St. Louis-Style Spare Ribs

St. Louis-style spare ribs are the right cut. Full spare ribs have too much variability in thickness - the bony rib tips cook differently than the meaty center. St. Louis-style trims off the rib tips and gives you a uniform rack that cooks evenly.

Membrane removal is mandatory. Pull off the silver membrane on the bone side before bagging - slip a butter knife under it, grip with a paper towel, and pull. Without removal, the membrane stays leathery no matter how long you cook the ribs.

Cook at 165°F for 12 h for tender-but-not-mush. Lower temps don't fully break down the collagen; higher temps make the ribs fall off the bone too easily, which sounds good but actually means the meat has lost structure. 165°F is the competition sweet spot.

Sauce in the last 10 min under a broiler, not earlier. BBQ sauce burns easily because of the sugar content, and you want a glossy, sticky glaze without bitter charred patches. Brush, broil 3 min, brush again, broil 3 more, done.

Anti-tip: don't boil ribs first. This used to be standard advice - boil the ribs to tenderize, then grill. It's wrong, and it always was. Boiling washes out all the pork flavor into the water. Sous vide does the tenderizing without sacrificing flavor.

St. Louis cut is trimmed spare ribs - rectangular and uniform

Larger and meatier than baby backs

Remove membrane for better seasoning penetration