DivotMaker
New member
No problem, Brian! Good vid - watched part 2 also. I like the way he cuts the spares. Never seen that technique, and just might have to try it! Thanks for the share!
Why cut spare ribs down to St. Louis?
- Thread starter jbauch357
- Start date
When he removed the breast bone he also removed the meat that was behind it, I figured it was a nice big thick hunk of meat so I left it on. Same time I'm cooking for eating and not presenting, so maybe it won't matter in the long run?
The rack I got was quite a bit too big to fit on a single rack of my #2 so I cut it in half before rubbing and dusting. Ribs are now wrapped and resting in the fridge until morning.
As an experiment I also have a webcam hooked up so I can monitor the auber temp and smoke production while I'm at work.
The rack I got was quite a bit too big to fit on a single rack of my #2 so I cut it in half before rubbing and dusting. Ribs are now wrapped and resting in the fridge until morning.
As an experiment I also have a webcam hooked up so I can monitor the auber temp and smoke production while I'm at work.
Josh, in reality you don't have to do anything. You can leave the silver skin on, like my friend, a championship pit master who puts on bbq sauce after they are cooked then puts them on a very hot grill that breaks the silver skin, and also you don't have to trim anything. It will still cook great and still be fantastic.
DivotMaker
New member
Barrel99 said:
Your friend may be a championship pit master, but I couldn't disagree more about the membrane. I've had ribs both ways, and the ribs that have the silver skin removed are far superior, both in tenderness and flavor. Removing it is not hard, and I believe it to be a very important step in producing the best ribs. If you leave the membrane on, you are essentially coating half the surface of your ribs in a impervious skin that will not let any flavoring into that side of the ribs! Yes, it's the "bone side," but half of the meat is on that side, too.
Championship BBQ procedures are not always the best procedures! They are going for "one bite boldness" to impress judges. They are not necessarily making BBQ that you would want to make a whole meal out of. Take the 1 minute of time it takes to remove the membrane - your dinner guests will thank you!
I couldn't agree more. My point is you don't have to do anything to a spare. You can take it right out of the package and it will still taste great. What you learn on this forum steps it up. Most people I know when they serve ribs don't even know what silver skin is. They are your typical backyard bbqers that love ribs on the grill.
As far as a pit master is concerned, championship or not, when you are serving hundreds of racks a day whether at a competition, a carnival, or an outside festival, who has time for removing the silver skin. The ribs can and do taste terrific... albeit not as good as mine.
As far as a pit master is concerned, championship or not, when you are serving hundreds of racks a day whether at a competition, a carnival, or an outside festival, who has time for removing the silver skin. The ribs can and do taste terrific... albeit not as good as mine.
DivotMaker
New member
Barrel99 said:
Exactly! That was ME! Most of the BBQ joints I grew up going to never removed it, and I didn't even know why I hated the "tough" part of the ribs, until I got into smoking them! The first time I had "silver skin-removed" ribs, I was HOOKED! I didn't know ribs could taste that good! Also, once I learned the trick about removing it from the middle-out, I can de-skin 3 racks in about 1-2 minutes, so why not? Now, if I were cooking a hundred racks a day? Probably not...
Hey Tony, that was me too. Yes, we do agree. Removing the silver skin is easy and mandatory once you try ribs without it. You never go back when you cook them yourself.
Because of the high volume of ribs required by the pros and the thousands of customers being served, it's just not feasible to remove it. So, the good pitmasters find ways to take the toughness out of the silver skin and still make the ribs taste great. My friend found a way to actually crisp it and crack it. His ribs are fantastic. Some of the best I have ever eaten...but not as good as mine...hee..hee..hee!
Because of the high volume of ribs required by the pros and the thousands of customers being served, it's just not feasible to remove it. So, the good pitmasters find ways to take the toughness out of the silver skin and still make the ribs taste great. My friend found a way to actually crisp it and crack it. His ribs are fantastic. Some of the best I have ever eaten...but not as good as mine...hee..hee..hee!
DivotMaker
New member
That's the part I don't quite understand, Arnie - most competition pros really don't cook very many at a time, so why not remove it? The guys I know that cook competition do.
A complete success!
Being able to monitor things from work was great, not all that important for ribs since you don't have the meat probe in use, but I'll for sure do that again on the next big hunk of meat I start up before leaving for work and need to keep an eye on IT.
We ended up hitting a couple bars on the way home so they were on for 5.5hrs total, but it took over an hour to hit 235 and settle - so they weren't over cooked or dry and the meat was fall off the bone tender.
The bark was great, smoke level about perfect, and I really liked the contrast of the more done rib tips vs the moist thicker rib portions. I was expecting to freeze half the rack, but we ended up eating the whole thing that night.
Being able to monitor things from work was great, not all that important for ribs since you don't have the meat probe in use, but I'll for sure do that again on the next big hunk of meat I start up before leaving for work and need to keep an eye on IT.
We ended up hitting a couple bars on the way home so they were on for 5.5hrs total, but it took over an hour to hit 235 and settle - so they weren't over cooked or dry and the meat was fall off the bone tender.
The bark was great, smoke level about perfect, and I really liked the contrast of the more done rib tips vs the moist thicker rib portions. I was expecting to freeze half the rack, but we ended up eating the whole thing that night.
Tony, when it comes to actually presenting something to the judges for a competition, it's a whole different ballgame. Many racks are set aside. The silver skins are removed before cooking, the seasoning might be adjusted, the plumpest ribs are taken from the center cut and the best looking ribs are examined carefully and selected from the perfect rack. After all it's a competition and they want it perfect. Appearance is as important as taste at that point. Its their reputation at stake = $$$...BIG $$$
DivotMaker
New member
The ribs look GREAT, Josh! Nice job! Here's a tip though - be careful about the whole "hit a couple of bars on the way home" thing when there's Q at stake! You got lucky with the 5 1/2 hours, but that can turn into 8 1/2 hours real easy! LoL! 
And Arnie - exactly! They're not cooking for 100 people; they're cooking for a few that count!
And Arnie - exactly! They're not cooking for 100 people; they're cooking for a few that count!
