Ribs, Ribs and More Ribs

Grab your pen and pencils, get a piece of paper and be prepared to take notes. This is what you have been waiting for: A lesson on how I cook ribs, the easy way.


First you need to know what you are looking for and looking at in the store. To the right is a picture that explains where the different cuts of ribs come from on a pig. There is three different cuts of ribs on a pig; spare rib, St. Louis style rib and baby back ribs.

The spare rib is the largest of the three and pound for pound probably the cheapest too. I think spare ribs are harder to cook than the St. Louis style or the baby back ribs. They are also harder to cut apart after they are cooked and I don't think they are a flavorful as baby back ribs. I don't buy these ribs.

Next is the St. Louis style rib; meaty, good size, lots of pork flavor and the choice of a lot of bbq rib cookers. The only problem is they can be hard to find. I think they are more of a regional type of rib only found it certain parts of the country. I have seen them in the store but not very often. Let's rule these out too.

My favorite is the baby back rib. Baby back ribs are the perfect size for cooking in the oven or on the smoker. Easy to cook, easy to cut apart after cooking and lots of flavor. Just look at the picture above, the baby back ribs come from the same area as pork chops. They do cost a little more than a spare rib but if you watch for them on sale you can buy them at a pretty reasonable price. I use baby back ribs almost exclusively.


Once you have chosen your rib type it is time to think about how to prepare them. But before you prepare them there is something you need to do. Some people don't do this but the real barbequer's will. Flip the ribs over so the meat side is down and you are looking at the bone side. If you look close you will see a thin white membrane across the whole back of the rib. What I try to do is work a small knife under the membrane just enough to stick a finger between the membrane and the meat. I then work my finger to the other side of the rib and then gently pull the membrane in one direction until it comes off the end. I then pull in the other direction and finish taking the rest of the membrane off. Don't worry if it doesn't come off in one piece. Sometimes it will and sometimes you will have to cuss at it and try several times to get it all off.

Now for the hardest part of cooking ribs, what to put on them. You can marinade them, put a rub on them or just salt and pepper. If you salt and pepper them you can wait until you are ready to cook them. If you are going to use a marinade or rub it is best to apply it the day before. Lately I have been using salt and pepper because I have been working on my bbq sauce and I don't want the rub or marinade to get in the way of the flavor of the bbq sauce.

For marinades you can use store bought ones or make one yourself. I always make my own and I have used apple juice, orange juice, wine, beer, root beer, and bourbon. My favorite is orange juice, balsamic vinegar (equal amounts), and brown sugar. The wifes favorite is bourbon and apple juice. The real secret to marinades is to use what you like. (The root beer one is a interesting one too.)

The rules for rubs are the same as the rules for marinades; either buy one from the store or make one yourself and only use ingredients you like. For instance most rubs you either buy or find a recipe for will have chili in them. Since I am not a big fan of the chili flavor I don't use it. Most of my rubs have very little chili in them or none at all. Here is the rub I have been using lately but feel free to change it however you want.

1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
1/4 cup of paprika
1 tbsp of garlic powder
1 tbsp of onion powder
1 tsp of dry mustard
Salt and pepper
1/4 tsp of chipotle red pepper (or cheyenne pepper) (be careful here because this ingredient can ruin your day if you use to much)

I prefer the chipotle pepper to cheyenne pepper because it has a smoky taste to it. I have recently substituted the regular paprika for sweet hungarian paprika, this really sweetened up the rub and I think improved it. Dad really liked it too.

Whether you decide to use a marinade or rub or nothing at all store the ribs in the refrigerator until the next day.

That is part one in this two part series on the easy way to cook ribs. I decided to do this in a two part series because quite frankly I am tired of typing tonight. Come back tomorrow and I will finish the series because if you got this far like I said earlier the hard part is done.