baby back vs spare

[fishingbouchman]

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

[sliding_billy]

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.

[Hub]

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

[pz]

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 

[LostArrow]

I'm also a switch hitter
I stock up on St.Louis spares when the price gets to $2.50/lb ( like today!)

[sparky]

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.   

[Sam3]

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.

[Smokin Don]

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

[UWFSAE]

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 ...

[fishingbouchman]

I will have to give them a go again.  fresh ones.  Only used costco so far. 

THX

[muebe]

I love spares more than Baby Backs myself.

However a rack of Baby Backs would fit nicely in my crock pot

[Sam3]

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!

[RAD]

9 out of 10 times it's spare ribs for me. And if you look at CAPTJack and Sam3 you'll know why.

[muebe]

Great looking rack!

[Smokin Don]

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