Are your ribs the best you have ever had?


 
T

TonyG

TVWBB Fan
Long time listener, first time caller:

I have smoked baby back ribs about 3 times on the WSM and they have been the best I have ever had (thanks to Chris and this website!!) but not the most tender (falling off the bone). So I will try foiling them next time.

Also, as a side note, all of my BBQ has been the best i've had.....not to sound too arrogant but the chain restaurants around me in Florida can't comepare to the low and slow and the TLC of my Q. That is to say I havn't tried a fellow WSM user or someone's Q that has the same passion.

Oh, on the Kingsford issue, I have noticed that it does light and burn a little faster (not significantly to me)but I havn't noticed any smell.

Thanks again to Chris and all of this site's great members, This site alone is responsible for my purchase of the WSM and my new obsession in BBQ.

WSM since 8/2004

Anthony Goodman
 
My ribs (spares, don't do B/backs) and Butts are the best I have ever had, but I can't say that for my brisket. I don't do brisket that often to work on it, and have only done flats so far. They are good, but not the best I have had.
 
Bob, I know what you are saying. I made a brisket about a month ago. It was the first one I had ever made. I wouldn't know if it was good or bad. It was tender and tasted good. So, I became a Certified Barbecue Judge. I think this will allow me to taste really good que and help me benchmark my que against competition style. As Emiril would say"to step it up a notch"
 
In my opinion my ribs are the best I have ever had. I dont make my ribs fall off the bone though, I shoot for a texture that will create a perfect bite shape in the meat, at the same time the meat will pull clean from the bone where you took the bite.

I have some pictures on my website of some of my better attempts.

http://home.comcast.net/~wild_mn/BBQ.html
 
As a fellow Orlandoan, I can vouch for the uneven que at local restaurants. That being said, nearly all well done home bbq is far superior to that of any restaurant.

Once the basics are understood, the development of personal style and flavor makes each brand unique in it's own right.

I have never had a guest leave hungry. Or refused a doggy bag of leftovers.
 
The best ribs I have ever had were cooked by me. Having said that, I don't ALWAYS cook the best ribs I've ever had.
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There aren't a ton of Q places near me that cook Q I like (there was one a LONG time ago that got me and my dad hooked, but it's long gone....hence the reason we both have WSMs.)

As low volume cookers, we dedicate much more time per slab than a restaurant cook can afford to. It's natural that, if we know what we are doing, that we can achieve better results, especially since any seasoning, sauce, etc. is done to our particular tastes, too.

I will admit that the first couple of racks of ribs I did WERE NOT the best I had eaten at that time.
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Rich
 
I agree, I have learned and adjusted my rib cooks to just the way I like them. So yes mine are the best.

I also agree about taking more time and less volume makes them better as well.

I ask to go see the cookers at a local BBQ joint and it was amazing to say the least. They had 30 or 40 rack of ribs going at once for that day and the next day they said. After they are cooked they are stored and when ordered just throwed back on the grille and covered with way to much sauce, they claimed it helped get the meat tender again. With this way of cooking you can't get a get product I don't think. The butts and chicken were done the same way. Slam bam here ya go.

Randy
 
Randy, I did the same thing. I noticed that many cook at pretty high temps. Ask them how long it takes to get their product done. I bought ribs from the guy whose cooker temp was at 230-240. They were pretty good. Not great but good.The product from the other guys who were cooking at high temps tasted like just plain old cooked meat from the grill.<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Randy P.:
I agree, I have learned and adjusted my rib cooks to just the way I like them. So yes mine are the best.

I also agree about taking more time and less volume makes them better as well.

I ask to go see the cookers at a local BBQ joint and it was amazing to say the least. They had 30 or 40 rack of ribs going at once for that day and the next day they said. After they are cooked they are stored and when ordered just throwed back on the grille and covered with way to much sauce, they claimed it helped get the meat tender again. With this way of cooking you can't get a get product I don't think. The butts and chicken were done the same way. Slam bam here ya go.

Randy </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
 
Yes I agree again, what I sampled there I could have done on my kettle in 2 hours. They were ok and I ate 3 or 4 ribs and I guess to most people that have never had ribs our way of cooking don't know any different. That's a real shame too.

I didn't ask or notice what temps they cooked at but they did say they are cooked for 6 hours. It was a huge oven thing with a big firebox outside they fed the heat into the oven.

Randy
 
I think I'm just way too critical of my own cooking. I can't be objective. I know they are good, and I know they are better than most places. But I'm just not sure if they are the best I've had. I know for certain that I've never cooked brisket as well as some I've had elsewhere. But that is both a statement of having visited some places with absolutely outstanding brisket, as well as brisket not being my specialty.

Don't get me wrong... I think I cook some mean bbq... I just can't taste it without being critical. So who knows...

Chris K. - btw... loved the pictures... I'm jealous of your grilling/bbq setup - especially that Ranch Kettle!!!
 
By far the best. Granted, I've never eaten at these hole in the wall southern Q joints, but up here in yankee territory, they are the best by far. This includes resturants and other BBQ enthusiasts.

You need to keep in mind, anyone who has been doing this for anytime have tweeked their recipe to their liking. The question is pretty much a given.
 
Heck yeah... the best ribs I have ever had are mine! And thats not a biased report either... really!
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I am with you guys on the brisket though. I have had my brisket and it is very good. Tender, tasty, etc. But Smokey Bones brisket is the only other one that I have tried (and I really beat them!). I too am planning to become a CBJ and I know I will be learning lots about authentic Q when that happens.
 
No.

I've eaten ribs at a national rib cookoff winning restaurant. They set a standard for me that I still strive for. The best I've ever eaten.

That said, the last few times I was there I was disappointed. The smoke is gone and they are cutting corners.
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So my ribs are the best that I've had for several years. Although I'm still waiting for an invitation to try Tony's.
 
This topic is like throwing a grenade into a room!
As far as eating out this is my list.
In Peoria, Illinios there was a place called Big John's Bar B Cue-The Best of All Time. Even the Late Mike Royko wrote an article about it.
I lived in K.C. and Bryant's realyy is Ther best in K.C..
Carson's in Chicago-Very Good.
of couse I prefer my own too.
 
I travel a lot in my business. My favorite food on the road use to be BBQ. BBQ ribs, BBQ pulled pork, and anything else BBQ.

Then I bought a WSM. After palying with it for six months I also began to notice on my business trips that the BBQ joints took a sudden and unexpected down turn in quality. Even the ones I use to rave about where just barely OK. I still hit an occasional GREAT BBQ joint, but they are now few and far between.

Recently, I have to admit, that Chinese food is now my preferred meals while traveling. I wonder why that is???
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Jeff,

I'm guessing you're favorite right now being chinese is becuase you don't eat enough Thai food..... sooo good
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I feel thai food is to chinese what my ribs are to rib joints..... sooo much better
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I travel too. This past year it's 163,000 miles of driving, about the usual. I still go to many Q joints because I like to. Frankly, most I go to for the atmosphere. Though there are a few places I'll go back to for the food there are not that many--and I've been to many hundreds--even among the top 10s one sees in various periodicals and on the Net.

Tonight it was Thai, not far from you Jeff, in Va Beach.

Take the CBJ class with a grain of salt, Tony, but definitely take it if you're planning to compete. But I think you should just invite us all over for your ribs. We'll give you honest critiques!
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
Take the CBJ class with a grain of salt, Tony, but definitely take it if you're planning to compete. But I think you should just invite us all over for your ribs. We'll give you honest critiques!
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</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Man, if I could I would!
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Hey, maybe we can add a "National Smoke Day" to our agendas, meet someplace, everybody cooks and everybodys happy! The worlds largest BBQ Smorgasborg!
 
Tony, I agree 100% with Kevin. Invite us all over and we'll be more than happy to critique your cooking
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