Concerned about my spares


 
R

Rick Soliman

TVWBB Pro
I have on the cooker what I would consider very large spares. The spares are longer than the diameter of the grate so I had rolled and skewered them.
They have been on the cooker for only 5.5hrs and the bone is showing .75 to 1" however I just dont think they are done? Is it possible my spares are big but not meaty I have only used spares from one butcher and not tried any others so I am not sure if they are done or need to cook longer?
 
If they are very large Rick, I think there is a good possibility they are not done. I have cooked St. Louis cuts for six to seven hours many times.

The toothpick test has always been more meaningful to me than the amount of bone showing, but that is just me.

I hope this helps.
 
Toothpick/probe test! Insert a pick or probe between the bones--it should go in like butter. If I don't foil, spares of that size take me 7-8 hours at 230 grate. If I foil (at around 4.5 hours give or take), then total cook time generally runs around 6.
 
Be quick about it but deliberate. You'll feel if they're done.

Btw, I usually do large ribs. I get them from one butcher and they are consistent rack to rack, week to week--a very good thing. Meaty with terrific striated fat. If you like these ribs you have and your butcher is consistent offering them it's great to eliminate that as a possible inconsistency, freeing you up to experiment with approach and finish, knowing that there is no need to control for the differences in the racks--because there virtually aren't any.

I'm not sure what you do for sauce, but on these large racks I get I trim the last bone or two's worth of ribs off the narrow end. Rubbed and smoked separately on the bottom rack, they're done in a couple hours and can be stuck in the pot of whatever sauce I've got going to add smoke, rub, and meat flavors to the sauce; this ties the sauce to the finished ribs really well, imo. Just a thought.
 
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