading my labels more carefully, asking questions at the meat counter hoping the meat people know what they're talking about, and paying more attention here and elsewhere about selection.

The time we spend hunting,it would probably be cheaper just buying the poor meat.