Rib Contest coming up, practice, practice, practice...

[Harmonica Bear]

[reinhard1]

looks like your the man to beat . when is it? good luck.

[Harmonica Bear]

Harldy, there's some heavy hitters that show up. Be fun to be in the mix though. It is September 24th.

[thirdeye]

Practice is definitely the key. What type of contest are you entering? And if there was one thing you would like to improve on your ribs what would that be?

A couple of pointers I've discovered the hard way:

1. Having proper texture and tenderness is more important than flavor. In other words, a tasty rib that is tough or dry won't get you any points.

2. Many folks over sauce ribs, and hide all the flavors you worked hours to get.

3. You sometimes have to put aside what you like, and cook for the judges. For example, national competition judges want a rib with some "tug" to the meat, and sauces that are shiny and sweet are the most popular. And judges at a local contest might prefer a fall-off-the-bone kind of rib, and you might hit a home run with a spicier sauce.

[reinhard1]

BUMMER!!!!!!that is the day [all weekend] of the pig roast at my daughters house. remember i said i was going to be there this time around. unreal both dates colided. well the next event. thanks good luck.

[Harmonica Bear]

Trust me - I was opposed to the date as well. It's hunting season for petes sake!

[reinhard1]

well you did real well in the last contest, and maby get back to back wins. i wish you luck. good luck.

[SkunkedAgain]

BUMMER!!!!!!that is the day [all weekend] of the pig roast at my daughters house.

A rib contest and a pig roast do not sound mutually exclusive

[Harmonica Bear]

The one thing we always wanted to improve upon was the tenderness of the rib. Finally nailed it yesterday. By far the best I've ever made (tenderness-wise). Still fine-tuning the rub (so I guess that's next). We will mildly sauce a part of each rib for the judging. Not too worried about the sauce, ICB makes a Jack Daniels Sauce from scratch that perfectly compliments ribs but does not over shadow anything. Of coarse when they get sold to the public, if they want them sauced, we sauce them up.

Judging is based on 3 things: Appearance(not presenation), Taste and Tenderness. 1-10 points for each catagory. 30 point max.

Yeah the judging or who are the judges and what they like is totally a c-rap shoot. All you can really do is try and make a good tasting high quality tender rib and let the chips fall where they may. There is also people's choice award. Which is cool to win.

[thirdeye]

Here is my $0.02 it might give you an edge. Starting from a whole slab, I trim my ribs as straight as I can into a rectangle shape. I use two general options for rubs, ones that don't contain paprika or chili powder, and those that do. The darker ones have paprika in the rub. I will usually use two different rubs applied in individual layers. If one is more sugar based it goes closer to the meat to help avoid over darkening. I season them (both sides) about 30 minutes before going on the smoker. If you have no issues with using and serving MSG, give them a sprinkle of that. If you feel the need to baste them during cooking, try brushing on melted lard. It's a big flavor booster.

For tenderness a foil step works great for me. At about the 3 hour mark (cooking at 260°-275°, and having turned twice) I get a triple layer of foil ready. On that I add some honey, some Parkay, some sauce, a sprinkle of brown sugar and a couple of tablespoons of apple juice, then the ribs go on meat down. To the bone side I add the same things, then fold the foil and seal the pouch. It goes back on for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the thickness of the ribs. the liquid is steaming the meat tender. I just use a toothpick for confirming tenderness and I check them at 45 minutes. In addition to tenderizing them, this will give you a couple of cups of drippings that are excellent to add to your sauce. You can grind up some of your rub really fine, and sprinkle the rack before brushing on your warmed sauce.

Don't give the judges any ribs from the ends, and to give the judges a WOW factor, you can do a proud cut on the ribs. This gives them a meatier rib than the other competitors. Rather than cutting ribs midway between bones, the cut is made close to the adjacent bones in order to yield a rib with more meat on each side. The problem here is that you may have to slice from two racks to get enough for all the judges.

[reinhard1]

third eye if i win the powerball you will get your own TV show. you are amazing and that is putting it mildly. good luck.

[bbqhead]

If it was KCBS sanctioned I would be there! Good luck for the win!

randy

[Harmonica Bear]

Thanks for the tips, Thirdeye! Very much appreciated. Those look Phenomenal!!! I pretty much used the same steps for cooking, though at slighly lower temps. I also did not add anything when they hit the foil. At that point I was just letting them sweat and tenderize in their own juices. Might try adding somethings you've mentioned.

Ok here's a question: Parkay? You've mentioned you use it, and I've heard mention of it in other BBQ conversations as well. Why Parkay over others?

[McGurk]

A proud cut. I like it! I may have to make a few proud cuts for myself the next time I make a few racks. As always; Great info and pix, thirdeye!

[thirdeye]

Thanks for the tips, Thirdeye! Very much appreciated. Those look Phenomenal!!! I pretty much used the same steps for cooking, though at slighly lower temps. I also did not add anything when they hit the foil. At that point I was just letting them sweat and tenderize in their own juices. Might try adding somethings you've mentioned.

Ok here's a question: Parkay? You've mentioned you use it, and I've heard mention of it in other BBQ conversations as well. Why Parkay over others?

One advantage to adding some liquid to the foil is that you are not pulling liquids out of the meat.

I wish I had an answer to the Parkay question, it's there for moisture more than flavor. Or maybe to give the flavors something to attach to. I would guess it's because it's a neutral flavor (more so than butter), it does blend well with other things and it does not seem to separate. Also the squeeze bottle is easier to handle during your prep. A lot of folks use it. Other margarine I've tried do not work like the "blue bottle". Here is a screenshot from the video below, it's only a few seconds in the video.

[img:center]

[thirdeye]

If it was KCBS sanctioned I would be there! Good luck for the win!

randy

You know, if you're close-by.... maybe give them a call to see if they need judges. The better the caliber of the judges, the better the contest.