Help with spare ribs

[Teal101]

So my baby back game is on point. Eveyone I cook them for loves them, perfect tug, comp style bite, good bark, not dry etc. Spares though, I cannot get them down. I do not trim them to St. Louis style and I think I should. I ran a 6lb rack today at 225 and they hit 193-195 after 4hrs 45 min. Bend test was good so I sauced and let them roll another 30 and pulled them. The lower St. Louis portion of the ribs was done, slight tug but mostly pull off the bone. The upper portion (dont know the technical term) was tough. I thought about letting them roll longer to help cook that section as I didnt see any seperation there during the bend test, but didnt want the rack to dry out. Do I need to just trim them down and go? Is there anything I could do with that upper section? This was only my 2nd spare cook and thats because I got the same reaponse on the first cook.

 

[millerbuilds]

Did your wrap them at all? I typically trim mine and save the trimmings for sausage...

 

[Teal101]

No wrap. I dont wrap my BBs at all. I like a nice bark and good pull and feel wrapping tends to make things mushy. May need to change techniques with spares though...

 

[fowldarr]

I trim mine. Other thoughts: make sure you remove all the silver skin, put the thick part towards the hot side of your smoker (if you have a hot side$

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

I always use the 3-2-1 method when I smoke spare ribs. I rarely do spares anymore since I am the only one that seems to like the rib tips. I actually prefer the spares for flavor. That extra fat does wonders. I would suggest trying the 3-2-1 method and see how your guests react. It’s extremely reliable in my smoker.
G

 

[chef jimmyj]

I always cut away the " Rib Tips " to make St Louis Style Spare Ribs. A little knife work above and below the rib cartilage and you have great strips of meat for other dishes or smoke them with your Ribs for a treat halfway into the cook. Below is what I frequently do with Ribs and Boneless Rib Tips...JJ

Chinese BBQ Spare Ribs, Pork Fried Rice and Pork Egg Rolls...Q-MATZ Tested Hard!

Todd Johnson of A-MAZE-N Products asked me and a few others to test his Q-MATZ. Lots of the testers made Smoked Cheese or other Smoked Meats to test how the Q-MATZ worked in their Smokers at the most common smoker temps. I wanted to do something different and thought I would go more extreme and...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[Nole4L]

I usually trim away that top section (I think it's call the chine). I usually cook it and freeze it to use the next time I'm making beans or collared greens.