Spare ribs to St. Louis style

[TheBigLebowski]

Need a little help or clarification if you don't mind.

Have always cooked Baby back cut ribs. While I have cooked whole spare ribs before, my wife doesn't care for all the cartilage (rib tips). After joining here, started reading how folks cut down a whole spare rib into St. Louis style and would cook the tips separate. In my prep:

1. I removed the flap
2. Removed the membrane
3. Found the longest rib bone in the rack and using this point as a reference cut the rack so that I had a nice rectangular slab of ribs.
4. Cleaned up the ends.

The cook came out pretty well.....could have probably left the ribs in another 15 minutes as some of the thicker sections did not pull clean from the bone. I prefer the taste of the spares over the baby backs.....the extra fat when rendered is better to me.

My wife liked these better.....however with the exception of two ribs, each rib bone had an inch or so of cartilage at the end of the bone. Two were perfect, the cut I made severed the cartilage right at the bone. I don't know how I could avoid this prepping the meat the way it was described.

Is this normal?

Thanks.

[Huskee]

Yeah I get that too, kind of aT shaped piece at the end of some of the main bones. Annoying but I'm not picky enough to trim them better, lol. I think the rack would be quite narrow if trimmed that much, and I'm no spare trimming pro so I eat around it.

[TheBigLebowski]

I'm trying to keep wifey happy. The spares are about $1.50 a pound less and, I like the taste better.

[Huskee]

TheBigLebowski yeah baby backs need to be fileted down to uniform thickness (remove the excess loin meat) or they get dry and boring. When thinned they are much closer to spare taste/texture

[boftx]

Our local store (Smith's) has started to sell St. Louis style ribs in cryovac packaging. All I have to do is pull the membrane, dry brine for about 16 - 24 hrs, then rub and put them in the smoker. They also sell them pre-seasoned, but I haven't bothered to try those yet.

These turn out pretty good, I much prefer getting them already trimmed to that since I'm a lazy cuss at heart. The extra at the ends winds up being treats for the dogs (along with the bones, and seeing how fast they can devour those almost makes me feel sorry for anyone who tries to break into my home).

[Huskee]

Same here boftx. I noticed my local store has "spare ribs" (so labeled) for $2.49/lb which is a GREAT price (3.49-3.99 is average). They were actually StL trimmed ribs. Just need to trim the flap and pull the membrane. I too have never been willing to try a grocery store's seasoning blend.

On a similar note, a buddy of mine found a restaurant up north that will take orders for uncooked steaks, the ones they get to prepare for customers, supposedly Prime grade but I'm suspicious. Anyway, ribeyes, any thickness you want for 8.50. They come cryovacced individually ready to freeze. I told him to get me a dozen at 1.5". He said he put the order in for me. "Seasoned" he said. "What's that mean, aged?" I asked. "No", he replied "Montreal steak seasoning already on them, it's awesome."
"NO!" I said. "I want mine nekkid!" Thankfully it wasn't too late for him to change the request to NO seasoning. I can only imagine someone else's opinion of how my steak should be seasoned....

[boftx]

Not to be crude, but getting the store seasoning sounds a bit like looking for a wife in a cathouse.