How To Trim St Louis Style Spare Ribs

When I smoke spare ribs, I like to trim them St Louis style.  (Actually it's more of a Kansas City style since I square the ends off too.)

I do this for a couple of reasons.

1. Even cooking - Spare ribs are irregularly shaped and unless trimmed, the tapered end will be more cooked than the wide end.
2. Even portions - Each rib will be the same size.
3. Faster cooking times - An untrimmed spare rib takes me about 6 hours to get smoked right.  A trimmed spare takes about 5.  

Here is how I trim mine.



Don't worry, the trimmed portions do NOT go to waste.  I have a great recipe for rip tips coming up this weekend.

If you need some ideas for firing up your grill this Labor Day weekend, check out Kingsford's Grilling.com.