Barbecue Ribs Put to the Test
(Page 2 of 4)
July/August 2009
Carol Crupper
Each region worked its own magic on foods they had in abundance. Each perfected its own style. In the South, the focus was on pork, with vinegar and mustard bases. In Texas, beef brisket and red sauce became the barbecue of choice.
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Cattle drives, the railroad and jazz carried barbecue to Kansas City, where these regional styles merged. Kansas City added its own take on this style of cooking, using both pork and beef, slathering both in thick, sticky sauce.
By the 1940s, a good many Americans started cooking outdoors. They would barbecue (cook slowly over smoke) or grill (cook hot and fast on a grill). Both types of cooking served as main courses for a barbecue, a social gathering for a meal cooked out-of-doors.
From the Carolinas, barbecue has morphed its way across the United States. And while purists may prefer true regional styles, today’s transient society tends to blur traditions. So, too, do cook-off contests, which began small in the 1960s and have burgeoned into major events.
Pros and hobbyists
Carolyn Wells celebrates all things barbecue, especially barbecue ribs. People appreciate regional differences, but they like to be creative, too, she says. “Good barbecue is good barbecue no matter where you go.”
And it has evolved into sport as well. Her Kansas City Barbeque Society, which sanctions the American Royal, began in 1985 with 20 enthusiasts. Today, it counts 8,000 members worldwide and sanctions more than 300 competitions throughout the year that lead up to this national event.
Other high-profile contests include the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest at the Memphis in May International Festival and the World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest at the Houston Livestock Show, but the largest sanctioned event is the Royal, on the first weekend of October.
Rules of engagement require wood or charcoal. From there, choices abound. Apple, cherry, hickory, oak – all woods impart different tastes. From an array of flavorings, cooks concoct an arsenal of rubs, mops and sauces. They may share a tip or two but, as they try to outfox friendly rivals, they keep strategic secrets to themselves.
“Tastes are in constant evolution, or devolution,” says Jeff Stehley, head cook for Slaughter House Five from Kansas City, Kansas.
Today he’s reverting to a method he used five years ago with the hope that evaluators see old as new. “Judges’ tastes are running sweeter and sweeter and sweeter. I’m hoping to buck that trend,” he says.
His competitive eye is on Big Bob Gibson, of Decatur Alabama, a team that won the Royal in 2004 and Memphis in 2000 and 2003. Gibson’s chief cook, Chris Lilly, married into this gig. His wife’s great-grandfather was Big Bob himself. “I married her for the recipes,” Chris confides with a grin.