How to cut St Louis Style Spares (Tutorial)

Mister Bob said:
I don't rinse raw meat with tap water unless I'm going to cook it fairly soon. I personally believe I would be adding more germs than I would be removing, especially if it just came out of a cryovac. I'm no expert in the field, but it just seems to make sense to me. Maybe a Brethren more informed on the subject would like to weigh in?
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I rinse meat to make sure there are no bone fragments left by the saw.
 
Soapm said:
Great tutorial but I find removing the rib tips first makes the skirt and membrane easier to remove...

And as for what to do with the trimmings, I cook them. They are great as they are or always make good smoked boiling meat...
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As I've often said, "There's more than one way to skin a cat."

I've been trimming ribs for many, many years and find it much easier to remove the flap first. It allows you to see all the bones and make that long straight cut to even up the rack. Once the flap is removed, it makes no difference whether you remove the tips or membrane first.

As for rinsing, I've done a little research since posting this yesterday. Here's what the USDA has to say about rinsing raw meat:

"Washing raw poultry, beef, pork, lamb, or veal before cooking it is not recommended. Some consumers think they are removing bacteria from the meat and making it safe. For safety, use a food thermometer to be sure the food has reached a safe minimum internal temperature."

and

"Washing raw poultry, beef, pork, lamb, or veal before cooking it is not recommended. Bacteria in raw meat and poultry juices can be spread to other foods, utensils, and surfaces. We call this cross-contamination."

Here's the link to that page on their web site http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/Does_Washing_Food_Promote_Food_Safety/index.asp

I'll go with the USDA on this one and use my eyes and fingers to find bone fragments. But again, to each his own!
 
Yes, thanks for sharing. Nice refresher.

St. Louis trimmed ribs fit better into the pot I use to boil them with :shock:!
 
Love it, I never thought about grounding the flap and such. I may have to get me a grinder now.

Anyone have recommendations on a grinder?
 
big brother smoke said:
Love it, I never thought about grounding the flap and such. I may have to get me a grinder now.

Anyone have recommendations on a grinder?
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I use the same one Mister Bob uses and it works pretty good for the small amounts I use it for. My gut feeling is that if you have any plans on grinding larger quantities then maybe something specifically designed for grinding may be better.
 
Good job-I am happy to say that I was taught the same way. I was just wondering if you ever tried to season them prior to shrink wrapping? Would that make them tough to sit in the seasoning?
 
sfbbqguy said:
I use the same one Mister Bob uses and it works pretty good for the small amounts I use it for. My gut feeling is that if you have any plans on grinding larger quantities then maybe something specifically designed for grinding may be better.
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I agree. The KitchenAid is OK for the occasional small job like grinding trimmings, but if you plan on doing any real volume of meat grinding, you'll definitely need a better option.
 
AMoore said:
Good job-I am happy to say that I was taught the same way. I was just wondering if you ever tried to season them prior to shrink wrapping? Would that make them tough to sit in the seasoning?
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Because I use a substantial amount of salt in my rib rub, I don't season before vacuum packing. I suspect it would at least change the texture of the meat, if not make it tougher.

It might act like a dry 'brine' though, and pull the moisture out of the cells, then through osmosis and diffusion pull the moisture back in along with the other flavors. Maybe it's worth a try...
 
question: when you are slicing from the largest rib bone down, what are you removing? is that the breast bone?

question: the other 2 bones in this picture, did you just slice them off , or did you continue the cut in that direction as well?

StLouisRibs00013.jpg


thanks. i really appreciate it
 
LT72884 said:
question: when you are slicing from the largest rib bone down, what are you removing? is that the breast bone?

question: the other 2 bones in this picture, did you just slice them off , or did you continue the cut in that direction as well?

thanks. i really appreciate it
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In that picture, I'm cutting with my right hand and my left hand is on the rib tips. The breast bone in the lower right part of the picture (the vertical bone)
.
When you get to the end of the long cut, you turn around and continue the cut in the other direction. You then cut any broken bones off the ends to square the rack up.
 
Mister Bob said:
In that picture, I'm cutting with my right hand and my left hand is on the rib tips. The breast bone in the lower right part of the picture (the vertical bone)
.
When you get to the end of the long cut, you turn around and continue the cut in the other direction. You then cut any broken bones off the ends to square the rack up.
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VERY much appreciated. i got rip tips and breast bone mixed up! my bad.

i need to cook some spares. i hear, if done correctly, they are just as good as baby backs. thats what i hear!
 
oh, can you cut the meat out of the rib tips to grind up? what do you use rib tips for?

thanks
 
LT72884 said:
oh, can you cut the meat out of the rib tips to grind up? what do you use rib tips for?

thanks
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I guess you could trim the meat out of the tips, but it wouldn't be very easy. There's quite a bit of meat and fat, but there's also quite a bit of cartilage. You would probably end up with a lot of waste.

I cook the tips along with the ribs, using the same method (a variation of 3-2-1). After they're cooked, I cut them into chunks about 2" x 2" and hit them with some extra sauce. Just eat around the cartilage. My son likes the tips even better that the ribs!
 
hmm, ok cool. i need an excuse to use my meat grinder i bought last year. haha

im gonna buy me some ribs and trim them so i can save them for summer.

thanks for the awesome info.
 
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