St Louis Style Ribs

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Gomer1

Senior Cook
Joined
Jul 6, 2007
Messages
187
Location
Seattle, WA
Hey guys, I wanna do some St Louis Style ribs this weekend. It will be my first time doing ribs on the smoker, not sure why I picked St Louis Style, but why not. Looking for some tips on cooking time, etc. My pork butts have all come out so good thanks to everyone's advice I can't wait to do some ribs. Unfortunately I don't have any ready-made rubs handy atm so if you can suggest any recipes perhaps too?

ok, so I am asking a lot but also what are the big differences (flavor wise) between baby back and st louis style?

thanks again
 
Babybacks and Spares are the ribs of the pig..flavor might be a little different,

I usually do mine for 3-4 hrs unfoiled, then Foil for a hour or so adding in a bit of apple Juice or beer or even my fav Soda pop.. Unfoil, sauce and let that cook in for 30 minutes or so. Watch your Smoke. too much will ruin some otherwise GREAT Ribs. Butts are pretty forgiving.. Ribs can get too much smoke IMO.


Hope this helps, and your not TOOOOO Gawd Awefully confused!
 
Gomer said:
Hey guys, I wanna do some St Louis Style ribs this weekend. It will be my first time doing ribs on the smoker, not sure why I picked St Louis Style, but why not. Looking for some tips on cooking time, etc. My pork butts have all come out so good thanks to everyone's advice I can't wait to do some ribs. Unfortunately I don't have any ready-made rubs handy atm so if you can suggest any recipes perhaps too?

ok, so I am asking a lot but also what are the big differences (flavor wise) between baby back and st louis style?

thanks again

Loin Back Ribs (aka: Baby backs) are the first rib cut closest to the loin and spares come from lower down on the pig. Loin backs are fairly lean compared to spare ribs and are not nearly as meaty or flavorful as a spare rib in my opinion. St. Louis style ribs are spare ribs, that have the breast bone removed. This just makes for more even cooking and a nice uniform presentation.

I like to cook loin backs for 3 hours in the smoke, 30 minutes in foil (no juice for me I think it ruins the texture of the meat), then crank the heat up a bit and finish with or without sauce for another 30-45 minutes until the ribs firm back up from being foiled. You don't have to foil, if you don't, just plan on cooking for 4.5-5 hours.

Spares I cook basically the same way except I cook in the smoke for 4 hours, foil for 30-45 minutes and finish until firm.
 
I'm with larry, I only cook spares and trim the skirt meat to make a more even cook and presentation. More meaty
 
So you just can tell they are done by when they are firm? and do you sauce for the entire last 30-45 min?

Thanks for all the great info guys really appreciate it.
 
wdroller said:
Larry, are you cooking spares and loin backs at 225*?

I moved down to 30 min. in foil pretty quickly after I got my smoker. Now, I don't bother to foil spares. I still foil baby backs for a short time, however.

I figure that if you foil the meat, whatever kind it happens to be, you are in fact steaming it. Or, if someone has a "dirty" fire they could consider foiling as protecting the meat from too much smoke.

Approximately 230-245*. I go by a dome temp of 245-260* range on the WSM's and Primo's, so that puts the grate temps about 10-15 lower than the dome.
 
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