Cold Smokin' 3-2-1 Spare Ribs

NautiRogue

OK, I know this thread is going to be off topic for "Cold Smoking" searches.  I'm not smoking cold.  I'm smoking IN the cold!

When I woke up this morning, it was -3 degrees!  When I put the spare ribs on the pit at Noon, it was a balmy 8 degrees.

No pics today of the meat.  It's too damned cold to stand out there and take pics!  Sooo, I'm inside monitoring the cook with my Cyber-Q Wi-Fi.  It works great to bring the Cyber-Q page up on the TV with PiP!

I do have a question, though.  I prepped the ribs by removing the membrane, trimmed the fat, cut them St. Louis style, used yellow mustard as a glue, and rubbed with my custom rub.  But, this is the first time that I've done St. Louis style ribs.  Why does everyone do St. Louis style?  It's a big waste of the meat.  I threw the meat that I cut off the ribs on the grid with the ribs because I couldn't bring myself to throw it away!

 

NautiRogue

Cyber-Q on the 55" with CNN going in the background!  I don't have to go outside until 3:00 to foil the ribs.

JohnInCarolina

Even with all the trimming, St. Louis ribs will have more meat on them than baby backs.  Mostly, however, I think it comes down to personal preference.  

lousubcap

@NautiRogue-eggcellent call to cook the trimmings and flap meat.  Those will very likely be finished before the ribs themselves.  I use the toothpick test to see when the pieces are done.  Insert into the thick sections of each piece and get no resistance and they are done.  Make great snacking while the rest of the cook is taking place, or use in beans or chili. You can strip meat from all the cartilage and use in nachos etc.  Lots of options.  Enjoy-

gdenby

The St. Louis trim makes cooking everything to the same degree much easier. And the presentation is much nicer. Each bone section is much like the last, and when the slab is cut up, everyone gets nearly the same thing.

The untrimmed slab can be cooked all together, but its more fuss to prevent the flap meat from burning, or the meat over the chine bone from turning to charcoal.

Once trimmed, the flap and tail meat are great for many uses, but I usually toss them on the side of the grill as a cook's treat. The cartilaginous bone section, called "tips" around here, are every bit as good as the St. Louis cut, just messier to eat, and usually finish faster. I freeze the area around the chine bone, and when I get enough, I oven bake them, and use them for pork broth.