Memphis BBQ - The Night Before
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BBQ takes preparation. This is my Readers-Digest version of the process of cooking ribs. I’m cooking for a small family gig tomorrow night…nothing real fancy, but it’s a great opportunity to practice.
I prepare the ribs the night before the cook. The preparation includes pulling the “backstrap” and rubbing the ribs down with the dry rub.
These ribs were purchased at the local grocery store. Sam’s Club has a good product. They’re IBP brand, come in a sealed 3-pack, and are relatively cheap (~$22 for the 3 slabs). The team uses Curly Tail brand meat for competition…the slabs are consistent in size (and the backstraps are already pulled - BONUS).
The ones shown above are right out of the package. Things you’ll need include a sharp knife to get them out of the plastic, a butter knife and paper towels to remove the backstrap, dry rub, and a cold beer.
The backstrap is a natural membrane that is found on the underside of the ribs. Some like to keep it on, some remove it. I remove it because I think it tastes like crispy wax paper after cooking, and it looks like a long red snot-drip before cooking. To remove it, simply turn the ribs over, slide the butter knife along one of the smaller rib bones underneath the membrane. Once you can get a finger underneath the backstrap, use the paper towel to grab it, and pull. With a little practice, it will come off in one swift pull.
Next, I rub the ribs down (both top and bottom side) with my favorite dry rub. You’ll want to be careful not to put too much rub on them so that it gets caked on, but you don’t want to be shy with it. After all, the flavor is what differentiates your cooking from others’. If it’s good, use it!
My ribs after rubbing are shown here. I went a little light on the rub because there’s a lot of sugar, and it will caramelize during the cooking process.
Finally, you’ll want to find a way to refrigerate them overnight.
I use a plastic container that’s intended for picture/CD storage. It seems to fit the ribs (and the fridge) nicely.
Total time for all this was probably about 30 minutes (or 1 beer). It can go longer or shorter depending on how much help you have, or how many beers you’ve had prior to starting the process.
Tomorrow I’ll get to the more technical stuff….
BBQ by an Engineer
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I enjoy BBQ. Or, better yet, I enjoy cooking BBQ.
I am the so-called “Head Cook” of the Swine-O-Mite BBQ team based out of Memphis, TN. We compete in contests around the Memphis area, including the World Championship Memphis in May BBQ Contest….the granddaddy of all contests. I’ve been on the team for going on 13-14 years…it started as an excuse to drink beer, eat great food, and watch women. It’s still an excuse to drink beer and eat great food. (There’s only one woman in my life now.)
Anyway, I’ve learned a lot about cooking good BBQ over the years. I’ve also learned how to cook bad BBQ. Either way, cooking good BBQ is a science. It takes knowledge, practice, and determination (very similar to engineering in a sense). To be successful in it (either in competition or cooking in the back yard), I believe you have to do the following:
- Know your product - Whether you’re cooking ribs, shoulders, or just chicken breasts on the gas grill out back, it helps to know what you’re cooking. Was it frozen first, how will the thickness affect the cooking time, how fatty was the pig, are the pieces consistent (for competition), who’s going to be eating it and how do they like it cooked?
- Know your hardware - There are a ton of smokers out there ranging from a simple Weber grill to a big trailer rig with rotisserie smokers mounted next to the sink and on-board refrigerators. A good cook (much better than me) could produce a championship-grade product on any smoker AS LONG AS HE/SHE IS FAMILIAR WITH IT. Temperatures can change drastically, fires can die, etc, but as long as you know how the smoker is going to react, you can react first. If you’re interested, I’m a big fan of The Backwoods Smokers.
- Know flavor - If your rub, marinade, and/or sauce isn’t good, your meat won’t be good. Personally, I stick to working the smoker, and another teammate handles the rub and sauce. It’s amazing what spices good judges can pick up in a finger-full of dry rub or spoonful of sauce. But most of all, you have to be able to create a taste that YOU like.
- Practice - Perfect practice makes perfect! Goes for anything.
- Drink cold beer (optional) - It makes everything go by a little easier and taste a little better.
Enough of that talk. I’m cooking some ribs tomorrow, so I’ll detail some of my methods here shortly.
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