St. Louis Ribs From Spares W/ Tutorial & Qview And Analysis Is It Worth It?

[ronp]

It starts here.

I followed this great tutorial. I figured no sense in doing my own.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYMNLMQmM4s



Albertsons had a deal a few weeks ago buy 1 and get 2 free. Hmm, I went for it.



I figured the cost at 1.33 a pound, good right?

The slab started out at 3.94 pounds.
After triming to St. Louis I wound up with a 2 pound slab of ribs and a lot of scrap, including the breast bone and skirt and fat. So, at 1.33 a pound and only getting 2 pounds of ribs they really came out to 2.66 a pound. Was it worth it? You be the judge. I say not unless you like the other stuff.

Anybody got any ideas for the skirt?

More to follow, using the 3 -2- 0 with hickory and mesquite.

Thanks,
Ron

 

[bassman]

Ron, some people go ahead and smoke the skirt meat along with the ribs. They use it to cut up in baked beans, etc. Personally, I think I'll stick with baby backs.

 

[ronp]

Thanks man I was hoping for a better use than baked beans, I was wondering if I rolled it like they do with beef, maybe dry though. Hmm how about jerky? Any Ideas on that?

 

[suprfast]

is there something wrong with your camera, or has the red of the meat oxidized?

 

[rw willy]

I make "Pozole", or I do Green Chile Stew. That is a problem with the spares. I did 6 racks for Super Bowl and had a ton of cartilage and skirt leftover. I did smoke it all and froze it.

 

[graybeard]

Hey ronp...
Every piece of that rib has a GReat Taste and a GReat texture. Smoke the skirt for 3 or 4 hours (or 200*) and enjoy!!

 

[shooterrick]

I buy St. Louis style ribs already trimmed from my Q joint connection. They cost me about 6 bucks a slab and no waste. As long as i buy a half case of 6 or better I get that price. For now thats how I get r done.

 

[ronp]

I just ate the breastbone ribs and it was great not worth the money though.

 

[got14u]

this is what i would do ron....or u could also smoke it and through it in some smoked potato soup...yummies..can't remember where your at but on a cold day it hitd the spot...or burritos

 

[krusher]

I love the st. leweys, there more tender and the meat is better, just eat the skirt meat as an app. while your smoking the rest, as for the other piece you cut off, treat them just like your ribs, and just leave them in the foil for an hour and a half longer and you got some pulled pork for later.

wife bought babybacks a while ago, we were excited to try them on the smoker, compared to st. leweys they were a waste of money in our opinion.

spares is the way to go for us.

 

[seenred]

I always consider the skirt and scraps to be my reward for a long smoke. A Little taste every now and then keeps me motivated

 

[mgwerks]

I have to agree with the above posters. Baby backs - less waste, more $$$. There is very little wasted from spares. After I trim out the rack, I am left with:

• St. Louis (really Kansas City because I remove the tail, too) cut rib rack - smoked and devoured;
• diaphragm (flap) meat, rib tips and trimmings - larger pieces done alongside ribs, done sooner and considered a 'Chef's treat', or used in beans or other dish; smaller pieces go in freezer for sausage or other use;
• misc. pork fat - frozen for use with sausage;
• chine bone - I remove all the meat and fat possible, and meat and fat are stored separately in the freezer to go towards sausage; and
• membrane - gets tossed, not much weight loss there.

If you don't do sausage, you can use the meat trimmings in many other dishes, and even reduce the pork fat into a great home-made lard (very easy) which is far superior (and much healthier) than the junk sold on shelves.

So in the end, all I toss is a stripped chine bone, some cartilage and the membrane. Next time I'll weigh it out and see how it breaks down, but it isn't much.