Let's Talk BBQ
General => General Discussion & Topics => General Discussion => Topic started by: fishingbouchman on August 30, 2013, 06:50:43 AM
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See a lot of you all making spare ribs so figured I would give it a shot. have done them twice now and like the baby back better. not sure if it is the texture, flavor, or I just don't cook them right. I do like that they are more uniform but the baby backs just turn out better for me.
Do you cook them differently? Why do you like spare's?
Thx
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I am a spares guy (even though I am doing backs this weekend). I like the flavor a lot better, and I think the fat to meat ratio is better yielding a moister product. I do not do a St. Louis cut. I like the tips attached. The big difference cooking for me is that I don't need to wrap spares (and normally don't sauce them while cooking). I always wrap/sauce backs.
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For "friends and family" barbeque I usually buy whichever is on sale. Stores in my area tend to have BB's on sale more often than spares. I can't discern much difference in the texture of the meat. BB racks tend to be a little more even in size from one end to the other. My guests could care less about the "breed" -- they just want RIBS!!!
In competition we use ultra-trimmed St. Louis spares for appearance reasons, mostly. Easy to make them very uniform. A few BB's show up, but not many.
For non-competition spares I like to leave the flap meat on to get a really meaty rib. They aren't pretty but the extra meat is great.
Try this if you can: Whether BB or Spare, the ribs at most grocery stores are sealed in cryovac with some salt water, etc. for preservative reasons (longer shelf life). Find a store or butcher shop that sells fresh, non-preservative ribs of either type and note the flavor and texture difference. I think it is pretty dramatic and I greatly prefer the fresh rib "porkiness" to the preservative rib "hammy" flavor and texture. Fresh ribs are almost never on sale, however :(
Hub
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I'm like Hub in that I'll purchase whatever is the cheapest. However, like sliding_billy I prefer spare, and I too like the cartilagenous tips.
Either kind I'll smoke, then wrap in foil (with butter and brown sugar, spices) and finish in the oven - I like fall-off-the-bone because quite frankly if I tried to do the proper "bite" as in competition, I'd end up with tough chewy ribs ;D
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I'm also a switch hitter ::)
I stock up on St.Louis spares when the price gets to $2.50/lb ( like today!)
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I have cooked both. I prefer bb backs. spares are straighter bones and seem to cook good but a nice well smoked bb back is hard to beat. 8)
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I like BB myself, so does the Missus.
I buy meat when I need it, and I follow sparky's methods to a tee. It works in this house.
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I like both but probably prefer BB. Hub's right on when he says to use fresh ribs from a good butcher. The texture and taste are much better. Don
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I prefer spares to baby backs by a huge margin. The Smokin-It #3 provides a very moist cooking environment and even baby backs can smoke unfoiled until done ... but spares, to me, have superior flavor and texture. I think they stand up to stronger rub flavors and are versatile enough to cook as standard BBQ ribs or something a bit unique as Char Sui style Asian ribs.
I will occasionally pick up a rack of babys and always seem to regret it; spares seem more forgiving, are meatier, and have a beautiful marbling of fat in the thick end that renders incredible well.
To each their own, I suppose, but I like the firm bite of a well cooked slab of spares ...
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I will have to give them a go again. fresh ones. Only used costco so far.
THX
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I love spares more than Baby Backs myself.
However a rack of Baby Backs would fit nicely in my crock pot :P
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Well, after I posted, I decided to make some spares. No trimming, no foil love, just JH Pecan rub and on the MAK. I think I will be making more spares from now on. These were real good!
(http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o164/sam3_album/fede1449ddd8cdf2e5a23b07fffc034b_zps01092211.jpg)
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9 out of 10 times it's spare ribs for me. And if you look at CAPTJack and Sam3 you'll know why.
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Great looking rack!
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I will have to give them a go again. fresh ones. Only used costco so far.
THX
Some that come cyropaced are fresh with no added brine you have to read close. There is one brand that I get at Sams, I think is Prairre but am not positive, that are fresh. Don