The Caloric Value of a Slab of Ribs

Total Calories

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that a 12-inch long, approximately 2-pound rack of cooked pork back ribs contains 2,564 calories. The average woman between 19 and 30 years old needs approximately 2,000 calories a day; an entire slab of ribs far exceeds that, especially if the pork ribs are prepared and served covered in a sugar-rich barbecue sauce and paired with high-calorie side dishes.

Calories From Fat

A slab of cooked pork back ribs contains 188.8 total grams of fat. Since each gram of fat contributes 9 calories, the amount of calories supplied by fat in a slab of ribs is approximately 1,700, or nearly 68 percent of the total caloric value of the slab. Of the ribs' fat content, 68 grams are saturated fat. According to the American Heart Association, a woman on a 2,000-calorie diet should have less than 80 grams of total fat and 15 grams of saturated fat a day.

Calories from Protein

Pork back ribs have 202 grams of protein per slab. Protein supplies 4 calories per gram, so the protein in a slab of ribs provides about 32 percent of the total calories. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that most people should get 10 to 35 percent of their daily calories from protein, which, for the average woman, is about 46 grams. A slab of ribs contains significantly more than she needs per day.

Calories from Carbohydrates

Pork back ribs, like all other types of meat, seafood and poultry, don't contain any detectable amount of carbohydrates. However, if you brush the ribs with barbecue sauce while they're roasting or grilling, you can add a significant amount of carbohydrates to the prepared slab. A typical pork back ribs slab recipe calls for 2 cups of barbecue sauce. The USDA says that commercially bottled barbecue sauce may contain as much as 227 grams of carbohydrates -- made up mostly of sugar -- in every 2 cups. That's 908 calories from carbs.