Rib Choice
 

Tomorrow I'll be making my first attempt at smoking ribs. Now what to choose?

Beef ribs? Spare ribs? Baby back ribs?

I'm planning a basic rub and slow cook for a few hours
Any tips for a newbie .

D

Spare ribs for sure. Follow this link and you will be good. http://www.slapyodaddybbq.com/2012/0...is-spare-ribs/

Just make sure to get unenhanced ones whichever you choose. Can't go wrong with spares though.

Depends on how much time you have to cook them. Few hours could mean 4 (baby backs) or 6 (spares or beef).

Ive done spares at 275-300 in 4 hours. http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=142909.

Ribs area bought... 5.5 pounds of soon to be deliciousnes!
I went with spare ribs. Working on a rib recipe tonight.

D

First of all Beef Ribs are the King of Ribs, Spare ribs are the grand daddy of them all if you can find meaty beef ribs, the best bang for your buck is probably short ribs very delish and always very meaty.
Pork ribs are also good but unlike beef ribs you will have to add flavor to pork ribs, beef ribs are naturally full of flavor. If you choose pork ribs i would go with babybacks over spares. Good luck which ever rib you choose.:-D

I would say baby backs would be the easiest for your first cook. Maybe they don't have as much meat on them but bigger is not always better.

I prefer St. Louis style, but there is work involved in trimming them properly. Some trim them, some do not, but I like clean bones without the cartilage.

Baby Backs are usually ready to go, jut pull the membrane off the back.

Beef ribs are great, but I would not recommend them for your first few cooks.


Good luck and keep us posted..

I usually do untrimmed spares, but since I was doing some in the WSM, I did a clumsy St. Louis trim on a couple of racks last weekend. They work much better in the rib racks and the pullback was more uniform, so I will probably continue with that in the future after I find a video on how to do it properly. The trimmings made excellent snacks during the course of the afternoon, as well. These went 2.5-1.5-1 and were excellent, but I usually do 2-1-1 in the offset and get very consistent results. I'm working toward a no-foil technique, but so far I keep drying them out when I attempt it.

Here is my set of Spare ribs. also, but first attempt at trimming too.
Things are looking pretty good and the smoker is heating up.

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/n...9373758533.jpg

All seasoned up... currently resting in the refrigerator.

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/n...9373757651.jpg

Here is my rub recipe.

1/2 C D.Brown Sugar
1/4 C Paprika
1 tbs Black Pepper
1 tbs Onion Powder
1 tbs Garlic Powder
1 tbs Chili Powder
1/2 tbs Cumin

Ribs sprinkled with Sea salt

Any Input?

D

Have plenty of beer on hand.....

Ribs are on .... smoking nicely at 265d.

Here's some trimmings.

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/n...9373756770.jpg

V-wiz, yes, you can do spares in 4 hours that way, but then the baby backs take 2.5 to 3 hours.