Spare vs. Baby Back


 
B

Billy S

TVWBB Member
So I smoked my first rack(s) of bb ribs yesterday and I must say they were way better than my previous Spare cooks (3). The meat seemed cleaner, leaner and just all around more flavorful. Is there any particular reason why? I can now see why BB are offered by a lot of restaurants.

It wasn't the most structured cook, as I was fighting the rain here in GA plus my temps were pretty high. I did foil them for hour and fifteen minutes then firmed them up over direct heat with some sauce. My wife loved them as well, and she thought they were better than the spares I had done.

Can some of you share your professional thoughts on this matter?
 
Baby back ribs are more tender and leaner. They are in the LOIN or Back Area of the pig. Spare ribs are more on belly side and meatier and thicker so they are not as tender.

I was told that a Baby back rib is basically a pork chop since they are cut from same area. Baby Backs should be more delicious.
 
Professional thoughts???
Ain't got none fer ye.

I only cook Baby Backs because I got sick and tired of all the prep required with Spares.

With BB's, all I have to do is remove the membrane, which I'm gettin' kinda good at, if I do say so myself, rub 'em and let 'er rip.

'bout 5 hours or so at 275°, with an empty, foil wrapped pan.

The downside is I gotta sit out there with 'em to make sure the temps are stable, and, of course, it's hot out there, so an adult beverage (or 3) is required.
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That's right Charles! I'm struggling at work today a tad due to my "temp monitoring"!

I did spares my last 3 rib cooks (also my first ever smokes--I'm pretty new to this, but getting good!)and they just didn't come out as good as yesterday's BB.

Ruben thanks for the info!
 
I like baby backs okay - their main selling point is the ease of preparation. However, I find spares to be tastier and harder to dry out. Seems like in a 3-pack of babybacks there is usually one rack that is pretty skimpy on meat content and that rack tends to get overcooked. I have to say that my spares can be pretty darn tender and I seem to get a more consistent product.
 
Yeah Pete I told myself last night that I wouldn't do spares again--but I may be jumping the gun. The reality is that my skills smoking on the kettle are still developing and perhaps I should give them another chance. I think by the time I did the baby's I had already practiced on 3 prior cooks with the spares and as a result I nailed the baby's!

I gotta say though I do need some sort of thermo other than the surface oven one that I have. I have no idea what my temp is unless I remove the lid--and I know this can prolong the cook.
 
Cooked correctly I don't find backs 'more tender'. I do find them leaner, something I dislike. I tend to cook them only when I have to.
 
You mention that you are cooking these in a kettle rather than on a smoker. Though I prefer spares, let me back up and say that babybacks might be easier to mess with in a kettle just because they cook more quickly. I'd lean towards babybacks if I had to maintain temperature in a kettle.
 
Spares definitely more tastier than backs, when both cooked correctly backs do not stand a chance against spares.
But both pork spares and backs are a distant 2nd to beef spares or beef short ribs, beef ribs are just so much more flavorful than pork ribs.
 
I agree. Beef ribs can hold their own without spice or sauce. Pork almost always needs a rub or sauce to really taste.
 
Well, I'm a spare bigot.

I don't find BB more tender.

I do find them leaner, yes. Spares are more meaty, have more fat to them which makes them cook up tender and flavorful IMHO. I don't find the prep for spares all that difficult and I do St. Louis style most of the time.

If you don't do St. Louis the prep is pretty much minimal.

I think BB is over priced for that little bit of convenience.

Never turned down a rack of ribs, but spares are my favorite. To each his own.

I love beef ribs. Way good. Thing is that around here it's hard to get good quality as they tend to trim them down way too much.
 
Spares trimmed to St. Louis for me.

personally I don't think that the additional cost is justified with better taste.
 
Based on the price at my local Costco yesterday, I'll be doing a lot more spares.

$2.49/lb for spares $3.79/lb for BBs

Sheesh, Come on Costco!


Brad
 
I have recently done BB's over high heat and my family loved them, but I like to cook spares. I think that since spares have more fat to them, they have a little more margin for error when cooking/smoking. I don't mind trimming them out St. Louis style as this takes up less room, especially when I cook them on the kettle.

I have the same problem that Brad mentioned - cost of ribs is getting a little out of hand. Prices I have seen lately are - spares around $2.50/lb and BB's are going for $3.99/lb, so I'd rather buy spares & do a little more prep work, even though my family likes BB's better. I found some great looking, fresh St. Louis trimmed spares, but they were really overpriced @ $4.79/lb.
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For that kind of $, I will definitely trim ribs myself!
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jim H.:
I have recently done BB's over high heat and my family loved them, but I like to cook spares. I think that since spares have more fat to them, they have a little more margin for error when cooking/smoking. I don't mind trimming them out St. Louis style as this takes up less room, especially when I cook them on the kettle.

I have the same problem that Brad mentioned - cost of ribs is getting a little out of hand. Prices I have seen lately are - spares around $2.50/lb and BB's are going for $3.99/lb, so I'd rather buy spares & do a little more prep work, even though my family likes BB's better. I found some great looking, fresh St. Louis trimmed spares, but they were really overpriced @ $4.79/lb.
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For that kind of $, I will definitely trim ribs myself!
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</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

What you might do though is weigh them after you do the trimming. The only spares we get include the breast bone-->they cut it off and hide it under the ribs (pre-packaged) or uncut at the counter.

I figure wasteage after my last trimming (prior to the smoke) was about 24% . Bumps the price up accordingly.
 
Ive given up on spares. Maybe if I had something worthwhile to do with the breast bone and cartilage, Id revisit but BB's beat out spares 4-1 whenever I make both at parties. I dont buy into any tenderness debates cause both can be mush if over cooked. Id say if anything the spares have its the inconsistancy of BB racks. some racks of BB's are so horribly cut its ridiculous. Price ends up being the same after you figure in the waste in making stlouis cut.
 
I prefer spares for flavour and texture but I like the cleanness of BB's.

When I buy a pack of spares here, I get one rack of true bones and another of the misc wig wag of cartilege and thin skirt meat that dries out when smoking. I still like them better.

With BB's it seems the "white meat" on top dries out before the intra-bone meat gets tender. This gives me a pork chop like top and and a tender rib middle.

Final thoughts, my best ribs have been spares.
 
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