Growing up near St Louis, I didn't even know what "baby backs" were the first time I saw them on a menu. Ribs was ribs - and they were free, being throwaways from the packing yards. Old Black men cooked them low and slow over hickory and slavered them with thick sweet sauce.
The first time I saw "dry rub baby back ribs" my thought was, "What the fog?" Then I learned: "baby" refers to the amount of meat on 'em and "back" means how you send them to the cook.
