Where Do Baby Back Ribs Come From Fun Food Facts For Kids

If you have ever eaten baby back ribs, you will have been impressed by how tender and lean they were, but where do they come from, and why are they called baby back ribs?Baby back ribs are considered to be the most tender out of all types of ribs. A slab of these ribs can be consumed by many people or even one very hungry adult alone, and it will definitely satiate their hunger!Baby back ribs are called by many names: back ribs, baby backs, pork loin back ribs, or Canadian back ribs. While almost all ribs taste delicious no matter how they have been cooked, that is, whether they have been cooked in a barbecue or a crockpot, baby back ribs have a certain quality about them that separates them from other ribs.Baby backs are a part of the ribs taken from a pig where its rib cage meets its spine. The ribs are located just under the loin but the loin meat is usually removed by the butcher before cutting up the ribs. These ribs are then separated into two parts, baby back ribs, and spare ribs. The upper part makes up the kind of ribs in question, while the lower part constitutes pork spare ribs or spareribs, which are left when the meat from the belly has been cut away. They also contain a meat flab, and more cartilage and connective tissue than baby back ribs. The bottom parts of spare ribs, containing the cartilage, are called rib tips.Other cuts of pork ribs include St. Louis style ribs and country-style ribs. St. Louis cut ribs are taken from the belly side of the hog and are simply spare ribs without the connective tissue and the cartilage or rib tips. Country-style ribs can be better described as pork chops rather than actual ribs. They contain only a few ribs and are taken from the front or blade portion of the loin and ribs. Thus, they will more likely contain parts of the shoulder blade of the pig than ribs.A normal slab or rack of baby back ribs, where a slab or rack means a row of ribs, consists of around 10-13 bones depending on how the ribs are cut by butchers, weighs around 1.5-2 lb (680-900 g) with the lengths of the ribs usually varying between 3-6 in (8-15 cm). These are generally considered to be more expensive as they are extremely tender and lean and thus, are more in demand in the market. While spare ribs are relatively cheaper, they are less tender. Spare ribs are also flatter than baby back ribs and have more meat between the bones. The flavor of spare ribs is also thought to be better than baby backs due to the excess fat and meat.All kinds of ribs have to have a slow cooking time due to the high amount of meat, but baby back ribs cook relatively faster than spare ribs as they are smaller. There are many ways to cook baby back ribs, whether you want to barbecue them on a grill or cook them using smoke, heat, or even in an oven. Many sauces and rubs can be used, barbecue sauce is the most popular flavor to marinate these ribs. Using kosher salt is also highly recommended as it brings out a better taste.If you want to read similar content, be sure to check our other articles, where do aphids come from and where do bay leaves come from as well!Where do pork baby back ribs come from?A very common misconception about pork baby backs is that they are called baby back ribs because they are cut from a baby pig. However, this is not the case at all. Their size is way too small to have been taken from a baby pig or a piglet. They are named so because they are much smaller in size than spare ribs. In fact, these ribs are taken from the top or upper portion of the ribs that are attached to the backbone or spine, just below the loin muscle and above the spare ribs, which make up the lower portion of the ribs.These ribs are curved where they were connected to the spine, unlike other rib portions that are very straight. The rib bones are also shorter at one end, measuring 3 in (8 cm), and longer at the other end, about 6 in (15 cm) long. This is because the rib cage of a pig naturally reduces in length at the back end. Baby backs are the very ribs present in bone-in pork loin chops, but when the loin is cut out, what remains is called baby back ribs.A pig has 15-16 ribs in total but a couple of them are left with the shoulder blade when the loin meat is cut out. Those couple ribs might become a part of the country-style ribs later on. Thus, a typical slab or rack of ribs contains 10-13 ribs, depending on how they are cut as some can be left out because of damage. Butchers usually regard any slab or rack with less than nine ribs or bones as a ‘cheater rack’. The average weight of a single slab is usually around 1.5-2 lb (680-900 g).These pork back ribs are also quite expensive compared to other rib types because of how tender and lean they are in comparison to spareribs. Earlier, loin meat or pork loin was more in demand and thus, more expensive, but now that pork back ribs are in high demand, butchers have started leaving a bit of loin meat on the back ribs in order to capitalize on both parts.The slab of ribs, in itself, can have even more meat than pork spare ribs in most cases but in a few baby back rib slabs, there is less meat and fat than in spare ribs. Half of the slab is likely to be bone and they also weigh less than spareribs or St. Louis ribs, but this fact is less relevant when their tenderness is taken into account. Moreover, because of their small weight, they are much easier to cook or grill. While they will still require slow cooking for about one and a half to two hours, it is still much less than how long it would take to cook other types of pork ribs. It is said that baby back ribs can be cooked or marinated using any dry spice rubs or sauces. They are also likely to fill you up because of how meaty they are, despite their smaller size, and are much healthier for you than other ribs as they have much less fat.What is the difference between baby back ribs and St Louis ribs?St. Louis cut ribs are generally much bigger and flatter than baby back ribs. They also have a lot of fat compared to baby backs and thus, a single slab of St. Louis ribs would serve more people.The St. Louis style ribs are cut from the lower portion of the rib cage, from the belly side of the hog after the contents of the belly have been removed. These ribs are basically cut down from pork spareribs by removing the breast bone or the sternum bone, cartilage, and connective tissue. After rib tips are removed from the spareribs, the ribs that are left are known as the St. Louis style ribs. This type of pork rib cut is also popularly known as the barbecue cut or the Kansas City cut. It is almost a rectangle in shape with a meat flap. A slab will usually have around 10-13 rib bones and might weigh around 2-3 lb (0.9-1.3 kg). Half of this weight is made up of bone, but the other half is very rich in fat. The delicious flavor of St. Louis style ribs is mainly because of their fat, which also causes more marbling in its meat.Unlike baby backs, St. Louis ribs are less meaty on the top. In the back ribs, this meat generally comes from the loin meat that butchers have started leaving on the ribs because of popular demand. The demand has also made some sellers incorrectly market St. Louis style ribs as ‘baby spareribs’. This is because baby backs are generally more expensive and St. Louis ribs are smaller and thus, the ‘baby’ version of pork spareribs as the rib tips and connective tissue parts are removed.Cooking St. Louis style ribs takes a bit longer than cooking baby backs. While they still require slow cooking, they have to be cooked for at least two and a half to three hours, compared to the one and a half three hours required for back ribs. In terms of methods of cooking, they can be easily cooked in a barbecue grill or oven but St. Louis style ribs are especially suitable for cooking in a frying pan on the stove due to their straighter form and flat, rectangular shape. Baby backs may not be as easy to cook in a frying pan as they are curved, which might also make brushing sauces a little harder. However, many sauces and dry rubs can be used for both.Where do beef baby back ribs come from?Beef back ribs are not much different than pork back ribs in the sense that they come from a similar body part of cattle, that is, its rib cage from behind its shoulder blade. Beef baby back ribs is possibly an incorrect term as the term ‘baby back ribs’ is only used for pork back ribs. However, there are two types of beef rib cuts: beef back ribs and short ribs. Beef back ribs are probably the same ribs that are present in bone-in ribeye steaks and ribeye roasts. Once the meat is removed from the ribeye steak and roast, what is left is called beef back ribs. Short ribs are taken from the lower portion of the ribs, from the plate part of the cow.Since most of the meat is gone with the ribeye steak and ribeye roast, beef back ribs are not usually as meaty as pork back ribs. However, beef short ribs are taken from the lower portion of the ribs where the plate of the cow is. These short ribs usually have way more meat as they are taken from the belly portion of the cattle. Thus, similar to pork spareribs, short ribs also have more fat on top of the ribs than in those ribs taken from the upper portion of the ribs, that is, the beef back ribs. Unlike pork spareribs, the high amount of meat does not contribute towards giving it a flavor of its own, and most of the rib slabs consist of bone and fat.Another difference between pork ribs and beef ribs is that while pork baby backs are very popular and some surrounding meat from the loin muscle is left attached on it by sellers because of its demand, meat from the ribeye in cows is not left on beef back ribs as they are not that popular in the market. Thus, there is very little meat on pork back ribs as the ribeye steak is much more preferred by customers. Even the meat that is found in between these ribs is sometimes separated and used to make ground beef.Cooking these beef ribs is quite different than cooking pork ribs. Beef back ribs can be cooked similarly to pork ribs such as on the barbecue grill, in the oven, or in a slow cooker. However, there is a high chance they would not be as tender as pork baby backs are. This can be because of the low amount of beef in them. Beef short ribs, on the other hand, might become extremely tough to eat if prepared on a grill, as well as chewier and less flavored. Short ribs should be made either in a slow cooker or by braising them for a long amount of time. Either way, it is going to take very long to cook both beef back ribs and short ribs, but if prepared properly with the right sauces and rubs, they can taste just as good as pork ribs, or maybe even better!Are St Louis or baby back ribs more tender?Both baby back ribs and St. Louis style ribs have their own special characteristics and there is a difference in the amount of meat and fat both have. However, generally, baby backs are considered to be the more tender ones out of the two.Pork baby backs are generally separated from the backbone but nowadays, sellers do not separate all the meat from the loin and leave some on the baby backs due to their high demand and popularity. Thus, they have more meat on top of each bone than in pork spareribs or St. Louis ribs. This is what probably makes these so tender as well as juicy. There is also more meat in between each individual rib in a rack but much less fat than spareribs, which makes them the healthier option.Spareribs or St. Louis style ribs have much more flavor in them because of the large amount of fat. This is because these are taken from the belly of the hog, so they naturally contain a lot of fat. They are also much larger than baby backs and most of their weight consists of bone, but these are the tastier option of the two.However, it all depends on the way these ribs are cooked. With the right sauces and appropriate cooking methods, both types of pork ribs can turn out to be so well that it might make it harder for you to choose between them!Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for where do baby back ribs come from? Fun food facts for kids?, then why not take a look at when do women stop growing? Curious body growth facts to know, or where do almonds come from? Interesting facts about healthy nuts.

If you have ever eaten baby back ribs, you will have been impressed by how tender and lean they were, but where do they come from, and why are they called baby back ribs?