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Where to get comp. ribs?

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    Where to get comp. ribs?

    Is it worth getting the expensive stuff? Compart or Snake River? I've read where lots have competed with Sam's Club/Restaurant Depot. In my experience, Sam's and RD ribs need alot of trimming and sometimes need to be squared off with heavy machinery. Any thoughts on that would be helpful.

    #2
    I guess I should give a little more background.

    Loin ribs for MBN comps is what I'm generally talking about, but curious what KCBS teams do too.

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      #3
      I know of several MBN teams (Boars Night Out, Sweet Swine O'Mine) who use Compart Pork exclusively. KCBS teams rarely do loin backs, mostly spares. You'll likely have to call Compart for loin backs, they've got spares for sale on their web site, but not loin backs. I've no experience with Snake River Farms pork, except for the Berkshire ribs I ordered years ago. I've been buying Tyson all Natural spares at Walmart. Thick slab, nicely marbled. Swift has an all natural one out too that are quite nice, 1890 or something like that.

      I don't think I'm much help here! Ribs are hard for me...

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        #4
        The last two times we had ribs, I got them from Sam's Club. They are double packs, and need to be trimmed. I have never had those hi-dollar specialty ribs, but we all loved the ribs. I'm would love to see a blind taste test on these vs Compart/Snake River. I wonder if it is just a matter of folks buying the "best" (meaning the cleanest cuts/most consistent) to try and get any edge in competition. I can see I need to order one of those fancy racks to try the taste test. :-)

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          #5
          I have been using the Good Nature brand from Costco and really like them. They are just Cargill ribs in a nicer package but are their natural line, hormone/antibiotic free, and come in two packs. I have had good luck and really like the 2 pack vs. the 3 pack that most Costco ribs come in because I can check for straight bones on both racks and the front of the top rack. Seems like I have to cull less ribs this way. These are the spares but they have loin ribs as well.

          I asked a few people about the Creekstone ribs a couple of weeks ago on another site and the results came back mixed. Seems like Creekstone is focusing more on their rib program now and the people are liking the shipments they have gotten this year while people that ordered them in years past were mixed. They are Duroc like Compart but shipping, at least to California, was much more reasonable than Compart. The cheapest shipping from Compart that I could find was 2x the cost of the meat. Some say the cull rate on the Creekstone is a less than commodity ribs making the prices very similar. I think the price of a shipped Creekstone rack was going to be about $18, I pay about $14 for the Good Nature before culling out the ribs that are not good enough for competition.

          The Snake River ribs are not good for competition, this is not just my opinion but also what SRF says on their web site. I ordered some and, while good to eat, they were far to small to consider for a comp. I measured them at the time and the bones were 3" with the total rib being 3.75" long, very small. I think the Berkshire just has short ribs.

          I hope this helps. If you do try the high dollar ribs let us know how they turn out and what price per rack you are able to get. I am always looking to upgrade when I can do it at a reasonable price.

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            #6
            I've done side by side testing of Compart Duroc and Smithfield butts at a contest. I've turned in the Smithfield. Duroc is a "dark" meat pork. It's quite different than what is "normal" now. It's good, but I've never turned it in for judging.

            I'm going to blaspheme now. Those small Berkshire ribs are absolutely delicious if you boil them in highly seasoned beer (your rib rub and a decent brew) and finish on the grill. They don't become pork jerky that way.

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              #7
              What do you think of Hormel's tender ribs?

              I find them to be super salty, but I've done a sweet soak (not brine) and gotten much of the salt out.

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