Hi all,

I really enjoy "BBQ" Pork ribs, wet or dry, and have become quite adept at
cooking up a rack or 20 of baby backs for friends and family at gatherings.
I am not a BBQ purist and I believe that it don't matter how you cook 'em,
the important thing is if they taste great! My method for baby backs is
simple...get 'em to room temp, peel off the back membrane (optional), give
'em a good rub, 6 hours in a 225-250 oven then refrigerate if needed. Sauce
'em up or leave dry, just finish 'em on a medium hot grill for 10-15
minutes. No complaints from anyone that's eaten them.

Back ribs are getting ever pricier...even at Costco today they were
$4/lb...ouch! So I bought a couple of racks of much larger spare ribs,
priced at $1.59/lb. Ok, now the questions. 1. How differently do I "cook"
them to account for the size difference...maybe 8 hours instead of 6? 2.
What about the flap on the bottom side...leave it or cut it off? 3. What
about the whole top section that does not have he rib bone structure?
Anything else I should do differently or be aware of?

Thanx,
Bob in RSM, CA

Bob Hayden wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I really enjoy "BBQ" Pork ribs, wet or dry, and have become quite
> adept at cooking up a rack or 20 of baby backs for friends and family
> at gatherings. I am not a BBQ purist and I believe that it don't
> matter how you cook 'em, the important thing is if they taste great!
> My method for baby backs is simple...get 'em to room temp, peel off
> the back membrane (optional), give 'em a good rub, 6 hours in a
> 225-250 oven then refrigerate if needed. Sauce 'em up or leave dry,
> just finish 'em on a medium hot grill for 10-15 minutes. No
> complaints from anyone that's eaten them.
>
> Back ribs are getting ever pricier...even at Costco today they were
> $4/lb...ouch! So I bought a couple of racks of much larger spare ribs,
> priced at $1.59/lb. Ok, now the questions. 1. How differently do I
> "cook" them to account for the size difference...maybe 8 hours
> instead of 6? 2. What about the flap on the bottom side...leave it or
> cut it off? 3. What about the whole top section that does not have he
> rib bone structure? Anything else I should do differently or be aware
> of?
>
> Thanx,
> Bob in RSM, CA

Yeah, try cooking your ribs over a wood or lump charcoal fire instead of in
an oven. You'll be amazed at the difference.
Read all about it here http://www.bbq-porch.org/faq/default.asp then come
back and tell us how much better *real* barbecue is than cooking in an oven.
Jack Curry

On Sun, 04 Jan 2004 03:51:58 GMT, in alt.food.barbecue you wrote:

> 1. How differently do I "cook"
>them to account for the size difference...maybe 8 hours instead of 6? 2.
>What about the flap on the bottom side...leave it or cut it off? 3. What
>about the whole top section that does not have he rib bone structure?
>Anything else I should do differently or be aware of?

I never do baby backs for the simple reason they are so small and have
virtually no meat on them and cost a fortune. But to each their own.

How do to "big ribs". Basically the same. Low and slow till their done. Once
the bone pulls away from the meat is when I consider them done.

And yeah, what Jack Curry said. Done over real smoke...there's no comparison
to done in the oven. I gotta ask...what does 15 minutes on the grill do for
the ribs????

Cheers.

> And yeah, what Jack Curry said. Done over real smoke...there's no
comparison
> to done in the oven. I gotta ask...what does 15 minutes on the grill do
for
> the ribs????

Normally I do the ribs in the oven low and slow overnight and refrigerate
them until dinnertime. A quick 15 minutes on an outdoor grill not only heats
them up, but also puts some nice marks on them (if that's important to you)
and crisps the outer layer (with optional BBQ suace).

As for the oven...it's primarily a matter of convenience. Nothing to tend to
other than maybe a flip over or two. It may not be "smoke" but a good rub
can do wonders for the taste.

Hoping that a Kamado #7 may find my way to the backyard this year...that
will cure a lot of ills...

Bob in RSM, CA

Bob Hayden wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> <snip>

> Back ribs are getting ever pricier...even at Costco today they were
> $4/lb...ouch! So I bought a couple of racks of much larger spare ribs,
> priced at $1.59/lb. Ok, now the questions.

$4/lb is decent price, though not great. They can go for $6.18/lb. Now
that ouch HURTS. Anything under $3/lb. get a few racks to freeze for
later enjoyment.

1. How differently do I "cook" them to account for the size difference
....maybe 8 hours instead of 6?

I cook spares on a smoker 4-6 hours at 250°. They come out great.


2. What about the flap on the bottom side...leave it or cut it off?

I cut the flap off, smoke cook it till done, cut up and add to baked
beans. Works for me.

3. What about the whole top section that does not have he rib bone
structure?

I try and cut this off too. I think this is what is used for rib tips.
There are kinda of a PIA to eat, so I generally chuck these. A waste I
know.
I have bought what is called Medium spares. These are all trimmed up
and ready for the cooker, except maybe the flap. That is not hard to
cut off though. And the membrane should be removed too, if you can get
it off.

> Anything else I should do differently or be aware of?
>

For me, babybacks cook at about 325° and spares at about 250°. Have
tried cooking spares at the higher temp, was not happy with the end result.

Happy Q'en,
BBQ

> Thanx,
> Bob in RSM, CA
>
>

"Bob Hayden" > wrote in 1. How differently do I "cook"
> them to account for the size difference...maybe 8 hours instead of 6? 2.
> What about the flap on the bottom side...leave it or cut it off? 3. What
> about the whole top section that does not have he rib bone structure?
> Anything else I should do differently or be aware of?

Bob,
I've cooked both for many years and I've decided to stick with baby
backs or loin backs as they are often called. The spare ribs have much more
fat and meat on them and often they require a longer cooking time. In my
Backwoods smoker I figure 7 hours instead of the usual 5-1/2 to 6 hours for
baby backs. If you are making them for yourself (ie. not in competition)
then trim as little as possible. At $1.59 you probably bought untrimmed
spares. You can trim them into St. Louis style by cutting parallel to the
bone end starting at the longest rib if you want pretty rib. The big flap of
meat can be cut up for rib tips and onions with a dose of cayenne pepper.
There's no real difference in taste but the spares just have much more
fat. As far as price goes... we buy untrimmed spares for $1.29 at BJ's and
loin backs at $3.79 a pound. St. Louis trimmed spares at Albertson's go for
$4.99 a pound but they go on sale at $2.49 a pound once in a while. We
stocked up on the St. Louis spares last time and just used them up last
weekend. I'm cooking loin backs today with the charcoal method Jack Curry
mentioned (ibid).
Whatever you choose to cook you will find a wealth of information here.
Experiment... often.

Ricky

bbq wrote:

> Bob Hayden wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>
> 1. How differently do I "cook" them to account for the size difference
> ...maybe 8 hours instead of 6?
>
> I cook spares on a smoker 4-6 hours at 250°. They come out great.

I cook spares on my WSM at 225-250 between 5 - 7 hrs. Pull 'em when the
meat pulls back on the bones.

> 2. What about the flap on the bottom side...leave it or cut it off?
>
> I cut the flap off, smoke cook it till done, cut up and add to baked
> beans. Works for me.

I normally cut this flap off and smoke or grill them separately.

> 3. What about the whole top section that does not have he rib bone
> structure?
>
> I try and cut this off too. I think this is what is used for rib tips.
> There are kinda of a PIA to eat, so I generally chuck these. A waste I
> know.

I used to leave that part on but now I do the Kansas City style cut and
remove it. Save it later for soup or "bak kut teh":

http://www.kuali.com/recipes/viewrecipe.asp?r=1235

> I have bought what is called Medium spares. These are all trimmed up
> and ready for the cooker, except maybe the flap. That is not hard to
> cut off though. And the membrane should be removed too, if you can get
> it off.
>
>> Anything else I should do differently or be aware of?

If you can't get the K7, start with a WSM. Smoke cooking is notches
above oven or gas-grilled.

--
Aloha,

Nathan Lau
San Jose, CA

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