Bull First Cook went really well.....

[Biggs300]

I decided to try a couple of racks of spare ribs for my first cook and it went pretty well. I used the 3-2-1 method and pulled them out at about 45 minutes of the last hour as the bones had pulled back an inch or so and the temp was just over 165 degrees. I used Meat Church Honey Hog topped with a bit of Kosmos SPG. I was unable to find St. Louis cuts so I attempted to do the trimming myself. Other than leaving too much of the knuckle on one rack, it went pretty well. But, I'm buying St. Louis cut spare ribs the next time. It's probably a good thing that I chose banking years ago instead of being a butcher. I have a new appreciation for their art.

 

[FastEddie]

Looks Good!
My 3-2-1 is now about a 3-1.5-when they look good.
But that's the beauty of cooking. Recipes are guidelines.
Make 'em how you like 'em

 

[fullhouse32]

They look great.

 

[Pops]

Ok, I am new, what is the 321 method? Also, what did you use to season your grill?

 

[Biggs300]

I'm still a rookie but here you go. Prepare your ribs with you favorite rub(s) and cook for 3 hours at around 225 degrees (I only spritzed one time); remove the ribs and wrap them in aluminum foil (I put butter, honey and brown sugar in the foil) and cook for 2 hours wrapped. Remove the foil and cook for 1 hour. About 30 minutes before removing I sparingly spread BBQ sauce over the ribs.

I did not season my grill. I'm letting my first few cooks do it for me.

 

[BethV]

I always buy St. Louis style ribs. Or at least, that is my preferred cut. The last time I cooked ribs, all Restaurant Depot had was Spare Ribs and Baby Backs.

Trimming the Spare Ribs takes a bit of practice and time as well. At RD they come 4 racks to a package. I swore I would never buy Spare Ribs again. There is SO MUCH TRIMMING! I like trimming but these are big racks.

But out of that time consuming task I wound up with over 7 pounds of clean trimmings (no cartilage or bones). Just meat and fat. I used the trimmings to make 7 pounds of Italian Sausage. It turned out great! Different than the shoulder/butt. Lighter in color. The sausage had a lower percentage of fat to meat but I got no complaints from my Sicilian husband other than we both agreed that they were leaner than normal but not dry.

Nothing went to waste and it was actually a nice surprise. And I have a lot of sausage in the freezer.

Another thought.. Normally when I trim ribs, I take the trimmings, bones and cartilage and throw it on the grill along with the racks. It makes for nice snacks as the ribs are cooking.

@Biggs300 your ribs look great!

 

[Biggs300]

Beth, thanks. This was my first time at trimming spare ribs and it wasn't quite as easy as I thought. I'm definitely buying St. Louis cuts the next time. We did freeze most of the trimmings and will probably use them in soups and chili. These ribs came 2 to a pack and were not as lean as they looked but overall, I was pleased. I'm going to enjoy cooking and grilling on the Bull.

 

[Greg Jones]

Around here, full spares cost about the same per package as a trimmed out St. Louis rack. I find the trim to go quickly, 4 cuts total. First remove the flap on the back, find the largest (4th bone in on the wide side), cut there to make the sides parallel, then take a cut off each end to square them up. Only thing left is the membrane and any silver skin, which you would have to trim off a St. Louis style anyway.

Then you are left will all the trimmings which are basically free. Use them as @BethV mentioned for sausage, the chef’s treat while smoking the ribs, or freeze small sections for including in beans. Here are two I trimmed out and smoked on the RT-340 last weekend.

 

[charlesrshell]

Around here, full spares cost about the same per package as a trimmed out St. Louis rack. I find the trim to go quickly, 4 cuts total. First remove the flap on the back, find the largest (4th bone in on the wide side), cut there to make the sides parallel, then take a cut off each end to square them up. Only thing left is the membrane and any silver skin, which you would have to trim off a St. Louis style anyway.

Then you are left will all the trimmings which are basically free. Use them as @BethV mentioned for sausage, the chef’s treat while smoking the ribs, or freeze small sections for including in beans. Here are two I trimmed out and smoked on the RT-340 last weekend.

Awesome Greg

 

[fullhouse32]

@Greg Jones what seasoning did you use on your ribs?

 

[Greg Jones]

@Greg Jones what seasoning did you use on your ribs?

A while back now I created my own rub recipe that I use on both pork and chicken. Lately I’ve been experimenting with layering rubs, which is fairly common with the BBQ competitors days. I’ll put my rub down as the base layer, and play with different top layers. These ribs got my rub followed by Meat Church’s Honey Hog. The BBQ sauce is Blues Hog original. I’m not big on sauces myself, the wife is, and I used to to the ribs 50/50 to please us both. The Blues Hog really got my attention and we both like it.