Full Spares?

SmoothBoarBBQ

SmoothBoarBBQ

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Hey All,

So ever since I started smoking ribs I have bought full spares and cut them down to a St. Louis cut. Now that I'm running my own vending operation I'd like to stop throwing money in the trash by wasting the trimmings.

Does anybody cook a full spare and if so what are the differences or things that I should look out for? I was also thinking about possibly doing a St. Louis cut and then turning the rib tips into almost faux burnt end squares.

I've got a lot of thoughts here, but just have never actually done a full spare rack of ribs. I'm vending ribs tomorrow so looking to give it a go and see how it comes out.

Thanks.
 
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For vending I would try and source backs or st Louis cut.

Some areas rib tips sell so you could trim them dice em up and sell separately. I don't think the average consumer wants the full spare experience
 
There's a place near me that makes rib boats with the tips. A paper boat with garlic bread opened wide, a pile of fries, and a pound of tips on top. Best meal they have.

Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk
 
Full spares have a lot of bits and pieces that some people might not care for. When I've cooked them a few times (ha I think the St. Louis ribs sold around here are just poorly trimmed spares) I've removed the really funky shaped bits/tips/whatever and saved it for other uses. Pressure cooker (or regular) chili comes to mind. I've used them in stocks before (collagen, they have lots of collagen) Rib tips sounds like another good option.
 
I think you would be better off getting pre-trimmed St. Louis cut ribs...they are more per pound but if you are currently not using what you trim off then you would come out ahead and it would save you a lot of prep time.

You could also just offer rib tips on special a couple of days a week...if they are good you will probably get some folks that like them coming in for your special.
 
Some really good responses in here...consensus seems to be trim down to St. Louis and cut up the rib tips and serve them as well. Thanks everybody, much appreciated.

Those "Burns BBQ Regulars" look about right so I'll give those a go. I seem to recall rib-tips taking longer than the ribs to cook, does that sound right?
 
It's fairly easy to take the tips you cut off during a St Louis trim and "debone" them...the cartilage is all in one strip. I season them and cook til rendered, then thinly slice them for use in beans at a later date. Now that I have a good meat grinder I'm considering throwing them into a sausage mix.
 
sudsandswine said:
It's fairly easy to take the tips you cut off during a St Louis trim and "debone" them...the cartilage is all in one strip. I season them and cook til rendered, then thinly slice them for use in beans at a later date. Now that I have a good meat grinder I'm considering throwing them into a sausage mix.
Click to expand...

Thanks, sounds like a good idea. I'm doing the rib-tip "squares" this time but will give "de-boning" them a shot next time.
 
SmoothBoarBBQ said:
I seem to recall rib-tips taking longer than the ribs to cook, does that sound right?
Click to expand...

In my somewhat limited experience, the tips and the ribs cook in about the same amount of time when the tips have been separated from the ribs. I cook low and slow, so the timing might be different if you're cooking hot and fast. If you try to cook the whole rack as one piece, the tips take longer and the ribs are overcooked by the time the tips are done.
 
SmoothBoarBBQ said:
Some really good responses in here...consensus seems to be trim down to St. Louis and cut up the rib tips and serve them as well. Thanks everybody, much appreciated.

Those "Burns BBQ Regulars" look about right so I'll give those a go. I seem to recall rib-tips taking longer than the ribs to cook, does that sound right?
Click to expand...

Rib tips don't take longer to cook for me. They normally cook a little faster. All depends on size of course.
 
Pretty good article scroll to spares.

https://www.chowhound.com/food-news...de-to-the-best-baby-back-ribs-and-spare-ribs/

I buy the smallest rack of spares I can find-like 3-4#. I removed the visible membrane and the 1/2” flap the membrane tucks under. After I cook I remove the brisket bone. Those are mine. Hot off the cooker I think those are some of the best pork I cook.

As for time, since I foil or wrap at some point, everything finishes at the same time. Many stores sell “value ribs” and spare rib briskets. These can be 50-60% less than regular racks of back and spares.

Value and brisket are never going to win a beauty contest, but for great flavor they are really good. A fun finger food.

The closer the bone the better the meat.
 
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Where are you sourcing your meat? I would look into buying from a food vendor such as Sysco etc. You should be able to buy St. Louis trimmed spares by the case. I buy a case of 2.75 and down trimmed spares 18 to a case. Price comes out to about $7.xx per rack of ribs. If I buy full spares, the unit cost is about $13.xx per rack. Rib tips might be a big seller and might not depending on your area. I couldn't give them away, so trimmed was much cheaper for me. The only complaint I have is the ribs are trimmed very thin and usually not very thick. I would gladly pay just a little more per rack for a meatier rib.


Good luck,


Robert
 
Cook the rib tips like you would make burned ends.
Smoke them with the ribs, then cut them up, throw them in back on with some sauce etc.
Great for snacking
 
Our local top end smokehouse makes TONS of sides using 'pulled rib' meat...guessing most of it is from tips and leftovers.

Rib meat mac n cheese
Rib meat au gratin potatoes
Rib meat beans
Pulled rib meat sandwiches

They never have the same list of sides 2 days in a row....change it up and try a variety.
 
Robert said:
Where are you sourcing your meat? I would look into buying from a food vendor such as Sysco etc. You should be able to buy St. Louis trimmed spares by the case. I buy a case of 2.75 and down trimmed spares 18 to a case. Price comes out to about $7.xx per rack of ribs. If I buy full spares, the unit cost is about $13.xx per rack. Rib tips might be a big seller and might not depending on your area. I couldn't give them away, so trimmed was much cheaper for me. The only complaint I have is the ribs are trimmed very thin and usually not very thick. I would gladly pay just a little more per rack for a meatier rib.


Good luck,


Robert
Click to expand...

You have any big cooks coming up?
 
Stlsportster said:
Our local top end smokehouse makes TONS of sides using 'pulled rib' meat...guessing most of it is from tips and leftovers.

Rib meat mac n cheese
Rib meat au gratin potatoes
Rib meat beans
Pulled rib meat sandwiches

They never have the same list of sides 2 days in a row....change it up and try a variety.
Click to expand...

Ate at Evie Mae’s in Lubbock TX recently. They had green chile cheese grits as a side. It looked really good.
 
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