j biesinger
TVWBB Platinum Member
As I was mentally preparing for a comp (basically thinking of ways to be innovative or improve in areas of weakness), I was hung up on a way to get thicker spares. The light bulb went on when I remembered that the belly chunks that I get at an Asian store have ribs still attached. Luckily, I deal with a friend that supplies meat to local restaurants and can get me just about anything I need. He was happy to get me a whole, bone in belly.
I seemed to miss a shot of the whole belly, but it was nice. Do a google image search and you'll see what I'm talking about, a whole belly with a rack of spares along the one corner. It's easy to see the rack, and just as easy to make a few cuts and extract it.
I made a cut to remove the skin and fat cap. Here's a shot comparing it to a regular rack of spares from Restaurant Depot. You can see the bottom line of lean where the rack should be cut.
My plan was to cook it last weekend and cut up a second belly for the comp this weekend if it worked. Unfortunately, I lost my chance to practice, so I cooked the thick rack along side 3 regulars in a comp this weekend (luckily I picked up a used 22" wsm prior to the comp)
Here's a shot after foiling
The regular spares came out pretty well, and I was worried that the thick spares might confuse a judge or two, so I kept them out of the box
after turn ins, I sauced up the super rack and we gobbled them up. They were so succulent and decadent that a single rib was hard to finish
and as far as the regular ribs, I guess they weren't too bad either
I seemed to miss a shot of the whole belly, but it was nice. Do a google image search and you'll see what I'm talking about, a whole belly with a rack of spares along the one corner. It's easy to see the rack, and just as easy to make a few cuts and extract it.
I made a cut to remove the skin and fat cap. Here's a shot comparing it to a regular rack of spares from Restaurant Depot. You can see the bottom line of lean where the rack should be cut.
My plan was to cook it last weekend and cut up a second belly for the comp this weekend if it worked. Unfortunately, I lost my chance to practice, so I cooked the thick rack along side 3 regulars in a comp this weekend (luckily I picked up a used 22" wsm prior to the comp)
Here's a shot after foiling
The regular spares came out pretty well, and I was worried that the thick spares might confuse a judge or two, so I kept them out of the box
after turn ins, I sauced up the super rack and we gobbled them up. They were so succulent and decadent that a single rib was hard to finish
and as far as the regular ribs, I guess they weren't too bad either
