Almost everybody enjoys ribs, in fact BBQ ribs are one of my favorite dishes to cook and eat! But ribs can be a bit expensive if you are eating at a restaurant. Have you wondered how many ribs are supposed to be in a half-rack?
Have you ever ordered your ribs and thought that your 'half rack' or 'full rack' of ribs was a bit short? Is one pub or restaurant serving larger orders of half racks than another?
Knowing a bit about the type of ribs you are buying will help you understand better!
Pork ribs are by far the most popular, likely the type most people think of when eating BBQ ribs. But there are also different cuts of beef ribs, as well as lamb. So to answer our question How Many Ribs in a Half Rack we need to look at a few different things.
Follow along!
The Different Types of Ribs
You have probably noticed a big difference in the size of racks of ribs you've eaten in the past. This is because not all ribs are created equal! Not only will there be different meats, but styles or cuts of those ribs as well.
To make things easiest, we can lay out the 3 main types of ribs you will likely see in your grocer or favorite BBQ spot. From there we can cover the different cuts of those.
Pork Ribs
Easily the most popular, the pork ribs are the type most people think of when buying ribs. They come in varying cuts, but overall a pig will have up to 14 ribs in total. This is the maximum, so you'll likely never get a full rack with 14 bones.
Due to how the rack is removed and processed, you can expect a good quality full rack of pork ribs to have 12 bones in total. Sometimes a damaged rack will force the butcher to cut down a full rack into just a half rack.
How Many Ribs in a Rack of Pork Ribs?
A half rack of pork ribs will have 5-6 ribs
A full rack of pork ribs will have 10-12 ribs
Beef Ribs
Beef ribs are the largest of all the ribs, featuring bones at can measure as long as 8 inches. A full rack of beef ribs can weight in around 3 to 4 pounds!
When choosing your beef ribs, keep in mind that although a side of beef will have 13 ribs in total, the front 5 will be reserved for the chuck. It is the rear 7-8 ribs that will be included in the rack.
How Many Ribs in a Rack of Beef Ribs?
A full rack of beef ribs will have 7 to 8 ribs each.
Lamb Ribs
When left altogether on the rack, this is called rack of lamb. Commonly also served as individual rib lamb chops, these are sometimes frenched, where the top rib is cleared of meat for a clean appearance.
Featuring the most tender meat, rack of lamb and lamb chops are one of the most popular cuts of lamb.
How Many Ribs does a Rack of Lamb Have?
A full rack of lamb will have 6 to 8 ribs each.
Conclusion
So after looking at our 3 different types of ribs, we found the number of bones in each. Pork full rack of ribs will have 10-12 bones. A pork half rack of ribs will have 5-6 bones. A full rack of beef ribs will weigh up to 4 pounds and have 7-8 bones. A full rack of lamb features super tender meat on 6-8 ribs to a rack.
Cheers, and thanks for stopping by! Check out some of our delicious recipes before you go.
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