Think of American style restaurants as we know them here in the UK and one of the most popular dishes is most definitely pork ribs. But do you know your babyback from your spare? And although your typical TGI type restaurant covers their ribs in sticky gooey sauces, are you potentially missing out on that glorious meaty flavour hiding behind all that sugar?
St louis Style ribs or Spare ribs as us brits know them are a taken from the Sternum of the pig and have the costal cartilage and flap attached.
To prepare your spare ribs, remove the membrane on the bottom, cover in American mustard to help break down the meat and so the dry rub has something to cling onto. Give a good coat of JACK'S MEAT DUST (or your favourite rub, or really true Texan style is simply to use salt and pepper) and that’s pretty much it...
We are amidst a butchery revolution here in the UK with butchers starting to embrace the American style BBQ cuts by leaving the belly fat on as the smoking method is starting to become increasingly popular here in this little Island of Blighty. Sherwood Foods seem to be bucking this trend, and take my word for it, their meaty ribs sure don’t disappoint.
There are many different schools of thought when It comes to cooking ribs, but I am a proponent of the tried and trusted "3-2-1" method which has delivered me perfect ribs every time. In a nutshell;
3 hours of smoking at 135c
2 hours wrapped in foil with a little liquid in the foil to keep them from drying out
1 hour unwrapped at a higher temp with a good glaze of bbq sauce if you wish OR if you're going Texas style as we have, heat up some BBQ sauce and serve it up on the side!
