Barbecue Ribs Put to the Test
(Page 3 of 4)
July/August 2009
Carol Crupper
As with most southerners, pork is his specialty. “We use a really light apple juice-based injection; we add seasoning and use rub outside,” he says. He cooks over charcoal and pignut hickory and does not wrap his meat. “Do not open the cooker,” he cautions. “Do not peek. When it comes out, it’s ready to eat.”
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Chris turned his talent into a profession, but team Stoddard and Brown has no intent to go pro. “Lord, no,” says building engineer Andrew Stoddard. “This is fun as a hobby – but as a business, no thank you!”
He and Brett Brown, a sociologist researcher, drove 1,100 miles from northern Virginia. Brown sleeps in a small tent; Stoddard in the back of his truck. They use natural meats and cook “hotter and faster than traditional. This works for us and lets us get some sleep,” Brett says. “We like to keep things simple.”
Their recipe reflects Carolinian taste. For pork, they combine apple juice, vinegar, sugar and salt, spike it with spices, and smoke at 300 degrees. When done, they wrap the meat in foil, cover it with a blanket and let it rest.
Danny and Kay Spiegelhauer, who run a paint and body shop in Houston, are spending their 44th wedding anniversary at the invitational. Danny designed and built the oversized pit that Team Impact totes from place to place. “We don’t use sauce on anything as a rule,” offers Kay. “Once you take it off the pit, you don’t touch it.”
Julie and Brendan Burek – a.k.a. Transformer BBQ of Canton, Massachusetts – packed their knives in a suitcase, hopped a plane and borrowed a smoker from friends. “We’re kind of new to this,” Julie says as she stirred beans for the side dish competition.
Barbie Strein – enjoying a beer and chocolate pie for breakfast – left her husband’s team in 1993 to strike out on her own. Most women start out with their husbands, she says. “He’ll ask, ‘Which of these do you like best?’ You’ll say – then he’ll enter the other one. That’s when you branch off to do your own thing.”
Her hubby’s team is Lost Gonzo; hers is Lost Gonzo Too.
Cooking with friends now, the Fort Worth pawnshop owner is learning to adapt to the varied rules of competition. “In Texas, we get people out of the crowd and say ‘do you like it or not,’” Barbie says. Here, even garnishes make a difference.
Playing by the rules
Ah, yes, the rules.
“Rules are created to make a level playing field so hobbyists can go against big-name stars,” says Steve Grinstead, a payroll supervisor from Ohio and volunteer judge.
Behind royal blue curtains, some 600 judges from 35 states sit six to a table, taking chefs’ offerings at random. Once the barbecue arrives, talk ceases. Some judges sniff, all taste, some lick their fingers. Water and crackers cut taste between entries.