Opinion of STL BBQ from a true St. Louian.

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:

pmad said:

As a St. Louisian myself, I can not support the OP.
The only ones not doing St. Louis style ribs in St. Louis are those who don't know how.

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I disagree. What makes cooking stl cut ribs different than cooking a rack of untrimmed spares? Not much because they are the same thing. Stl style is simply trimmed more so than spares.

Nothing against the stl style, but I think a lot of folks think they are more popular here than they really are. And its really not a "style" of cooking ribs, all it really is is the way a rack of spares gets cut. You could take a rack of stl cut ribs and do them Memphis style with just a dry rub and still call them stl style. That of course just wouldn't make sense.

All MHO of course..X:mrgreen:

BBQchef33 said:

around here, a sliced up butt is called country ribs and a pork steak is cut from a whole loin.

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I believe if it is cut from a pork loin, it becomes a loin chop or loin steak. Also a very very good cut of pork that is boneless and fantastic when wrapped in bacon! :biggrin1:

As already mentioned, the staple of STL BBQ is the pork steak that is, yes, just a sliced up bone in pork butt.

jrn said:

Man I love pork steaks!! I've never had it prepared the way you guys are talking about though. Can y'all recommend a recipe for someone who's a newb at that particular style? I'm going to the search engine now!

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Sure!! First you will need to head to your trusty local butcher and tell him you want pork steaks cut from a bone-in butt.

After that, I fire up the weber kettle with a load of charcoal and hickory chunks and set it all to one side. I start them up doing a reverse sear until 150 IT and then move to direct over the coals to finish. Sauce both sides during the last few minutes and let cook until the sauce sets and gets nice and sticky.

Let rest for 5 or 10 minutes and then serve with some tater salad, baked beans, and your favorite adult beverage.

Christmas morning I had two kettles cooking up a total of 14 pork steaks for dinner later that night. They are great to cook in the morning and then either re-heat or hold in a large roasting pan until serving time. Mmmmmm now you're making me hungry!

Pappy said:

Mmmmmmmmmmm! Pork Steaks.

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Are those 18.5" kettles??! If not, and those are 22 inchers then those my friend are some MONSTER pork steaks...