Dealing with a rack of ribs that is longer on one side and shorter on the other....

[american_greenz]

Hi All,

What's the best way to deal with a rack of pork ribs that are 7" on one side and about 4 inch on the other? When I smoked them, the short side was overcooked and the long side undercooked. Is it best to cut the rack of ribs so that the small ribs are smoked separately?

I'm new to smoking. Thanks for the help.

John
Grenada West Indies

 

[JLeonard]

Thats generally what I do.....Find the median and split it there. Place the shorter side on a little later so they finish out at about the same time.

Jim

 

[jcam222]

Are you talking bone length? I’ve truly never had this as an issue. What you might try is keeping the small end furthest from the heat source if that’s possible. Not sure what smoker you use.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Was the shorter end closer to your heat source like jcam222 mentioned? But if you're talking about a full rack of spare ribs...

Here's what my ribs look like... not the beef ribs in upper left, but the 4 smaller pieces are what got trimmed off. I put mine on the same time as my full rack... Chef snacks!

Ryan

 

[civilsmoker]

I do the same as Ryan as well the snacks are called rib tips

 

[clifish]

Welcome from New York! You have a beautiful country, we visited several years ago and stayed at the Sugar Mill house.

 

[bmudd14474]

Do you have a picture you can share.

 

[seenred]

Was the shorter end closer to your heat source like jcam222 mentioned? But if you're talking about a full rack of spare ribs...

View attachment 659785

Here's what my ribs look like... not the beef ribs in upper left, but the 4 smaller pieces are what got trimmed off. I put mine on the same time as my full rack... Chef snacks!

Ryan

This is my go-to method too! I either save the tips/trimmings for beans, or treat the pitmaster with a little snack along the way!

Red

 

[Marknmd]

It's the thickness more than anything else. You could angle them if you wanted but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Good luck

 

[chopsaw]

If you're buy 3 packs of spares , the one hidden in the middle can be not as good as the rest . This could have been trimmed out , but that was the trim line .

I just cook them as normal . Switch end to end a couple times .

Pull back evens it out .

 

[thirdeye]

When you are starting with a full slab of belly ribs, I locate the longest bone and use that as a guide to cut a St Louis rack which is more rectangular in shape. Then I take the backside flap, and the brisket (or rib tips) and cook them separately.

 

[DRKsmoking]

Welcome John from Nova Scotia,
Also love your country, been there once and loved all we saw.

They have you covered above , but I also never really had an issue with the ribs that way , but like Ryan Brokenhandle said you can trim and that becomes property of the cook . Chef snacks

David

 

[american_greenz]

Thanks all! I use a vertical Masterbuilt MB20051316 Propane Smoker, so I can't control heat hitting the meat horizontally from one end or the other. I guess, unless I hung them from hooks with the short side up. I appreciate all the comments about Grenada! It's a beautiful island. I've enclosed a pic of the ribs.

 

[DRKsmoking]

First off ribs look great.

I also have a Masterbuilt vertical gas smoker. Cooked lots of ribs horizontal and not really an issue Yet, lol
Did you find the narrow end dryer then the wider end ?

I think if you hung the ribs you would find the closer end would be dryer then the other, but I have not done them this way.

David

 

[american_greenz]

Welcome from New York! You have a beautiful country, we visited several years ago and stayed at the Sugar Mill house.
View attachment 659789

At one time, my friends were the caretakers for this house. I've been several times. Very beautiful!

 

[clifish]

At one time, my friends were the caretakers for this house. I've been several times. Very beautiful!

It was a great trip, staff and all involved were awesome. we were there in 2016.