How are spareribs diferent than babybacks?

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

wahoowad

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Aug 2, 2014
177
28
Virginia
I've always smoked babybacks and have that pretty much down. I thought I'd try some spareribs and bought a package of St. Louis cut from Costco. I think I got a funky batch so can't tell if my first attempt is representative of St. Louis cut. My rack was uneven... thin for about half the rack, then meaty like a babyback for the other half of the rack.

Are St. Louis cut generally thicker or thinner than babybacks in terms of the amount of meat? Do St. Louis cut generally take longer or shorter than babybacks?
 
The pic below has the location of Bbs, spare ribs, and the SLC from the spares.

And, yes, one end is usually thinner than the other. Spares are fattier than Bbs, more forgiving, and do take longer. They can be temped for finish, or there's the bend test, or you can probe for tenderness, which is what I do.

pork-cuts.jpg
 
I misjudged the time so ate the thinner ones last night after 5 hours, including 1.5 wrapped. They had more chew than they should have. I put the thicker end back in the oven wrapped for another 1.5 hours which made them more tender. Next time I'll just have to plan to cook longer.
 
noboundaries noboundaries has you covered. Most often times you can find spares at the best price, and even trim them into St Louis ribs should you like. Spares have more meat, more fat, and more flavor in my opinion, it's all good. RAY
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fueling Around
What they said
Spares have a lot more connective (stretchy) tissue plus the meat is buried between the bones. Takes more time to get the chew you prefer.

I'm not so positive on the pricing these days. Full spares are higher than baby back a month ago.
 
I've always smoked babybacks and have that pretty much down. I thought I'd try some spareribs and bought a package of St. Louis cut from Costco. I think I got a funky batch so can't tell if my first attempt is representative of St. Louis cut. My rack was uneven... thin for about half the rack, then meaty like a babyback for the other half of the rack.

Are St. Louis cut generally thicker or thinner than babybacks in terms of the amount of meat? Do St. Louis cut generally take longer or shorter than babybacks?

As you can see from the wonderful diagram above, baby back ribs support the loin, which is meat considered "high on the hog", meaning more tender and sought after and easier to cook. Spare rib.s support the belly, as in the bacon. Cuts closer to the ground tend to require more care when cooking and at one time were less favorable. This is why the are more popular for barbecue.

If the meat cutter favored the belly when dividing, the spare ribs will be less meaty. I like to buy individual racks of St Louis trim, or full slabs of spare ribs. They are easy to trim down, or cook whole.
 
Yes, I do need to start buying the individual packs of ribs. My Costco sells them only in 3-packs and I can't really tell how well they cut. All the other stores in town sell individual packs but they are the 'enhanced' version with added liquid.
 
Are St. Louis cut generally thicker or thinner than babybacks in terms of the amount of meat? Do St. Louis cut generally take longer or shorter than babybacks?
WHW, I leave my St Louis cuts in the smoker for another hour. I do a 2-2-1 on the babies and a 3-2-1 on St Louis cuts,3 hrs smoke -2 wrapped -1 more hour in smoker with no smoke.
 
I prefer BBs to spares, but I don't buy them often because it's getting harder to find them without that big chunk of loin meat on top.

Chris
 
I take a couple of exceptions with the generally nice diagram above. What is labeled Baby Back Ribs is actually a Back Rib. Until they are weighed you don't know whether they are Loin Backs or Baby Backs. Baby Backs are the small version that IIRC weigh 1-3/4lb or less per rack. Loin Backs are the larger ones. Baby Backs are the little ones like where you go to the rib joint and eat a whole little rack for outrageous prices. Those nasty little Danish Ribs are also generally baby backs.

Similarly what is labeled a St Louis cut can be a Kansas City cut Or a St Louis cut. The KC cut still has a bit of diaphragm flap on it while the SL version has that little flap cut off.

We take so much time and trouble to spell out how to get techniques right we should start with the right terms for the cuts of meat we are cooking so we don't try too cook real baby backs like we do full spares or vice versa.
 
Below are the Standard Names and Numbers used by Purveyors, Butchers, Buyers and the USDA when talking Pork. This makes life easy because everyone is on the same Page, literally, using the Books from the National Association of Meat Purveyors Handbook and the USDA Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications . " Baby Back Ribs " is a marketing term, suggesting they are more tender. It sounds better than, " NAMP 422, Loin Back Ribs " as well. NAMP 424 Loin Riblets, are a trim by product, that can come from cutting Spare Ribs (NAMP 416) into St. Louis Cut Ribs ( NAMP 416A) or trimmed from bone-in Loin Roasts ( NAMP 412 )and it's variations. Photo below...JJ

From...Boboros.com

NAMP 424 Riblet

Riblets are the small bones cut off the end of the spare rib when making a trimmed spare rib. A riblet can also come from the pork loin when the loin is trimmed and some of the bones are removed. Riblet is not nessarily a specific cut of pork, but rather a small by product from another cut.
pork-st-louis-rib.jpg pork-riblet-fresh-button-bones.jpg
What are button bones?
When the spare rib is trimmed the
small feather like bones on the
bottom portion referred to as
“button bones.”


Additional good Info with pictures...

pork-riblet-fresh.jpg
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Clicky