For the aerodynamic device, see skin spare rib rub drag. Pork ribs are a cut of pork popular in Western and Asian cuisines.
Several different types of ribs are available, depending on the section of rib cage from which they are cut. Variation in the thickness of the meat and bone, as well as levels of fat in each cut, can alter the flavor and texture of the prepared dish. They have meat between the bones and on top of the bones, and are shorter, curved, and sometimes meatier than spare ribs. The rack is shorter at one end, due to the natural tapering of a pig’s rib cage. Spareribs are flatter and contain more bone than meat, but more fat that can make the ribs more tender than back ribs. Low German term that referred to racks of meat being roasted on a turning spit. Kansas City style ribs are trimmed less closely than the St.
Louis style ribs, and have the hard bone removed. Rib tips are short, meaty sections of rib attached to the lower end of the spare ribs, between the ribs and the sternum. Unlike back ribs or spare ribs, the structure of the rib is provided by dense costal cartilage, not bone. Rib tips are cut away from the spare ribs when preparing St. Riblets are sometimes prepared by butchers by cutting a full set of spare ribs approximately in half. This produces a set of short, flat ribs where the curved part of the rib is removed and gives them a more uniform look.
Loin back ribs do not always have this removed. When not removed they have a rounded look to them and are often referred to as baby back ribs. What Applebee’s sells is found just past the ribs near the back bone, just underneath the tenderloin. This cut of meat actually has no bones, but instead has “buttons” of cartilaginous material with meat attached. The rib tips have a high proportion of cartilage.
The rib tips give the spare ribs a rounded appearance. Button ribs are flat, circular-shaped bones located at the sirloin end of the loin. They are not actually ribs, as they are not taken from the rib cage. The meat on the button ribs consists of meat that covers each button and connects them together. Country-style ribs are cut from the blade end of the loin close to the pork shoulder. They are meatier than other rib cuts.