Locally Sourced Spare Ribs w/pics

[chisoxjim]

I am pretty picky when it comes to the pork I eat/smoke. I will not use "enhanced" pork, I would rather go without. Luckily I have good options for fresh pork, and un-"enhanced" cryo pork where I live, althought I do have to invest time and effort to get it.

These untrimmed spareribs were purchased from a local butcher shop who gets their pork from local farms, all natural, fresh pork. It isnt cheap, this (1) slab cost as much as a 3 pack of spares @ Restaurant Depot. The taste, supporting the local butcher, and the loal farmer make it worth it for an occasional splurge..

Looks good, nice ammount of fat, and nice color. I pulled the membranem trimmed the spares down reserving the skirt, and rib tips. All will be rubbed with my rub and smoked tomorrow for an Easter lunch before we head out for a ham dinner.

untrimmed:



trimmed:






close up of the meaty tips:



I wanted to trim these tonight since I am going to a crawfish boil, and plan on getting the ribs on around 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. I may rub them down with my rub tonight if I have time.

thanks for looking, i will post pics of the smoke tomorrow.

 

[rdknb]

they look very nice, will look for the finished product

 

[chisoxjim]

for sure,

my sister is doing the cooking tomorrow for Easter, thats why we are having a big lunch...

 

[caveman]

Nice meaty looking ribs there. Reminds me of visiting my butcher again. Like you said, it is a chore to get em but worth the effort. Looking forward to your qview with the trimmings as well.

 

[chisoxjim]

thanks, decided to rub them tomorrow before I toss them on the WSM, my rub has salt in it, and I dont like to leave it on for too long(rubs with salt tend to suck the moisture out of the meat if left on too long.

These will be done as i did my last bb's, meat side down for the first hour, flipped afte that, squirted with the tart wash during the smoke, and finished on the Weber kettle.

 

[mballi3011]

I like the looks of those ribs there Jim. Now what kind of trimming do you call that thou??? It almost looks like a short cut on a St' Louis style of ribs. I'm sure we will see them after the smoke tomorow so you guys fill up now.

 

[caveman]

HOT DOG!!! I was wondering about that. When I used to grill them, they would ALWAYS come out dry. I guess that is the thinking behind Bar-Be-Que sauce on grilled meat. I mean, really, Thank you for that explanation.

(I am out of points.)

 

[chisoxjim]

lol, ill call them a Chicago cut,

wanted as much skirt and rib tips as I could get...

 

[chisoxjim]

rubbed and on by 7:05, was shooting for 7:00, so not bad.

WSM is chugging along, should have tips and skirt in a couple hours, ribs between 12 & 1.

rubbed:



tips and skirt down low:



spares up top: forgot to put them meat side down to start, either way works



might put the skirt in some beans I am doing, might toss a pound of kilbasa on the smoker for the beans, undecided. I am going to take the spares and finish them on the Weber kettle with a little sauce.

I am also going to use the tart wash a couple times during the smoke, maybe first dose around 1.5 hours,

more pics later.

 

[chisoxjim]

about 2 hours in, added some kilbasa after an hour, and smoked it for 1 hour.

also flipped the ribs meat side down for the hour the kilbasa was on.

ribs are now bone side down, and I hit the spares, tips, and skirt with some of the tart wash, probably give the tips and skirt an hour or so more then ll toss the beans on the bottom rack

 

[chisoxjim]

porky goodness you can only get from fresh, local pork. skirt, tips, and spares made a nice snack. Tart wash was used about 3 times, then i finished the spares over lump on the Weber kettle,

tip:



spares ready to come off the WSM:



after a quick finish on the kettle:



nice batch:



thanks for looking, leftover ribs will become some sparerib fried rice later this week.

 

[acemakr]

Great tutorial - thanks.

 

[caveman]

I like the ways those ribs came out. Nice "Chicago" cut you've got going there. These points are for that salty tip yesterday. (I was out.)

 

[chisoxjim]

thanks,

my wife really likes rib tips, so the more I can get of those the better.

Pretty sure I have made my decision regarding the (2) competitions I am doing this summer, I am going with babybacks, less time, and thats what i like to eat.

 

[caveman]

That is a good idea. Just make sure the Judges like BabyBacks as well.

Good luck when you go & of course, it goes without saying, qview.

 

[chisoxjim]

these are local comps. nonKCBS, so the judges will be mayors, etc.. should be ok..