Recipe for Curing Spare Ribs
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the brine
For each 100 pounds of spare ribs, prepare a brine with 5 pounds common salt, 1 pound Freeze-Em-Pickle, 2 pounds best granulated sugar, and 5 gallons cold water.
Before brining, handle the spare ribs like hams and shoulders: rub them with half the brine ingredients (salt, Freeze-Em-Pickle, sugar). Use the remaining mixture to make the brine.
Cure
Cure the spare ribs in the brine for 10 to 12 days, keeping the cooler temperature between 36 and 43°F.
The ribs will be cured sufficiently in 7 to 8 days, but 10 to 12 days is best.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Common salt
- Draws moisture out of the meat and seasons it while helping the cure take hold.
- Freeze-em-pickle
- Curing agent that gives the cured meat its characteristic color and preserving action.
- Best granulated sugar
- Balances the saltiness and softens the harshness of the cure.
The step that matters
Keeping the cooler between 36 and 43°F. Cold temperatures slow bacterial growth during the long cure, so the ribs stay safe while the salt and curing agent penetrate the meat evenly.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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