flyingbassman5
is one Smokin' Farker
What makes StL Q; ( :blah: Warning!! .:rant ahead:. Warning!! :blah: )
So I've been seeing a lot of people ranting and raving about STL style ribs. Every now and then I come across some one who thinks that Saint Louis ribs are actually cut from the pig as STL style. :crazy: Wrong!!! Oh well..
Anywho, as a born and raised Saint Louis native, Stl cut ribs aren't really the rage here. I find most guys around here cook up babybacks or full on spares. I'm in the spares crowd and leave them pretty much untrimmed.
All the local Q joints do, however serve up the stl cut spares with the advertisement of "fall off the bone" good.... I like my ribs to stay in one piece until they reach my mouth, but I digress.
All the Q joints really, IMO are the reason so many people see spares trimmed up nice and uniform as STL style ribs. Why the trimmed spares got the STL style label is up for debate, but from what I have heard and read, it stems from the vast amount of pork processors in the area around the 1950's. Customers at meat markets wanted spares cut down nice and uniform without the extra "useless" weight from the rib tips. It eventually caught on and the STL "style" was born. It spread and eventually became a staple in prepping ribs.
But hey! StL BBQ isn't just about the ribs. True StL Q involves pork steaks, cooked over charcoal on a Weber, and drenched in a bottle of Maul's Original Q sauce until its sticky and HOT! Really to make anything St. Louis BBQ one must simply sauce choice protein item in the last 30 minutes of the cook with a thin, tangy, tomato based sauce. Whether its pork steaks, pork shoulder, or a fat pork loin we here in the Lou know our way around a swine.
Making up another key part of STL Q is the use of Hickory smoke. Its all I use and all A LOT of local joints will use. Here in Missouri, especially in the Ozarks, its farking EVERYWHERE!! Oak is second but because hickory is good with just about anything, especially pork, its a first choice of most around here.
Finally, the sauce. St. Louis BBQ sauce is unique. It combines the tomato basis of KC style but with less sugar and more vinegar. This results in a thin, almost watery, tangy sauce with a hint of sweetness. It's great for basting and still "sets up" and gets sticky.
So why the book on STL BBQ? Well, because I could. :mrgreen:
But mostly it stemmed from boredom and the feeling that many people under-rate St. Louis style BBQ. Plus, who the fark else is gonna sit and read my rant besides a bunch of farkers like yourselves!! I love me some good Q-talk!
Thanks Brethren for an awesome site!! :biggrin1:
So I've been seeing a lot of people ranting and raving about STL style ribs. Every now and then I come across some one who thinks that Saint Louis ribs are actually cut from the pig as STL style. :crazy: Wrong!!! Oh well..
Anywho, as a born and raised Saint Louis native, Stl cut ribs aren't really the rage here. I find most guys around here cook up babybacks or full on spares. I'm in the spares crowd and leave them pretty much untrimmed.
All the local Q joints do, however serve up the stl cut spares with the advertisement of "fall off the bone" good.... I like my ribs to stay in one piece until they reach my mouth, but I digress.
All the Q joints really, IMO are the reason so many people see spares trimmed up nice and uniform as STL style ribs. Why the trimmed spares got the STL style label is up for debate, but from what I have heard and read, it stems from the vast amount of pork processors in the area around the 1950's. Customers at meat markets wanted spares cut down nice and uniform without the extra "useless" weight from the rib tips. It eventually caught on and the STL "style" was born. It spread and eventually became a staple in prepping ribs.
But hey! StL BBQ isn't just about the ribs. True StL Q involves pork steaks, cooked over charcoal on a Weber, and drenched in a bottle of Maul's Original Q sauce until its sticky and HOT! Really to make anything St. Louis BBQ one must simply sauce choice protein item in the last 30 minutes of the cook with a thin, tangy, tomato based sauce. Whether its pork steaks, pork shoulder, or a fat pork loin we here in the Lou know our way around a swine.
Making up another key part of STL Q is the use of Hickory smoke. Its all I use and all A LOT of local joints will use. Here in Missouri, especially in the Ozarks, its farking EVERYWHERE!! Oak is second but because hickory is good with just about anything, especially pork, its a first choice of most around here.
Finally, the sauce. St. Louis BBQ sauce is unique. It combines the tomato basis of KC style but with less sugar and more vinegar. This results in a thin, almost watery, tangy sauce with a hint of sweetness. It's great for basting and still "sets up" and gets sticky.
So why the book on STL BBQ? Well, because I could. :mrgreen:
But mostly it stemmed from boredom and the feeling that many people under-rate St. Louis style BBQ. Plus, who the fark else is gonna sit and read my rant besides a bunch of farkers like yourselves!! I love me some good Q-talk!
Thanks Brethren for an awesome site!! :biggrin1: