Real Rib Disappointment Today


 
M

Michael Hermanek

TVWBB Member
I got up this morning intending to barbeque some ribs using the BRITU recipe. I had moved into lansing michigan last July and haven't had a chance to barbeque anything until today. I went to a butcher in the local area to buy some baby back ribs. I asked if they had any available and the person (who was newbie to meat) said yes. He handed what appeared to be spare ribs (they had a lot of meat, very wide, and had a thicker bone). I questioned him about it and he assured me that these were in fact baby back ribs. I thought maybe I was being a fool so I took a chance. They had a lot of good lookin' meat at this place and it seem that they took their meat very seriously. I brought it home followed the recipe to a tee. I had really good solid temperature around 250-260 the whole time. After about 5 hours, it appeared to be done. However, it didn't have that "fall off the bone" feel to it. I tasted it and it had a good flavor. As I was eating the ribs, both my wife and I noticed that the ribs had a tremendous amount of fat on it (way more than I am typically use to). So I decided to contact the meat marekt and explained my situation. They actually said that they didn't have any baby back ribs out on display and they have to cut them special. He agreed to charge me for the ribs according to the pricing of spare ribs rather than baby back (about half the amount). Since they were closing soon after I telephoned them, the manager agreed to come to my house and deliver the price difference. I actually showed him the ribs I cooked (what was left of them). He then recanted and said those were in fact baby back ribs. The meat market's policy is to leave more meat on the ribs than usual (he in fact said that some of the meat actually comes from the pork chop). I still stood my ground and said that I NEVER have seen baby back ribs that were that wide and with that much fat. We agreed to disagree but he refunded my money. I was happy with the customer service but wanted to know if anyone heard of baby back ribs being thick with a wide bone. I would appreciate any comment anyone has.

Thanks!
 
Not being able to see what you actually have, my test would be this: Take a rib bone and place it on a flat surface. If you can position the bone in such a way that both ends are touching the flat surface, and you can easily pass the thickness of a finger underneath, you have loinback ribs. If not, you have spares. Loinback rib bones have a far greater curve to them than do spare rib bones, which are relatively straight by comparison.
 
I think they may have been Baby Backs. My butcher sells two different cuts. One he callse Baby Backs and one he has named Extra Thick Baby Backs. The Extra Meath have about 3/4" to 1" of loin left on top with noticably more fat.

Rick
 
I think Sam's ribs have that extra meat on one end too. It's very fatty but there is some good meat there. I trim that off and cook the meat for a mid-cook treat.
 
I appreciate everyone's feedback. Maybe it is different then what I am traditionally use to. I like the more lean, fall of the bone style rib. I actually when to Sam's Club and purchased some ribs and actually what I see is the more narrow slab of ribs (which is what I am use to). I wanted to go to the butcher and cook a better quality of meat but didn't get what I was expecting.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top