st Louis vs baby back

[dewetha]

I pretty much have baby backs down but my butcher had a ST Louis cut ribs in.

other than more time, is there any other gotchas to be aware of?

 

[pops6927]

Not much, the spare ribs are an extension of the loin ribs:

The sparerib is the lower part attached to the loin, they share the same ribs from the rib end and center cut, the baby back ribs are above the line.  Depending on how they are cut off (what thickness of meat left on the baby back rib) determines how long to cook them, the more meat the longer to cook.  

 

[dewetha]

thanks pops. a picture is worth a 1000 words :).

actually looking at the ribs I bought, they are trimmed down pretty thin. so i am going to treat them like a baby back for the most part. nothing like having 20 guests over and cooking something new :)

 

[dewetha]

big todo about nothing, ribs came out great!  cooking 7 racks at a time is a PITA.  i guess it a matter of just watching the meat and knowing what a done rack looks like. watch the pull back and judge the tenderness and serve!

 

[rasbury]

Hey Dewetha,

I'm glad your ribs came out good - perhaps you could advise........

I too plan on cooking 7-8 racks next week or so , did you do them on a wsm , were they all on one cooking grate , did you bother with foil. did you use rib racks?? What were the main PITA's with cooking 7 racks?

Thanks in advance

Ras....

 

[smokinhusker]

Glad they came out good! Now you've been here long enough...

 

[dewetha]

i took a few pics but too busy to get hem uploaded.darn work and family sucking in all my time! maybe later today i can get some loaded.

@rasbury,

  I use a masterbuilt extra wide propane smoker so space is not an issue. its just 7 racks instead of 2 mean more time to prep. a half hour or so. more time with the smoker open to baste. ribs cook at differently in different spot in the smoker and it's difficult to move them around. takes time always from my other cooking duties.

with 7 racks, I don't foil them. it becomes just too much work. the crowd is used to chicago style mushy ribs so they have to learn to eat ribs right! lol  

actually i am getting better at not foiling them and starting to prefer it.

 

[rasbury]

Aha - Thanks Dewetha , i will probably go without the foil too and see how things work out ,

Thanks again and have a nice day

Rasbury