Preparing spare ribs for smoking or grilling can be a bit of an art form, and it all starts with the trimming process. Properly trimmed ribs not only look more appealing but also cook more evenly, ensuring a perfect result that fall off the bone.
start by removing the breast bone that hangs below the curve of the ribs. To do that, find where the rib bone ends. You will find a curved piece of meat, the breastbone, attached at the bottom. Sometimes it has a bit of the sternum bone attached.
With the pork ribs facing up, place the blade of your knife beneath the bottom of the rib bones and run it carefully along the curve of the ribs. You may have to do this once or twice to make a clean line at the rib tip section.
REMOVE THE FLAP
The next step is to remove the flap meat, the odd triangular-shaped piece after the last rib. To do this, simply cut between the last rib and the meat with your sharp knife, along the bone, removing the excess meat.
REMOVE THE SKIRT
With the bones still facing up, remove any access meat along the edges of the ribs. This is known as the skirt meat and may or may not be present depending on your butcher.
Take the time now to trim any excess fat hanging off the ribs on either side. Don’t remove every ounce of fat, as it adds flavor and moisture, but if there are large pockets hanging to the outside of the meat, you can trim those now.
REMOVE THE MEMBRANE
Start by sliding the tip of a dull butter knife along the bone, under the membrane, and gently wiggling and pulling up. We like to start at from the second longest bone, almost at the edge of the membrane.
As you pull up gently, the silver skin will loosen a bit.
Using a paper towel for a good grip, grab the membrane and gently pull back. This may come off in one easy pull, but it often takes a few tries to remove the whole membrane.
When done with all of the trimming, your final product will be an even rectangular rack of St. Louis cut ribs.