St. Louis-style ribs are spare ribs trimmed into a neat rectangular rack by removing the brisket bone and cartilage. The cut is now used nationwide but takes its name from this city.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
The St. Louis cut is a butchery style, not a recipe: pork spare ribs squared off by trimming the sternum, cartilage and flap, leaving an even rack that cooks consistently. The name reflects the city's role as a major 20th-century pork-processing centre. Local smokehouses like Pappy's and Salt + Smoke turn the cut into Memphis- and Texas-leaning ribs, and the trim is now a standard term on menus and in butcher cases across the country.
Tip from the editors. Apple or cherry wood gives the mild, sweet smoke St. Louis smokehouses favour over heavier hickory.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Pappy's smokes Memphis-style ribs over apple and cherry wood in Midtown and lands on national BBQ lists. The ribs are the order, and they sell out daily.
Order: Dry-rubbed ribs smoked over apple and cherry wood.
Tip: Arrive before noon at weekends; they smoke a fixed amount each day and close when it is gone. Cash and card both work.
Salt + Smoke smokes brisket over post oak for 16 hours in the Delmar Loop and pairs it with a deep bourbon list. The city's leading new-school BBQ name.
Order: Post-oak brisket with the fried pimento-cheese balls.
Tip: Brisket sells out, so save a spot on the waitlist or come early. The bourbon and beer list is as much the draw as the meat.
Bogart's smokes its signature apricot-bruleed ribs in historic Soulard, torching the sweet glaze to order, a counter-service BBQ joint that draws long lunchtime lines.
Order: The apricot-bruleed ribs.
Tip: The bruleed ribs are the order to try. Come at off-peak hours to skip the line.
More cities are in research. Want st. louis-style ribs covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.