Large Big Green Egg, Weber Performer Deluxe, Weber Smokey Joe Silver, Fireboard Drive, 3 DigiQs, lots of Thermapens, and too much other stuff to mention.
I’m doing a couple racks of spares today. I always trim the flap (the big boneless piece at the end) and the skirt (the hanging piece on the bottom). I season them, and cook them alongside the racks, but they are never satisfying. I’ve added them to beans, with limited success; my experience is that brisket trim works better in beans.
Idk, does anyone do something with those pieces that they like? Should I grill them instead?
If not cooking outdoors, I am cooking on the stovetop with my 14" carbon steel wok, 12" CI skillet, or in the oven with my two Lodge CI pizza pans, or two dutch ovens. I've also got a nifty Lodge carbon steel grill pan that rocks for veggies outdoors.
I smoke them, and sometimes eat them, sometimes they end up tossed or in beans. They cook faster than the ribs themselves, so pulling and dropping into the beans an hour or two before the ribs are done is a good use I think.
I feel though the last time I trimmed a set of ribs down to STL cut, I just ended up tossing all the scrap meat, for the very reason you mention. It's just not as good. Too lean, and tends to dry out too much.
I usually cook them with the ribs and since they are usually done before th ribs I snack on them waiting for the ribs to finish. I have on occasion thrown them in the crockpot. They come out moist and tender, but there is no smoke flavor.
Last edited by LA Pork Butt; May 21, 2026, 12:36 PM.
I’m with you Tom, I’ve done the same thing. Eating the trimmings as a “Chefs Treat” was just OK at best. I’ve put them in beans also and was underwhelmed. I don’t do a lot of ribs but when I do, I just toss the trimmings. Brisket trimmings is MUCH better in beans!
I am finding it harder and harder to find spares. I can find St. Louis cut all the time but spares not so much anymore.
But if I do and I buy some racks for a party, then I will trim off the last small bone on the end and take all the trimmings and make soup. If I just have a couple of racks, then I'll just boil the trimmings for dog food.
It's a little tough to say - you know, if they're a bigger piece, I'll smoke them and snack on them, but they can be hard to get the membrane off without shredding (the skirt part, as you call it) and since they cook so fast, the membrane can still be a bit chewy or unappetizing.
Sometimes my partner gets most of these pieces....
Lately she's been getting fat-shamed though... the vet, the groomer, etc. So I'm trying to cut back on the snacks a bit.
I used to give pork scraps to the dogs, but then put a dog into the vet hospital over the weekend after letting the dogs have the gristle and fat scraps after pulling a butt. Pancreatitis I think it was - apparently dogs cannot digest a protein in pork fat, and it can screw their system up. A 20 pound dog getting too much of a good thing did her in to the tune of $1200 or so.
I normally smoke them on the ribs and leave them attached when cutting and serving the ribs. Try this, when eating a full rib eat down each side if the bone until you reach the end of the bone. Then turn the rib 1/4 of a turn and eat the lower section that way. The meat comes off the cartilage and such easily and is really good.
I usually smoke the trimmings with the racks and pull them when done. They do dry out so what I like to do is grab a big, heavy cleaver and chop them into little tiny pieces. Then I toss them in a pot of beans to cook for at least an hour. They are chewy no more and add flavor and texture to the beans. Gotta be careful chopping though, you don't want them flying off the board across the kitchen lol.
When I have full spares to trim, I usually make pork broth till the meat falls off the bones. Use the clear broth to make soup and add the meat back in. For us it's not really an Asian style soup as it has potato, carrot, rutabaga, leeks, whatever you like.
Full spares are on sale up here and I'll probably do that next week one day and then smoke the ribs the next day.
Large Big Green Egg, Weber Performer Deluxe, Weber Smokey Joe Silver, Fireboard Drive, 3 DigiQs, lots of Thermapens, and too much other stuff to mention.
I decided to try something different. I put about an hour of smoke on them, then grilled to a char, and now they’re braising in a vinegary Virginia style sauce. I’ll leave them about an hour and see what happens.
The skirt (underneath the ribs) is tender, but not really all that good tasting a piece of pork.
The flap (the meaty part at the end with the little piece of bone) is actually pretty decent this way. I’d recommend tossing the skirt, and grilling then braising the flap.
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