Any butchers here

I use Farmland Ribs and the area rep for Farmland told me that they are coming out with an extra meaty rib. I’m wondering how the heck are they doing that? I mean if they have had these all along what were they doing with them? If they haven’t had them all along where did they get them? All the hogs are fat free anymore so how would they get an extra meaty
rib? Anyone have any thoughts on that?
Jack

Jack

They may be including the skirt meat in the new "more meaty" ribs. The original ones have the skirt removed.

If you do find out let us know.

Fatten them longer than usual, perhaps.

quote:

Originally posted by CajunKing
Jack They may be including the skirt meat in the new "more meaty" ribs. The original ones have the skirt removed. If you do find out let us know.

I didn't think of that but if that's what they are doing they won't be any better than what I'm buying or serving. Heck I trim that off so they will cook more uniformly. I'm wondering if they are just starting to select some heaver hogs for butchering. Anyway I should know next week when they bring me some samples.And you can bet the price will go up a bunch LOL.

Jack

Have you ever used IBP (Iowa Beef Packers) now owned by Purdue? Their ribs I have found to be the best and have been the meatiest. I can get them here localy at Sams. Take a look!

I have cooked hundreds of slabs of Sam's Ribs but they come
with a thick back meat that should be trimmed off.
I just signed a new contract with M J Kellner for the Farmland
ribs that are the exact same price as the IBP at Sam's Club but
the back meat is trimmed off so a case cost less. The problem
with Sam's Club is just when you get used to a product they decide
to not carry it anymore. I have been round and round with
them about this. The only thing I buy from them now is Showboat
Baked Beans.What kind of smoker do you use? I have a klose.
Jack

quote:

Originally posted by Dr of BBQ

What kind of smoker do you use? I have a klose.

The one in the pic is an old Bubba Smoker (old propane tank) I have also used a Southern Pride SMK500....what a difference. I like the Bubba, as long as there are friends to help you keep it going, the Southern Pride is almost set and forget. I know what you mean about Sams and Costco, but I can usualy get the IBP's at a couple of other sources...Sams is just convenient. Not sure what extra meat you are refering to, we rub em' right out of the kryrovac

quote:

Originally posted by justtable

I know what you mean about Sam's and Costco, but I can usually get the IBP's at a couple of other sources.Not sure what extra meat you are referring to, we rub em' right out of the kryrovac

You don't trim the flap meat and excess fat off the bone side?
Jack

quote:

Originally posted by Dr of BBQ

quote:

Originally posted by justtable

I know what you mean about Sam's and Costco, but I can usually get the IBP's at a couple of other sources.Not sure what extra meat you are referring to, we rub em' right out of the kryrovac

You don't trim the flap meat and excess fat off the bone side?
Jack

Right outa the pack...just the way you see em in the pic

Jack, if I may be so bold, is MJ Kellner a food wholesaler like Sysco?

I assume we are talking about Spare ribs here.?. I never have a problem with the meatiness of spare/StLouis ribs, Baby back on the otherhand... I have found a company out of Iowa called Curly that butchers the hog with the Baby backs in mind, instead of the loin. I think they are a subsidary of smithfield and cater to many of the folks on the bbq competition circuits. I was turned on to them by the guys from Gwantey Competition team out of Memphis. Very nice meat for a baby back and very consistent product...No prok chops on the head end of the rack. All weigh about 2.5-2.75. Not cheap by any means but you never see the bones. Not scrapped during the butcher process. Not sure where to tell you to find em, I have my local specialty distributor (International Food Concepts, Atlanta (404) 766-3000) bring in a pallet for me every so often. They run @ $3.40/pound. Hope this helps.

quote:

Originally posted by chewingthefat
Jack, if I may be so bold, is MJ Kellner a food wholesaler like Sysco?

Yes MJ Kellner is just like Sysco but local. They are building a big new warehouse here in a new location. Pretty good company to deal with and only 15 minutes from my stand.Sysco on the other hand bought our other food distributor, Bun Capitol. It had been in business for about 60 years and was only about 3 minutes from my stand. But then Sysco fired all of the Bun people and moved the company to Lincoln Illinois about 30 miles north of Springfield. So I don't deal with them.

quote:

Originally posted by droberts621

I assume we are talking about Spare ribs here?Baby back on the otherhand... I have found a company out of Iowa called Curly that butchers the hog with the Baby backs in mind, instead of the loin.I have my local specialty distributor (International Food Concepts, Atlanta (404) 766-3000) bring in a pallet for me every so often. They run @ $3.40/pound. Hope this helps.

Web Site: www.curlys.com

Established in 1988, Curly’s Foods, Inc. supplies leading restaurant chains with raw and fully cooked ribs as well as smoked pork, beef, and chicken entrees. The company’s retail offerings can be found at many club stores and supermarkets. At its plant in Sioux City, Iowa, an authentic pit smoker gives Curly’s meats genuine, wood-smoked barbecue flavor.

Heck I'm pretty sure that's the same company that owns Farmland. LOL That's very interesting. So you paying what $9.50 per slab on Baby Backs? If not set me straight and what do you sell them for?
Thanks
Jack

Avg @ 8.50 a slab. Menu price $21 full slab, $12 1/2 slab. I think I could actually charge more. Margins not ideal but quality unsurpassed. Inital shock factor from customers forgotten once they try em. 4-5 ribs will fill you up. Not familiar w/ the precooked stuff on website, but if you have the chance to try raw back ribs or even look at them in the package I think you will see what I mean. No bones showing through, trimmed and cut precisely for nice even cooking.

quote:

Originally posted by droberts621
Avg @ 8.50 a slab. Menu price $21 full slab, $12 1/2 slab. I think I could actually charge more. Margins not ideal but quality unsurpassed. Inital shock factor from customers forgotten once they try em. 4-5 ribs will fill you up. If you have the chance to try raw back ribs or even look at them in the package I think you will see what I mean. No bones showing through, trimmed and cut precisely for nice even cooking.

Your margins not bad in fact your making more per slab than I am. It took me awhile to understand that it's better profit wise to sell a high gross item Ribs more often than a low gross high-profit item like Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwiches. I moved my ribs from the middle of my menu to the first item and rib sales jumped 60%. I had read both on the foodforum web site and they were right on target in menu placement and price structuring. I'll talk to my sales rep and see what he can do about getting me a case to try. They really sound like a good product. How long do you cook them and at what temp?
Thanks
Jack
PS Whats with the music and RV commercial playing all the time here on the forum. It sucks and it won't take much of that to run me off.

We use to insist on IBP ribs for our restaurant. A new more meaty rib? I'd have to think they are just going to alter the way they are butchering them. I agree with one of the other posters..What else could it be? Isn't Farmland selling to Walmart? They put a solution in their pork products to make them more tender. I don't like it. Their stuff looks beautiful though..It really does.

I don't know what you call the flap on the back of the St. Louis rib, but I always had our prep cook trim it off before we put them in the oven. I'd also remove a good part of the breast bone or whatever you call the upper portion because it took longer to cook that part though. Some places make BBQ riblets out of that...I don't like all that fat myself.

By time we did all that butchering, the real food cost per order on the remainder of a rack of ribs went up, of course. We'd weigh each portion, after cooking and served a 1 lb portion with fries and slaw. It usually came out to 4-5 bones...

Rarely did we ever get IBP ribs when they weren't really nice. But we tried Canadian Baby Backs a few times because they were so easy...no preparation needed. However, they were so inconsistant. Sometimes there was so little meat on them that we couldn't serve some of them.

Rusty Staub, a former NY MET, in the 70's was given credit for bringing baby back ribs to NYC. He opened his own place called Rusty's and did very well. People flocked to his bar for the ribs. He was from Canada. He had an excellent sauce and sold a ton of ribs on the Upper Eastside of Manhattan for many, many years.

Doc:
225 for 3-3 1/4 hours. Just gotta see when they give up. I cook in a southern pride 500 and like to try to have something else cooking above them (chicken, turkey, porchetta, etc) for basting purposes. I find they cook a little faster that way and a little extra meat juice is always a good thing. First hour I give them good hickory and then just let em go till they give up. I feel any more smoke just makes them bitter. IMO there is so little labor involved w/ ribs I let the margins creep up a little and price in hopes it will still sell. I also try to get as many of my customers on the cook schedule band wagon. I tell them to call me at the beginning of the day and I let them know what time the ribs will be comming off the cooker. I try to cook ribs and chicken 3 times a day. Customers really react well to this and feel they have the inside scoop and will get the best possible ribs. On the down side...if the same customers walk in off the street w/o calling they can tell the difference. There is no comparison to a properly cooked rack of ribs, eaten within an hour of being finished...NO sauce necessary.

Originally posted by Baah Ben

A new more meaty rib? I'd have to think they are just going to alter the way they are butchering them.

Ben, You may be correct on that. Ribs can be cut so they have almost a pork chop on the top. I still haven’t gotten the samples yet so I just have to wait and see.

Isn't Farmland selling to Wal-Mart? They put a solution in their pork products to make them more tender. I don't like it. Their stuff looks beautiful though. It really does.

Ben, I’m not sure the Farmland ribs I get are pumped full of water/salt or not. There is no indication on the packaging as there is (and has to be) on those that are packaged for sale at a retail outlet. But they do look good and my customers want them falling off the bone. Not my preference but if that’s what they want that’s what we will sell.

I don't know what you call the flap on the back of the St. Louis rib, but I always had our prep cook trim it

Ben I call it a flap also I’m not sure that’s the right name but it can be very thin or the flap can sometimes be pretty thick and it will slow down the cooking process. If you trim it and pull the silver skin off, rub it and throw it into the smoker they are wonderful when they come off, but hard to hold because they are usually so thin.

I'd also remove a good part of the breastbone or whatever you call the upper portion because it took longer to cook that part though. Some places make BBQ riblets out of that...I don't like all that fat myself.

My ribs come with the breastbone trimmed and yes if you trim that off and smoke them they are called rib tips around here. That’s waste or scrap in my mind but Chili’s is making a fortune from them.


Rarely did we ever get IBP ribs when they weren't really nice. But we tried Canadian Baby Backs a few times because they were so easy...no preparation needed. However, they were so inconsistent. Sometimes there was so little meat on them that we couldn't serve some of them.

I bought some Baby Back 2nds from a meat packing company in southern Illinois, and they only cost me $5.95 a slab. I sold them for a while but there just wasn’t enough meat on them for my taste. But I have never tried really good Baby Backs.

Great information and I appreciate the exchange.
Jack

quote:

Originally posted by droberts621
Doc:
I try to cook ribs and chicken 3 times a day. Customers really react well to this and feel they have the inside scoop and will get the best possible ribs. On the down side...if the same customers walk in off the street w/o calling they can tell the difference. There is no comparison to a properly cooked rack of ribs, eaten within an hour of being finished...NO sauce necessary.

Wow That's a great idea; I have been wanting to buy a big outdoor digital sign so I can do a countdown as to when the ribs will be coming off the smoker. But in the mean time I'll start using your method and school my customers so they will start calling in before they come by to pick up their ribs.

So here is the challenge any regular customer can tell if they are just off the smoker and your absolutely correct there is no comparison to a properly cooked rack of ribs, eaten within an hour of being finished...NO sauce necessary. So to the average Joe Sixpack ribs are ribs and the more people you school, the more finicky they will get. That's good because they won't go to someone else and if they do they won't like the product. But it's bad because if you have to hold ribs and you have schooled most of your customers, they will know. So how do we overcome the held ribs and the knowledge the customer has gained? I hope you understand the question. LOL because I'm serious as a heartbeat on this question. I could do a series of radio spots dealing with the issue I guess? Any thoughts? Anyone Anyone Anyone LOL
Jack

Good to see you completely understand the issue. Only viable option I have come up w/ is to chill the ribs I don't anticipate using w/in the next hour and slowly bring them back up on the grill. Two problems here: 1) Some Q joints don't have a grill in the restaurant and 2) It becomes the longest ticket item on the menu and creates a slightly different product because IMO it needs a litle slather of sauce during the process. Am very interested in others ideas on the matter.
Doc I think we are among the minority in our concerns regarding serving the highest quality possible (other road food members excluded). Problem is there are a lot of folks out there willing to eat BAD bbq. The obvious option here is to only open 2-3 hours a day (ie. Michelbobs in Fla) but I'm not sure I could survive the customers learning curve there. Maybe someday...