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reverting to spares on MD - any pointers?

RRP
RRP Posts: 25,880
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
In the past 11+ years I have never reverted to spare ribs after learning to egg baby backs and thus made them my standard choice for ribs. Well I decided it was time to take a step back in time as I used to enjoy spares in my old cheap metal smoker days so I bought a nice rack that weighed in at 5.3 pounds. I believe I have read here that spares take about an hour longer than baby backs, but any other hints would be appreciated.
Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.

Comments

  • FlaPoolman
    FlaPoolman Posts: 11,676
    time is about right. the skirt will be done sooner so you can trim it off before the cook or when it's done. I prefer and mostly cook spares but this weekend I was asked to do Baby back :huh: I think you will find the spares more forgiving.
  • thirdeye
    thirdeye Posts: 7,428
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    Well, maybe 2 or 3 hours more depending if you trim the slab to a St. Louis rack. But I wouldn't be suprised if you didn't go back to BB's.

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    Happy Trails
    ~thirdeye~

    Barbecue is not rocket surgery
  • FlaPoolman
    FlaPoolman Posts: 11,676
    But you don't get that mid cook snack with BB's :laugh:

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    and those that know me know I'm about the quanity :whistle:

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  • thirdeye
    thirdeye Posts: 7,428
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    Hey Bro, I'm with you..... the trim is good enough snackin' for me.
    Happy Trails
    ~thirdeye~

    Barbecue is not rocket surgery
  • FlaPoolman
    FlaPoolman Posts: 11,676
    Did that on the other slab

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    That wood was really good. I never thought I could tell a difference but it's smoother (for lack of a better term) than the cherry I get from chigger creek and I had that ranked pretty high. I'll be using the rest of it Monday ;) Thanks.
  • deepsouth
    deepsouth Posts: 1,796
    i recently switched from baby backs to spares.
  • Clay Q
    Clay Q Posts: 4,486
    I cut them in half or quartered, easier to move around on the grill.
    More grease but more flavor, be sure to get natural spares without solutions added. Mighty fine BBQ with spares. These ribs take smoking better than babybacks so you can add more wood if you like.
    Have fun!
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    Fall apart spares. :woohoo: Braise an extra 30 min.
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  • Hoss
    Hoss Posts: 14,600
    BB's are for people who can't cook REAL ribs! ;) Master the spare and you are there! :)
  • Grumps
    Grumps Posts: 186
    On July 4th 3 years ago the BB ribs at Winn-Dixie were $5.99 per pound, so I bought spareribs and haven't bought babybacks since. The spares are cheaper, have more meat, and taste better to me.

    I cooked babybacks for 5 hours at 250, now I cook spares 5 hours at 275.