Whole spare ribs, to wrap or not to wrap?

[megabrisket]

Hi ya'll. I recently picked up a pack of whole spare ribs that looked pretty good and were on sale. I've personally never done whole spare ribs so I'm wondering if I can or should wrap. From what I've seen most people wrap baby backs but not spares. I watched Malcom Reed's video on doing whole spare ribs and he didn't wrap or trim or anything and they turned out looking great. Should I wrap these? If I did would it mess with them? They seem awfully big to wrap so I'm leaning towards not. I'm also slightly unsure about trimming. Again in Malcom's video and others that I've seen, many decide not to trim at all however in Arron Franklin's video he talks about there possibly being bone chips in areas and what not so I'm not quite sure on trimming either. Any info/opinions would be appreciated :)

 

[zwiller]

While Jeffs 3-2-1 method is pretty much foolproof, I no longer wrap. Only time most folks wrap is if the bark is starting to get burnt. Alternatively, you can spritz or mop.

I have done whole ribs before and will never do them again. Look up some vids etc. online how to trim AKA “St. Louis Cut”. https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/05/how-to-trim-pork-spare-ribs-st-louis-style.html
It may seem daunting at first but it really isn’t hard at all. Totally worth it, especially if serving the family. Lots of funky cartilage and stuff that really many do not like. That said, some folks in Chicago love the stuff. You can use this trim for sausage or making stock.

I was fortunate to have a place that made good ribs near me and their trick was to sauce and sear on a hot grill and would never make ribs without doing it. I actually smoke one day, rest in fridge and then sear and serve a day or so later. Perfect for my schedule.

 

[Geebs]

Its really up to you whether to trim or not, I usually buy mine already trimmed for St. Louis Style ribs. I have read a few of Jeffs Recipes where he has trimmed them and then throws them on the smoker separately. I dont think you can go wrong either way.

Wrapping is also going to be personal preference. You may just have to try it one time with or without and see what you like. I like to wrap mine, but I have never tried them unwrapped as I really like the result of me wrapping them. Either way smoking is all about trial and error. Good Luck!

 

[jbellard]

I really never trim them cause I love the rib tips and other parts that get cut off.
Just be sure to have that indirect lower heat going. Spares usually go about 6 hrs or so.
Try them I trimmed this time and see how you like them. Next time try something different.

 

[ZeroEvol]

I am in the same boat, to wrap or not to wrap?! I also read quite a few things about "to mustard or not to mustard". HA HA I already know smoking is all about personal preference, but I still like to know WHY people are doing certain things. I do know mustard does help produce more bark, at least from what I have seen. I personally prefer to mustard. Had a friend tell me to add some honey to the mustard, I haven't tried that yet. Anyway, back to wrapping, I am tossing a rack in tomorrow and I think I am going to try the 3-2-1 method or at least the 2-2-1 method for my first time, then adjust from there. I have the pork shoulder/picnic down, but this will be my first ribs.

 

[gmc2003]

I trim and wrap. I also put the trimmings on the smoker and snack on them while cooking the spares. I don't spritz or mop during cooking(heck I don't open the smoker until I get ready to wrap), but I do mix in some butter, apple juice and BS when I wrap. Same as BB's. Nobody in my family is a fan of thick bark so I like to soften it up a little. Experiment and find out what you and your family like. That's half the fun. Good luck and let us know what you do and how it turns out.

Chris

 

[phatbac]

I vote for trim and wrap. I trim mine and keep the trimmings and put them on the smoker too. I use the tips/trimmings as small snacks and leftovers etc. if there are some of that i don't eat i throw in the freezer for my Mom's huge dogs. as for the actual ribs i trim to a St. Louis Cut (except i don't square the ends, just me) and i smoke a modified 3-2-1. find what times works best for your smoker and temps you like. I usually have higher temps and things cook a little faster on my smoker (Betty, left). i have and can go non wrap but i find wrapping in foil for about an hour to hour and half(for spares) gets them to the tenderness i need ( i feed ladies who like just about to Fall off the bone). and so if you want them to FOTB then foil is your friend. i can foil and make them bite through really tender and that's what i shoot for. I unwrap and add a thin layer of sauce with brush or vert mop (silicone) and let smoke and firm up for about 20-30 minutes on low heat. Experiment make some ribs and over time you find what works best for you and what you and family likes to eat. Malcom Reed's HowToBBQRight is a great resource, i love those videos! When you do make your ribs take some pics of the steps of the process and the final outcome and share on here! everyone loves the food porn!

smoker3.jpg

• phatbac
• Jul 24, 2017

Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron

 

[SmokinAl]

If I do whole spares I just leave them un-trimmed, and we just chew around the cartilage.
I usually don't wrap them either, but I mop them with a combo of apple juice & BBQ sauce every 45 minutes or so, after the first hour. I smoke mine to temp & the temp we like is 195. Not quite FOTB, but tender & juicy!
Al

 

[kawboy]

When me kids where still at home I always separated and smoked the tips with the ribs. My boys loved the tips.

 

[megabrisket]

Thanks for all the good info guys. Like a lot of you said, it's trial and error. Since I've got these ribs whole I think I'll just go ahead and leave them whole untrimmed for the first time. Next time I'll either trim them St. Louis cut or buy them that way. I'll probably leave them unwrapped but that will depend on how they're coming along I suppose. I'll try to remember to take all the pics I can and hopefully they turn out. :) If anyone else stops by this post after this comment feel free to leave you're opinion as well.

 

[megabrisket]

Update on the ribs. They turned out amazing! First I decided to trim them to fit them better in my MES 30. My trimming job wasn't the best just because the way they were initially shaped, I couldn't exactly go straight across but in the end it didn't matter. I smoked all the trimmed bits for snacks and saved some for beans. Also I decided to wrap because I was just really wanting to wrap. I ended up not putting them back on after wrapping, just letting them rest for about 25 min before trimming with the foil loose on them. In the foil when I wrapped I put a couple of chunks of butter, brown sugar, and honey. They went for 2 1/2 hours unwrapped, then another 2 15min wrapped before pulling, all at 250. The breast bone stayed on unwrapped and untouched the whole time and what meat I got off of it was great. Not quite as tender as the ribs but still really good. I didn't even sauce these. They didn't fall off the bone but you could very easily pull them off the bone if you wanted and all the bones came clean. I posted a pic of my first bite and it was unbelievably tender. Oh and you see that smoke ring?!!! I was excited to get that too since I'm just using a MES 30. How I got that, I started with 3 charcoal briquettes and some hickory pellets. After that as you can see on the ground in the picture of my smoker I crushed up one briquette into pieces and every time I added hickory pellets, I also added one or two chunks of charcoal. When it would first start to smoke after adding fuel, It was white smoke for just a few minutes, then turned a very nice thin blue for about 30-40 min. Overall I'm stoked at how good these came out!

 

[weedeater]

Update on the ribs. They turned out amazing! First I decided to trim them to fit them better in my MES 30. My trimming job wasn't the best just because the way they were initially shaped, I couldn't exactly go straight across but in the end it didn't matter. I smoked all the trimmed bits for snacks and saved some for beans. Also I decided to wrap because I was just really wanting to wrap. I ended up not putting them back on after wrapping, just letting them rest for about 25 min before trimming with the foil loose on them. In the foil when I wrapped I put a couple of chunks of butter, brown sugar, and honey. They went for 2 1/2 hours unwrapped, then another 2 15min wrapped before pulling, all at 250. The breast bone stayed on unwrapped and untouched the whole time and what meat I got off of it was great. Not quite as tender as the ribs but still really good. I didn't even sauce these. They didn't fall off the bone but you could very easily pull them off the bone if you wanted and all the bones came clean. I posted a pic of my first bite and it was unbelievably tender. Oh and you see that smoke ring?!!! I was excited to get that too since I'm just using a MES 30. How I got that, I started with 3 charcoal briquettes and some hickory pellets. After that as you can see on the ground in the picture of my smoker I crushed up one briquette into pieces and every time I added hickory pellets, I also added one or two chunks of charcoal. When it would first start to smoke after adding fuel, It was white smoke for just a few minutes, then turned a very nice thin blue for about 30-40 min. Overall I'm stoked at how good these came out! View attachment 360638 View attachment 360639 View attachment 360640 View attachment 360641 View attachment 360642 View attachment 360643 View attachment 360644

Looks great Megabrisket!!! Like!

Weedeater

 

[gmc2003]

Those look wonderfull, nice color and pullback.

point for sure.

Chris

 

[phatbac]

The ribs look great and looks like you hit the tenderness you wanted. congrats! over time you will get so good at ribs everyone you know will want you to make them some!

Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)

 

[noboundaries]

Personally, wrapping is too much of a pain. I like throwing them in the smoker, no spritzing or peeking, then coming back just before they are done to check their progress. It took experience to get to that point though. Practice, practice, practice.