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**GolfGeezer** · July 9, 2020, 07:51 AM

Take a read of this article on the AR free site:

Last Meal Ribs, The #1 Best BBQ Ribs Recipe (Baby Back Or St. Louis Spare Ribs) | Meathead's AmazingRibs.com

https://amazingribs.com/best-barbecue-ribs-recipe

Use our best BBQ ribs recipe and comprehensive tutorial to master smoked ribs - whether St. Louis style, spare, or baby back - and become a backyard all star.

I think you will find a lot of guidance on how to smoke a great rack (or two) of ribs(spare, Saint Louis or Baby backs).

Have fun!

**IowaGirl** · July 9, 2020, 08:04 AM

I trim to a St Louis cut for ease of handling in the cooker and ease of eating. The rib tips cook a little faster and they require slurping and picking to eat

so they usually get taken off early and enjoyed as a cook's treat. I don't think you'd have to trim, however, if you really didn't want to.

I'd have to say if your ribs are too chewy, you might want to tweak your method. In addition to GolfGeezer's suggestion, see also Troutman's thread on cooking beef and pork ribs --

Ribs - Step-By-Step Primer - Pitmaster Club

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/the-pit-mastery-program/porknography-ribs-pulled-pork-ham-etc/635126-ribs-step-by-step-primer

Of all the smoked and barbecue meats, nothing beats the deliciousness of ribs. No more is that emphasized than in the naming of this site, Amazing Ribs !!! We eat with all of our senses; obviously we smell and look at our food long before we eat it, of course we taste and have the tactile feel within our mouths, but for ribs I

For an alternate method of cooking ribs, see --

Blasphemy Ribs - Pitmaster Club

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/the-pit-mastery-program/porknography-ribs-pulled-pork-ham-etc/398047-blasphemy-ribs

Blasphemy Ribs Here is a new way to cook ribs that I am calling Blasphemy Ribs. Normally we smoke a whole rack of ribs, low and slow, for 5-6 hours. Then we cut

**smokin fool** · July 9, 2020, 08:05 AM

I never trimmed ribs either until lately
It did help to get the overall fineness I was looking for.
I prepared the off cuts like the racks and put them on too, tasty little samplers thru out the cook to let you know what was coming

**NPJ77** · July 9, 2020, 08:13 AM

I recently bought a pellet smoker and have done both baby back and St Louis style. Both were awesome. Followed a 3-2-1 approach the first time and it was awesome. Also followed the recipes on here just a straight cook with the odd spritz, that worked well too.

Think the pellet grill helps, even if it is lazy :-)

**Donw** · July 9, 2020, 09:16 AM

Congratulations on the new pellet smoker. You are going to enjoy the added smoke flavor from cooking on it. If you don’t already have one, consider getting a thermometer with remote probes so you can actually know the temperature in the smoker where your meat is cooking. Your next cook will be much better and soon you will be a whiz at ribs. As far as trimming, I do and cook the trimmings separately since their timing will be different from the ribs.

**klflowers** · July 9, 2020, 10:07 AM

Yeah, trim the spares up and cook the tips separately. I have gone to spares exclusively lately. Put em on and let em go.

**BFlynn** · July 9, 2020, 10:29 AM

Congrats on the new smoker. We require pics of said smoker, as well of pics of ribs that come off it!

I normally buy baby back or st louis cut. Both turn out well. You don't HAVE to trim spare ribs, but I think it helps.

I also like to trim the skirt off the back of the ribs, stack a few of them on a skewer and smoke for a treat, just for me.

**Dewesq55** · July 9, 2020, 10:53 AM

I have cooked full spares many times, although I mainly trim to St. Louis cut because they fit better in my cooker, especially if doing multiple racks at once. Full spares have always come out good, as long as you cook them until they're done. For me that is about 195° internal or they pass the bend test. Full spares usually take between 5 and 6 hours, depending on cooker temp and other factors, so make sure you start checking for doneness before that. If you are planning to wrap them for part of the cook, that will significantly change the cook time, IMO.

**LA Pork Butt** · July 9, 2020, 12:49 PM

I either buy them as St. Louis Ribs or cut them into St. Louis ribs. Here are a couple of questions about your cook to help decide whether the problem was the ribs or the cook time and temp. What temperature did you cook them at and for how long? Did you wrap them or not?

**jfmorris** · July 9, 2020, 01:03 PM

I've either bought full spares or St. Louis, and just cook 'em the way I bought 'em.

If the ribs were chewy.... there's a good chance they were actually under-done. The ribs, like the boston butt (shoulder) need to reach anywhere from 195 to 205 internal meat temperature to render all the connective tissue and become fully tender. Any time I've ever had tough and chewy ribs, its because I pulled them early, because folks were hungry and demanding food before it was ready.

I've used a digital thermometer to monitor my house oven - an electric oven - and found that when set to 225F, it swings anywhere from 190 to 250. It may average 225, but I think it is on the low side of that. Even though your household oven might have a digital readout, does not mean it is necessarily accurate. You likely were cooking at a lower temperature than you expected, and needed more time than expected. Depending on what pellet smoker you bought, you may find it to be more accurate than your household oven. BUT, you won't know unless you have a thermometer to check it with.

I highly recommend you get two types of thermometer for outdoor and indoor cooking:

1. Digital Instant Read

You use this to get quick readings of done-ness on thinner cuts of meat such as steaks, chicken, or about anything you are cooking, inside or outside. I would recommend the Thermoworks Thermopop if on a budget, or the Thermoworks Thermapen Mark IV if not.

2. Digital multi-probe leave-in monitor

This lets you monitor the actual grate level temperature of your cooker, or oven, or grill, and also monitor one or more pieces of meat, such as a roast, boston butt, brisket, turkey, whatever. I have the Thermoworks Smoke. Another good one is the Maverick XR-50, or the Fireboard.

Good luck with the new cooker!

Jim

**Jwater412** · July 10, 2020, 12:41 AM

Thanks for all the replies! I’m definitely going to officially join this club.

This is my new and first smoker outside of a smoke box with wood chips on a gas grill. Pit Boss 700...they pretty much paid me to buy this grill, lol, it was so cheap less than $200 on clearance!!

I plan to do my first cook this weekend, I will post pics!

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