I've stuck to Baby Backs since joining this group. Today I'm trimming a full rack of spare ribs down to "St Louis" style, since that's all that was available at my local store.
What should I do with the skirt, tips, and bone that I cut off the rack? Smoke it and save it for beans? Freeze it and save for stock? Any suggestions are welcome!
I season them and smoke with the ribs. I usually use a hotter rub on them. When I smoke ribs I am usually cooking for groups. That side meat picks right apart and is great in tacos/burritos/enchiladas.
Unless I'm short on grill estate, I season them just like the SLCs and cook them right then. I have even been known to cook up the boneless meaty parts unseasoned for my dogs (everybody wins!). Or, all of the above suggestions work as well.
In Chicago, Rib Tips are a big thing. Many different places do them differently. My favorite is a place called Big Tony's. I sort of copy what they do. I smoke them right along side the spareribs. When the spareribs are done, usually the tips are still a little tough..So I chop them into smaller pieces, put them in a pot with some BBQ sauce, a little beer, maybe some onion too. I will braise them at a low simmer for maybe an hour or 2 longer. I remove the tips and if the liquid is thin, reduce until thickened, pour back over the tips...They become so tender they melt right off the cartilage but yet there is still flavorful bark on them...Oh Yeah
Grill/Smoke/Roast = SnS Grills Kettle + SnS Deluxe Insert & Drip n' Griddle
Grill/Smoke/Roast = Hasty-Bake Gourmet Dual Finish with HB rotisserie and Grill Grates
Smoke = Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5"
Pizza = Blackstone Propane Pizza Oven (Stacy's, but she let's me use it sometimes)
Indoor Cooking = LG Studio 30" gas range
Camp Cooking = Coleman 2 burner white gas stove
Thermometer = FireBoard FBX2 with 2 ambient and 6 meat probes
Thermapen Mk IV = Light blue
Thermapen Mk IV = Black
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Auber 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 1 fan)
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Fireboard 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 2 fan)
Knives
Wusthof Classic Ikon set: 9" carving knive, 2X 8" Chef's Knife, 7" Santoku and three utility knives
Kamikoto Kuro set: 7" Santoku, 6.5" Nakiri, 5" Utility
Amazing Ribs Brazilian Steak knife set
Favorite wine = whatever is currently in the wine rack
Favorite beer = Sam Adams Boston Lager or Shiner Bock
Favorite whisky = Lagavulin Distiller's Edition 16 year old single malt
Best Cookbooks - Meathead's "The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling", Chris Lilly's "Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book", Aaron Franklin's "Franklin BBQ"
Cookbooks to check out - Raichlen's "Brisket Chronicles" and anything by Adam Perry Lang.
Current fanboy cookbook - "Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant"
Rib tips for the win .... love me some good rib tips. Just prep, rub, and smoke like you would ribs. Then wrap with a bit of apple juice, give them 25-30 minutes in the wrap. Pull from the wrap, brush with a bit of maple syrup, sizzle them over direct heat for a few minutes. And enjoy!
Thanks all! I had enough grill space for the rib tips on my Weber Smokey Mountain. I did not have enough room for the skirt-flap so I'll have to try that the next time and plan for the two-grate setup in advance. We'll see how this cook turns out ... I am a bit out of practice after a long winter.
Looks like I’m late to the discussion, but there are a couple things I do:
1) roast the trimmings and then make a rich pork broth (w/ onions, celery, parsnips, bay leaves, peppercorns) for soup or gumbo. The meat I use for the soup (white bean with collard greens) and/or dog food. My dog eats well since I feed him a little kibble with boiled meat.
2) roast the seasoned trimmings and then place them on top of seasoned sauerkraut (w/ caraway seeds & diced green apples) and continue roasting.
I usually do one, sometimes two racks at a time, so I don't usually have a lot of bits 'n pieces to deal with. We eat the sections of rib tips at the dinner table, same as ribs with bones.
A few racks have had a loose boneless flap of what I think are the muscles of the diaphragm (anatomy is not my strong suit). I trim this off and cook it for a couple of hours along with the racks. At that point, the meat is well flavored but still chewy. Sliced in thin strips across the grain with a little of @Huskee's shawsh on the side ... mmmm. Nice treat for the cook and anyone else who's standing by looking hungry.
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