Take a slab of spareribs, lop off the gristly rib tips (in the picture above, they are along the bottom), and what remains is a flat rectangular slab called the St. Louis cut (in the picture above, the SLC is at the top) and a flap of meat that is usually removed and set aside for grinding. Because the 10 to 13 rib bones are straight and flat, they are the best cut for recipes that require the ribs to be browned in a frying pan on the stovetop. Some butchers call SLC spareribs, but because the tips have been removed, technically they are no longer spares. They are also sometimes called barbecue cut, or Kansas City cut. If your butcher doesn’t know what St. Louis cut means, get a new butcher or simply ask for spareribs with the tips removed. Then again, you may want to remove them yourself and cook them too. A standard 2 to 3 pound slab can serve two people or one really hungry big man. When smoke roasted at about 225°F, they take five to six hours to reach perfection. Don’t ask me how SLC got it’s name. I’ve heard several stories and I don’t think anyone knows for sure. Probably invented by some butcher in St. Louis where it became popular.
