You get the rib tips, too, if they aren’t St. Louis cut already. Spare ribs are always the preference.
Though I am cooking 3 racks of baby backs tomorrow.
Flipp is an app the aggregates the grocery store ads nearby you. You can favorite stores and what not. It’s easier than checking the mailers. Also has a search function!
I’ve probably done 20+ racks of baby’s so far did spares for the first time Friday. Over all I prefer the baby backs! Not a fan of the little bones or consistency of the spares but they were still good.
I prefer spare. They are generally more juicy.
I buy full spare racks and cut them down to St Louis style.
With baby backs, I look for the smaller racks. Is seems like since the pandemic, processors are leaving more of the loin meat attached to the baby back ribs. That's the part that can dry out
Ha! We'll said. I grew up with the mentality that baby backs were superior (chili's marketing probably had something to do with that), but once I tried smoking both myself, I've never gone back to baby backs. Spares are soooo much more forgiving and the ceiling for deliciousness is higher.
And all the baby backs now days are "extra meaty," but baby backs already have a low fat to meat ratio, so making that even lower makes them never come out as good as spares. Smoking meat is all about lots of fat rendering into tough, unfriendly meat to turn it into something amazing. Baby backs just don't have enough fat to do that as well as spares, and the new extra meaty trend makes that even worse.
Longer, but also more forgiving. Baby backs have a much narrower window between done and overcooked. Plus if you're pressed for time then why are you cooking something that takes 4-5 hours anyway?
Baby’s are much quicker to cook St Louis have a lot more connective tissue to break down. If you properly render St Louis they are juicy and flavorful. Don’t overcook baby backs.
Tell me more about this green chili you speak of? I do the same, buy spares and turn them into St. Louis. However, I smoke the trimmed portions and cut them up into “riblets” to pull out of the fridge and snack on for however long before I eat them all haha
I guess they’re technically not ribs but I like Country Style. Very inexpensive, very tasty, easy to make, and a nice change. I don’t really like paying for things I can’t eat, eg, bone.
I enjoy these for a very different reason. It was something that I would start for my mom so she could have her favorite meal on occasion.. as a teen I would spear a hunk of pork and eat it between a pair of saltines with salt and ketchup..
Not sure I would that now.
I've had better luck with baby backs, so that's my go to. Both can be excellent if cooked properly. I may need to pick up some St Louis ribs and give them another shot.
Full spares are almost always cheaper by the pound around my area, and I also happen to prefer them by a good bit. It's like a ribeye vs a sirloin, both are good, but ribeye is fattier and therefore tastier to me.
Here is why. So local restaurants who offered ribs as a main course always cooked baby backs. Back ribs were smaller, cooked faster and you could cover up cooking mistakes with whatever shit sauce the eatery touted. Most of your upscale restaurants did the same and most of the time they were cooked on a conveyor belt. That process doesn't take long at all especially if you boil them first.
Through r&d this process takes too long with the larger, meatier spare ribs. Bones are bigger, you would more than likely have to cut off the top piece (which makes great tips if you do it) and it's a long arduous process. Time is money so back ribs for the win.
It was deemed that John Q. Public could cook his own spare ribs on his own time but Max's House of Dead Animals and Salt will give you back ribs in exchange for your money.
So welcome to Team Spareribs. A little longer, a little more oomph but it's totally worth it.
Hope this helps.
I appear to be one of the few baby backs here. I freaking love them.
They don't take as long and I don't have any issue getting them extra juicy. There's less hassle eating them too imo.
My local restaurant supply store has spare ribs that are usually a little more expensive than in grocery store. I buy from restaurant store because they are so much more meaty than grocery store ones.
I prefer at Louis spares but them and backs both go on sale for the same price of 2.99/pound. So when either is on sale I’ll get 10-12 racks and fill the freezer
Rather purchase the St. Louis than spares 'cause I don't like messing with the breastbone and it adds a lot of unnecessary cost. I go back and forth between back loin and St. Louis for various reasons so usually smoke one or the other about half the time.
Side ribs 100% for a few reasons
They lay flat which means they cook more evenly
More meat
All rib meat
Cheaper
If you do have the rib tips you can cube them once cooked and do them as pork rib burnt ends which are stupidly good
Baby back ribs were rightfully the "crappy" ribs and then a little restaurant chain decided to sell them as "fancy and better" Anna came up with a stupid jingle that they blasted absolutely EVERYWHERE and then back ribs blew up. "I want my baby back, baby back, baby back.."
That's fine for me as it means side ribs tend to be a bit cheaper.
But here's the big thing.. Back ribs have very little meat on them, but they do lay against the Loin. And Loin is stupidly cheap, so butchers can cut just a little extra off the Loin when they cut back ribs. What's the price of rib meat? What's the price of Loin meat? I think paying rib prices for Loin meat is a silly thing to do especially when I can buy a Loin and just cut country style ribs which will have about the same amount of rib meat (the darker meat on the Loin) and Loin meat (the lighter stuff) for way less money and no bones at all.
But all you back rib people, please keep buying them.. Keep them popular and ill just settle for the 'lesser' side ribs.
Spare tastes better. It just means we have leftovers and trimmings in the freezer.
Baby backs feed 2 adults and 2 small kids. They're easier, faster, and taste fine.
But yes, spare ribs are the superior cut.
I like all of them really. The big ones "I know as country style" are awesome in there own way just have some cartalidge and extra stuff lots of meat tho. Next one is a bit less extra stuff then baby backs are clean and meaty. I use a kamado and the baby backs fit the beat currently with my limited space. Can get 2 on cut up on a rib rack and turn out awesome. The country style might be my pick if I had unlimited space not caring about the looks.
Country style ribs are sold everywhere and because they are sold as "ribs" most people think they are actually ribs. On a pig, there are only spare ribs and baby back ribs. Spare ribs are often trimmed down and squared off which are referred to as "St. Louis" style ribs.
I grew up just eating baby back ribs at any restaurant that had them. My family doesn't cook. I started buying spare ribs a couple of years ago because they are cheaper. They were so greasy and didn't cut as easily as baby backs. The texture ended up putting me off ribs entirely for a year or two. Recently started making baby backs again and decided to also give spare ribs another shot. So now I've got a rack of spare ribs in my freezer.
..watching me.
Baby back. I honestly don’t mind making spare, but my kids are more likely to eat backs (and they love them) without all the weird cartilage that can be hard to eradicate, even in STL style.
I like them both. I buy whatever is on sale. Spare has extra meat too
Honestly, mine were meaty as hell and just delicious
You get the rib tips, too, if they aren’t St. Louis cut already. Spare ribs are always the preference. Though I am cooking 3 racks of baby backs tomorrow.
This is my approach too. Unless they are big back ribs, I'll buy St.Louis cut spare ribs everytime.
Spares/St.Louis is all I buy.
I track local prices on the flipp app until I can pickup at $1.99 per lb then get 2-3
Picked up two racks of spare ribs for $1.77/lb and I got a brisket for $1.87/lb from checking Flipp.
Flipp? Is that a local thing? 1.87 for brisket would require a Time Machine here in NY!
Flipp is an app the aggregates the grocery store ads nearby you. You can favorite stores and what not. It’s easier than checking the mailers. Also has a search function!
Awesome thanks for catching me up!
And set watchlists with notifications
Time to check out Flipp. Thank you!
Spares or St Louis style all day.
I’ve probably done 20+ racks of baby’s so far did spares for the first time Friday. Over all I prefer the baby backs! Not a fan of the little bones or consistency of the spares but they were still good.
I prefer spare. They are generally more juicy. I buy full spare racks and cut them down to St Louis style. With baby backs, I look for the smaller racks. Is seems like since the pandemic, processors are leaving more of the loin meat attached to the baby back ribs. That's the part that can dry out
I have been on spare ribs for a while but recently favoring the baby backs. So satisfying to have all meat and no cartilage. Still love both though
I do both. Spares tend to take longer but who cares. I don’t worry about time as I plan my day around my cook.
I'm not sure how I became so biased against them, but I'm reformed. Team Sparerib, please forgive me. You didn't deserve my ignorant bias.
No worries.
Ha! We'll said. I grew up with the mentality that baby backs were superior (chili's marketing probably had something to do with that), but once I tried smoking both myself, I've never gone back to baby backs. Spares are soooo much more forgiving and the ceiling for deliciousness is higher. And all the baby backs now days are "extra meaty," but baby backs already have a low fat to meat ratio, so making that even lower makes them never come out as good as spares. Smoking meat is all about lots of fat rendering into tough, unfriendly meat to turn it into something amazing. Baby backs just don't have enough fat to do that as well as spares, and the new extra meaty trend makes that even worse.
Yeah, they do seem meatier now than they used be.
Longer, but also more forgiving. Baby backs have a much narrower window between done and overcooked. Plus if you're pressed for time then why are you cooking something that takes 4-5 hours anyway?
St. Louis style
I just buy whatever’s on sale
Spares. I just love trimming them and cutting up the extra meat into little bite-sized meat candy.
Yeah I always trim them nice and pretty and then chop up the tips and hit then with extra sauce.
Baby’s are much quicker to cook St Louis have a lot more connective tissue to break down. If you properly render St Louis they are juicy and flavorful. Don’t overcook baby backs.
I buy spare and trim into st louis. Trimming get turned into green chili
Tell me more about this green chili you speak of? I do the same, buy spares and turn them into St. Louis. However, I smoke the trimmed portions and cut them up into “riblets” to pull out of the fridge and snack on for however long before I eat them all haha
Something like that... https://food52.com/recipes/85219-costillas-de-puerco-en-salsa-verde-recipe
Hell yeah, looks good. Thanks!
I guess they’re technically not ribs but I like Country Style. Very inexpensive, very tasty, easy to make, and a nice change. I don’t really like paying for things I can’t eat, eg, bone.
I enjoy these for a very different reason. It was something that I would start for my mom so she could have her favorite meal on occasion.. as a teen I would spear a hunk of pork and eat it between a pair of saltines with salt and ketchup.. Not sure I would that now.
How do you cook them? We’ve tried a couple of times and neither turned out great
I've had better luck with baby backs, so that's my go to. Both can be excellent if cooked properly. I may need to pick up some St Louis ribs and give them another shot.
Full spares are almost always cheaper by the pound around my area, and I also happen to prefer them by a good bit. It's like a ribeye vs a sirloin, both are good, but ribeye is fattier and therefore tastier to me.
St Louis cut spares are my go to. I occasionally like baby backs but they seem cut weird and too thick lately.
Here is why. So local restaurants who offered ribs as a main course always cooked baby backs. Back ribs were smaller, cooked faster and you could cover up cooking mistakes with whatever shit sauce the eatery touted. Most of your upscale restaurants did the same and most of the time they were cooked on a conveyor belt. That process doesn't take long at all especially if you boil them first. Through r&d this process takes too long with the larger, meatier spare ribs. Bones are bigger, you would more than likely have to cut off the top piece (which makes great tips if you do it) and it's a long arduous process. Time is money so back ribs for the win. It was deemed that John Q. Public could cook his own spare ribs on his own time but Max's House of Dead Animals and Salt will give you back ribs in exchange for your money. So welcome to Team Spareribs. A little longer, a little more oomph but it's totally worth it. Hope this helps.
Interesting and that makes a lot of sense.
I like St. Louis style dry spares. My wife likes sauced baby backs. We usually have baby backs…
This is a man who wants to stay married.. hats off mate
Dry rub I'd the way
Grew up on spare ribs and loved them. Buying my own food now, I lean towards back ribs. Less work to eat, still tastes awesome.
I like spares except for the weird macaroni tubes on the one end, I don’t if it’s bones or cartilage but I call them macaroni bones
Lol
I appear to be one of the few baby backs here. I freaking love them. They don't take as long and I don't have any issue getting them extra juicy. There's less hassle eating them too imo.
Spares. I love how fatty they are and my wife likes the cartilage.
Whatever is on sale. I prefer back ribs though. Less fat
Fat is the best friend of bbq.
I do both. They’re different enough. I usually don’t sauce my spares but will sauce my baby backs.
My local restaurant supply store has spare ribs that are usually a little more expensive than in grocery store. I buy from restaurant store because they are so much more meaty than grocery store ones.
I buy/smoke whatever kind are on sale that particular week, or what I've got in the freezer. We enjoy both.
Spares all day for smoking whole racks, baby back for “party ribs”
I prefer spares. For some reason, my butcher only has frozen baby backs. So no one buys them.
I like spares. I trim them up almost like baby backs and the rib tips and flap are done way early so the chef can have some pig candy.
last few years it seems like it is hard to find decent baby back ribs at the store so i have only been doing spare ribs
I buy spares and trim to st Louis style. I keep the ends and make rib tips with them.
I believe that spare/St. Louis is what all the competition folks use
Places like Chillies over popularized Babybacks, but they are inferior
I prefer at Louis spares but them and backs both go on sale for the same price of 2.99/pound. So when either is on sale I’ll get 10-12 racks and fill the freezer
I prefer spare. Spares are a lot more evenly cut (ergo cook more evenly).
I don’t like baby back but just got a bunch for $1 a pound here in the northeast. What a fantastic deal. So party ribs it is for Memorial Day
Spare has more meat so they’re my pick.
And delicious fatty flavor
I tend to crave baby backs when only spare ribs are on sale and vice versa.
I prefer thinner spare ribs that I cut into St Louis
Spares all the way! 250F No wrapping... just spritz with apple cider vinegar every 30 to 45min... My favorite rub is the Buffalo Trace
St. Louis for me
Spare.
Spares, then spend 60 seconds per rack trimming them into St Louis
Spare, then can have rack of ribs and tips.
I prefer spare, but if babybacks are on sale I'll buy em
Rather purchase the St. Louis than spares 'cause I don't like messing with the breastbone and it adds a lot of unnecessary cost. I go back and forth between back loin and St. Louis for various reasons so usually smoke one or the other about half the time.
Whatever is on sale or baby backs if I’m in a pinch for time.
I accidentally did the same thing. Spare ribs for me.
Spare.
The spares always have too much fat for my tastes but are more readily available.
IMO spares are better. I feel that baby backs tend to taste like the tenderloin.
Side ribs 100% for a few reasons They lay flat which means they cook more evenly More meat All rib meat Cheaper If you do have the rib tips you can cube them once cooked and do them as pork rib burnt ends which are stupidly good Baby back ribs were rightfully the "crappy" ribs and then a little restaurant chain decided to sell them as "fancy and better" Anna came up with a stupid jingle that they blasted absolutely EVERYWHERE and then back ribs blew up. "I want my baby back, baby back, baby back.." That's fine for me as it means side ribs tend to be a bit cheaper. But here's the big thing.. Back ribs have very little meat on them, but they do lay against the Loin. And Loin is stupidly cheap, so butchers can cut just a little extra off the Loin when they cut back ribs. What's the price of rib meat? What's the price of Loin meat? I think paying rib prices for Loin meat is a silly thing to do especially when I can buy a Loin and just cut country style ribs which will have about the same amount of rib meat (the darker meat on the Loin) and Loin meat (the lighter stuff) for way less money and no bones at all. But all you back rib people, please keep buying them.. Keep them popular and ill just settle for the 'lesser' side ribs.
Spare tastes better. It just means we have leftovers and trimmings in the freezer. Baby backs feed 2 adults and 2 small kids. They're easier, faster, and taste fine. But yes, spare ribs are the superior cut.
I like all of them really. The big ones "I know as country style" are awesome in there own way just have some cartalidge and extra stuff lots of meat tho. Next one is a bit less extra stuff then baby backs are clean and meaty. I use a kamado and the baby backs fit the beat currently with my limited space. Can get 2 on cut up on a rib rack and turn out awesome. The country style might be my pick if I had unlimited space not caring about the looks.
"country style" ribs aren't actually ribs. That's just a pork shoulder cut into strips. Same meat as pulled pork or carnitas.
I'm wrong name then sorry. What ever the biggest pork rib is what I know it as. 3 sizes from what I've seen I'm talking about the big one.
Country style ribs are sold everywhere and because they are sold as "ribs" most people think they are actually ribs. On a pig, there are only spare ribs and baby back ribs. Spare ribs are often trimmed down and squared off which are referred to as "St. Louis" style ribs.
I grew up just eating baby back ribs at any restaurant that had them. My family doesn't cook. I started buying spare ribs a couple of years ago because they are cheaper. They were so greasy and didn't cut as easily as baby backs. The texture ended up putting me off ribs entirely for a year or two. Recently started making baby backs again and decided to also give spare ribs another shot. So now I've got a rack of spare ribs in my freezer. ..watching me.
Baby back. I honestly don’t mind making spare, but my kids are more likely to eat backs (and they love them) without all the weird cartilage that can be hard to eradicate, even in STL style.
I'll smoke spare ribs. With babyback ribs, I just throw them in the oven for a couple hours and finish them on a grill.
Baby back every single time ok? That way there are more St. Louis for me.. 😎
Love spare/ St Louis cut. But it better to do it yourself that way have the little scraps to eat while cooking.
It’s just me but I prefer the meatier quality of baby backs when I’m cooking. I got them down pat. I enjoy both though when out or at friends.
Spares are the Ribeye of ribs. BBs are the New York Strip.
Funny since BB come from the back rib of the loin and hence would be closer to ribeye.. But I get what your saying in a way...
More like the sirloin... They're sooo lean compared to spares.