History of Pork Backribs

When I first started working in the meat industry after graduating with a Masters degree in Meat Science in 1983, fresh pork supply was still very regional. The pork primals (Boston Butt, Picnic Shoulder, Bone-in Loin, Belly, Spareribs, Ham) were typically wrapped in paper by the packing houses and shipped fresh in bulk boxes to butcher shops or restaurants with a shelf life of around 10 days or shipped frozen in boxes. Vacuum packaging of fresh pork was beginning to take off. Vacuum packaged boxed beef was well established. The pork rib market was focused on Spareribs, frozen bulk in a loose poly bag in a box (more about Spareribs later). Spareribs were plentiful as each pig slaughtered and cut up generated 2 Spareribs. Very few pork loins were boned-out to make Backribs in the 1980’s for the grocery store trade. Going back further, the first publicized mention of “Baby Back Ribs” was printed in the Chicago Scene (1962) mentioning barbecued ribs served at Delmonico’s. Restaurants were the typical outlet for Backribs. With very few Backribs supplied from packers in the US, restaurants had to relied on imports from Denmark or Canada for their Backribs. Denmark deboned their pork loins but had no market for the Backribs generated in the European market. Canada deboned a lot of bone-in pork loins to make wet cured back bacon, or what the British call Rashers. The boneless loins were also cured and smoked to make Canadian Bacon. Most likely that Chicago restaurant in 1962 procured their Backribs from Canadian meat packers just across the border.

PORK BACKRIB-

In the early 1980’s it was almost impossible for a consumer to find fresh or frozen pork Backribs at a grocery store. I recall wanting to smoke a bunch of Backribs in the mid-80’s for a family gathering and went to a local butcher shop in Spartanburg, SC. None to be found at the chain grocery stores. This was before Sam’s Club and Costco existed in most states, and in their infancy (both founded in 1983). A local butcher said “yeah, I should be able to get you a case of frozen baby ribs” and I said “ok but I want Backribs” and he said “uh, yeah, ok.” The following week, I went to pick up my case of ribs and they were Spareribs, not Backribs. I asked why he gave me Spareribs instead of Backribs and his response was “These are baby Spareribs and I thought that’s what you wanted”. He then asked, “What’s a Backrib?” (I think I laughed). I explained it was the ribs off the pork loin after boning it out. He said, “We don’t do that. We just saw the loin up into bone-in chops. Never heard of doing that!” Welcome to South Carolina in the 1980’s!!

Since the Spareribs were loose bulk frozen, shelf life was limited once thawed. Butcher shops would sell single racks of Spareribs after thawing out, wrapped in PVC stretch film on foam trays as a summer offering. Yet hardly any Backribs to be found, fresh or frozen, at grocery stores in the 1980's.

I won’t reveal the name of the butcher shop in Spartanburg even though the shop goes by another name now, but it goes to show how limited Backribs were before the 1990’s at grocery stores. The predominate pork ribs were Spareribs. I knew what Backribs were, growing up in Memphis, TN where they were a staple at many restaurants like the The Rendezvous and The Public Eye.? Backribs were standard fare at Damon’s “The Place for Ribs” founded in 1976 in Columbus, OH. By the mid 1990’s Backribs started to show up in stores in my South Carolina town. And they were refrigerated, not frozen! ?They were vacuum packaged 3 slabs to a bag.

The regional pork plants were getting gobbled up by the major US packers in the 80’s and 90’s to expand their brands and footprint. Some just became unprofitable and closed. The smaller regional packers who did both fresh and smoked & processed pork in the same manufacturing plant couldn’t compete with the large national players that focused on high volume of fresh pork only. The smoked and processed meat plants also split off into separate production facilities and decoupled themselves from the fresh pork slaughter production. They could then buy only the cuts of meats necessary for their specific production (hams, meats for hot dogs, bacon, etc). The pork slaughter plants became bigger, processing 15,000-20,000 hogs per day vs the small regionals doing a few thousand a day. Some of the plants that were combined fresh and smoked meat processing converted to fresh pork only (e.g. Ottumwa, IA plant). These larger pork plants benefited with the addition of vacuum packaging equipment to extend shelf life of their products. The predominate vacuum packaging equipment was the CRYOVAC? “Old Rivers” rotary chamber vacuum machine.? And it still is today.? This increased the distribution of fresh pork from a regional market to a more national level. It also allowed fresh pork to be sold overseas FRESH, never frozen, to countries like Japan.

https://www.sealedair.com/products/food-packaging

The US meat packers then saw an opportunity to merchandise more pork Backribs in the US at the supermarket level. The foodservice segment was very price competitive due to cheaper frozen imports. US supermarket chains began selling ribs in the vacuum shrink bag via the grocery self-service meat case. Originally, in the 80’s into the early 90’s, the pork rib vacuum package consisted of wrapping several slabs in a wax-coated woven cotton cloth sheet, to reduce bone punctures, placed into a clear plastic oxygen-barrier shrink bag for bulk vacuum packaging. In the mid-1990’s, CRYOVAC? Division of W.R. Grace (now the food packaging business within Sealed Air Corp) introduced their Boneguard Bag in smaller sizes for packaging of pork ribs. These bags had already proven successful in the beef industry for vacuum packaging of larger bone-in cuts. This patented bag consisted of a puncture resistant patch material laminated onto the exterior of the barrier shrink bag to prevent bone punctures and maintain the vacuum needed for shelf-life extension. The patch material was clear so consumers could see the meat and identify the type of rib within. Shrinking the Boneguard Bag in hot water gave it a tight appearance, making it more puncture resistant and reduced purge within the package

?https://www.sealedair.com/products/food-packaging

Initially, ribs were packaged 3 or more slabs per bag as a cost-effective offering. The initial markets were wholesale or Club store outlets like Sam’s Club, Costco, BJ’s, or Price Club (remember that one?) and later the “supercenter” markets. Backribs were sold at other chain grocery stores in the summer grilling months. Those grocery stores would buy the 3 pack of vacuum ribs, break it open and sell single slabs of ribs in PVC overwrap film. The vacuum packaging provided the shelf-life for ribs to be shipped from packing plants several states away.

Remember…..A Backrib is only generated when the full bone-in pork loin is deboned and converted into a boneless loin. The increased supply of boneless loins served the export market well. And, the US started consuming more boneless pork chops vs bone-in pork chops. Today, boneless pork loins sell for a lower $ per Lb. than pork Backribs which are about 40% bone!! Maybe that could be a marketing campaign? - "Less Meat, More Flavor!"

So, what was the initial driver? Was it increased demand for Backribs or more demand for boneless loins? Likely it was the demand for boneless loins, especially for the higher value export market, being the driver for deboning more loins by pork packing houses. The result was an increased supply of Backribs yet considered a value-add for the consumer because they were easier to cook than the Spareribs, and void of all that cartilage. Previously, most consumers had to eat at a barbecue restaurant to enjoy Backribs.

This increased the demand for Backribs carried over to growth in home smokers, and resulted in the merchandizing of single slabs of Backribs in vacuum packaging versus the 3 pack. The St. Louis Sparerib likewise grew in popularity, having a similar appearance to a Backrib by removing the breastbone (sternum) and the cartilage at the rib ends removed. The first publication advertising the St. Louis Rib was in 1947, in St. Louis, of course!! YouTube videos helped to educate the everyday consumer about smoking ribs. BBQ competitions grew substantially creating greater curiosity and desire for smoking the perfect slab of ribs.

Spareribs have always been in greater supply because, as previously mentioned, each hog generates two slabs of spareribs, removed from the pork belly which is used to make bacon. Spareribs take longer to cook to tenderness than a Backrib. Backribs are composed mainly of the tender muscle tissue from the loin. Spareribs are composed of muscles on top of the pork belly that are less tender.

Description of pork ribs-?https://www.pork.org/cuts/pork-ribs/

Today many more pork rib slabs are sold individually in vacuum packages because most consumers don’t want 3 slabs in a pack. The club stores still sell the 3 pack or 2 pack of ribs as they are geared towards a bulk supply model for savings to their clientele. The single slabs of vacuum packaged ribs can be found at most any grocery store or supermarket, and available year-round today. The vacuum packaged ribs can be frozen for at least a year without loss of quality, given the oxygen-barrier of the packaging is suitable and it doesn’t leak. The commercial vacuum packaging bags used by the major meat packers have a better oxygen-barrier than the home vacuum bags sold in supermarkets.

Another change in the 21st Century has been the branding of fresh ribs not seen in the 1990’s and earlier. Today, packers print their company brand on the rib packaging - Smithfield, Prairie Fresh (Seaboard and Triumph), Swift (JBS), IBP (Tyson) or Hormel for example. Some consumers like specific brands, especially for barbecue competitions.

If you’ve ever had the “Riblets” at Applebee’s, those are not actually ribs. They are a by-product of deboning the pork loin. They are the transverse process (flat bones) cut from the spinal column after removing the Backribs and the boneless loins. The remaining meat is very lean and has the look of rib ends. Very creative whoever had the idea to market that product!

Barbecue cooking 75 years ago and before was with whole hogs cooked over hot coals because the fresh pork supply at that time was based on purchasing a whole hog. It was easier just to cook the whole pig over a pit instead of cutting it up. It took a lot of time and attention and a lot of wood, typically for large family events or political rallies. Today, the equipment options are almost unlimited to smoke a single Backrib or a Boston Butt in a relatively small and programmable smoker/grill! The popular horizontal pellet smokers, or the Green Egg with an electric fan, or the drum smokers for BBQ competitions, allow novice smoker or weekend competitors the ability to smoke ribs, briskets, butts, or chicken without having to burn a huge stack of wood and shovel hot coals every 30 minutes into a pit. The newest smokers will run for hours without having to add more wood or charcoal while controlling temperature very precisely.

The fresh pork supply has evolved considerably in the last 50 years. Fatty hogs gave way to lean hogs in the 1990’s.? In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, almost 50% of the US fresh pork loins and ribs were injected with water-sodium phosphate solution to make the pork juicier and more tender after cooking due to the lack of marbling in pork loin muscles. But consumer groups pushed back in favor of “clean label ingredients” and the practice has since been eliminated, which is ok by me because those phosphate injected ribs didn't taste right after smoking. ...?https://www.porkbusiness.com/news/hog-production/enhanced-meat-how-consumers-drove-change

Now, pork production is going the other way with more natural pork, “heritage” pork with more marbling, organic pork, or antibiotic free/hormone free offerings.

What will the pork market look like in another 50 years? Will lab grown meat become more common and cost effective to provide, and will consumers accept it? Lab grown Backribs would be really bizarre! One thing that is constant is how vacuum packaging has elevated the distribution of fresh pork and other fresh meats, for both domestic trade and international trade, and continues to provide value in reducing food waste. Shelf-life of 25-28 days is common for boneless fresh pork in vacuum packaging for the domestic market and 55 days for export due to stricter temperature controls. Shelf-life of a pork rib is more like 19-21 because of the presence of bones yet need to be frozen for export. Pork ribs can be frozen in the vacuum package for at least one year without loss of quality with the proper oxygen-barrier packaging. Next time you eat a Backrib, thank not only your pig farmer but also the meat packer for keeping the stores well supplied. I think it’s time to fire up my smoker and cook a batch of ribs!!

Author: Walker Stockley - owner and pitmaster at Walker’s BBQ, LLC and retired packaging guru.? January 28, 2024.