St. Louis Style Ribs Question


 
J

J Kloeker

TVWBB Fan
I have a confession to make. I've never fixed a slab of St. Louis style ribs that I've enjoyed. The issue isn't with the flavor of the meat or rub, but the way ribs themselves turn out. I'm used to baby backs that you can serve in whatever portions you like and can just be ripped apart and eaten. Every time I've done St. Louis ribs, a.ka. all three times, the ribs come out slightly tough but also seem like they have a lot of fat or grizzle that makes them unappetizing. I'm assuming part of this is me not cooking them properly, but I'm also wondering if it might be the way I serve them. I usually serve them in 3-4 bone sections. I notice a lot of you serve them as individual bones. Should I try doing that? Got some nice weather coming in this weekend and wanting to fire up the smoker, but I can't bring myself to ruin another perfectly good slab of ribs. Any suggestions?
 
I use Harry Soo's technique and methods when cooking both Baby Backs and St. Louis ribs. See the PDF on this site. There is a rather narrow window after you wrap your ribs when they are done. I prefer my ribs (both BB's and St. L.) to be slightly more tender than competition ribs. Not quite "fall off the bone" but more tender than comp ribs. That is a personal preference. You can get both depending on how long your ribs are wrapped. You do NOT want them so tender that they are mushy but tender, for sure. You can do both with BB's and St.L

You just need to do more of them and suddenly all will come clear to you. This is a great excuse for RIBS, RIBS, RIBS!;)

Keep on smokin';
Dale53:wsm:
 
Practice makes perfect. I like to use the technique found in the cookbook Weber Smoke. However, the method on TVWB and others (like Dale mentioned above) turn out a great rib. You should try different ways until you find what you like.

Check them with a skewer for tenderness.
 
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I am also learning as i go but the one thing i will say is that is seems like STL Cook time is longer then BB's but less then full spares.

Strickly for example:
If a recipe is 5 hours for Spares, 4 hours for Babybacks, 4.5 is a starting point for STL's.

I like to follow some of the Arron Franklin recipes on youtube and he calls for 4hours or 4h15m @ 275 on full spares and i have found this was too long for STL's I cut it back by 45-60 minutes or so and the consistency was pretty decent.

I have found the toothpick test is a great way to check on your ribs.
 
Maybe allow yourself more time to cook the St. Louis ribs.. If you are starting out with a rack of spare ribs (as opposed to BB's) they just take longer because they're usually thicker and heavier. As far as the fat and gristle , that also seems to come with the cut of meat....but you could try another brand next time. I see no way that how you slice them will affect the tenderness. I would go with a 3-2-1 approach and probe them fairly often as you approach the finish line. Good luck.
 
i personally don't like the texture of braised ribs. A lot of guys on here wrap....just not for me.

6-7 hours at about 250 is how I like my St. Louis spares. YMMV
 
A no-wrapper here, too. I cook spares and St. Louis ribs coiled (3 per rack) in an 18.5 WSM. I set them breastbone side down and don't turn them. Usually takes 5-ish hours. I start with the pull test at around 4-1/2 hours and use a toothpick for final doneness. I do, however, wrap them when I take them off for about 15 -30 minutes to soften the bark a bit. Harry Soo's doctored Sweet Baby Ray's recipe for sauce is very good on ribs.
 
I don't wrap either. I just cook them until they are done. Check for the meat pulling back from the bone and the "bend test"
 
J Hasselberger said:
I do, however, wrap them when I take them off for about 15 -30 minutes
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That is what I do also. One time my ribs got done too soon, so I wrapped them to keep them warm. Ended up being some great ribs so now I do it all the time. I get my ribs to be just tender (toothpic test) and then I take them off and wrap them and put a towel over them to keep them warm. I get the rest of the meal ready and unwrap. I usually cut them into 2 bone sections and serve - sauce on the side.
 
J Kloeker said:
The issue isn't with the flavor of the meat or rub, but the way ribs themselves turn out. I'm used to baby backs that you can serve in whatever portions you like and can just be ripped apart and eaten{snip}Any suggestions?
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St Louis are my favorite. My suggestion

Put rub on them about an hour before cooking

Get the WSM up to about 275 and put them on meat side down for a half hour / 45 minutes

Flip them over and mop with apple juice, brown sugar and a couple shakes of Worcestershire (depending on how many ribs, one cup of apple juice, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and couple shakes of WS) Note: Mop not spray

After another half hour, mop again if you're seeing some pull back from the bone you're ready for the next step but until you see some pull back (just as it starts) continue cooking

Soon as you see pull back, wrap the ribs in butcher paper (BP). BP is critical because you don't lose the crust but you do get that fall apart texture. Cook in the BP until tender (probe with tooth pick through the BP)

Once tender, remove from the BP and back on the grill and baste with you favorite BBQ sauce (hint Stubbs) let the sauce cook in, takes maybe 20 minutes and pull them off and serve them up. Don't tent in foil if you choose to let them rest (I don't rest ribs)

One thing critical is that when you mop and when you wrap, you do it outside the pit, and you close up your pit as quickly as possible, you don't want your pit to get into the 300's
 
J Kloeker said:
I have a confession to make. Every time I've done St. Louis ribs, a.ka. all three times, the ribs come out slightly tough but also seem like they have a lot of fat or grizzle that makes them unappetizing.

J, my suggestion is to increase cooking T. I moved from 225F to 250F because I regulary found too much grease not melted. At higher T this problem disappeared.
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