Baby back throw down, Duroc vs Cheshire!

[Mosca]

Nobody asked for this. But here it is anyhow.

I got the baby back deal from Cheshire the last time they ran it. I have a strong preference for St Louis/full spares, but bb’s are no slouch. When I went to store them in the freezer, I found that I had a rack of Compart Duroc bb’s as well! And to a Pitmaster Club Member, that only means one thing: THROW DOWN SHOWDOWN!



That big ridge of fat down the side of the Durocs is a warning to the Cheshires…





Notice something interesting? We got a left handed rack and a right handed rack!

I seasoned them with Killer Hog BBQ Rub, and onto the BGE. I was going to use the ring thing I just got, but bb’s are small, I can fit 3 racks on the grate if I tried:




The cook was easy and uneventful. Started them at 11:50AM, they were done around 5:15PM. We went to the supermarket and the gym while the ribs smoked and baked. The CyberQ app showed them holding 250° +/- 5° all afternoon.

I finished them with Black Swan Savory Original, thanks Sid P !


Cheshire:




Duroc:




And the finished product, like in, REALLY finished!




Verdict:

Im going to preface this by saying that I’ve been beating the Cheshire drum pretty hard for a year or so….

The verdict is unanimous in favor of the Duroc. This isn’t scientific; I had 6 racks of Cheshire to choose from, and maybe I should have picked one that matched the ridge of fat?

This doesn’t mean we threw out the Cheshire ribs; they’re all gone, both racks. And, I myself would really like to compare spares rather than baby backs. But, there it is. The Cheshires were fantastic, the Durocs were over the top.

[RonB]

Thanks for doing this.

[STEbbq]

I love these comparisons. Now I need to get some Durocs from Wild Fork..or maybe Costco?

[tstalafuse]

I don't think you will find Duroc at either. Wild Fork does sell Berkshire, which are really good, and another that they don't list the name. The two places that do are Compart and Creekstone.

[STEbbq]

tstalafuse makes sense. I was just hoping but hadn’t checked either site.

[Troutman]

I know those Duocs are good. Nice to hear they scored well with you.

[Huskee]

I only wish you were doing a commodity test, Smithfield or something, in with these, but cool test!

[Mosca]

I thought I had a rack of commodity baby backs, but they were St Louis spares. But yeah, I wanted that, too.

[mnavarre]

I'm hoping to do a throwdown soon also. My desire to cook Iberico spare ribs vs. my wife's desire to not let me spend money on anything fun.

[Huskee]

Wives do that, then spend $120 on their hair which looks the exact same when they get home. The. Exact. Same.

[Sid P]

Interesting test, Tom. Are the prices similar?

[Mosca]

I wait for the Cheshire to go on sale. 6 racks for $99. The Duroc are 4 racks for… let me check… $122.99! So, obviously my test is just taste, not value!

[Huskee]

Mosca CreekstoneFarms often has their 4-pck of Duroc St Louis on sale for $99. $150+ orders get free shipping.

[Mosca]

Nice, Huskee ! I because these are Compart, that’s where I looked to price them. They are really good.

That being said, every time I do baby backs, I wish I’d done full spares. I don’t think I’ll get bb’s again, they just don’t have that deep pork taste that I love.

[DaveD]

Excellent work! I haven't seen Cheshire but have had plenty of Duroc, which we love. Thanks for the experiment!

[Clawbear57]

Thanks Mosca for the comparison.

[Andrrr]

Let the sacrifices you make for the benefit of the Pit never be forgotten. Love it!

[Donw]

mnavarre ‘s mention of Jamón ibérico ribs had me drooling thinking about them. It is an outstanding piece of meat in any form.

[Huskee]

Even in leg form.

[bbqLuv]

White tablecloth at a BBQ/picnic??
Living dangerously.

[Ghawtho]

Do you guys pull the membrane off your baby back ribs? I always remove the membrane. My wife is better about putting it away. Yikes!

[Mosca]

I do. On this pair, it was still on the Cheshire, but had already been pulled on the Duroc.

[Huskee]

I pull it off on both types of pork ribs with most cookers (except the PBC), but like JLR I am not fanatical about it. If it comes off in shreds, whcih is often the case, sometimes I say "good enough". I leave it on when cooking on the PBC though, for a little extra strength to prevent falling into the coals. With beef ribs I leave it on.

[bbqLuv]

I do, I do pull that slimy tough membrane off BB, St Louis, and spare ribs.

[Ghawtho]

I never cook beef ribs cause don’t like them. I haven’t cooked beef ribs in over 30 years, they’re too fatty and greasy for me. My home insurance adjuster was at the house this morning and he wanted to look inside my Yoder Wichita stick burner. I raised the lid and he took
took a whiff saying that smells good, your burning it clean. He has the Yoder pellet grill but he mentioned the stick burner will out perform a pellet grill, his wording. Sounds like the kiln dried Texas Post oak is working after the adjuster mentioning the Yoder had a good clean smell. The adjuster mentioned there is another online barbecue club that he uses. He told me but my memory isn’t very good.
He said he uses them and not Pit Master. Do you guys know who he is talking about. I might have to call the adjuster again.

[Mosca]

Just so you know, these are pork ribs.

[Ghawtho]

Mosca
I knew those were baby backs and those look darn good. I have three packages of baby backs that’s been in the freezer for seven months but been cutting way back on eating meat. Most of my brisket was given away. I only kept six sandwich bags all the rest was given away. My LDL cholesterol reached 205 and my doctor told me he was getting ready to saw my chest open.
I started eating more grill salmon, fruit, salad and apples now my LDL is below 95

[Dadof3Illinois]

Mosca You and I have had this discussion before, you liking the Cheshire and I the Duroc. The Cheshire, for me, seemed to have more meat but the Duroc had better flavor and texture. But I don't have any back ribs to compare.....only spares. Maybe do one of each from each breed???

[Mosca]

I have lots of full spares from Cheshire, but no Duroc. I’m not sure if I’ll get Duroc again, because of the price. My local Wegman’s does get Berkshire, though, and I do have Hatfield St Louis cuts.

[JoeSousa]

The only "fancy" ribs I have done have been the kurobuta ribs from SRF and they were definitely better than grocery store ribs. I have always wanted to try the Duroc ribs so thanks for confirming that they are at least better than others.