Why are St. Louis Style Ribs So Popular?

[holdenf92]

This may be a strange question to some of you competition guys, but why are St. Louis style spare ribs so in vogue? I cannot for the life of me understand what the big deal is. I get that they're uniform, but I have always preferred full spares. They're bigger, meatier, and you get more for your money with them, and when they're cooked right are absolutely delicious. Some of the best ribs I have ever had in my life are from the Bodacious Bbq in Marshall, TX and they serve full spares. I have had a lot of trouble finding a place to buy a rack of full spares outside of the typical supermarket ones like Hormel that are pumped full of sodium solution. I've looked at pretty much every website that sells quality pork such as Snake River Farms and Compart Duroc and nobody seems to sell anything but spares already in St. Louis cut. Does anybody know where to find some quality full spares?

 

[BBQchef33]

Restaurant depot carries full spares with the flap on. I buy them and st Louie them myself and make riblets out of the tops.

 

[Cook]

Wish I could help...full spare are everywhere I go.

I'd say that trimmed spares are popular because most Americans are lazy eaters. Let's face it...most folks don't like nibbling meat from the unsavory parts. Have you ever seen a plate of chicken wings after they have been eaten? The majority of people take 2 or 3 bites of the meat and discard the rest without even giving a thought to cleaning the bones.

Same with ribs...people just want to stear clear of the cartilage. They think it's "nasty". Lol

I'm not in that group.

 

[holdenf92]

Restaurant depot carries full spares with the flap on. I buy them and st Louie them myself and make riblets out of the tops.

How do you buy them from there? I thought you had to be a business to purchase from them.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

I too have had their ribs. Superfine! I buy full spares and trim them to St. Louis style mainly because I smoke them on an 18" WSM. I do smoke the strips cut off though. That is some good eet'in and done sooner.

 

[Czarbecue]

How do you buy them from there? I thought you had to be a business to purchase from them.

KCBS members get a free day pass to RD. Not sure how often you can go.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Looks like Richardson Texas is the closest one to us 92.

 

[holdenf92]

I'd rather not pay for a membership to another organization just to be able to go to a store not even near me for one time a year. I'd much rather order online. I guess I'll be stuck with Kroger ribs for a while. I may go to whole foods in Shreveport and see if they have some full spare ribs in the back that havent been cut down yet. I got a full rack of plate short ribs from them one time and they were awesome.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

I'd rather not pay for a membership to another organization just to be able to go to a store not even near me for one time a year. I'd much rather order online. I guess I'll be stuck with Kroger ribs for a while. I may go to whole foods in Shreveport and see if they have some full spare ribs in the back that havent been cut down yet. I got a full rack of plate short ribs from them one time and they were awesome.

Dude. Why didn't you say so! ?

http://www.louisianameatstore.com/

No membership required. Download their pdf price list.

Fresh butchered beef and pork without cryovac and some of the best boudin north of Bunkie.

 

[Peteg]

I like to use them in contests because IMHO the spare is the best part of the rib. With that said, the idea is to only put the best part of the meat in the box, so we cut off the part with the cartilage.

 

[holdenf92]

Dude. Why didn't you say so! ?

http://www.louisianameatstore.com/

No membership required. Download their pdf price list.

Fresh butchered beef and pork without cryovac and some of the best boudin north of Bunkie.

Now that's the kind of link I've been looking for :clap:

 

[SmittyJonz]

Cuz I'm too Lazy to trim full spares.......

 

[gcs]

I've never seen full spares up here, except once at walmart, and they never had them again...

 

[dadsr4]

I'm lucky, several local stores around me sell them.
I can't guarantee anything, but in my area, I can go to this site,
https://flipp.com/home
enter my zip code and search for "ribs".
There always seems to be someone advertising untrimmed spares. It's usually some small, non-chain store.

 

[LTG]

It is easier to find full spares vs stl cut up here. Once I trim to stl style I put the rib tips right where they belong. In the garbage.��

 

[dadsr4]

It is easier to find full spares vs stl cut up here. Once I trim to stl style I put the rib tips right where they belong. In the garbage.��

That's the best part!

 

[ModelMaker]

Wow, finally somewhere to purchase turkey wings.
Why fiddle with them little chicken arms when you could enjoy a few meaty long cooked
satisfying treats?
Ed

 

[dadsr4]

Wow, finally somewhere to purchase turkey wings.
Why fiddle with them little chicken arms when you could enjoy a few meaty long cooked
satisfying treats?
Ed

I must live in the right place. Not only can I get whole spare ribs easily, but the local Krogers has turkey wings all the time, frequently even marked down. The only thing I rarely see is a good selection of brisket, which I don't care for anyway.

 

[ssv3]

Plenty of stores here sell full spares. Unless I want to use trimmings for beans or something I go STL.

 

[Nuco59]

I don't own a grinder and while I have done some pretty good rib tips- I just don't have much use for full spares. I've cooked them whole and trimmed at service but the thin and floppy bits just don't cook up well (for me).
When I do my version of charro beans, I use bacon or smoked brisket- the rib flaps don't do much for me.
The pre-cut STL are just more convenient.