I live in New Zealand and the St Louis cut ribs aren't exactly a normal thing... I have found one butcher who does them, but they were MASSIVE - like 2.4kg per rack. I ended up trimming a lot of fat off, but not sure if I took too much.
Does anyone have pictures of properly trimmed St Louis cut ribs that I can use for reference - ideally to show the butcher and let them do the hard work?
Some pics from my last attempt below (I overcooked the ribs, unfortunately - they were still juicy and tasty, but the bones were falling out and they reached about 190f.. whoops).
Smoker:
Landmann Smoke Master Series Heavy Duty Barrel Smoker (COS) - With mods including 2 level rack system with pull-out grates
Masterbuilt ThermoTemp XL 40" Vertical Propane Smoker
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The Good One Marshall
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BBQPro (cheap big box store model) Stainless steel 4 burnerswith aftermarket rotisserie.
Brook King Regal S490 Pro
Charcoal Grill:
Weber Smokey Joe Charcoal Grill 14"
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2 x Fireboard 2 with Drive cable and 20 CFM fan and Competition Probe Package
ThermoWorks Mini Instant Read
Lavaworks Thermowand Instant Read
ThermoWorks IR-GUN-S Industrial Infrared Thermometer
ThermoWorks ThermaPen Mk4 x 2
ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE
Govee Bluetooth Thermometer with 6 probes
Miscellaneous:
Anova Sous Vide Immersion Circulator - 1st generation
Anova Sous Vide Immersion Circulator - wifi/bluetooth connected
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Anything to the dark side and malty rather than hoppy. Currently liking Yuengling Porter and Newcastle Brown Ale. In a bar or pub I will often default to Guiness
Favorite Spirit:
Bourbon - Eagle Rare for "every day"; Angel's Envy for special occasions, Basil Hayden's, Larceny
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Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Super Tuscan Sangiovese (Including Chianti Classico Riserva) Brunello di Montalcino
Favorite Meat(s):
Pork - especially the darker meat. I love spare ribs and anything made from shoulder/butt meat
Chicken - Mainly the dark meat and wings
Beef Ribeye steak
Favorite Cuisine to Cook:
Can't list just one: Indian, Chinese, Thai, West Indian/Carribean, Hispanic/Latin American, Ethiopian, Italian, BBQ
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Indian, followed closely by BBQ.
Looks like what you are getting is sparerib along with an outside layer of "side pork" still attached. Here, that is usually trimmed off with the pork belly and made into bacon. It has a natural line of separation between muscles that should be easy for either you or your butcher split the two pieces. From your picture, it looks like there is a cleavage plane about 1/2 of the thickness of what you are starting with. Ribs & bacon together... can't go wrong!
I was going to make the same comment that HorseDoctor did. I actually really liked the look of the before and after photo. If you get him to trim it down keep both sections!
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