Brinkman smoke n grill

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by jspchief

Couldn't disagree more on baby/loin back vs st louis style ribs. Too much junk meat on st. louis.

Junk meat? After five hours of smoking, coming off pork ribs, there is no such thing as junk meat.

It's all personal preference though. I just don't see the logic in paying extra for having all the meat trimmed off.

However, if you are presenting for a competition, you better be serving St. Louis cut ribs.

From Meathead's excellent site:

Spareribs (a.k.a. spares, a.k.a. side ribs). Spareribs are not like spare tires. They are not extras, leftovers, or an inferior cut. Nor are they so named because the meat is scanty. They contain excellent meat, usually richer and more flavorful than baby backs. Many chefs prefer spares to baby back ribs.

St. Louis cut ribs (a.k.a. SLC a.k.a. barbecue cut, a.k.a. Kansas City cut). Take a slab of spareribs, lop off the gristly rib tips (in the picture above, they are along the bottom), and what remains is a flat rectangular slab called the St. Louis cut (in the picture above, the SLC is at the top) and a flap of meat that is usually removed and set aside for grinding. Because the 10 to 13 rib bones are straight and flat, they are the best cut for recipes that require the ribs to be browned in a frying pan on the stovetop. Some butchers call SLC spareribs, but because the tips have been removed, technically they are no longer spares. They are also sometimes called barbecue cut, or Kansas City cut.

Baby back ribs (a.k.a. back ribs, a.k.a. baby backs, a.k.a. loin back ribs, a.k.a. loin ribs, a.k.a. Canadian back ribs). Connected to the backbone, nestled beneath the loin muscle, are the most tender and leanest ribs, baby backs. No, they do not come from baby pigs. They are called "babies" because they are shorter than spareribs. A typical full slab has 11 to 13 bones. The slab is tapered at one end, with the shortest bones only about 3" and the longest about 6".

I personally prefer the spare ribs. (See my previous photos in this thread from yesterday. That's what got smoked.) But I like a little meat on the bone.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Junk meat? After five hours of smoking, coming off pork ribs, there is no such thing as junk meat.

It's all personal preference though. I just don't see the logic in paying extra for having all the meat trimmed off.

However, if you are presenting for a competition, you better be serving St. Louis cut ribs.

From Meathead's excellent site:













I personally prefer the spare ribs. (See my previous photos in this thread from yesterday. That's what got smoked.) But I like a little meat on the bone.

OK, so who has a band saw to separate the SLC part of the spare so that it's an SLC cut? I'm game for most things, but breaking out the hand saw or hack saw just isn't where I'm going anymore... But I'll sure as hell as the Hy-Vee guy to hook me up...

Now, once you "separate" them, what do you do with the non-SLC part. They seem to be the larger part actually...

[RJ]

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

OK, so who has a band saw to separate the SLC part of the spare so that it's an SLC cut? I'm game for most things, but breaking out the hand saw or hack saw just isn't where I'm going anymore... But I'll sure as hell as the Hy-Vee guy to hook me up...

Now, once you "separate" them, what do you do with the non-SLC part. They seem to be the larger part actually...

I make that cut with a cleaver. The cut off section still goes on the smoker but of course doesn't cook as long.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by RJ

I make that cut with a cleaver. The cut off section still goes on the smoker but of course doesn't cook as long.

I found this many-page article interesting... I think I'm going to try this soon!!

http://bbq.about.com/od/ribs/ss/aa010607a.htm

This is page 6 and 7. Interesting!

"(6) When cooking a rack of ribs, you want it limited to the actual bone section of the ribs. Well above the ribs (or below if you are looking at the pig) is a section of meat filled with cartilage, little bones (the Chine bone) and connective tissue. You can identify this area with one basic rule: Bones don't Bend. If you try to fold the ribs in half lengthwise like a tall book, you will get a good idea where these sections meet. You can also find it by looking for a long line of fat that runs lengthwise along the rack. This doesn't always help because you can't always find it.

(7) The biggest problem with this step is that the point of separation between these sections is not a straight line, but if you stick to the rule (Bones don't Bend) you will have no trouble locating and cutting away this rib tip section. Now you have a rack of ribs. Just ribs. If you look at the picture below (or at your newly trimmed rack of spare ribs), there are three pieces of meat. You should know what to do with the ribs. As for the other pieces, these are great morsels of meat that you can use in other dishes (on some racks this is actually a lot of meat). Prepare these rib tips and serve them as appetizers. Personally, I grill then relatively fast, cut them into bite sized pieces apply sauce and serve before the actually rack comes off the smoker."

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

OK, so who has a band saw to separate the SLC part of the spare so that it's an SLC cut? I'm game for most things, but breaking out the hand saw or hack saw just isn't where I'm going anymore... But I'll sure as hell as the Hy-Vee guy to hook me up...

Now, once you "separate" them, what do you do with the non-SLC part. They seem to be the larger part actually...

Most butchers, even grocery store butchers, should be able to cut the spares down for you.

You can use the bottom section for making rib tips. Hack through them to get 2" sections and cook them like that. (Pulling out the cleaver will make you a happy man.) Crock pot or oven cook that section/parts as a finger food thing.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Most butchers, even grocery store butchers, should be able to cut the spares down for you.

You can use the bottom section for making rib tips. Hack through them to get 2" sections and cook them like that. (Pulling out the cleaver will make you a happy man.) Crock pot or oven cook that section/parts as a finger food thing.

Interestingly enough, I'm not a fan of rib tips but I also prefer a St Louis cut to baby backs...

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

OK, so who has a band saw to separate the SLC part of the spare so that it's an SLC cut? I'm game for most things, but breaking out the hand saw or hack saw just isn't where I'm going anymore... But I'll sure as hell as the Hy-Vee guy to hook me up...

Now, once you "separate" them, what do you do with the non-SLC part. They seem to be the larger part actually...

And, in all honesty, you can just go ahead and smoke the whole spare. Use a deba type knife (pic below - my defacto rib prep and finish knife) to butter through the gristle on the bottom and you've got a massive, extremely tasty hunk of rib goodness.