When Shopping For The Absolute Best Pork Ribs, Avoid Slabs Like This

Although proprietary dry rubs and secret sauces tend to get the most attention, the best pork ribs start at the meat counter. You want the flesh to be a vibrant, pinkish-red with visibly flavorful marbling (just remember that spare ribs will be more marbled than baby backs, and calibrate your expectations accordingly). You do not want to see exposed bone, evocatively referred to as "shiners" in the protein biz.

These dings are pretty self-explanatory: spots on a slab where the bone shines through, typically because it's been cut too close. Great ribs should be encased in meat on both sides, absent any of these pesky patches. They'll usually be easier to spot fresh and unwrapped at an actual butcher than vacuum sealed in plastic at the supermarket or grocery store. Add that to the list of reasons why it's better to buy from a butcher than a big box shop. Shiners aren't a food safety risk, but there's obviously less meat per bone when you can literally see the latter, and making the most of what precious little meat there already is on ribs is kind of the whole point of preparing them. Bare spots might also be a little more prone to drying without the porcine encasement, so you may even end up with a less delicious rib around the bald spot. There's no need to panic if you end up with a shiner or two, and you can proceed to the grill or oven as usual, but you'll want to look a little closer on your next rib buying trip.

Because meat is typically sold by the pound, a shiner's little morsel of lost pork won't technically feel like a rip-off, at least. It probably even shaved off a few pennies in addition to the missing swine. But it is still annoying. Any ribs can be butchered too close to the bone, but spare ribs' heftier composition versus skimpier baby backs would theoretically provide a little extra padding against the blade. You should still take a close look, but you might want to go with those for just a little extra potential piece of mind.

Something like party ribs might be more of a shiner risk, too. Party ribs are baby backs or spares that have been cut into individual portions between the bones. In addition to helping them cook quicker, it also provides more surface area for your tasty sauce and spices to cling. But more hacking means more chances to graze those bones, creating shiners in between the pieces. If you just can't stand even the scant sight of ivory, skip these, too, or just cut with the precision of a butcher who's never shined a rib in their whole career.