The Commercial Appeal First, a disquisition. Tender, but not particularly flavorful.
Spare ribs come from the underside of the pig, next to the bacon region.
They don't possess a lot of meat, but what meat they have is deeply, piggily flavorful. You have to cook the tenderness in, slowly, attentively, lovingly. They are meaty, but have a lot of fat. They are better braised than cooked over coals. The reason I begin today's column with this information is because Memphians know that spare ribs make the greatest barbecue ribs, know that chewing a great rib's charred edge of succulent meat through a welter of hair-raising sauce down to that bone and finishing it off clean as a whistle is one of the greatest joys in life.