While Kurobuta baby back ribs are cut from along the spine, spareribs are from around the belly, with meat somewhat similar to pork bellies. Less sought after than baby backs (and consequently less expensive), spareribs are a higher fat, but also meatier alternative. Spareribs are quite popular in European, Asian, and American barbecue recipes for their rich flavor.
These are St. Louis style spare ribs, meaning that the surrounding bones and cartilage have been removed to make them easier to eat (and so you’re paying for less bone). They've been trimmed to smaller, more uniform dimensions to make them easier to cook.
Kurobuta pork (aka Berkshire pork) is from a rare breed of pig that has long been bred in England and Japan for flavor and more marbled meat. The result is some of the finest pork in the world, sometimes referred to as “The Kobe Beef of Pork.”
Note: While this cut is excellent for home use, we recommend purchasing whole Kurobuta spare rib racks instead for use in competitive BBQ. St. Louis ribs are cut from younger animals for more tender meat. This also results in smaller racks that are easy for home cooks to handle, but are less impressive on the competitive circuit. St. Louis racks are also cut down to make them very easy to cook at home, but as a result they have a higher level of exposed bones (aka “shiners”) than is preferred by many competitive teams.
