I'm gonna possibly smoke a few racks of ribs for a pool team Christmas party
here coming up next week. Curious what you all think about the difference
between loin ribs and baby backs?

I'm trying to keep cost down if at all possible... probably going to have to
do around 8-12 racks, minimum.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

43fan wrote:

I'm gonna possibly smoke a few racks of ribs for a pool team Christmas party
here coming up next week. Curious what you all think about the difference
between loin ribs and baby backs?

I'm trying to keep cost down if at all possible... probably going to have to
do around 8-12 racks, minimum.

Thoughts?

Thanks!


They're essentially the same thing.

Loin ribs are/were also called back ribs. At one point, back ribs
that weighed one pound or less per slab were referred to as "baby"
back ribs. That distinction in no longer made however, and now
all back/loin ribs can be referred to commercially as baby backs,
at least in my area. The size distinction has disappeared.

--
Reg

On 6-Dec-2006, Reg wrote:

43fan wrote:

I'm gonna possibly smoke a few racks of ribs for a pool team Christmas
party
here coming up next week. Curious what you all think about the
difference
between loin ribs and baby backs?

I'm trying to keep cost down if at all possible... probably going to
have to
do around 8-12 racks, minimum.

Thoughts?

Thanks!


They're essentially the same thing.

Loin ribs are/were also called back ribs. At one point, back ribs
that weighed one pound or less per slab were referred to as "baby"
back ribs. That distinction in no longer made however, and now
all back/loin ribs can be referred to commercially as baby backs,
at least in my area. The size distinction has disappeared.

--
Reg

Don't waste your money on Baby Backs. They're always way more
expensive then spareribs. I just this last weekend cooked up five
racks of spares for a block party. The turnout was dismal, but the
food layout was great. At the end, the BBQ was put up for grabs.
The ribs disappeared except for the tips. Only one of the folks
around here knows about pulled pork. He tried valiantly to make
a dent, but hey, there was ten pounds of pulld pork. Oh yeh; the
tips. They are a secret weapon in other dishes. Collards, Black
Eye Peas and pulled pork. One such dish.

--
Brick(Youth is wasted on young people)

wrote in message
.. .

On 6-Dec-2006, Reg wrote:

43fan wrote:

I'm gonna possibly smoke a few racks of ribs for a pool team Christmas
party
here coming up next week. Curious what you all think about the
difference
between loin ribs and baby backs?

I'm trying to keep cost down if at all possible... probably going to
have to
do around 8-12 racks, minimum.

Thoughts?

Thanks!


They're essentially the same thing.

Loin ribs are/were also called back ribs. At one point, back ribs
that weighed one pound or less per slab were referred to as "baby"
back ribs. That distinction in no longer made however, and now
all back/loin ribs can be referred to commercially as baby backs,
at least in my area. The size distinction has disappeared.

--
Reg

Don't waste your money on Baby Backs. They're always way more
expensive then spareribs. I just this last weekend cooked up five
racks of spares for a block party. The turnout was dismal, but the
food layout was great. At the end, the BBQ was put up for grabs.
The ribs disappeared except for the tips. Only one of the folks
around here knows about pulled pork. He tried valiantly to make
a dent, but hey, there was ten pounds of pulld pork. Oh yeh; the
tips. They are a secret weapon in other dishes. Collards, Black
Eye Peas and pulled pork. One such dish.

--
Brick(Youth is wasted on young people)

Thanks! Should I do any form of trimming, etc prior to smoking? I have a
contact that can get me wholesale pricing on pretty much anything(at this
point, expecially seafood, but meats as well), so if I can get racks of
spareribs instead of paying for baby backs, I think the owner of the bar
will go for paying for all of it. I just want to make sure I get something
that everyone will like.

The last time I did baby backs, I took a half rack to a friend of mine who
told me he loves the "bbq spare ribs" that a local restaurant does. Um...
they basically have them in a slow cooker with tons of bbq sauce. Their
baby backs are already cooked, they warm them, then put a thick sauce over,
and people rave and rave about them. I suspect most haven't had "real" bbq
before. Anyway, he called the evening after tasting both my baby backs and
some pulled pork I'd done. To paraphrase... "those are the best damn ribs
I've ever tasted, you need to open a restaurant!". *lol* To which I replied
of course... "nah... that's WAY too much work for me... " Said he's
tried "dry" ribs from a lot of different places, and hasn't yet run across
one that he liked as much as mine. I told him the secret's in my extra
secret special rub. *g*

Of course I want the same response when I do the ribs for the party...
so....

Any/all tips are REALLY appreciated. I've learned a lot from the great
people here, some on my own of course, but pretty much all of it started
with a tip, or something that I'd read here.

Thanks again! Everyone!

wrote:


Don't waste your money on Baby Backs. They're always way more
expensive then spareribs. I just this last weekend cooked up five
racks of spares for a block party. The turnout was dismal, but the
food layout was great. At the end, the BBQ was put up for grabs.
The ribs disappeared except for the tips. Only one of the folks
around here knows about pulled pork. He tried valiantly to make
a dent, but hey, there was ten pounds of pulld pork. Oh yeh; the
tips. They are a secret weapon in other dishes. Collards, Black
Eye Peas and pulled pork. One such dish.


Agree 100%. More bang for the buck with spares.

--
Reg

What do YOU do with the bottom end ( tips) ? Smoke them first ,then
trim..or trim first & smoke the tip section ? I like to gnaw on the 'tips'
,myself.

On 6-Dec-2006, "43fan" wrote:

wrote in message
.. .

On 6-Dec-2006, Reg wrote:

43fan wrote:

I'm gonna possibly smoke a few racks of ribs for a pool team
Christmas
party
here coming up next week. Curious what you all think about the
difference
between loin ribs and baby backs?

I'm trying to keep cost down if at all possible... probably going to
have to
do around 8-12 racks, minimum.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

snip


Thanks! Should I do any form of trimming, etc prior to smoking? I have a

contact that can get me wholesale pricing on pretty much anything(at this
point, expecially seafood, but meats as well), so if I can get racks of
spareribs instead of paying for baby backs, I think the owner of the bar
will go for paying for all of it. I just want to make sure I get
something
that everyone will like.
snip some more


Any/all tips are REALLY appreciated. I've learned a lot from the great
people here, some on my own of course, but pretty much all of it started
with a tip, or something that I'd read here.

Thanks again! Everyone!

Unless you buy spares that have already been trimmed, i.e. St Louis spares,
you will need to do some trimming. The upside is that the trimming does not
translate into waste, at least not at my house. Spares have a flap of loose
meat on the bone side and a tough membrane that most find objectionable.
I've always trimmed off the flap and used it for something else. For years,
I
battled the membrane with little success because it is so slippery. Finally,
I listened to what folks here were trying to tell me and simply used a
folded
paper towel to get a grip on it. Voila! It comes right off. Finally, some
folks
trim whole spares in to St Louis style by trimming off the tips leaving
behind
the whole unjointed ribs. When I serve a crowd, I trim the spares after
cooking.
At that time, I separate the individual ribs and cut the tips off. Most of
your
guests are likely to take the neatly trimmed ribs first. So be it. If you
have
something left over, you have the makings of a variety of new dishes.

--
Brick(Youth is wasted on young people)

On 7-Dec-2006, "H" wrote:

What do YOU do with the bottom end ( tips) ? Smoke them first ,then
trim..or trim first & smoke the tip section ? I like to gnaw on the
'tips'
,myself.

I smoke them first and then trim. I also like to gnaw on the tips.

--
Brick(Youth is wasted on young people)