St. Louis Style Ribs

[Jim Almquist]

On sale at Target this week for $1.97 a pound.

[thirdeye]

Jim,

Double check the label to make sure they are not "enhanced". Enhanced ribs have logo's like "Nice-N-Juicy" or "Always Tender". The fine print will say something like "injected with up to 10% of ...."

You want the label to say "Natural Pork".

[Jim Almquist]

Thirdeye they are the "Always Tender" according to the ad. Thanks for the heads-up

[reinhard1]

Target has been handling Hormel ribs so i would say they are enhanced. but at 1.97 i'm "enhanced" to get some. limit of 6 i see. Walmart has whole slabs of spareribs for 1.98 in case Target runs out. realy hard to get "natural" pork around here. i know Sams and County market handle it most of the time. good luck.

[thirdeye]

Many Safeway stores have natural pork

[reinhard1]

store locator show's one here in Blaine. not far from my house. all these years and never noticed it. have to check it out. good luck.

[McGurk]

While i agree that they are more than likely enhanced, most of the people I make them for aren't going to turn their nose up to them. I always cut the salt on my rub way down accordingly when using enhanced ribs, and always give them 3 good clean water rinsings beforehand. I'll definitely be going to Target and getting a 6 pack if they are indeed true st louis cut slabs and not mislabelled spare ribs.

[reinhard1]

they usualy run baby back with this ad, but i do like st. louis ribs. good point on rinsing them. i rinse all the pork and chicken i buy. i'm sure they will be the frozen individual racks of Hormel brand st. louis ribs. good luck.

[hockeybc69]

I guess I have never paid attention to enhanced or natural.

What is so bad about enhanced?

If enhanced is not desireable, then what are they good for?

[reinhard1]

i have eaten a lot of "enhanced" meats, not just pork. lot of boneless chicken now sold is enhanced with salt and sodium phosphate. pre marinaded steaks and chicken and even corned beef can be called "enhanced". where natural meats and poultry, nothing is added.

i think when someone posts about enhanced meats such as perhapst the ribs on sale this week are, it's more to say to watch how much additional salt you put on before cooking or none at all. for example the canadian bacon i am curing right now is a natural boneless pork loin. didn't want to use the enhanced ones because it messes up the cure measurments which i want to be the correct amount.

so enhanced meats have been around for many years and there is nothing wrong with it in my opinion. the added moisture does make the meat more moist and tender in my opinion, however it's just personal preference if you want to cure or marinade the meat item yourself with no additives already injected.

so by all means go out there and buy those ribs on sale. i, like McGurk, do rinse the ribs with water and watch additional salt as i season it. good luck.

[McGurk]

My wife just got back with 6 racks of the Target ad ribs and they are indeed St Louis cut racks. Not too bad. I might go get 6 more this week while available.

On a side note I stopped by Home Depot to see if they had their charcoal sale going on, which they did not. I think someone said it starts this Thursday so keep your eyes open. Walmart did have a great deal, too. 2) 15 lb bags for $5.48. That's real cheap. I wish I could get lump even close to that cheap!

[reinhard1]

charcoal/ribs, they go together . i seen that too at Walmart. i went and got 6 racks myself and will be getting more. great price on charcoal and ribs!!!. good luck.

[muskiemanAD]

I went to Target and got 4 racks for 27 bucks. Not a bad price to feed a whole crew up north this weekend!

[thirdeye]

i have eaten a lot of "enhanced" meats, not just pork. lot of boneless chicken now sold is enhanced with salt and sodium phosphate. pre marinaded steaks and chicken and even corned beef can be called "enhanced". where natural meats and poultry, nothing is added.

i think when someone posts about enhanced meats such as perhapst the ribs on sale this week are, it's more to say to watch how much additional salt you put on before cooking or none at all. for example the canadian bacon i am curing right now is a natural boneless pork loin. didn't want to use the enhanced ones because it messes up the cure measurments which i want to be the correct amount.

so enhanced meats have been around for many years and there is nothing wrong with it in my opinion. the added moisture does make the meat more moist and tender in my opinion, however it's just personal preference if you want to cure or marinade the meat item yourself with no additives already injected.

so by all means go out there and buy those ribs on sale. i, like McGurk, do rinse the ribs with water and watch additional salt as i season it. good luck.

The main reason the producers enhance meats is some folks are not as good of cooks as other folks are. In other words, enhancing allows meats to be overcooked slightly and still remain moist (and or tender). The liquid also gives them a longer shelf life, which is good for profits. The salt water adds moisture and the phosphates slow down rigor. So if your average cook gets good results with your product, he or she will return to the same brand more often.

I also see nothing wrong with enhanced meats, if fact when I inject my lite brine into chicken or pork I'm enhancing it.... and I do that a lot. But I do see a problem in them enhancing my meat for me. Not only am eating something I can't control, but I'm paying the same price per pound as meat, but getting water and chemicals. So if they are adding 15% of water weight, it's costing me a couple of dollars more.

[reinhard1]

those are good points. the profit factor is there for sure. we used to talk about that around our cutting bench. add more moisture and the weight is up but the price dont come down. it's nice to get natural pork so we can do our own thing but most places up here dont handle it except what was mentioned in past threads. same with a lot of the chicken products like boneless breasts. i've been buying bone in breasts for a buck a pound up here, much better. good luck.

[thirdeye]

Mrs ~t~ was in Denver this weekend and brought me 5 pork bellies. I just started the dry cure on 4 of them, I should be smoking them on Memorial Day. I have other plans for the 5th one.

[reinhard1]

i would say you are very blessed to have a wonderfull wife [i feel the same way]. never tried or bought a pork bellie. i will be interested to what plans you have. has to be awesome. good luck.

[stoneeyes317]

I just got back from the local Cub and they had Hormel spare ribs on sale for $1.49/lb. I couldn't pass that up...

eyes317

[reinhard1]

way to go!!!must be a instore deal like i got on the baby backs when they were long on them. always pays to pay attention in the meat dept. good luck.

[Leaky]

Well, just threw 6 racks in the freezer from Target. Thanks for the discussion of Natural vs Enhanced. Would have never known the difference. I can now adjust accordingly.

I continue to be amazed at what I learn on this forum. The last rack of St Louis I smoked using the 3-2-1 method (learned here). Easily the best Ribs I've ever made. Firm to cut, nice bark, pulled cleanly off the bone and tender as all get out. The compliments from my guests made me feel like a National Champ.

[McGurk]

...The compliments from my guests made me feel like a National Champ.

Well done, sir. This is the reason many of us enjoy this hobby. That, and getting to eat the fruits of your labor!

[reinhard1]

it's kind of wierd but in the fishing forums we talk about what's better--hard water or soft water and i always give a slight edge to hard water. when out there next to my grill/smokers and doing my preps or even thinking about what i'm going to make it makes me think--what do i like better: planning my meal, the prepwork, the whole process of the charcoal and wood chips and watching the meat occationaly, the smell of everything comming together, the smoke comming out of the vent [and little hole's here and there], watching the thermometer and the temp of the smoker ect. or eating the final product. very hard to decide that. that's why i love to cook and learn more as time goes on. good luck.

[stick]

I would answer "yes" to all of your options above. The whole process is a fun and rewarding endeavor.

[dirtking]

Thanks for the heads up Jim - 6 racks in the freezer. I didn't see a limit sign in the roseville store, but I figured 6 was plenty for now

[eyeguy 54]

putting the mouse away and heading to Target... :>)