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BBQ Ribs Pork: The magic of meat and bone

BBQ Ribs pork. Our friend the porker is raised to new heights.Mr. Piggy has 2 sets of ribs, or to be more accurate, one ribcage that, depending on how you cut him up, and where on the animal you are cutting, yields a different type rib.

The most common of the bbq ribs pork is the humble sparerib- so called as these were the “spare ribs” left over when removing the pork belly- what you might call bacon (incidentally one of God’s great culinary gifts and if you would like to make your own- I’ll walk you through it.) Click here to go the bacon page..

So, the spareribs are lower down on the animal towards the belly and are typically tougher and fattier than the baby backs. Don’t let this deter you. Simply by smoking the ribs low and slow, for any bbq ribs pork included, will naturally tenderize and defat them. More on that later.

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Most bbq professionals swear by and use either “4 and down” or 3 1/2 and down spareribs which means that these ribs weigh approximately 4 lbs or less per rack.

Why is this important? Because, typically the smaller and younger the hog, the more tender the rib.

I highly recommend that you look for “fresh” -bbq ribs pork- rather than frozen, and also look for ribs that have the inner membrane “peeled.” This will be discussed further on the spareribs page.

A rack of ribs have 12-13 bones per rack and have a section at the top of the rack that makes sort of a rainbow shape. You can see this in the picture below: the top portion of this rack is the brisket portion- cartilage "ribettes."

This part is typically a bit fatty- but does have meat,-that when removed, turns regular spareribs into "St. Louis cut" ribs.Essentially the rack is "squared off" so it forms a more perfect rectangle- and has more premium meat. St Louis cut ribs are harder to find in the store- and will command a higher price per pound.

Those little fatty brisket pieces are delicious--and I say, unless you are Jack Sprat, buy the whole sparerib rack. (also, you can easily cut this cartilage off yourself as it is rather easy to cut through.)

Either way, the bbq rib recipe for these two will be essentially the same and have the same cooking time, whether you are smoking your ribs or grilling your ribs.

If, my rib grasshopper, you want a leaner more tender rib, fear not, you can go to the baby back ribs.Baby back ribs, also 12-13 bones, are cut higher on the hog in the loin section.

As this part of the animal does less work, (a common theme whether you’re talking beef, pigs or game) it is more tender. But, alas, in my opinion these little babies have far less meat. Yes, they are tender, and fun to eat and less fatty, but also they contain a lot more bone.

Like back ribs in beef, this part of the animal fetches a much higher price as it is part of the loin- think rib eye on beef- so the incentive for producers is to cut as close to the bone as possible. See some baby back ribs below:

Now also, our friend, Mr. Pig, produces a “country style rib.” This is not a rib at all, but rather cut from the blade end of the loin, utilizing the bone and basically making a meaty pork chop.

If you like your ribs tender, the country style rib requires a relatively long smoking time, about 6 hours at 200 degrees.Is it good? Is the Pope Catholic? I mean, it is pork after all.

Examples are shown in their uncooked state below. See how they kind of look like a cross between a rib and a chop?

That is a brief description of the bbq ribs pork. Return to the recipes ribs page recipes ribs page to find your own barbeque ribs pork recipe!

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