the.com/spare ribs
The bones you gnaw on while pretending table manners never existed.
means Pork ribs cut from the belly side of the animal, with most of the meat trimmed away, left bone-heavy and perfect for slow cooking or grilling.
from The cut's name is widely thought to come from German Rippenspeer, where 'speer' referred to the spit or skewer the ribs were roasted on, not to the ribs being 'extra' or leftover. English borrowed and reshaped the word, and folk logic did the rest, quietly swapping 'speer' for the familiar word 'spare' — as if these ribs were the ones with meat to spare, when really they're usually the leanest, meat-sparse cut of all.
- name origin
- spare means extra meat trimmed from belly, not leftover
- rib count
- usually eleven to thirteen bones per rack
- fat content
- fattier than baby back, hence the flavor
- st louis cut
- trimmed spare ribs squared off for even cooking