Pork Sparerib

Pork sparerib is the meaty, flat rib section cut from the belly side of a hog’s rib cage with long bones and seams of fat. High connective tissue and marbling suit low-and-slow cooking, rendering into tender, juicy bites with a mahogany crust when smoked or roasted. Cooks braise, grill, or smoke racks whole, or choose St. Louis–style trimmed racks for more uniform shape.

Cut from the belly-side primal, spareribs became fixtures in American barbecue traditions and are common in Chinese and Southeast Asian cuisines. The St. Louis trim was developed by packers to remove sternum, cartilage, and rib tips for standardized racks that cook evenly.