Ribs: Sam's vs Costco - Do you have a favorite?

[Mike981]

We have a membership to both, so wondering if you pick one over the other.

[DrJimmy2112]

It’s been many years since I had a membership at Sam’s, but I recently did some St. Louis ribs purchased at Costco. They actually were the same brand as in my local grocery. They were not very well butchered and had a lot of rib tips and loose ends, but they were quite good.

[jlazar]

I have noticed that with the butchering in the past year. Not as well done as before.

[DrJimmy2112]

jlazar I just opened up some of their boneless pork shoulder now. Holy smokes! He was hacked into all kinds of barely connected pieces.

[jlazar]

DrJimmy2112 Yes, I usually tie mine with twine before cooking.

[Oak Smoke]

I buy full spares at Sam’s regularly. They’re just fine. As I do no matter where I’m at I dig through the pile to get the ones I want.

[Mike981]

Thanks folks.

[FireMan]

Shoot, I get Smithfield's at Aldi and nobody complains. Full rack by the way. Do my own trimmin.

[captainlee]

Butcher only now. Never liked the Costco 3 pack, each slab got worse as you went down the pack.

[Steve R.]

The trick is to flip them over first, so they get better as you go down. 😉

[realdocBBQ]

They do inevitably hide the cruddiest one in the center.

[FireMan]

Oh drat the cruddy rack.

[shify]

Its been a while since I've been to Sam's but my recollection is that they old sold full spares, not St. Louis Cut. Costco on the other hand only has St. Louis Cut which I prefer. I almost always get from Costco and have been happy with the product but often does require a little more trimming after you open.

[jfmorris]

I don't do baby backs much anymore, since most are properly labeled "loin back" ribs these days, and have to much loin meat that dries out. The times I do them (on request) I get the 3 packs at Sam's.

My preference right now is St. Louis cut, and while they sell those at Costco, I gave that membership up after they stopped refilling propane tanks. It was always too crowded and out of my way anyway. Drive 8 miles, fight a crowd, or drive 1.5 miles to Sam's and not fight a crowd (Scan and Go baby!).

If I do the full spares from Sam's, I trim then down to a set of rib tips and the St. Louis cut myself. Takes a couple of minutes per rack to do that. Otherwise, I have lately been paying more ($3.99 per pound for ribs at Fresh Market, as I feel they are a step up from the ribs I see at Sam's and other grocery stores, including Costco. Fresh Market sells a brand called "Chairman's Reserve" that they like to call "Prime Pork" (Not a think - just their thing). It is better looking and while not heritage or as good as something from Porter Road, it is a bit redder than the pale stuff from the other stores. As infrequently as I do ribs these days, I'l pay $1 more to get better ribs at Fresh Market. They sell them at $3.99 a pound from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

[fracmeister]

Used to like Costco, I have almost ENTIRELY switched to Sams. Still like the COSTCO olive oil

[dpearce]

I've never bought ribs from Costco, and yes, we have both Sam's (it's like 3 miles away) and Costco. I'll try to pick up some spares from Costco, and see what be up wit' dat.

I wish (WISH!!!) we had a pork distributor near us. I have a great chicken distributor nearby, good quality, Amish raised, perfect for those times when I need something exceptional and fresh, but pork? There's plenty of hog farms around, have no idea where they take their oinks for processing. Not here, apparently. I do enter a half hog raffle every year (benefits my hometown fire fighters), but I have yet to win.

[mrteddyprincess]

I want size and weight. I shop for whole spare ribs over six pounds. I don't care where I but them. I shop at Sam's and Costco and anywhere else ribs are sold. There for a while I couldn't find "big" ribs. That seems to have gone away and I can buy good spare ribs.

Brian