Spare rib trimming question

[Pat McCreight]

I buy spares from Sam's - they have the brisket bone removed. I trim them by removing the flap/skirt on the bottom, removing the membrane on the triangular section adjacent to the flap, and then cutting off the "tips" to make a rectangular rack with minimal cartilage. I believe this is referred to as a KC cut.

My question pertains to the membrane that is underneath the flap, and covers the section that I trim off, as well as about 1/3 of the rack I use.

Do I need to try and remove that membrane, or is the one next to the flap all I need to worry about?

If I'm not clear enough, let me know.

 

[Larry Wolfe]

You should remove all of the membrane.... Easiest way is to peel it back with a butter knife and grab one corner with a paper towel and it should all come off fairly easily.

 

[K Kruger]

Remove it.

 

[Pat McCreight]

Ok, perhaps I'm crazy and over thinking things. I unwrapped the 3 slabs I just trimmed, and I couldn't find much of this membrane I refer to. I watched the video on this site where Chris preps the ribs, and that's exactly what I did. I think that maybe it was the inner membrane on the portion I'm making rib tips with that got me thinking. I posted this AFTER I had trimmed and packaged them.

The membrane, it appears, ends with the skirt meat. Does the membrane actually cover the OTHER side of the ribs? Or does it start at one end and run up the skirt, but not on the other side?

I worked on the ribs for some time and I can't get anything else to come up, so I'm going to assume I got it all. I definitely got the big strip on one side.

Sorry for the ramble, trying to prepare for a competition tomorrow.

Thanks

 

[r benash]

The membrane is just over the whitish looking area on the bones themselves and is a somewhat long triangular shape. There isn't any membrane on the other side of the skirt. It sounds to me like you got it all.

 

[derek_d]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by r benash:
The membrane is just over the whitish looking area on the bones themselves and is a somewhat long triangular shape. There isn't any membrane on the other side of the skirt. It sounds to me like you got it all. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I agree. I think you got it all. Mammalian zoology/anatomy class was a long time ago for me, but I don't think there is a membrane on the other section of the spare ribs(I'll double check next time i trim up some spares).