# Best ribs to smoke



## pg77

I  new to smoking and was looking for some feedback on the best type of ribs to smoke. Thx


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## jake0531

Best kind are the kind on the smoker! Beef or pork, shorts or spares, full rack or singles, whatever you fancy is the best! I personally am a fan of pork spare ribs. Reasonably priced and make some great Q. I also like beef short ribs but I only get those when I purchase locker beef


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## seenred

Hi PG77.

The answer to what's "best" is completely subjective.  My guess is that pork ribs are the most popular and most cooked ribs, but beef ribs are great too.  My personal favorite ribs are St. Louis pork spare ribs, but Mrs. Red prefers pork baby back ribs.

What you oughta do is try all the different varieties of ribs, then you can decide for yourself what is your favorite...and that's the funnest part!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Red


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## geezer

Pork! 

Though beef and lamb are edible too.


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## sauced

My favorite are pork spare ribs (St. Louis cut) followed very very closely by beef short ribs.


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## tallbm

My rankings are:

Pork spare ribs
Pork baby back ribs
Pork country style ribs (comes from shoulder)
I haven't had smoked beef ribs in a long time.  Well a couple of years ago I had some but they were unimpressive.

I do know that I LOVE well cooked beef ribs but the price is just so outrageous I haven't fulled with them personally.

A rack of dinosaur looking beef ribs are on the list of things to smoke though :)


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## pg77

Thank you all for your input. Giving it my first go on Saturday. Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Wish me luck!!!


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## jake0531

PG77 said:


> Thank you all for your input. Giving it my first go on Saturday. Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Wish me luck!!!


What type are you going with?


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## pg77

I'm gonna use the St. Louis spare ribs. The Costco by me has a pretty good deal on them.


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## tallbm

PG77 said:


> I'm gonna use the St. Louis spare ribs. The Costco by me has a pretty good deal on them.


Check out SmokinAl's post on how he perfected his ribs every time.  It has good info for you to absorb especially when you compare and contrast his approach to something like the 3-2-1 or 2-2-1 cooking method people use for ribs.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/240916/perfect-ribs-every-time-this-really-works


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## pg77

Thoughts on type of wood chips for ribs?


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## geezer

PG77 said:


> Thoughts on type of wood chips for ribs?


Hickory or pecan always work, tho other woods will too.


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## sauced

Personally I like a mix of Hickory and Cherry.


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## pg77

What about the liquid for water pan? Do you guys prefer straight water? Or a juice, beer, etc??


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## geezer

PG77 said:


> What about the liquid for water pan? Do you guys prefer straight water? Or a juice, beer, etc??


Personally, I use plain water and I'm using it as much for temp regulation as anything. Now, if the meat is in a pan, that's a different story.


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## bbqbrett

PG77, it is all opinion.  Not sure I would pick a favorite rib but I guess if I had to I would go with baby back pork ribs.

I like to use hickory to smoke em and for a liquid I like apple juice.


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## smokeymose

St. Louis style. Hickory.
Water pan?


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## gr0uch0

SmokeyMose said:


> St. Louis style. Hickory.
> Water pan?


Agreed, with one minor difference than SM:  I'd rather buy full spares and trim yourself to St. Louis.  Less expensive that way, and there's some really good meat (hello, rib tips) above the joints and below the chine.  Don't buy any "manager's special" that has already been spiced--that goes for anything, including ribs.  Unless you're buying known fresh, make sure it's in the original Cryovac packaging.  Age old food service trick to pull what hasn't moved by expiration, slather it in something, and repackage with a new expiration date on it.  Single service C-Vac's allow you to inspect the product from all sides, unlike the styro trays and multiple items sandwiched together.

That said, you need to try them all in order to formulate your own opinion.  Beef ribs, baby backs, spares, lamb--even cabrito--have their own nuances that make them each special:  try all of them like Red suggested.  Experiment with the different woods:  and regardless what's said, you still have to try mesquite to find out whether or not you like it.  Words of caution are that it burns hotter than other woods and is stronger, so you don't have to use very much.  Don't limit yourself without trying them all and relying solely on others' opinions.  Good luck!


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## SmokinAl

I like ribs of any kind, but the favorite around here is BB's.

Although every once in a while I throw a rack of untrimmed, spares on the smoker.

With no rub or no sauce, just good ole pork flavor with a little S&P. And chew around the bones & cartilage.

Al


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## pg77

I have a rub recipe with a little white sugar and a good amount of brown sugar, how will that come out in the smoker?


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## seenred

PG77 said:


> I have a rub recipe with a little white sugar and a good amount of brown sugar, how will that come out in the smoker?


Most pork rubs recipes have some sugar in them...it'll be fine as long as you cook low and slow.  Don't allow the pit temp to get high enough to burn the sugar.  I generally smoke ribs at around 250*...but any pit temp of less than 325 shouldn't burn the sugar.

Red


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## pg77

Great, thx


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## smokesontuesday

PG77 said:


> I have a rub recipe with a little white sugar and a good amount of brown sugar, how will that come out in the smoker?


It'll be fine. Turbinado sugar will hold up to heat better but as long as you aren't cooking at high temps you'll be good.


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## russ forbus

I'm here in Texas, and Franklin's BBQ is considered by many as the best BBQ in the USA. He has many videos...here's his spareribs recipe video.

part1

part2

I've had these, and they are great.We don't use as much sauce as folks in other parts of the country, but these are awesome.

I always remove the silverskin, just cleaner to eat.you'll catch rendered fat in foil.


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## smokeymose

gr0uch0 said:


> Agreed, with one minor difference than SM:  I'd rather buy full spares and trim yourself to St. Louis.  Less expensive that way, and there's some really good meat (hello, rib tips) above the joints and below the chine.  Don't buy any "manager's special" that has already been spiced--that goes for anything, including ribs.  Unless you're buying known fresh, make sure it's in the original Cryovac packaging.  Age old food service trick to pull what hasn't moved by expiration, slather it in something, and repackage with a new expiration date on it.  Single service C-Vac's allow you to inspect the product from all sides, unlike the styro trays and multiple items sandwiched together.
> 
> That said, you need to try them all in order to formulate your own opinion.  Beef ribs, baby backs, spares, lamb--even cabrito--have their own nuances that make them each special:  try all of them like Red suggested.  Experiment with the different woods:  and regardless what's said, you still have to try mesquite to find out whether or not you like it.  Words of caution are that it burns hotter than other woods and is stronger, so you don't have to use very much.  Don't limit yourself without trying them all and relying solely on others' opinions.  Good luck!


Actually, after buying one of Aaron Franklin''s books and watching a couple of videos, I've been trimming spares to SL style as well. Can't beat the price and I love that strip of meat that gets cut off the side [emoji]128512[/emoji]



SmokinAl said:


> I like ribs of any kind, but the favorite around here is BB's.
> 
> Although every once in a while I throw a rack of untrimmed, spares on the smoker.
> 
> With no rub or no sauce, just good ole pork flavor with a little S&P. And chew around the bones & cartilage.
> 
> Al


There's still a touch of cave man in all of us, Al!
:yahoo:


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## gr0uch0

Russ Forbus said:


> I'm here in Texas, and Franklin's BBQ is considered by many as the best BBQ in the USA. He has many videos...here's his spareribs recipe video.
> 
> part1
> 
> part2
> 
> I've had these, and they are great.We don't use as much sauce as folks in other parts of the country, but these are awesome.
> 
> I always remove the silverskin, just cleaner to eat.you'll catch rendered fat in foil.


Russ, do yourself a favor.  Go to Taylor and the Cafe, and sit with Vencil.  You'll never spend a more entertaining and enlightening hour, not to mention the food being amazing.  Then go look up Tootsie in Lexington at Snow's.  Lady is all that and then some--without gizmos and gadgetry.  Neither seek out the publicity, yet have been pumping out world-class barbecue for decades:  in Mares' case, nearly a century.  Each within minutes of your location.


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## pg77

So I started my first smoke today. I have a master built pro dual fuel 2 door smoker. As I've seen in many reviews, the thermometer it comes with is not accurate at all. I purchased a thermopro tp-08 wireless thermometer and so far it's working great. I'm keeping the smoker temp anywhere from 230-250 pretty easily but the thermometer on door reads just over 200. I also put a romex gasket around the doors that hold the smoke much better than when I seasoned the smoker without the gasket. This is my first go around with a smoker so I've been nervous maintaining the temp but it hasn't been too difficult. This smoker seems to be worth the $ and is easy to use and maintain. I have 2 racks of pork St. Louis style ribs going. Put them in at 12, so far so good.


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## geezer

PG77 said:


> So I started my first smoke today. I have a master built pro dual fuel 2 door smoker. As I've seen in many reviews, the thermometer it comes with is not accurate at all. I purchased a thermopro tp-08 wireless thermometer and so far it's working great. I'm keeping the smoker temp anywhere from 230-250 pretty easily but the thermometer on door reads just over 200. I also put a romex gasket around the doors that hold the smoke much better than when I seasoned the smoker without the gasket. This is my first go around with a smoker so I've been nervous maintaining the temp but it hasn't been too difficult. This smoker seems to be worth the $ and is easy to use and maintain. I have 2 racks of pork St. Louis style ribs going. Put them in at 12, so far so good.



Good luck with them.Thumbs Up


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## smokeymose

That's a good smoker, PG. I have one, though I just use it now with a mailbox setup for cold and warm smoking since I got the offset. The door sealing is a must do, but that's all it needs to turn out some good chow. Gotta love all those adjustable racks and the bottom door is handy for adding chips without losing all your heat.
Would love to see a pic of the finished product if you have the time [emoji]9786[/emoji]️


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## pg77

Hey smokey, above are some pics. The ribs flew off the table. Nothing but rave reviews. That smoker is great. I had no issues maintaining the temps and it was my first smoke ever. I am officially hooked. Can't wait for the next one.


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## smokeymose

They look perfect!  

Thumbs Up
And
:points:


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## pg77

Thank u


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