How to cut St Louis Style Spares (Tutorial)

This may be old hat for many of the veterans out there, but for those who are interested, here is a step by step tutorial on how to take a big old rack of spare ribs and turn them into a St Louis style rack with rib tips and a special bonus too!

Two racks in a cryovac weighing a little over 10 pounds.



Open them up and put the first rack on the cutting board.




Flip it over and take hold of the flap.



Hold your knife parallel to the cutting board and slice off the flap as close to the bones as possible. Make sure you save the flap and all your trimmings!




And this is how they should look with the flap removed.



Now carefully slide a butter knife between the bone and the membrane.



Lift with the back of the knife to separate the membrane.



Using a paper towel for grip, grab the membrane and carefully start to pull it off.



With a little practice, it will come off in one piece.



Now locate the longest bone on the rack and insert the tip of your knife.



Cut down the length of the rack to get a nice even slab.




Repeat the process with the other rack, remove the breast bones and trim all the loose ends from the rib tips and this is what you should end up with.



So, what will we do with all those trimmings?



Maybe sausage, maybe meatloaf, maybe meatballs...that will be a post for another day!




I hope you enjoyed the pics!

Wampus said:

Yup.....that's how I do it.

Quick question, though.....
I usually rinse all meat out of the cryopack under cold water then pat dry with paper towels. I've done this with chickens, turkeys, ribs, butts, brisket......EVERYTHING. I think I read that somewhere when I got started trimming/cooking meat.


I notice you didn't mention it here. I've always considered it a real PIA step. Not necessary?


ALSO.....when you say cut out the breastbone on the cutoff.....you just cut that portion complely off and trim the meat off, right?



GREAT tutorial. This will be a big help for those new to spares.:thumb:

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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?

As for the breast bone, yes, I just cut it off and trim and save the meat. I also save the bone sometimes for browning and adding to my tomato sauce for flavor.

R2Egg2Q said:

Very nicely done Mister Bob! Assuming that's you doing the trimming, nice work by the photographer as well!

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Thanks, R2Egg2Q!
Yes, that's me doing the trimming and my son handling the camera.