Ribs are a cut of meat that can come from various animals, including pork, beef, lamb, and venison). Pork ribs are a popular type of rib in Western and Asian cuisines. The different types of pork ribs include back ribs, spare ribs, and country-style ribs, depending on the section of the hog from which they originated.

• Back ribs: Also known as loin ribs, back ribs are taken from the top of the rib cage between the spine and the spare ribs, below the loin muscle. They have meat between the bones and on top of the bones and are shorter, curved, and sometimes meatier than spare ribs.

• Spare ribs: Also called "spareribs" or "side ribs," spare ribs are taken from the belly side of the rib cage, below the section of back ribs, and above the sternum (breast bone). Spareribs are flatter and contain more bone than meat but more fat, making the ribs more tender than back ribs.

• Country-style ribs: Located in front of the baby back ribs, near the shoulder blade, this style of ribs is the meatiest variety. However, this cut is not actually from the ribs and instead is more of a pork chop.

Beef ribs, on the other hand, come from cattle. Beef ribs also come in two different cuts – back ribs and short ribs. Back ribs come from the “rib” section of the cow, while short ribs come from the “plate” part of the cow. Short ribs are lower down on the chest and have more meat than back ribs.