wilburpan Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 I’ve always been partial to baby back ribs, but I thought I would give spare ribs a try. This cook is the first time I’ve had spare ribs in over a decade. (I told you I was partial to baby back ribs. ) The rub is a mixture of the two rubs I compared head to head last weekend that I had left over, plus a little extra salt and pepper. The bits at the top are pieces that I trimmed from the rack. I sprinkled them with rub as well and put them all into Smaug, who was cruising along at 225ºF.The great thing about cooking the trimmed bits from the rack is that they cook relatively quickly, and you get to have a little snack while waiting for the ribs to finish up. So here’s the final result, after about five hours. The ribs cooked until they passed the bend test. At that point, a knife slid through the meat like butter. I didn’t wrap, spritz, or apply sauce to the ribs during the cook.Plated.The ribs turned out great, but overall we came to the conclusion that we like baby back ribs more than spare ribs. Even though there was more meat overall, the kids weren’t big fans of dealing with the cartilage. Apparently, they would rather gnaw on solid bones. Then again, my younger son self-identified as a carnivore once he learned what that word meant, and he was only in kindergarten at the time. Still, we’ll probably make spare ribs on occasion in the future for a change of pace. They were quite good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5698k Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Wilbur, you could always trim the cartilage ends off, and send them to me, I'll always do what I can to help the children. Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Great ribs. I also like Dennis honesty of saving customers money(ref elsewhere) but I see a 32 inch Komodo Kamado with 7 rib racks, 1 turkey, a couple of butts, some chicken and................. Now that's a cook. Would that not look good with the Komodo Kamada name just jumping off the pic? I do understand the forum interest in posting pic's. (No hijack intended) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Wilbur, I love that dinner, it just makes my mouth water soooooooooo much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstr8 Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Nice looking rib cook Wilbur! I like both, backs and spares, and maybe typical my better 1/2 prefers back ribs. But given the choice, and preferably from a small farm non-commodity type pork producer, I'll take fully trimmed (no button bones...) center section spare ribs any day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoFrogs91 Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Nice cook Wilbur. Try buying St. Louis style trimmed spareribs when you want to try again. The kiddos might find them easier to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyfish Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Very tasty Wilburpan... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Great cook, Wilbur and hat's off on staying "pure" (no foil, no sauce!) Second, GoFrogs on the St. Louis style. Your carnivore son will love the extra flap of meat off the back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 the kids weren’t big fans of dealing with the cartilage. Apparently, they would rather gnaw on solid bones. Unlike your kids in 'Murica.. My wife and kids love cartilage.. and happily crunch away.. What we toss they treasure. Once my mind was opened I realized it has a great uniformly crunchy or rubbery texture, no obvious flavor and is fun to eat.. Can't figure out why it's considered inedible in the US.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 One of my buddies chastises me whenever we eat wings together because I "leave all the good parts behind." He literally sucks every bit of stuff off the bones. And, Yes, he was born in this country. Go figure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstr8 Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 ^Hmmm...me too Extra calcium Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeramicChef Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Wilbur - those are some kind of wonderful mouth-watering ribs on that plate! Kudos on yet another wonderful cook! As for spares, I always trim out the cartilage and make that part of a Chef's Privledge! My spares always end up as St. Louis cut. Folks love chewing on them. As for me, by the time I've eaten the Chef's Privledge, I'm done for the day! Again, wonderful cook, Wilbur! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted July 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 Just to clarify, if I wanted to make a St. Louis cut, I would make a cut along the green line in this picture, right? A little BBQ trivia: I grew up in Chicago, and many of the BBQ places there sold rib tips. This would be BBQ ribs made from the part below the green line in the picture above, assuming that I’m right about where to make the cut for St. Louis ribs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoFrogs91 Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 Correct as drawn Wilbur. You can often buy them pre-cut as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomahawk66 Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 Unlike your kids in 'Murica.. My wife and kids love cartilage.. and happily crunch away.. What we toss they treasure. Once my mind was opened I realized it has a great uniformly crunchy or rubbery texture, no obvious flavor and is fun to eat.. Can't figure out why it's considered inedible in the US.. My wife is the same and has brought me into the fold now too. I must admit I still feel a little disconcerted when I first bite into cartilage after a while but if you just go for it, it can be really satisfying (and truly carnivorous!) I'm sure it must be good for you in some way too? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeramicChef Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 Wilbur - that green line does indeed make those spares into classic St. Louis Cut ribs. Everything is nicely squared up. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 We used to have a great local BBQ spot here (Al's Rib Haven), since closed; but one of my favs on their menu was the "boney box" - rib tips. Miss the joint. Al's sauce was awesome! Best part, he'd sell it to you! Made many a great rack of ribs with his sauce. He passed a number of years ago and the kids, who all grew up working in the place, didn't want to take it over. Sad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 A little BBQ trivia: I grew up in Chicago, and many of the BBQ places there sold rib tips. This would be BBQ ribs made from the part below the green line in the picture above, assuming that I’m right about where to make the cut for St. Louis ribs. That is my absolutely favorite piece of meat on a pig. I used to sample bits of this by cutting it off a rib rack I had previously seasoned with dry rub, to check for salt, and quickly pan-frying. Fantastic for any purpose, up there with fish cheeks. I wish I could buy these separately in bulk. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poochie Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 Fish cheek are tasty morsels. Bass cheeks are the best in my book. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 30, 2015 Report Share Posted July 30, 2015 Cheeks are so undervalued on just about every critter. Best Bolognese sauce that I've ever made was with beef cheeks in the pressure cooker! Hog jowls (aka cheeks) are pretty damned tasty bits, too! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
