Comparing St. Louis Ribs and Baby Backs

[EvanRobinson]

I get much of the meat I smoke at Costco. We are fortunate to have a Costco near us that is fixed out for restaurant supply, and they had Prime meat long before I saw it at any other Costco, as well as case lots and a butcher that will find you what you want. They sell both St. Louis Ribs (STL) and Baby Back Ribs (BB), and I wanted to figure out which I preferred. With the new MAK 2-star waiting outside in the cool overcast damp (it's about 50 degrees and drizzly here in Seattle), I set out on my quest to decide.

I bought the two packages of ribs (3 racks each) yesterday. This morning about 10:30 am I pulled them out, stripped the membrane from the STL and salted them down with about 9 grams of mediterranian sea salt each, about 2/3 on the meat side and 1/3 on the bone side. I marked the STL racks with toothpicks. The BBs came already stripped (is that common?) and I salted them as well. I place all six racks stacked in a chafing dish, wrapped the whole mess in Saran wrap, and put them back into the fridge for a couple of hours.

I fired up the MAK at 12n, starting at SMOKE and making sure the wifi was on. Shortly thereafter I activated my basic low and slow program which reset the target to 225Ëš until Probe #1 hits 203ËšF. I know the probes won't give me accurate readings for doneness, I'm just using them to get an idea of where the temp is. At 12:27 it was at target temperature and I put 10g of Yardbird rub on each of two STL racks and one BB rack and put them on the MAK.

Now I wait :-)

[tbob4]

I'm looking forward to your review.

[EdF]

So am I. Nice experiment!

[Spinaker]

Nice! After I did this...... I wont tell until the test has been completed. Per EdF's advice. Good call man!

[EdF]

I'm trying to not bias the results!

[Spinaker]

^^^^^^ EdF

[Skip]

EvanRobinson are those ribs about done? I'm getting hungry + I could give you an unbiased review!

[ecowper]

EvanRobinson cool experiment, looking forward to your outcome. I'm in Maple Valley and so I normally shop at the Costco in Covington, just off of Highway 18. Which one do you shop at? Sounds like SouthCenter?

Oh yeah, yes, the 3 rack cryovac of BBRs at Costco comes with the silverskin already stripped off. One of the things I like about that particular rib choice.

[EvanRobinson]

Costco Tukwila, near SouthCenter, yes. They have an awesome meat department. Our usual Costco is Aurora, and they have recently begun stocking a little Prime beef there, including brisket (at least just before St. Paddy's Day!).

[ecowper]

Interesting, the Costco in Covington carries prime brisket, pork belly, SLC and BB ribs, full prime beef tenderloins, and much more on a regular basis.

[Mr. Bones]

Cool experiment!!!
Lookin' forward to th' results!

[RonB]

Cool - looking forward to your comments.

[Marauderer]

Well, you have done everything right so far. What is "Your" criteria for them being done?

[mgaretz]

You're back! Missed you.

[EvanRobinson]

Well, you have done everything right so far. What is "Your" criteria for them being done?

I'm working on the break test, described in Meathead's book. Grab them by the end (in the middle) with tongs and give them a little bounce. If the surface "breaks" in the middle, they are done.

Still waiting on the Baby Backs. The St. Louis were done about an hour ago, and taste test was thumbs up, but we still have to compare!

[MBMorgan]

Still waiting on the Baby Backs. The St. Louis were done about an hour ago, and taste test was thumbs up, but we still have to compare!

Be careful when waiting on the BB's to pass the bend test. If there is enough loin meat on them, it will interfere with the test and by the time they pass (if ever), they'll be way overdone. Personally, I probe around with my instant read thermometer and look for temps higher than 190 F everywhere to confirm BB doneness.

[EvanRobinson]

I see that could happen. I got about 3 breaks on the STL, and only 1 one the BB. With practice I can probably get better probe placement, but knowing it takes about 5 1/2 hours at 225 is a great starting point. I can just bring the digital thermometer out at 5 hours and start sticking!

[Potkettleblack]

Yeah, the costco BBs can have almost a whole loin chop on the back where I get em.

[Lost in China]

Yeah, I got totally burned on the "bend test" before. It's BS. I way overcooked the ribs and they didn't break. It's an overly specific situational test that doesn't specify its preconditions.

[ecowper]

I was about to write up what MBMorgan just said. Back ribs pretty much never break the way that SLC's do.

[EvanRobinson]

So at 4:25, after almost exactly four hours, both STL racks passed the "break" test at an IT of 201ËšF. The BB rack was at 189ËšF and didn't "break", so I left it on, and added the two other prepared BB racks with rub.

Samples from the first STL rack:


Not quite falling off the bone in the center of the rack, easily pulled off at the end. Tasty. Perhaps slightly firm. Wife and I are both thumbs up!

At 6:05, after just over five and a half hours, the first BB rack was at 196 and passed the break test. Samples:



Much closer to "falling off the bone". Soft. Delicious. I think these are better. My wife doesn't like the softer meat. So it looks like I'll still be cooking both kinds of ribs: STL for her, a bit firm; and BB for me, falling off the bone, or just short of it.

Rub alone does it for both of us, although I will probably experiment with sauce later. In the meantime, I'm doing my last STL rack without rub, just to compare it with the rubbed version.

Success! I know what I like, I know what my wife likes (happy wife, happy life!), and I've got most of three racks of ribs ready now and another three coming off in, oh, four hours or so :-)

Have I mentioned how much I like the MAK 2-Star?

[Raider Kevin bbq]

Good information 😃

[PaulstheRibList]

Super cool! Keep that fun Experimenting going.

Another experiment to try is applying additional rub in lieu of sauce. I put generous portions of MD and don't sauce. Try that in your list of tests.