Butchering a rib section
Morini's Meat Market is my neighborhood butcher
in La Grange Park, IL. That's Dennis Morini below.
I asked him to order a rib section for me and then
break it down while I took pictures. He is a patient
man.
Below is the middle part of a rib section, about 16
pounds. That's the tender, lean loin meat on the left
with the skin still on the outside and the rib bones
on the inside. On the right is belly meat that can be
used for rib tips and bacon.
Below is the same section, top view. The right side
is the front of the animal, and the shoulder or butt
was attached to the top right part. There are only 9
1/2 bones, fewer than a normal rib section. The
triangular white section on the lower left is the
diaphragm.
Dennis begins by removing the skin. I save it to
make cracklins.
Below Dennis separates the ribs, at top, from the
loin and belly meat.
On the left is the long lean boneless loin muscle cut
from on top of the baby back ribs. On the right is
the belly meat that is often used for bacon or
ground for sausage or meat loaf.
Next the rib section goes to the band saw where the
chine, the section of spine attached to the top of the
rib bones is removed. I use it in making spaghetti
sauce.
Below the band saw separates the curved back ribs
from the straighter spare ribs.
The spare ribs can be separated into two sections.
At top is the squared off section called St. Louis
Cut (SLC). You can see the section of diaphragm
on the lower left of the SLC. The bottom section is
the rib tips.
On the left, below, are the nice, squared off, flat
SLC, and on the right, the curved baby backs right
at the point at which they were separated.
Nutrition information
Here is the nutritional breakdown of ribs, per
ounce, according to the North American Meat
Processors Association (NAMP) in their superb
book "The Meat Buyers Guide: Meat, Lamb, Veal,
Pork and Poultry". I have averaged and rounded
their data on St. Louis cut and baby backs because
the numbers are so similar.
Total calories: 108
Calories from total fat: 76
Total fat: 8.5 grams
Saturated fatty acids: 3.1 grams
Monounsaturated fatty acids: 3.8 grams
Polyunsaturated fatty acids: 0.7 grams
Cholesterol: 33 milligrams
Protein: 7.5 grams
Calcium: 13 milligrams
Iron: 0.46 milligrams
Sodium: 27 milligrams
Zinc: 1.2 milligrams
Riboflavin: 0.8 milligrams
Thiamin: 0.12 milligrams
Let's face it. This is not health food. But ribs tastes
soooooo good. The best advice: Eat ribs in
moderation. Don't eat ribs every day. Just every
other day (grin). And just a half slab. Treat ribs like
a treat. Like dessert.
Party planning
When entertaining, I always cook more than I know
I will need. I usually figure half a slab or one pound
per person for a mixed crowd of males and females.
Remember, about half the weight is bone. If it a
bunch of big guys are coming over for the game, I'll
make more. There will probably be leftovers, but
folks love taking leftover ribs home, and they are
great warmed in the microwave. If the crowd is
rowdy, I'll just keep the leftovers for myself.
Pork is not graded
Interestingly, pork is not graded by the USDA as is
beef. Beef gets its grades (Prime, Choice, Select,
etc.) depending on the amount of fat "marbled" in
with the meat. Pork is not graded this way.
Pork grading involves two basic factors. Size and
gender of the animal. Some of the terms that are
used are:
Butcher Hog. Male or female raised strictly for
meat. Weighs 195-320 pounds.
Barrow. Male butcher hog.
Gilt. Female butcher hog.
Sow. Female breeding hog. Weighs 300-700
pounds.
Stag. A castrated male hog. Darker meat. Weighs
up to 700 pounds.
Boar. An uncastrated male used for breeding
purposes. Darker meat. Weighs up to 1,000 pounds.
An average 250 pound hog will yield a 180 pound
carcass after gutting and cleaning, and that will
yield about 146 pounds of retail cuts, about 58% of
the live weight. Everything but the squeal is used
but, for some reason, pig’s feet, pork rinds, and
snouts are not considered retail cuts.
Hams. 43 pounds
Chops. 35 pounds
Bacon. 26 pounds
Roasts. 24 pounds
Sausage. 11 pounds
Ribs. 7 pounds
How to get meatier ribs
The best advice I will ever give you: Develop a
relationship with your butcher.
On spareribs, the amount of meat is determined by
nature, all you get is the meat that is on the hog.
But because the baby back ribs are cut from the loin
meat, the amount of meat on the baby backs is
determined by your butcher.
Most grocers and butcher shops get their baby
backs pre-cut in boxes, and the amount of meat on
the ribs is determined by the price the store feels it
can charge, and what the competition forces them
to charge.
Even if they get their baby backs pre-cut, many
butchers also get whole bone-in rib roasts.
If you ask nicely, your butcher may be willing to
custom cut the baby back ribs off the rib roasr
leaving extra meat on them. Want baby backs with
1/2" of meat on top? No problem? Want a whole
inch? No problem. Expect to pay more for these
extra meaty ribs, but the result is worth it.
A better option: Just buy the whole bone-in rib
roast and then ask the butcher to remove the baby
backs leaving about 1/2" of meat on them. Then
keep the de-boned loin meat for roasting separately.
Yummmmmm!
More than you need to know about pigs
Kingdom. Animalia
Phylum. Chordata
Subphylum. Vertebrata
Class. Mammalia
Order. Artiodactyla
Family. Suidae
Subfamily. Suinae
Genus. Sus
Species. Scrofa
The family Suidae is made up of 16 species, and
the common pork hog in your grocery case is
Suidae Sus Scrofa. Suids first appeared in southern
Europe and Asia and were found on Africa and the
Phillipines. They are omnivores and, according to
the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
(UMMZ), in the wild they eat, fungi, leaves, roots,
bulbs, tubers, fruit, snails, earthworms, small
vertebrates, eggs, and carrion. They have a flexible,
muscular snout, and in concert with their forefeet,
they root and scratch for food.
Wild boars are hunted for sport around the world,
and in parts of the US and Europe, their population
is soaring and they are becoming a major problem
for farmers, pets, and humans. They can be
downright ornery and their tusks are potentially
lethal.
Their stomachs have two chambers, but they do not
ruminate. They have many different skin colors, tail
lengths, and snout shapes. Their eyesight is not
good because their eyes are on the sides of their
heads limiting their forward vision, and their sense
of taste is very advanced. Males often have long
tusks, and fight violently for the attention of
females. Dominant males can often service as many
as eight sows. They are pregnant for 115 days, and
litters of 5-6 are typical.
According to UMMZ, "A symbiotic relationship
has formed between humans and Sus scrofa. The
two components of this symbiotic relationship
were, and still are, food and food. Sus scrofa used
early gardens and garbage piles as food sources and
humans took advantage of them as a food source."
In addition, in France and Italy they have been used
to find truffles, rare, and highly prized mushrooms
used in haute cuisine. In England have been used
for hunting, and in ancient Egypt their hoofs
created holes perfect in size and depth for planting
seeds.
Recently pigs have become more popular as pets.
According to UMMZ, domestic pigs are considered
to be more intelligent than dogs and circus trainers
have characterized Sus scrofa individuals as quick
learners with substantial memories. It is also
believed that pigs speak a rudimentary language
composed of calls, snorts, sniffs, and whistles.
Among the most famous pet pigs is Max, owned
and beloved by George Clooney.
Fresh pork is available all year, but more hogs are
slaughtered from October to February, so prices are
a bit lower then. This is a holdover from the days
before refrigeration when hogs were slaughtered in
cool weather so the meat could be cured and stored
in cool weather. Most pork today is slaughtered at
between 6 to 9 months old. Ribs often go on sale
for Father’s Day and the Fourth of July.
But beware, some unscrupulous butchers will,
illegally, repackage and relabel older meat, so look
at the stuff before you put it in your cart. Look for
meat that is pale pink white fat. The darker pink the
flesh, the older the animal. Brown meat or yellow
fat usually means the meat is oxidizing and not
fresh.
According to the 2002 hog census, not counting
imports, there were 185 million hogs sold in the US
for $12.4 billion. The number of animals is up from
143 million hogs in the 1997 census, but the dollar
value declines from $13.8 billion. Pork prices are
going down.
New old hog breeds
A few decades ago, pork farmers decided that they
wanted to sell pork as the "other white meat" and
market it as lean meat. So they settled on breeds
like the American Yorkshire that have less fat
woven in with the muscle. In recent years some
farmers have been bringing back herds of "heritage
hogs" including Berkshire, Duroc, Tamworth,
Chester, Gloucestershire and several others. They
often have more fat, darker meat, and more flavor.
Because they are not common yet, the meat is more
expensive, but you can expect to see these and
other specialty breeds in the market soon. I've seen
Berkshire at several farmers' markets already.
Unfuddling the different cuts of ribs and pork
"I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond." Mae West
The butcher's case is bulging with baby backs, spareribs, country ribs, rib tips, riblets, St. Louis cut ribs, rib chops,
rib roasts, and the prices range from $2 to $8 a pound. What to buy?
It's hard to tell the players without a scorecard. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) specifies the
names of some cuts, but others have evolved through common use and local misuse. Here's what you need to know
for your next barbecue.
Pigs have 14 rib bones. They are attached to the spine and are usually divided into four popular cuts: Baby back ribs,
spareribs, St. Louis cut ribs, and rib tips.
Starting at the top are the baby backs, closest to the backbone, nestled beneath the loin muscle. They are curved,
round bones, close together, and most of the meat is on top of the bones, cut from the underside of loin muscle.
As you move further from the spine, the bones get larger, flatter, straighter, and wider apart with more meat between
them. There is more fat marbling in the meat as you go further from the spine and closer to the belly. The front ribs
are connected to the breast bone with a number of small bones and cartilage known as the rib tips. There are a
number of other cuts, and they are all described below.
3 1/2 & down, 4 & over, etc. This is butcher talk for the weight of a slab of spareribs. A "3 1/2 & down" weighs 3.5
pounds or less untrimmed, with the tips attached. Most chefs prefer theirs 3 1/2 and down, from younger hogs.
Applebee's Riblets. See button ribs.
Baby back ribs (a.k.a. back ribs, a.k.a. baby backs, a.k.a. loin back
ribs, a.k.a. loin ribs, a.k.a. Canadian back ribs). Connected to the
backbone, nestled beneath the loin muscle, are the most tender and
leanest ribs, baby backs. No, they do not come from baby pigs. They
are called "babies" because they are shorter than spareribs. A typical
full slab has 11 to 13 bones. The slab is tapered at one end, with the
shortest bones only about 3" and the longest about 6". They are usually
curved like a hockey stick at the end where they meet the spine.
Depending on how the butcher removes the loin meat that is on the
humped side of the bones, some can have up to 1/2" of delicate, lean
loin meat on the top. Usually about 1.5 to 2 pounds per slab, about half
of which is bone, many hungry adults can eat a whole slab of baby
backs. Typically $4 to 8 per pound. Because they weigh less than
spareribs, they cook faster.
Baby front ribs. See photo of Meathead at right pointing out the baby front ribs on an
attentive audience member at a recent seminar he gave at the College Football Hall of Fame.
Baby spareribs. These are not the same as baby back ribs. Nor do they necessarily come
from young tender pigs. These are spareribs made smaller by removing the rib tips. These
are more properly called St. Louis cut ribs (see below), but some butchers call them baby
spareribs to capitalize on the popularity of baby back ribs.
Barbecue cut. See St. Louis cut ribs.
BBQ tenders. See flap meat.
Bone-in loin roast or bone-in loin rib roast. See rib roast.
Brisket. In beef, there are two large clods of tough, boneless meet on the chest called brisket. They are used to make
corned beef, pastrami, many pot roasts, and great barbecue. But beef brisket is very different than the brisket in
pork. In pork, the brisket is the same as rib tips.
Button ribs (a.k.a. Applebee's riblets). These are technically not ribs. They are a thin, flat strip of meat and round
bone, perhaps 1/4" thick, about 6" long, and 1 1/2" wide, cut from the sides of hog's spine behind the rearmost (14th)
rib. There are no ribs on the hog there, just little nubs, or "buttons" attached to the backbone. Applebee's restaurants
calls this cut riblets, but they are not what had been called riblets in the past. Because Applebee's has made them so
popular, they can occasionally be found in stores under the name riblets. See riblets.
Canadian back ribs. Another name for baby back ribs, they are called Canadian because Canadian bacon is made
from the loin meat that was connected to the ribs before butchering.
Cheater rack. A nine-bone rack of ribs, less than the usual 10-13.
Chef's Bonus. These are the trimmins that, when thrown on the smoker, finish fast and keep the barbecue cook from
dieing of starvation during long cooks. See flap and tips.
Chine. The backbone or spine. Sometimes refers to a split backbone, and sometimes refers to backbone still
attached to baby back rib slabs and rib roasts. Many people think the chine is the breastbone, but they are on the
wrong side of the animal. The confusion is probably because the keel of a boat is often called the chine, and the
breast is often called the keel of an animal. But the keel of a boat is analagous to the backbone in that all the ribs are
attached to it. In any case, the chine is the spine and not the breast.
Country-style ribs (a.k.a. Country Ribs). Country-style ribs are not really ribs. They are cut from the front end of
the baby backs near the shoulder and a tray of country-style ribs in the
grocery store will contain contain few, if any, ribs. In fact, if there are
bones, more than likely they are from the shoulder blade. Country-style
ribs are more like pork loin chops, more meaty and less fatty than real ribs,
and should be cooked like chops, not ribs. The ones in this photo have
short sections of baby back bones, andlots of lean loin meat. Typically $3
to 4 per pound. Because they vary in size and thickness, they are hard to
cook to an even doneness. They should be cooked to 135-140°F like pork
chops. Depending on how they are cut, a serving will be one or two
country ribs. For big hungry men, perhaps three.
Crown roast. See standing rib roast.
Danish ribs. Small slabs of baby backs usually from Denmark, but not always. One guy I know says "I they're
possum ribs. They look like baby backs, only smaller, thinner, and meatless!" Never heard a good word about them.
Double wide rib chop. A rib chop that is cut extra manly thick by including two bones. One is usually broken off or
cut out. A serving is one chop.
Finger meat. The meat between the ribs.
Flap (a.k.a. skirt, a.k.a. Chef's Bonus). There is a flap of chewy meat from the diaphragm on the concave side of
the spareribs and St. Louis cuts from the head end of the slab. Many cooks remove it and cook it as a snack, toss it in
with the tips, or grind it into sausage.
Flat-bone ribs. See button ribs.
Frenching. Getcher mind outta the gutter. Frenching is the trimming butchers do to rib
roasts in order to make them look pretty by bearing the rib bones. In the process they
will often cut out the wonderful meat between the bones and toss it in the scrap pile for
sausage! Arrrrggghhhh! I like to leave the meat on and just cover it with a few layers of
heavy foil to keep the bone tips from burning.
Half slab. A slab of ribs cut in half containing 4-6 bones. See slab.
Kansas City cut. Not a commonly accepted term, it is usually used to refer to what is
otherwise known as a St. Louis cut. Sounds like a little Missouri rivalry to me.
Kassler rib. Smoked bone-in rib roast.
Loin. The loin of the pig is the long strip of tender, lean meat that runs on either side of the hog's spine and on top of
the ribs. It is not the groin area! That is the loins (with an "s") as in "gird ye loins for the battle men." It is usually
used in reference to people. One rarely discusses the loins (with an "s") of animals. At least I don't. The tenderloin is
a narrow baseball bat shaped muscle that lies just below the loin starting just behind the last rib. The loin and
tenderloin are the tenderest and most desireable parts of the pig because they are muscles that doesn't do much work.
Because it is the top of the back of the pig, the expression "living high on the hog" came to mean living the lux life.
Poor people, serfs, servants, and slaves ate the tougher cuts, the muscles that worked hard, from lower on the hog,
such as the ribs.
Loin back ribs or loin ribs. See baby back ribs.
Long end ribs. See short end ribs.
McRib sandwich. Introduced in the early 1980s, the McDonald's McRib sandwich is an oblong ground pork pattie
smothered with a ketchupy barbecue sauce, topped with pickle slices and onion slices, served on a kaiser-type roll.
The patty is pressed on the top to look as if it has bones in it. I'll never know why they put in the ridges because,
with all the sauce, pickles, and onions, even if you took the bun off you'd never notice the
corrugations. Of course McRib probably contains no rib meat (too expensive). When I
complained to a friend that the name is misleading and it should be changed, he said "Yeah and
they oughta change the name of Girl Scout cookies for the same reason." McRib is not always
on the menu, a marketing move that creates demand for the sandwich. A friend calls their
seasonal appearance "McDonald's answer to soft-shell crabs." McD's even has a humorous
website devoted to McRibs called the Boneless Pig Farmers' Association of America! If you try
a McRib sandwich, get lots of napkins.
Membrane. Each slab has a meat side and a bone side. The meat side is convex (curving towards you), and the bone
side is concave (curving away from you). The bone side has a membrane called the pleura covering it. It can be
leathery and almost unchewable when cooked, and it can prevent flavorings and smoke from penetrating. Many
butchers remove the skin. If the membrane has not been removed when you bring home a slab, you should remove it
yourself. Click here to see how to skin 'n trim.
Middlings. Early American cookbooks refered to spareribs as middlings, presumably
because they came from the middle of the hog.
Rack. When referring to pork ribs, a rack is the same as a slab. When referring to
lamb ribs, a rack also includes the loin meat and is essentially the same as a rib roast.
Rib chops. A rib chop (at right) is a pork chop cut from the rib roast. They are
typically about 3/4" thick, lean, and each has a baby back rib attached. Because they are so
lean, they are great for stuffing, and benefit from brining. A normal serving will be one chop.
Hungry people might eat two. The one at right has been "Frenched" which means it has been
trimmed so the bone is exposed like a handle. I like to eat these like lillipops.
Riblets. Riblets are made by taking a full length slab or ribs and cutting them with a cleaver
or a band saw so the bones are only half as long as normal, perhaps 2-4".
This is done to make smaller portions or to remove part of the curve of baby backs and
produce a flatter slab. Usually served as appetizers, for a main course a normal serving would
be 10-12 riblets. Some people refer to pork rib tips as riblets. This is incorrect.
Applebee's restaurants have a menu item called "riblets" that are technically not
riblets. Technically they are button ribs.
In veal and lamb, riblets can refer to the ends of the ribs. Then there are the riblets
by Gardenburger (at right) described thusly on their website: "Juicy and tender
veggie riblets with a slow-cooked, hickory-smoked flavor. And don't forget the
smoky BBQ sauce. Cowboys never ate this good." If they did, they would be called soyboys.
Rib roast (a.k.a. bone-in pork loin rib roast, a.k.a. bone-in loin rib roast, a.k.a. center cut rib roast, a.k.a. prime
rib of pork). This is the whole pork loin muscle, up to 2' long and 6" thick, with the baby back ribs attached. You
can buy the whole roast or sections. Sections of 5-8 bones are typical. The loin meat is lean and tender, so it should
be not cooked to the high internal temps as rib slabs. Most sources say the internal temp should be 160°F but that's a
recipe for cardboard. You can take it off at 135°F and let the temp rise to 140°F as it rests for about 20 minutes to
allow the juices to re-absorb into the meat fibers. Trichinosis is killed at 140°F, but not to worry, there are only
about 5 cases of trichinosis a year from pork in the US and most of them come from uninspected homegrown hogs.
At 140°F there will be a hint of pink, and the meat will be moist and juicy. See standing rib roasts. A rib roast can be
cut into chops with a bone in each and these are great grilled, especially if brined for an hour first.
Rib tips (a.k.a. brisket, a.k.a. coastal cartilages, a.k.a. breaks). Rib tips are
strips that have been cut from the lower ends of the spareribs when making St.
Louis cut ribs. They typically run 8 to 12" long and 1 to 3" wide. Eating rib tips
takes a bit more gnawing than other cuts because they are chewy and the small
tubes of cartilage in them go every which way. In some regions, tips are a
delicacy and preferred over other cuts, and in some regions nobody want them. Many butchers just remove them and
chop them for stir-fry or grind them for sausage. Go figure. When served, they are usually chopped with a cleaver
into chunks about 2" square. Two full strips trimmed from a slab of spares, will fill a normal person. Many people
think rib tips and riblets are the same thing. In fact, many websites will tell you they are. They are not. The picture
here shows a spare rib and the cartilage from the tips attached. When butchered, the tips are cut at this junction.
Shiners. Rib bones showing through the meat on top of the slab after the slab has been butchered. More common on
baby back (loin) ribs than on spareribs. In the photo at right, the baby backs on the top have been cut generously
with extra loin meat left on. The slab below has been cut too close to the bone, leaving two shiners showing on the
right.
Short end ribs and long end ribs. In many rib joints you can order a half slab, and you never know which end
you'll get. In restaurants in Kansas City you can usually specify the end you
want. On a slab of spareribs, the bones on one end are longer than on the other.
The first six ribs from the shoulder back are the long end ribs. The short end
has the last seven or eight bones. The short end is slightly meatier and slightly
more tender. The short end typically costs $1 more there.
Short ribs. Short ribs are sections of beef ribs, not pork, that are not
necessarily short. They are called short because they are cut from the "short
plate" which is roughly the same cut as St. Louis cut in pork, from the middle
of the side down towards the breast, but not including the breast bones and
cartilage, or the ribs connected to the tender and expensive loin meat near the
spine. That leaves a section than can be as long as a foot. They are usually taken from the second rib to the 10th rib,
and contain 2-5 bones. If you have a good relationship with your butcher, you can order short rib sections with 12"
ribs and 18-24" long including as many as 8 bones. The meat is very flavorful but very tough. And it is attached to
the bone by a tough, thick layer of connective tissue. Short ribs are usually braised low and slow in liquid, but they
can be grilled successfully at low temperatures, especially if tenderized with a blade tenderizer like the Jaccard.
Short ribs come in two cuts: English and flanken. English cut, the most common, has a bone section usually 3" to 5"
long, 2-6 bones wide, and is 1-2" thick. They are occasionally available without the bone. Click here for a good
recipe for braised beef short ribs. Flanken cut is less common, but popular in Asian butcher shops. Flanken ribs are
typically about 6" long, 1" wide, and 1 -1.5" thick. They are cut across the grain so there are several connected rib
bones sections, each about 1/2" or less long. Korean bulgogi and kalbi are popular recipes for thinly sliced,
marinated, and grilled short ribs, flanken cut.
Side ribs. See spareribs.
Skin. Another name for the membrane, this "skin" is from the inside of the rib cage. Real skin is from the exterior of
the pig. See membrane.
Skirt meat. See flap.
Slab. A slab is a row or ribs held together by muscle meat, fat, and cartilage. The meat is both between the bones
and on top of them. A slab is usually 10-13 bones, depending on how it is trimmed. A half slab is a slab cut in half.
Doh! A cheater rack is only nine bones.
Spareribs (a.k.a. spares, a.k.a. side ribs). Spareribs are not like spare tires. They are not extras, leftovers, or an
inferior cut. Nor are they so named because the meat is scanty. They contain excellent meat, usually richer and more
flavorful than baby backs. Many chefs prefer spares to baby back ribs.
Spares are cut from the ends of baby backs, further down the side of the hog, they run all the way down to the breast
bone, and that's why they are also called side ribs sometimes. Look at a slab of spareribs
and you will notice that along one edge the ends of bones are showing and you can see
marrow. This is where they were cut from the baby backs. The other end, with no bones
sticking out is from the chest. It is flap of meat, small bones, cartilage, and gristle called
rib tips. The bone side of spareribs usually has a meaty flap that is part of the diaphragm
called the flap meat. It has been removed in the photo.
USDA says a slab must have at least 11 bones and there is usually more bone than meat
in a slab of spares with more meat between the bones and less on top of them than baby
backs. The bones are straighter and flatter than baby backs, and the meat has more fat
between muscle fibers, called marbling. The bones, connective tissue, and the fat make
the meat very flavorful. spareribs are typically $2 to 6 per pound, they generally run 2.5
to 3.5 pounds, half of which is bone and cartilage, and can usually feed two people.
Spares are a little less expensive than baby back ribs because they have more bone and
because demand for baby backs has grown significantly since a certain restaurant chain began promoting them with
a catchy jingle (sing along with me now: "I want my baby back baby back baby back ribs").
So how did spareribs get their name? According to Charles Perry of the Los Angeles Times, "In 17th century
England, spareribs were also called spear-ribs or even ribspare, a clear tipoff that this wasn't a native English word.
It was borrowed from the German rippespeer, which is smoked pork loin."
St. Louis cut ribs (a.k.a. SLC a.k.a. barbecue cut, a.k.a. Kansas City cut). Take a slab of spareribs, lop off the
gristly rib tips, and what remains is a flat rectangular slab called the St. Louis cut. Because
the 10 to 13 rib bones are straight and flat, they are the best cut for recipes that require the
ribs to be browned in a frying pan on the stovetop. Some butchers call them spareribs, but
because the tips are removed, technically they are no longer spares. They are also sometimes
called barbecue cut, or Kansas City cut. If your butcher doesn't know what St. Louis cut
means, get a new butcher or simply ask for spareribs with the tips removed. Then again, you
may want to remove them yourself and cook them too. Typically $3 to $7 per pound, a
standard 2 to 3 pound slab can serve two people or one really hungry big man. When smoke
roasted at about 225°F, they take five to six hours to reach perfection.The picture at right is a
half-slab of SLC at Super Smokers in St. Louis. Don't ask me how SLC got it's name. I've
heard several stories and I don't think anyone knows for sure. Probably invented by some
butcher in St. Louis where it became popular.
Standing rib roasts (a.k.a. crown roast). There are two ways to make this festive meal for a crowd. The traditional
method is to take a rib roast and bend it into a circle with the loin meat in the center and the bones facing out. The
cavity this creates is often filled with a bread stuffing or even pork sausage meat. A more recent variation on the
theme is made with a slab of baby back ribs wrapped around a hunk of loin meat (shown here). When the meat
between the bones is trimmed out it is called Frenching. Depending on how it is trimmed, there's usually enough
meat for at least 10 people.
Tips. See rib tips.
More info
Click here for other glossary terms important to the barbecue cook.
Click here for an enlargement of the pork cuts chart above.
Click here to view a site from the University of Nebraska Lincoln that has
some really helpful pix and a really cool 3D visualization of a hog carcass
and from where the different cuts come. Here is their site for beef.
Click here to see Title 9, Volume 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations. It
contains the official government definitions for all cuts of meat.
Click here to see the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Institutional
Meat Purchasing Specifications (IMPS). This 40 page brochure in pdf format
is the official source.
Click here to see The Revised USDA Nutrient Data Set for Fresh Pork June
2006. This 25 page pdf document includes tables for most major cuts of pork
and their nutrient contents including calories, protein, water, carbs, fiber,
sugars, sodium, cholesterol, etc.
Revised 6/11/2010 http://amazingribs.com/recipes/porknography/rib_cuts.html#St_Louis_cut