What is the difference between St Louis ribs, Memphis ribs, and Kansas City ribs?
I know that St Louis ribs are a subset of side ribs.
What cut of ribs are Memphis ribs and Kansas City ribs from? Side or back?
Best Answer
There may be some local namings, but normally a St. Louis trim rib is a spare rib with the flap removed (tougher meat) and trimmed to a more uniform size to get a more even cook, especially over a long slow cook.
KC and Memphis ribs, along with Carolina and other regions, normally would not refer to a trim, rather they would tend to refer to cooking and spicing styles. KC, Memphis, Carolina, Texas, etc. tend to all be known for regional preferences in preparing the ribs. This tends to include things like:
- Do the ribs tend to be smoked, and if yes, how strong?
- Do the ribs tend to be wet (with a sauce) or dry (just a spice rub)?
- Does any sauce tend to use brown sugar, molasses, or vinegar?
- Does spicing tend more to the hot or sweet side?
You will find variations of all of these in every region, but the tendency towards favoring one style or another tends to be associated with a region. Those style differences tend to also apply to more than just ribs and will include what meats tend to be more common and how they are served.
For instance, for me at least, Memphis BBQ will tend to mean pork. Ribs yes, but especially pulled pork. Typically it would be cooked dry with sauce served on the side or added after cooking. The sauce would tend to be on the thin side, often with at least some vinegar, though less than Carolina, and with some heat. KC BBQ would include a lot more chicken and beef, especially brisket, but lots of ribs. It would use a sweeter, thicker sauce with either brown sugar or molasses, and usually the meat would be at least finished wet.
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Quick Answer about "What is the difference between St Louis ribs, Memphis ribs, and Kansas City ribs?"
Louis style ribs are spare ribs that have had the breastbone and cartilage removed. Kansas City style ribs are trimmed in a similar way, but the cartilage is left in place. You can use the two rib types interchangeably, but St. Louis style barbecue sauce is thinner than Kansas City style, with a strong kick of vinegar.What is the difference between Memphis style ribs and Kansas City style ribs?
When preparing or eating Memphis style barbecue the first thing you will notice is that the sauce isn't as sweet as Kansas City style sauce and actually may have a bit more \u201cspiciness\u201d to it. The other thing you'll notice is that your ribs don't have any sauce on them at all and the sauce is on the side.What is the difference between St Louis ribs and Memphis ribs?
Memphis style ribs are typically spareribs cut St. Louis style. St. Louis style spareribs are trimmed into a more rectangular shape, compared to a long slab, by cutting away the hard breastbone and cartilage.What is Memphis style ribs?
Memphis-style barbecue is slow cooked in a pit and ribs can be prepared either "dry" or "wet". "Dry" ribs are covered with a dry rub consisting of salt and various spices before cooking and are normally eaten without sauce. "Wet" ribs are brushed with sauce before, during, and after cooking.What style ribs are the best?
Baby back ribs are more tender and leaner than spare ribs, and are typically more expensive. Each rack is around 2 pounds, around half of which is bone, and one rack feeds around one hungry adult. Spare ribs are cut from the ends of baby back ribs and run along to the pig's breast bone.Pork Ribs - What's the difference between Babyback, Spare Ribs and St. Louis Style Ribs?
More answers regarding what is the difference between St Louis ribs, Memphis ribs, and Kansas City ribs?
Answer 2
Memphis Ribs are baby back ribs.
St Louis Ribs are a subset of Spare(Side) ribs.
Kansas City Ribs are a subset of St Louis Ribs.
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