Aaron Franklin:Ribs Part 1

[caseydog]

Originally Posted by JS-TX

His brisket is the main attraction but his ribs are really really good too. Cooked perfectly and moist, nice flavor. Unlike most Q joints I've been too, his Q needs no sauce. Hopefully we don't have to wait too long for pt.2.

I think it is a Texas thing -- sauce is optional on good BBQ. That's how it is at my house. I always make it available to my guests -- usually multiple sauces -- and I am not offended if they use sauce on my Q. To each his own. As for me, I love Q that needs no sauce, and prefer to eat it that way.

CD

[smokeisgood]

Originally Posted by jrn

Spares have more meat. And usually cheaper around here. I'm assuming that's what he meant.

Ok, somehow I was under the impression that St. Louis was just a style of cut on spares, ie, removing the flap, evening them up etc., basically what he did.

[caseydog]

Originally Posted by smokeisgood

Ok, somehow I was under the impression that St. Louis was just a style of cut on spares, ie, removing the flap, evening them up etc., basically what he did.

Yes, it is a cut on spares, and it is pretty close to what Aaron did.

I buy untrimmed spares, because they are cheaper, and do the St. Louis cutting my self. Why pay the butcher extra to provide you with less meat?

Unlike Aaron Franklin did in that video, I cook the stuff I cut off, and used it for things like beans. I get the impression that he does that at the restaurant, too. I think he only tossed the trimmings for the video.

I absolutely agree that if you leave some parts of a totally un-trimed rack of spares on for smoking, you are going to ruin them. But, you can cook them separately and make use of them in your sides. That's what I do.

I wish Aaron would have taken more of a "no waste" approach in this video. But, I still like his basic way of cooking meats.

CD

[JS-TX]

Originally Posted by caseydog

I think it is a Texas thing -- sauce is optional on good BBQ. That's how it is at my house. I always make it available to my guests -- usually multiple sauces -- and I am not offended if they use sauce on my Q. To each his own. As for me, I love Q that needs no sauce, and prefer to eat it that way.

CD

I'll put sauce on ribs and chicken, cause I'm usually trying out different rub/sauce combos for comps.. that and my 5 yr old son likes to "paint" the meat on the pit.

[Boshizzle]

Great video! I am interested to see the rest of the cook. When I visited Franklin Barbecue, the ribs I was served were wrapped in foil before being sliced for me. I am trying to remember if I noticed if the membrane had been removed.

[Dallas Dan]

Originally Posted by HeSmellsLikeSmoke

Does anyone say that his ribs are anywhere near as good as his brisket?

No they aren't. I've tried his ribs several times and found them to be over cooked and the flavor just OK. Brisket is definitely his specialty.

[Boshizzle]

Originally Posted by Dallas Dan

No they aren't. I've tried his ribs several times and found them to be over cooked and the flavor just OK. Brisket is definitely his specialty.

Yeah, I have to agree. My notes from my visit had some interesting phrases to describe Franklin Barbecue's ribs that I won't post. But, I wasn't impressed by most of the pork ribs I had in central Texas with the exception of Snow's BBQ ribs. Those ribs were pretty tasty because of the way they cook them.

Snow's BBQ cooks their ribs directly over coals which is much more of a Southeastern style so that may explain why I liked them the best.

[Soonerman71]

Originally Posted by caseydog

I just like the way he cooks. I could hang out with him and cook. He has that, "fark the rules, this is how I do it" kind of attitude that is very compatible with my style of cooking.

I also like his measuring technique. "I'm gonna' use about this much pepper." I do that, too. I can't tell you how many times people have asked me for a recipe for some of my regular cooks, and I have to tell them I don't have one. Some people don't believe me.

CD

I use this method for almost everything I cook. My sister-in-law hates it because she will ask "how do you make your..." When I can't say a tsp of this and 1/4 cup of that it drives her nuts.

[Big M1ke]

Great video. Can't wait to see the rest. Aaron seems like a cool dude.

[captndan]

Originally Posted by Big M1ke

Great video. Can't wait to see the rest. Aaron seems like a cool dude.

I like his attitude. Unlike most other cooking shows he does not have Hollywood tattoo on his butt.

[landarc]

He did what is called a Modified Kansas City cut, that means no flap or skirt, no breast bone. The tips are left on. He mentioned that.

The St. Louis cut removes all of the breast bone and the tips. So there are no pin bones or cartilage left on the rack. St. Louis cuts also typically square off the ends on the small end leaving 8 to 10 bones per rack.

[J-Rod]

Good video. Looking forward to pt. 2

[Plaid Palace]

Originally Posted by J-Rod

Good video. Looking forward to pt. 2

Do we know when part 2 is coming? Ran across this video looking for a good recipe and have since watched all the videos.

[ChiefBrock]

wife bought some spare ribs for my cook....label said St Louis cut...but when I cooked them the bones were only about an inch or two long and I had a full 6 inches of cartlidge tips instead. To me it sounded like the cutter tried to cut the spares in half to get both sold as st louis spares and I got the lower half and someone else got the uppers. what do you think?

[landarc]

I think someone screwed up and sent the screw up through so he didn't get yelled at.