Smokin-It User Forum!
Recipes => Pork => Topic started by: jbauch357 on April 13, 2015, 03:46:40 PM
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I'm seeing that most people cut the brisket off of their spare ribs, turning the ribs into St. Louis cut and the brisket into rib tips. Is this only doing for visual and serving regularity, or is there something else going on here that would make this a common practice?
Personally I'd think having more meat per serving portion would be ideal, so leave that brisket on... Why is the opposite so common?
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Strictly presentation imo. What does it look like in a judging box or on a plate for $20.
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Because the tips are thinner, they have a tendency to dry out more, be tougher and also have less fat. Some folks love them and cut them off to be used in crock pot or other recipes. I prefer them St. Louis style and buy them pre-cut, or trim them myself. I either freeze the trimmings for later or throw them in the smoker by themselves along with the cut ribs.
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I either freeze the trimmings for later or throw them in the smoker by themselves along with the cut ribs.
In the latter case of cutting them off but still smoking them with the SLC, do you just check and pull out the trimmings earlier before they can get overdone?
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I'm with you, Josh! I keep the tips on the spares! That's how all the BBQ joints around here have always done it, what I'm used to, and what I like best about spares. The tips are where the best meat is!
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See there, Tony likes the whole thing. I think he likes baby backs too.
I take the trimmings, load them up, double or more the amount on the ribs, with a sweet, sugary, spicy, rub and cook them as long as the ribs. The trimmings become dark and tasty with almost a jerky consistency. We usually finish them while the ribs are resting. They are good. Just my way of doing things.
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See there, Tony likes the whole thing. I think he likes baby backs too.
I take the trimmings, load them up, double or more the amount on the ribs, with a sweet, sugary, spicy, rub and cook them as long as the ribs. The trimmings become dark and tasty with almost a jerky consistency. We usually finish them while the ribs are resting. They are good. Just my way of doing things.
You got it going on, Arnie! There are NO "right or wrong" answers in BBQ! That's what makes it great! Yeah, I like baby backs, too. I grew up on spares, but have converted to baby backs pretty much full-time. Guess it has to do with a lifetime of spares, and only a recent (last couple of years) exposure to back ribs. I still do spares occasionally, though!
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There are NO "right or wrong" answers in BBQ!
+1 Tony
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OK, I'll probably leave them whole the first time through and see how things go. Thanks for the responses guys.
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Whether whole, or cut to St Louis, just remember to remove the silver skin on the bone side! ;)
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OK, going to give ribs a try tomorrow.
The plan is to bring a rack of spares home after work, remove the membrane, use a bit of mustard for binder, then dust up with bone suckin sauce. It'll get wrapped then placed in the fridge overnight, then I'll toss it on the smoker bone down in the morning with 3-4 oz of hickory and maple plus a couple beer can boats of water next to the fire box. With a couple hour delay the smoker will kick on around 11am at 175 for 0.5hrs then up to 235 for the remainder. I'll check them about 5hrs later at 4PM when I get home from work.
Sound like a workable plan?
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Sounds like a great plan Josh.
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OK, going to give ribs a try tomorrow.
The plan is to bring a rack of spares home after work, remove the membrane, use a bit of mustard for binder, then dust up with bone suckin sauce. It'll get wrapped then placed in the fridge overnight, then I'll toss it on the smoker bone down in the morning with 3-4 oz of hickory and maple plus a couple beer can boats of water next to the fire box. With a couple hour delay the smoker will kick on around 11am at 175 for 0.5hrs then up to 235 for the remainder. I'll check them about 5hrs later at 4PM when I get home from work.
Sound like a workable plan?
Very workable plan, Josh - just 2 questions/suggestions: I assume you meant "rub" instead of "sauce?" Rub is definitely the right choice for bark. Also, the "beer can boats" may work, but a much better solution is a disposable aluminum mini-loaf pan (Wally world sells them). The main reason I like these pans much better than a beer can is surface area. I find you get more consistent moisture with large surface area, plus, you can tuck that pan right up against the smoke box so it gets maximum heat from the element. I'd go with what you have on hand, but you might try the larger pans next time.
Good luck! 8)
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This is a video by Franklin BBQ, in it they discuss how and somewhat why they trim their spare ribs. The last spares I bought were $1.19 a pound (case price), at that rate he likely threw away $1.00 worth of meat and bone. I don't think that is a bad expense for a presentable even cooking rack of ribs. I like the tips and at least in this video they leave a good bit of the cartilage on the ribs.
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Can you attach the link, Brian? Thanks in advance! ;)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eSFdddaRnk
That's the second time I did that.
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Yeah you were right, I meant bone suckin rub not sauce.
The mini loaf pan very well could work out better, but I always have empty beer cans on hand and they are free. I open up one side of the can with a razor, fill with water, and then lay on its side pressed up against the fire box, a couple pounders usually last about 4-5hrs before boiling dry.
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Brian, That's a clean looking spare in that video. I make St. Louis cuts and like the bigger trim pieces. I can't imagine wasting all those trimmings. That's a restaurant and he's talking 60+ spares a day. Thats a lot of waste.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eSFdddaRnk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eSFdddaRnk)
That's the second time I did that.
Posted somewhere else, maybe? I didn't see a video link in the first post - that's why I asked. Thanks Brian!
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No I just forgot to paste it, to big of a hurry.
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No problem, Brian! Good vid - watched part 2 also. I like the way he cuts the spares. Never seen that technique, and just might have to try it! Thanks for the share!
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When he removed the breast bone he also removed the meat that was behind it, I figured it was a nice big thick hunk of meat so I left it on. Same time I'm cooking for eating and not presenting, so maybe it won't matter in the long run?
The rack I got was quite a bit too big to fit on a single rack of my #2 so I cut it in half before rubbing and dusting. Ribs are now wrapped and resting in the fridge until morning.
As an experiment I also have a webcam hooked up so I can monitor the auber temp and smoke production while I'm at work.
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Josh, in reality you don't have to do anything. You can leave the silver skin on, like my friend, a championship pit master who puts on bbq sauce after they are cooked then puts them on a very hot grill that breaks the silver skin, and also you don't have to trim anything. It will still cook great and still be fantastic.
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The last time I was in a Winco supermarket they had the trimmed flaps packaged and selling separately.
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Never saw that before Dave.
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Josh, in reality you don't have to do anything. You can leave the silver skin on, like my friend, a championship pit master who puts on bbq sauce after they are cooked then puts them on a very hot grill that breaks the silver skin, and also you don't have to trim anything. It will still cook great and still be fantastic.
Your friend may be a championship pit master, but I couldn't disagree more about the membrane. I've had ribs both ways, and the ribs that have the silver skin removed are far superior, both in tenderness and flavor. Removing it is not hard, and I believe it to be a very important step in producing the best ribs. If you leave the membrane on, you are essentially coating half the surface of your ribs in a impervious skin that will not let any flavoring into that side of the ribs! Yes, it's the "bone side," but half of the meat is on that side, too.
Championship BBQ procedures are not always the best procedures! They are going for "one bite boldness" to impress judges. They are not necessarily making BBQ that you would want to make a whole meal out of. Take the 1 minute of time it takes to remove the membrane - your dinner guests will thank you!
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I couldn't agree more. My point is you don't have to do anything to a spare. You can take it right out of the package and it will still taste great. What you learn on this forum steps it up. Most people I know when they serve ribs don't even know what silver skin is. They are your typical backyard bbqers that love ribs on the grill.
As far as a pit master is concerned, championship or not, when you are serving hundreds of racks a day whether at a competition, a carnival, or an outside festival, who has time for removing the silver skin. The ribs can and do taste terrific... albeit not as good as mine.
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"As an experiment I also have a webcam hooked up so I can monitor the auber temp and smoke production while I'm at work."
I just love this modern technology... 8)
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Most people I know when they serve ribs don't even know what silver skin is. They are your typical backyard bbqers that love ribs on the grill.
Exactly! That was ME! Most of the BBQ joints I grew up going to never removed it, and I didn't even know why I hated the "tough" part of the ribs, until I got into smoking them! The first time I had "silver skin-removed" ribs, I was HOOKED! I didn't know ribs could taste that good! Also, once I learned the trick about removing it from the middle-out, I can de-skin 3 racks in about 1-2 minutes, so why not? Now, if I were cooking a hundred racks a day? Probably not... :o
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Hey Tony, that was me too. Yes, we do agree. Removing the silver skin is easy and mandatory once you try ribs without it. You never go back when you cook them yourself.
Because of the high volume of ribs required by the pros and the thousands of customers being served, it's just not feasible to remove it. So, the good pitmasters find ways to take the toughness out of the silver skin and still make the ribs taste great. My friend found a way to actually crisp it and crack it. His ribs are fantastic. Some of the best I have ever eaten...but not as good as mine...hee..hee..hee!
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That's the part I don't quite understand, Arnie - most competition pros really don't cook very many at a time, so why not remove it? The guys I know that cook competition do.
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A complete success!
Being able to monitor things from work was great, not all that important for ribs since you don't have the meat probe in use, but I'll for sure do that again on the next big hunk of meat I start up before leaving for work and need to keep an eye on IT.
We ended up hitting a couple bars on the way home so they were on for 5.5hrs total, but it took over an hour to hit 235 and settle - so they weren't over cooked or dry and the meat was fall off the bone tender.
The bark was great, smoke level about perfect, and I really liked the contrast of the more done rib tips vs the moist thicker rib portions. I was expecting to freeze half the rack, but we ended up eating the whole thing that night.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-47AaM_QxxN4/VTRL5J639zI/AAAAAAAAD6c/EsaFIZ_x_IA/s800/20150416_072729.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Y8fsHn_4i-A/VTRL2d957GI/AAAAAAAAD6U/7DV1x8jl5_k/s800/20150416_174731.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cn-BMtVbYpw/VTRL0MoBBFI/AAAAAAAAD6M/K80rxvjv324/s800/20150416_180829.jpg)
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Nice going Josh! They are the real deal and look great. Glad you like the tips like that too. Very different texture and great taste.
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Tony, when it comes to actually presenting something to the judges for a competition, it's a whole different ballgame. Many racks are set aside. The silver skins are removed before cooking, the seasoning might be adjusted, the plumpest ribs are taken from the center cut and the best looking ribs are examined carefully and selected from the perfect rack. After all it's a competition and they want it perfect. Appearance is as important as taste at that point. Its their reputation at stake = $$$...BIG $$$
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The ribs look GREAT, Josh! Nice job! Here's a tip though - be careful about the whole "hit a couple of bars on the way home" thing when there's Q at stake! You got lucky with the 5 1/2 hours, but that can turn into 8 1/2 hours real easy! LoL! ;)
And Arnie - exactly! They're not cooking for 100 people; they're cooking for a few that count! :D