Advice for cooking spares for the first time

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Christopher1

Senior Cook
Joined
Sep 17, 2007
Messages
157
Location
Toronto
Here's a good article on spare rib preparation, trimming them St Louis style is up to you. The most important thing is to get the membrane off.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/spareribprep.html

I don't rub mine until I am getting ready to throw them on the cooker, if you rub too far in advance you can sometimes end up with a hammy taste (depending on the salt content of your rub).

Cook them between 225°F and 250°F for between four and six hours checking them periodically after 4 hours to see if the meat is sliding up the bones. Once the meat has slid up the bones you can try a bend test to see if the meat is ready to come off, otherwise pull two bones in the middle of the rack and see if the meat tears fairly easily, if it does, they're ready.

Sauce them at the very end so the sauce doesn't burn.

What type of pork roast is it? Butt, picnic, loin, fresh ham? Depending on the cut, you'll need to cook it a bit differently (at different temperatures, and to different internal finished temperatures).
 
Don't be impatient when it comes to spare ribs, depending on cook temps (225-240) and how many times you peek, they can take up to 6 or 6 1/2 hours to get done. The tear test is a good test, but if you pick up the rack from the end with a pair of tongs and they bend almost 90º in the middle and look like they are going to rip apart, they are done. PATIENCE!!
 
Yeah...it's done when it's done. Keep the temp steady. 5-6 hours. I use a toothpick and when they are nice and soft, I raise the heat a bit and sauce.

Bag the trimmings? The fire's on so why not cook em now, have a little snack with the flap, and freeze the boney part so it's all ready...ready for when you want to use them in some beans...or whatever? :LOL:

Post a pic of said roast so we can see what it is.
 
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