1st attempt at butchering pork belly

[Aj33]

Hi all,

firstly, not sure if this is in the right section, if not mods please feel free to move the thread to the appropriate area.

We have been getting our pork from a family run farm who raise their pigs outside in an organic fashion but also finish their pigs too. Cutting out the middle man and the produce is amazing.

as part of our order this time around we included a 3.16kg belly joint with ribs attached. Arrived yesterday so today I had a go at separating the ribs and removing the membrane so it’s all ready to store in the freezer until needed.

attached are the pics. Think I did ok. Let a little too much meat on the top of the ribs?

the skirt (I think that’s what it’s called) and other off-cuts are being used for Korean BBQ noodles later.

 

[Sowsage]

It looks to me as if you did a pretty good job. If you feel you got a little too much meat on the ribs send them my way ill get rid of them for you lol! Nothing wrong with a little extra meat on the ribs!

 

[thirdeye]

You did a good job. And there is a lot of satisfaction in prepping your own meats.

 

[Aj33]

It looks to me as if you did a pretty good job. If you feel you got a little too much meat on the ribs send them my way ill get rid of them for you lol! Nothing wrong with a little extra meat on the ribs!

Thank you.

On second thoughts I’m ok with it

You did a good job. And there is a lot of satisfaction in prepping your own meats.

Thank you, you are spot on. Didn’t take long either, around 10mins or so.

a question to both of you and anyone else who might see this, I have left what looks and feels like a small bone running 90 degrees to the ribs on the longest rib bone side (hope that makes sense). Should I remove this? If so, before cooking or after?

 

[Brokenhandle]

Looks good to me! That's the problem with doing your own processing...you have choices. Do I want a good thick belly or more meaty ribs? Been there before...the belly almost always wins!

Ryan

 

[Sowsage]

Thank you.

On second thoughts I’m ok with it



Thank you, you are spot on. Didn’t take long either, around 10mins or so.

a question to both of you and anyone else who might see this, I have left what looks and feels like a small bone running 90 degrees to the ribs on the longest rib bone side (hope that makes sense). Should I remove this? If so, before cooking or after?

what you have there are spare ribs. You can cook it just like that with that bone in it or remove it and trim the rib tips to make a St Louis style cut rib.

 

[Brokenhandle]

I remove it before smoking...done sooner and makes good snacks for the chef!

Ryan

 

[Aj33]

Looks good to me! That's the problem with doing your own processing...you have choices. Do I want a good thick belly or more meaty ribs? Been there before...the belly almost always wins!

Ryan

Choice is always a double edged sword but nice to have neither the less.

I think it’s likely I will have to put up with whatever my skills produce for now.

what you have there are spare ribs. You can cook it just like that with that bone in it or remove it and trim the rib tips to make a St Louis style cut rib.

Ah, I had some that I took off, a much softer bone. I cleaned the bone and added the meat to the skirt and other off cuts for tonight’s Korean bbq pork.

I remove it before smoking...done sooner and makes good snacks for the chef!

Ryan

this sounds like a plan. Will freeze as is and before marinade/applying rub will remove.

will keep the tips as is.

in the U.K. we don’t tend to have different types of ribs, we tend to just say ribs or spare ribs but they mean the same thing. At least to my knowledge.

 

[Aj33]

Done a little reading, I am confident I was describing the rib tips at the bottom of the spare ribs.

of which I have removed some but not all. I will remove the rest before cooking and cook separately as an appetiser.

 

[Brokenhandle]

You can also use them in other dishes...tacos and beans are two that come to mind

Ryan

 

[tx smoker]

It looks to me as if you did a pretty good job. If you feel you got a little too much meat on the ribs send them my way ill get rid of them for you lol!

BWA HAA HAA!! What are you gonna do with the ribs Travis? Make a 6 foot tall sandwich out of them??

Nice work parting out the meat. I recently got my first opportunity to do so with a full 103 sub primal beef rib section. That's a LOT of meat to work with but it sure did yield some great results. It's fun and as stated above, there is gratification in doing it yourself.

Robert

 

[Aj33]

Update on this, just finished my second attempt on a 3.5kg/7.7lbs pork belly.

took the rib tips off this time and squared it up. Think it came out ok. Unfortunately don’t get much practice at these things.

also some shots of the belly squares.