Spare Ribs - 1.8 lb

Belly-cut spare ribs, one full rack averaging around 1.8 lb, from one of two partner family farms — Farmer Keith's 550-acre operation in a long-running TC Farm partnership, or Farmer Kerry's heritage-forest-hog farm in Montrose, Minnesota. Both farms raise to exactly the same standard, and both produce a rack that has no business being as deeply flavored as it is until you understand how the animals were raised.

Spare ribs sit in the lower portion of the rib cage, beneath the loin-back ribs and above the sternum. They carry more marbling, more surface fat, and more connective tissue than loin-cut baby backs — which is the whole reason they respond so well to extended heat. That fat isn't decoration. It bastes the meat from the inside as it renders, and it carries the fat-soluble flavor compounds that accumulate when an animal is allowed to grow at its own pace rather than being pushed to slaughter weight on a compressed feed program. On Kerry's farm in particular, his heritage forest hogs — a rare small lard breed — marble noticeably heavier than typical heritage breeds. Kerry, who came up through culinary school in Sonoma County in the early 2000s, describes the fat on his hogs as tasting almost like butter. Keith's hogs, raised year-round across 550 acres of pasture and wooded lots, carry that same slow-grown density that only comes from animals that have spent real time outdoors, foraging and moving through different sections of the farm.

The feed on both farms is transitional organic corn, barley, and alfalfa — all grown on-farm, with no soy in the ration. That last part matters more than it sounds. The overwhelming majority of commercially raised pork in the United States is finished on a corn-soy blend, and soy derivatives show up in a large share of the pork at any given grocery counter. Keeping soy entirely out of the feed is an uncommon practice, and it makes a meaningful difference for families managing soy sensitivities. The feed designation is transitional organic, which is a specific USDA classification for farmland that has been managed to organic standards but has not yet completed the three-year certification window required for the full organic label. The on-farm growing means the farmer controls what goes into the soil, not just what goes in the trough.

Both farms use rotational grazing, cycling hogs through different pasture sections on a schedule that gives grazed ground time to recover before the next group moves in. That rotation protects native plant species, reduces soil compaction, and prevents the kind of runoff that follows when animals concentrate on a single patch of ground for too long. Farmer Kerry's rotational program in Montrose was something he brought back directly from his culinary-school years — a flavor-first philosophy that starts with soil health and works forward. The result is hogs that grow roughly 20% more slowly than conventionally raised pork, a difference that allows more time for fat development, higher Vitamin D accumulation from real sun and pasture exposure, and the kind of flavor that is difficult to explain on a label but obvious the first time you pull a rack off a low smoker.

These ribs are built for low-and-slow. Smoke them at 225°F for five to six hours — bone side down, unwrapped through the first three hours to let bark develop, then tented or wrapped loosely if you want a softer bite. They braise beautifully in a covered roasting pan at 300°F for three to three and a half hours if you don't have a smoker. On the grill, set up a two-zone fire and keep the ribs over indirect heat for two and a half to three hours. The USDA minimum internal temperature for whole pork cuts is 145°F, but ribs with this much connective tissue reward patience — pulling them at 195°F to 203°F will give you collagen that has fully converted to gelatin and meat that slides clean off the bone without being mushy. A simple dry rub of salt, pepper, and smoked paprika is enough. The fat does the rest.

Ingredients: Pork.

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Common Questions

Where exactly on the pig do spare ribs come from, and how are they different from baby back ribs?
Spare ribs are cut from the lower section of the rib cage, in the belly primal, below where the loin-back (baby back) ribs sit and above the sternum. Because the belly is the fattiest primal on the hog, spare ribs carry significantly more intramuscular fat, surface fat, and connective tissue than loin-cut baby backs. That connective tissue is primarily collagen, which breaks down into gelatin during extended cooking and produces the sticky, rich texture that makes spare ribs so satisfying when cooked low and slow. Baby backs are leaner and shorter-boned; spare ribs are longer, heavier, and more forgiving of the time it takes to do them right.

How rare is soy-free pork, and why does it matter for my family?
The vast majority of commercially raised pork in the United States is finished on a corn-soy blend — soy meal is the dominant protein supplement in conventional hog finishing rations because it is cheap and calorie-dense. That means soy derivatives are present throughout the commercial pork supply at nearly every price point. TC Farm partner farms — both Farmer Keith's operation and Farmer Kerry's farm in Montrose, Minnesota — feed no soy at any stage: the ration is transitional organic corn, barley, and alfalfa, all grown on-farm. For families managing soy allergies or soy sensitivities, that farm-level commitment is the only reliable way to avoid soy exposure through pork, since no standard grocery label currently requires disclosure of feed composition. It is a genuinely uncommon practice in the U.S. market.

What does transitional organic feed mean, and why doesn't TC Farm just say organic?
Transitional organic is a formal USDA classification for farmland that is being managed to certified organic standards — no synthetic pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers, no GMO crops — but has not yet completed the three-year transition period required before the USDA Organic seal can be applied. Both TC Farm partner farms grow their own feed on land that is in or has completed that transition window. Calling the product simply organic before the full certification is complete would be inaccurate under USDA rules, and TC Farm does not make that claim. What the transitional designation means practically is that the feed the hogs eat was grown under organic management disciplines; it simply has not been through the full certification paperwork cycle yet. That distinction matters, and it is worth saying plainly rather than rounding it up to a claim the farms have not earned.

Does pasture-raised on the label actually mean anything for pork?
For pork specifically, the USDA currently has no enforceable federal standard defining what pasture-raised means on a label — a producer can use the term with minimal regulatory requirement. What distinguishes the TC Farm partner farms is not a label claim but a documented raising practice: both Farmer Keith's 550-acre farm and Farmer Kerry's farm in Montrose, Minnesota provide year-round outdoor access to pasture and wooded lots, with rotational grazing that cycles animals through different sections of the farm on a recovery schedule. The animals forage, root, and move through all four seasons, not just during a window that satisfies a minimum standard. That level of access is meaningfully different from confinement systems or partial-access programs that still legally qualify for certain labeling claims.

Is there a measurable nutrition difference between pasture-raised, slow-grown pork and conventionally raised pork?
Yes, and two differences in particular are well-documented. First, pigs with genuine outdoor pasture access synthesize Vitamin D through sunlight exposure the same way humans do; confinement-raised pigs, kept indoors under artificial light, produce significantly lower Vitamin D levels in their fat and muscle tissue. Second, slower growth — the TC Farm partner hogs grow roughly 20% more slowly than conventionally raised pork — allows more time for fat to deposit and for the fat-soluble flavor compounds associated with a varied pasture and grain diet to accumulate in the muscle. These are not marketing abstractions; Vitamin D concentration in pork is measurable by standard tissue analysis, and the relationship between growth rate and intramuscular fat development is well-established in livestock science literature. Faster finishing produces leaner, blander muscle because the animal simply has not had the time to develop the fat architecture that carries flavor.

What is the best way to cook these spare ribs, and what internal temperature should I target?
The USDA minimum safe internal temperature for whole pork cuts is 145°F, but spare ribs have enough connective tissue — primarily collagen in the intercostal muscles between the bones — that pulling them at 145°F will leave the texture tight and chewy. The target for ribs cooked to the right texture is 195°F to 203°F, the range at which collagen fully converts to gelatin and the meat releases cleanly from the bone. The most reliable method is low-and-slow smoking at 225°F for five to six hours, bone side down. An oven braise in a covered roasting pan at 300°F for three to three and a half hours achieves a similar result with less active tending. On a grill, set up indirect heat on one side of the grate, keep the ribs away from direct flame, and allow two and a half to three hours. A simple dry rub applied the night before — salt, pepper, and smoked paprika — is enough; the fat in a slow-grown rack does most of the flavor work on its own.

How should I store and thaw these ribs?
Keep the ribs frozen until the day before you plan to cook them. The safest and most texture-preserving thaw method is to move the sealed package to the refrigerator 24 hours before cooking and let it thaw slowly at 38°F to 40°F. If you need to thaw more quickly, submerge the sealed package in a cold-water bath — changing the water every 30 minutes — and allow approximately one to two hours for a pack this size. Do not thaw at room temperature; the outer surface enters the bacterial growth range well before the center is fully thawed. Once thawed, the ribs should be cooked within two to three days if kept refrigerated. Kept continuously frozen, they hold quality well for up to nine to twelve months.