As a rule, a half rack from a pig carcass contains 5 to 6 ribs since a full rib rack typically has 10 to 13 ribs. As for the steer, a half rack should have 4 to 5 ribs since a mature steer has at least nine ribs. And as for lamb racks, expect 3 to 4 loin rib chops on a half rack (7 or 8 on a complete rack). From now on, your butcher won’t be able to cheat you.
Back in the day as a rookie cook, I was sold less than five rib bones for a half slab of pork ribs. This happened on several occasions. One day, I realized I was getting tricked when I saw my local butcher take apart a hog.
Inspired by this incident, I decided to educate myself on the anatomy of animals like cows and sheep. These days, you’ll never see me buy racks of ribs online without checking how many bones they have. The number of ribs in racks can vary from animal type to the butchering process, breed, and animal size. Dive in to know more.
A 1/2 rack of ribs is half a full slab from an already butchered vertebrate animal.
To break this down further, a rib slab is one of the pairs of the entire ribcage from an animal after it might have been cut into two halves by the butcher.
So, how many ribs in a half rack exactly?
Below is a quick breakdown of the number of ribs to expect on a pig, cow, or lamb half rack:
Meat Type | Number of Ribs on a Half Rack | Number of Ribs on a Full Rack |
Pork Rack | 5 to 6 | 10 to 13 |
Beef Rack | 4 to 5 | 9 to 12 |
Lamb Rack | 3 to 4 | 7 to 8 |
A full rack of ribs from the cow has up to 12 bones once the backbone and breastbone are taken away.
On the other hand, there are 6 to 7 ribs in half beef back ribs (also called dinosaur ribs) and beef short ribs or short plate ribs (which contain straight and flat bones).
Pigs are 13-ribbed. So a half-rack of pork spare ribs or baby back ribs comprise 5 to 6 bones, supposing the backbone and breastbone have been taken off. As with many animals, it depends on how the rib was butchered.
A full rack of lamb rib chop consists of at least seven ribs on a rack, though up to nine can be found. So you’ll have around 3 to 4 rib bones on half of a lamb rack which you can cut into lamb chops.
As mentioned earlier, certain factors determine how much you get each time you get a rack (or half) of ribs. These include:
The most you can get from half-rack pork ribs (pork spare ribs or baby back ribs) is around seven ribs. That’s for rib racks from large breeds of pigs like the Braun or American landrace pigs, which have around 16 to 17 ribs on a complete rack.
So, if your butcher hands you a 5-rib half rack, ask them what breed type the pig is. Note that sometimes the bottom ends of each rib are cut off.
That explains why you may only get five from a half rack of ribs with 14 complete rack ribs, for example. If you want more ribs on your rack, your butcher might indulge you if you ask him not to take away the end bones.
On the other hand, most pig racks from normal-sized breeds like the Lacombe typically has 13 ribs or even fewer. That’s why I mentioned that a half rack of ribs has around 5 to 6.
Large cow breeds like the Angus have up to 13 ribs or more on each rack. So, expect to have 6 to 7 on 1/2 of a rack. I’ve never found a rack with more than 13 ribs (or half a rack with more than seven ribs), by the way.
It also depends on the cuts and how many half-racks you’re buying. For multiple half-rack orders, the butcher could cut a whole rack into two unequal rib numbers, 5 in one and 8 in the other, for example.
You can also find this in online ribs like the Grumpy Butcher Wagyu Smoked Ribs. The product is a full pack of rack, but it’s usually cut into two half racks with different numbers of ribs.
What are the serving sizes for a half rack of baby back ribs and spare ribs? First, 5 to 6 baby back ribs or short ribs will feed a person.
Because spare ribs contain more meat between the bones than baby back ribs, a half rack of spare ribs has serving sizes that feed two persons: that is, 3 to 4 ribs per person.
I mentioned above that a rack from the cow contains 10 to 13 ribs, depending on the butchering process, animal breed, and size.
And what if you buy a whole rack of ribs containing fewer ribs of, say, eight rib bones? Now that’s what we call the “cheater rack.”
It means your butcher may have just ripped you off!
Remember, a drop in the rib count is usually the result of damage caused by the butchering process. Again, butchers like to remove the first and last bones from a full rack of ribs.
This gives consumers the impression that they have been ripped off. Otherwise, you may agree to pay using the weighing method.
A rack of spare ribs is sold for around $3.50 per pound. A complete rack typically weighs 1½ to 2 pounds which means it costs $6 to $7. Compare this with what your butcher offers you for a full rack, and there you go!
No one likes to get cheated. You won’t be happy ordering a half rack of ribs and getting a one-quarter.
5 to 6, 4 to 5, and 3 to 4 ribs are fine for a half rack of pork ribs, beef ribs, or lamb ribs, respectively. But there’s the possibility of getting more if the animal is a large breed or the butcher doesn’t remove the first and last ribs.
So when purchasing your meat, count them and check you have the right numbers.
