Spareribs to St. Louis to Kansas City - Trimmings?


 
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Peter O.

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I tried to lure you in with the subject, but here's the question:

I have three slabs of spare ribs that I am prepping for service tomorrow and plan to trim them into St. Louis or Kansas City trim.

My question, is what to do with the trimmings? Clearly they are edible (and I bet damn delicious), but should I cook them along with the ribs and horde them for myself or cook them for less time or what?

BTW - I searched my original edition Joy of Cooking for trimming instructions (there were none) and found a recommendation to par-boil ribs for 4 minutes before cooking to take some of the 'porkiness' taste off. Ahh..gotta love teh fifties.

P
 
Apply rub to the trimmings and stick them in the cooker with the ribs. At about 3 hours in-- when no one's looking-- have yourself a snack.
 
Put the 3 slabs in a rib rack on top grate.

Put the "cooks' candy" trimmimgs on the bottom grate. Trimmings will usually be done before ribs.

Jim
 
Sometimes I will further trim the trimmings into strips or chunks for future stir-fry and throw them in the freezer to be used on one of those "what are we going to have for dinner tonight" nights.

konevik
 
I followed the recommendations, and the trimmings came out fabulous. I put the flap meat over the ribs and took it out at 3 hours. The highly ornamental and dangerous kitchen vultures swooped in and ate most of it, cawing for more. I took the top trimmings out with the ribs and left them on the counter. The vultures returned to pick the meat clean, while the ribs were safely hidden in a cooler, resting.

P
 
Peter,
Welcome...I think you have a smile knowing that the skirt meat was quickly devoured...
Many more happy and successful smokings to you.
 
Peter,
When you say that you "put the flap meat over the ribs", does that mean that you put that meat on the ribs? If so, how did the ribs turn out? I've been told not to have anything touching the ribs (like don't stack them).
 
Shhh, this is my little secret so don't tell anybody... ok?

I use the trimmings for stuff like beans, abts, smashed potatos & etc...

I'll cook them for a couple of hours. It is then time to make a big foil packet of goodness. I add some cut apple/pineapple juicee and cook it for another 2 hours or so. I cook it until it is off the bone.

Still not as good as burnt ends (made from a brisket) but darn close.
 
Sounds great. I was wondering, I plan on doing spares using the BRITU recipe. Should I trim the ribs to Kansas City or just to St. Louis? And if left at the St. Louis style, should I treat the trimmed part just like another rack? I plan to roll the racks so should be able to get 4(hopefully) on the top grate.

Also, should I follow the recipe exactly or alter it to allow for a 6 to 7 hour cook? Such as not bumping up the temp til the last 2 hours or so?

TIA.

Rath *Hopin' this works out*
 
Rath,

I cook spares about 6 hours @250 degrees constant. I don't raise the temp toward the end of the cook.

I've yet to have a rack not get done in 6 hrs, at least to the doneness level I like.

Only difference in St Louis and Kansas City style is the flap meat. Shouldn't really make a difference. Whatever your personal preference is.

When I trim spares they end up almost as small as loin backs. Just my preference.

Jim in Alabama
 
Rath,
The few times that I have done spares on the WSM my approximate cooking time was 6 hours. The salt is an issue with myself and some using BRITU. Keep in mind that the rub is not heavily applied, or if you may want to cut back on the amount of salt called for in the rub. It depends on how you like it...but 6 or 7 hours should be enough time without increasing the temperature. Enjoy.
 
Rath

As far as ribs, I do spares almost exclusively. I get the 3 in a pack from Sam's and they are BIG. I do a full trim including the skirt and flap with the brisket bone cut out. It is very important to fully pull the membrane, IMO, because there's nothing delicate about these bones. My usual cook time is around 7 hrs and sometimes over. For falling off the bone you might need around an hr in foil - I don't want them that tender. To test for doneness, look for a pull back from the bones of about 1/4". I take a tootpick and stick between the bones. If it goes in easily, they're done.

I just use a comm'l rub now from Durkee (sp) and I'm not real crazy about it. I'm going to start using the Texas BBQ rub that Tom put me and many others on. I've heard Dixie Dust was great but wasn't happy with their shipping cost.

Good luck with your cook and hope you enjoy the spares.

Paul
 
Thanks guys, good to know about not raising the temp. I was planning on a 6-7 hour cook. Might cut back on the salt.

Rath *going to pull some membranes*
 
Small update: I cut back on the salt and the ribs are now "lightly dusted" and resting. I plan on getting them on the WSM by 11am and was wondering if you guys actually fire up the WSM an hour before putting the ribs on.

Also, I did a full trim, but the skirt meat was very small so I've decided to put the "cook's candy" on the lower rack and treat myself to snack later on. Shhh...don't let the wife hear...

Rath *always curious*
 
Not me. I use MM and put the spares on when I assemble the cooker. As you probably know, it takes a while for it to get up to your desired cooking temp - less time with sand than water, but be careful to adjust soon with the sand if you're using it.

Paul
 
Thanks again Paul, you've been a big help. I am not totally sold on sand yet, so am still using water. Ribs are on and temp is at 210.

Rath *ever grateful*
 
Rath, Sorry I missed the invite for ribs(maybe next time and I'll bring the beer).

Greg uses sand all the time! Does that push you over the edge?

BRITU ribs are very good. Remember, spares are more meaty than BB ribs. Next time I do them I will put in foil for an hour and see how it goes.

Pics to follow I'm sure...you're killin' me over here!!

Greg *Suddenly craving pork products*
 
Hehe Greg. Well hopefully I will be able to get to the store and buy some batteries for my camera. But right now I am battling high temps. I took out the "cooks candy" and suddenly my temp has shot up to 280 /infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif .

I have all vents closed, including the top one /infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif but I will have to wait and see I guess. It is a calm day but the temp. is in the 90's.

Rath *sorry for highjacking the thread*
 
Happy to report that the temp is down to 250 and I've got the top vent 1/2 open.

Mother and piggy doing fine.

Rath *makes note to invite Greg next time*
 
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