Spare Ribs substitute

Substitutes for Spare Ribs with ratios

1. 2St. Louis style ribs

   Close match

   Use the same amount no adjustment

   Not a substitute so much as the same product tidied up.

   What changes

   A St. Louis rack is a spare rib rack with the cartilage-heavy rib tips and the brisket flap cut away, leaving a neat rectangle that cooks evenly and slices cleanly. Same meat, same flavor, roughly 30 to 45 minutes faster because there is less mass and no thick tapered end.

   Best for

   competition style barbecue, even cooking, presentation and clean slices, any recipe that calls for spare ribs

   A trimmed rack weighs about 2.5 to 3 pounds against 3.5 to 4 for a full untrimmed one, so buy a little more by count. If you trim a full rack yourself, keep the tips and cook them alongside, they are the best part for snacking.

2. 3Country style ribs

   Different texture

   Use the same amount by weight, or buy about a third less since there is little or no bone

   Strips of pork shoulder, not ribs at all.

   What changes

   Heavily marbled, so they go every bit as tender as spare ribs and take a rub and sauce identically, but they are solid chunks of meat rather than bones with meat between them. You get all the barbecue flavor and none of the gnawing.

   Best for

   oven barbecue and slow cooker, braising, budget cooking, sandwiches and pulled pork style dishes

   Cook to 195 to 205 F, about 2.5 to 3 hours covered at 300 F. Cheaper per pound than ribs and with almost no bone waste, which makes them the value pick for feeding people.

3. 4Beef short ribs

   Taste and texture differ

   Use the same amount by weight

   The luxurious option.

   What changes

   Thick blocks of marbled beef on a short bone that turn deeply rich and slightly gelatinous with long cooking. Instead of a rack you serve individual meaty pieces. The flavor is beefy and mineral rather than sweet and porky, so sugary barbecue sauce can taste out of place while soy, wine or chile braises are excellent.

   Best for

   braising, smoking, Korean galbi and Asian braises, red wine braises, special occasion meals

   Allow 3 to 4 hours braised at 325 F or 6 to 8 hours smoked. They render a lot of fat, so skim the liquid or chill it and lift the solid cap off before serving. They cost substantially more per pound than pork ribs.

4. 5Rib tips

   Different texture

   Use the same amount by weight

   The strip cut off a spare rib rack to make it St.

   What changes

   Louis style, sold cheaply as its own item. Same meat, same fat, same flavor, riddled with soft cartilage instead of proper bone. Excellent chopped and tossed in sauce, but chewier and messier to eat and impossible to slice into presentable ribs.

   Best for

   burnt ends and appetizers, sauced and tossed dishes, budget barbecue, adding to beans and greens

   They cook faster than a full rack, about 2 to 2.5 hours at 275 F. Finish them hot and sauced so the outsides caramelize.

5. 6Pork belly slices, thick cut

   Taste and texture differ

   Use the same amount by weight

   Spare ribs come from the belly, so this is the same neighbourhood with the bones removed.

   What changes

   Considerably fattier than even a spare rib and much softer, so slow cooked it becomes rich to the point of being heavy, and there is no bone to give the meat structure. Very good in Asian braises, less convincing as American barbecue.

   Best for

   Asian braises and glazes, roasting for crisp edges, small rich portions

   Serve smaller portions than you would ribs, this is much richer meat. Render it properly, an hour or more at 300 F, before any high heat finish, or the fat stays flabby.