• working on DNS.. links may break temporarily.

Rib prep / Trim?

Balls Casten

Balls Casten

is Blowin Smoke!
Joined
Jan 4, 2009
Messages
1,004
Reaction score
451
Points
0
Location
Johnston, Ia
First thank you for the input on the chicken thread.

For the Super bowl I am taking a case on ribs down to the local bar. So I am taking the opportunity to try my hand at trimming ribs. Just like the chicken, aside from some very obvious hunks of fat or loose meat, we did not trim. We would pull the membrane from the underside and clean that up the best we could.
So here are the ribs, which one from each group would you select and why?
#1 - A, the best rack of the bunch, thin some of the fat in the center.
#2 - B, less fat than the others
#3 - A, I would thin the large fat area in the center. Downside the length of each rib would be different.

How did I do?
I'll post the trimmed ribs before they go on the smoker.
 
Last edited:
I would have to see the back side, because I also take into consideration bone direction.....
 
Here are the trimed ribs I selected and after the rub.
To the left is the fat that was trimmed from the three racks. Did I cut the right amount of flavor off or to much?
 
Last edited:
U2CANQUE said:
I would have to see the back side, because I also take into consideration bone direction.....
Click to expand...

I've got 12 left to do. What am I looking for in bone direction? This isnt a left or right hand brisket is it?:eusa_clap
 
laughing, no, some ribs look great on the meatside, then when you flip them over they have scoliosis with the amount of turn/direction of the bones....
 
I tend to look at the backside first, looking for the straightest, and then once I have those picked out, I will look at the meat side to see which ones best suite my needs.....if that makes sense?
 
It is tough to find comp quality ribs around here, at least that I know of. Those ribs look really good, especially in comparison to what I can get locally! Where did you get the case of ribs?

I need a better local source...:sad:
 
U2CANQUE said:
I tend to look at the backside first, looking for the straightest, and then once I have those picked out, I will look at the meat side to see which ones best suite my needs.....if that makes sense?
Click to expand...
Good point Rob. You don't want ribs that look like a half circle when you try to cut through them.
 
And the finished ribs ...

Spares better than BB .. this coming from a New Yorker? :-D
 
Last edited:
Nice looking Ribs!

Can I get some guidance on spares VS baby backs in competitions? I have been doing spares to this point and am considering baby backs for this season. I figure the cost will end being about the same per pound after I get done trimming the spares. Maybe cost should not be a consideration but rather how easy one is to cook consistently vs the other etc.

Thanks for the help.
 
I prefer the look and taste of BB's over spares. Spares seem to taste too "hammy" to my liking.jmo.
 
Spares are easier to get into a box if you layer your ribs - the arch to the BBs makes them stand tall in the box. My experience is that you have to look through more BBs in order to find good racks than you do spares, and the middle rack in a cryo 3 pack of BBs is almost always lousy.

Our highest finish in ribs was with BBs, but a personally still prefer spares.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
What to do with beef rib (lifter, wedge, blade) muscle
Replies
2
Views
361
Jordan5
J
E
Easter Ribs
Replies
4
Views
284
creek bottom
creek bottom
J
My Annual Deer Grind.......
Replies
18
Views
628
SmokeOCD
S
S
K.I.S.S Brisket
Replies
5
Views
478
Big George's BBQ
Big George's BBQ
H
Low and Slow over open fire
Replies
18
Views
2K
harrybbq
H
Back
Top