Marge, I am confused about the type of pork rib to purchase. Spare ribs seem to be on sale lately. Are they as good as the more expensive baby backs? How about country ribs? What are they?

- Thank you. Karen Thompson

If you were to line up five people in a row you might get three different answers for the question of favorite cut. There are basically three types of pork ribs and they all come from the underbelly of the pig.

Whole racks of spare ribs contain the brisket bone and the surrounding meat. They actually are the largest cut but contain the least amount of meat . However they are very flavorful. St. Louis-style ribs are a trimmed variation of the whole rack of ribs with the breastbone removed. Purchase about 1 pound of back ribs per person.

Back ribs are cut from the back section of the pig are sometime sold as loin back ribs and baby back ribs. These ribs are cut from an area closest to the backbone of mature (not baby) hogs. They have more meat than spareribs and a bit less fat . They also cook faster than a whole rack of ribs. If you happen to see "riblets", they are the small ends of the baby back section. Buy about 1 pound of baby backs per serving.

Country-style ribs are the meatiest of all and are often sold without bones. They are cut from the blade of the pig nearest the shoulder.

No matter the type of pork rib you purchase, remember that they all contain a good bit of fat and sinew. Be sure to cook them at a low temperature for a long time. Oven cooked ribs should be cooked at about 300 degrees. Grilled ribs should use indirect heat (push the coals to the side).

You can tell if the ribs are done when you can loosen the bone with little or no effort. If using a sauce on your grilled meat, baste it with sauce for the last 30 minutes of cooking, especially if you have any type of sugar in the sauce. If you are baking the ribs in the oven you can brush on the sauce at any time.

Submit your questions to Marge Biancke at a2mailbox@comcast.net.