InSearchOfThePerfectRib

“My day actually started in Arkansas, Marianna to be exact. (My apologies to anyone who lives there or has any connection, but there just isn't much there, except one of our suppliers.) GM was up today from Shreveport, and wanted to review process controls and see all the new stuff we had put in place. Since our GM line doesn't come up until tomorrow, we elected to make the trip to Marianna to see what MY supplier is doing to help MY customer.

Well, 4pm got here, and we had a QUEST: in search of the perfect rib. Beale Street in Memphis it is, and we were there early. Bob wanted to go to BB Kings, but the show didn't start until 8pm, so i suggested that we just make the walk along Beale street and drink a beer here, and another there -- until we had stepped inside of every place there.

Several bars later, and we had sampled enough alcohol and food that ribs seemed like a distant future, but at least we had gathered enough info to decide who most likely had the best, and we had it down to three. (It was not BB King's place.)

Every time we stopped for a beer, we sampled the gumbo, or the red beans and rice, or the oysters on the half shell.. etc etc..

Finally after about three games of pool to let the alcohol settle.. (dang it, he beat me in the final game cos I muffed my shot on the 8-ball -- but hey, he is the customer.. he is SUPPOSED to win, right?)

The winner for the perfect rib? King's Palace.. not BB King's place.. not any of the other contenders.. and oh my gosh.. it was GREAT.

They smoke their ribs for a little over four hours.. and the meat FELL off the bone.. A really nice night in Memphis, in search of the perfect rib.

The best part? GM decided there was no need to come back to my plant tomorrow.. felt that we had it all under control.”

“Ribs and beer on Beale Street and no blues?”

“oh yeah.. lots of good music.. one horn band.. doing old stax stuff.. was awesome..”

“whew. Had me worried. That would be like going deaf.”

“heh.. ya.. trust me.. STILL plenty of music to be heard on Beale Street.”

“The one that begot woman.”

“Amen.”

“TownDawg - I love ribs and pride myself on my smoked ribs. I took some to a New Year's Day party and people about fought each other over them.

I remove the membrane on the back of the slab and rub them with my secret ingredients and let it sit for a while. I put a pan of hot water in the bottom and add some red wine and minced garlic. I smoke the ribs with indirect heat and put hickory and apple wood chips on the coals for smoke.

Sometimes I will baste half the ribs with a BB sauce near the end. I use KC Masterpiece or Bullseye doctored up with minced garlic, red wine and honey.

This works on either beef or pork ribs. Cooking time is 2-4 hours depending on how much time I have.

BTW. It sounds like we are in very similar disciplines. I teach SPC and all that quality system stuff. I even used to work for GM. What exactly is your position?”

“Yeah...that's what G-d said to Adam.

























Boy did he pick the wrong one!”

“A serious question calls for a serious answer.

I have product line responsibility for the GM truck plant in Shreveport LA, the Nissan truck plant in Smyrna TN, the Mitshibushi car plant in Bloomington IL, and the Ford/Mazda plant in Kansas City MO.

I am one of a core team (Manufacturing Engineer, Production Manager and myself -- the Quality Engineer) and work for an automotive seating facility in West Tennessee.

I have been in automotive before, but got 'courted' a few times outside that discipline. Although both my Bachelors and Masters are in Education (even taught school for about 7-8 yrs), I entered the manufacturing arena back in 1984.

and yes, I love it.”

“and as you know, Phil.. anyone will tell you.. the sauce is important.. but even the BEST sauce cannot fix a bad job of cooking.

These ribs were excellent.”

“Most folks throw pork on the fire, throw some sauce on it, and think they are cooking ribs.

:)”

“TownDawg - I am doing some research about awareness and use of statistical methodologies in the auto industry. It is based on QS-9000. If I emailed you a survey, could you be willing to fill it out and send or fax it back to me? Responses are confidential but participants can get a copy of the summarized results.

Regarding ribs, I agree with you about how many people abuse the meat they BBQ. They burn it an slap sauce on it.

Buddur - Speaking of Adam's Ribs, one of my favorite episodes of M.A.S.H. was when Hawkeye got an obsession for ribs from Adam's Ribs in Chicago and did whatever it took to get some sent to Korea. The kicker was that he got the ribs, but forgot to order the sauce. It was a great episode.”

“Gee TownDawg, I used to have so much respect for you, thinking that you were somebody. Now you tell us that you are just one of the boys. And to top it off you tell about losing at 8-ball. We gave up sloppy pool games long ago. Down here our daily sessions are One-pocket pool games, usually with partners, alternate shots, and sharking allowed.

Say, Phil's working on a modification of the picture that I sent you. He said that it would be a few days. I can give you a clue, it will show some "senior rights."”

“Woman takes a bite out of an apple.

Woman hands the apple to man and says, "Here, take a bite".

Man, with totally FREE WILL, takes a bite out of the apple.

Then he throws his hands up and says, "It's all her fault, I had nothing to do with it!"”

“I thought this was going to be bacpac's idea of a singles ad.

my bad
;oP”

“Isn't that just the way Buddur! Now that he finds out it was the best one, he wants it back.”

“I like Tony Roma's Ribs but homemade is best.”

“*mmmmmm riiibs* TIme to roadtrip back to the ol' alma mater and get some DREAMLAND ribs...no beans, no slaw...just ribs!!”

“TD, try the ribs at Cozy Corner (at Jackson and Danny Thomas). Best I have had in Memphis. (although I will try the ribs at King's Palace). Also, I have been hearing tales about a place north of Forrest City, AR that is supposed to have killer ribs. I might have to make an afternoon trip to check the veracity of those stories.”

“Go to Twin Anchors!!”

“Phil: sure, no problem. 731.686.4565

Nowslimmer: dang.. ruined my image, ehh?

AmyG: heya hottie. :)

Chili36: heh.. maybe we can do a repeat in Memphis someday, bud. I will check out your suggestions as well.. but ya.. Kings Palace Cafe was gooooood. I am convinced that BB Kings place is a distant 4th, at least.”

“I like the ribs at the Blues City Cafe across the street from BB King's better than I do at BB Kings.”

“Yo TD, can you score me a truck?

I got diapers to tote real soon and I don't think the Terraplane is gonna be big enough.”

“Chili36: That was our second choice.. they seemed to really have it going on also.

HPM: We have deep discounts are part of our employee discount program. Not sure if I could 'score' you one, but I know I could buy one for me. We have all these forms we have to fill out, but it is WAY under what anyone else would pay, and the price is non-negotiable.”

“I was just messing around. I already have a truck.

Unforunately I might have to sell it. :(
There goes my '48 panel truck.”

“oh my gosh.. a 48 panel truck?.. dang.. I WANT that. do you do Tennessee delivery?”

“I'll find my pictures but it is in the middle of a frame off.

It used to be a 7up delivery truck.

'49 flathead V8
overbored, Merc crank, 3/4 cam, oversive valve w/hardened seats, Offy high compression valve covers, Edelbrock vintage two deuce high rise intake, 2 stromburg 94 carbs, GM alernator, oil filtration system (didn't have one factory) fully polished and painted. I planned on hooking it up to a 5 speed.
$7000 in the engine alone.

I won't get into the chassis but it's been worked pretty well too.”

“Ribs? Arthur Bryants in the town that so many people have sung about. The great KC!”

“Ribs are a staple item on the Northwoods supper club menus around here, but even the best I've had locally only rate a "B." Usually slathered with way too much sauce.

OTOH, if we really want to take the time at home, during our China tour my wife learned how to cook Sichuan ribs in the wok. We have to get the supermarket butcher (no more corner meat markets here) to cut babyback ribs into two-inch lengths, then we're just a few hours away from a brief frenzy of sucking tender, gingerized pork off the bones.”

“Ummmm...I'm going to Phil's house. See ya. Phil, start those ribs.”

“If anyone happens to be in the Houston area this weekend, we're competing in a BBQ cookoff. This is a copy of the dinner invitation.
All the meat will be slow cooked using either pecan or mesquite.

Howdy,
Well it's that time of year again! We'll have good food and
drinks. Dinner well be served buffet style from a steam table. Dinner
will be at 6:00 P.M. Saturday evening. Party will be over when
everybody is gone. So please plan on a late night of fun, food,
dancing or just bull#&%!$in'. Saturday dinner menu:(all you can eat)
brisket
ribs
fajitas
chicken
beans
gumbo
roasted pork
and all the trimmings
Drink menu:
Boones Farm ?
Crown Royal
Miller Lite
Boones Farm ?
Shiner Boch on tap
Coors Lite
Boones Farm ?
set ups for drinks
Did I mention Boones Farm ?
Did I mention Crown ?
Well we'll have plenty. (food & drinks & probably bull#&%!$ that is)
Please come to have fun. Don't let the weather stop ya either. We'll
have the tent with D.J. the dj playin' our favorite songs. And don't
forget the fire ring with the really warm fire to pass a bottle
around.”

“No cabrito? Best I ever had was in some small town west of Houston. Melt in your mouth BBQ, polka under in the covered dance area, Lone Star and Shiner elbow deep in ice, water melon........”

“God creates man. After a while man comes to God and says "You know God, it would be great to have a companion. I'm lonely. I would love to have someone to talk to, and to clean for me, and to cook for me, and to love me." God said "No problem, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg." Man said "What can I get for a rib?"”

“Hey ChuckD - almost makes me wish I lived in Houston!! Sounds like a blast.”

“bbbbb.... bbbb..
baby back, baby back, baby back ribs!!

I love getting rib sauce all over my face! That sounds like an cool a$$ night, Towndawg! I had a good blues night up in Chicago - went up their for a business conference. I took a taxi to Kingston Mines - that place is awesome! no ribs tho... damn!”

“TD is from Tennessee and can't find BBQ ribs in Memphis?

That isn't funny.

Everyone from six States around knows where to find ribs in Memphis. Rendezvous

Elvis had them flown in on overnight delivery, before FedEx existed.

http://www.hogsfly.com/

I guess TD never heard of Corky's either.”

“Seasoning is selective. Tenderness is universal.

Everyone wants a tender rib. Sweet, Sour, Spicy.... whatever

To get tender ribs:

Coat ribs with salt or dry seasoning
Wrap in foil, twice
Cook on low heat in the oven.

When the meat has pulled 1/2 inch away from the rib add whatever you think tastes good and put on the BBQ grill.

Cook to taste. With dry rub 20 minutes will do. If you want some kind of wet sauce, a little longer.

You may screw up the seasoning, but it will be tender.”

“OK, my secret seasonings: I sprinkle on some "McCormack GrillMates Montreal Steak Seasoning", Lawry's Garlic salt (no MSG), and some soy-type sauce (soy sauce, teriaki sauce, yakatori sauce, or Magi sauce...whatever I happen to have). It doesn't take very much of each. Then I rub it all over the meat with my hands--both sides--and let it sit for at least 15 minutes before putting it on the grill.”

“don't worry, phil.

i won't tell ANYONE!”

“bacpac: naw.. we know all about Rendezvous.. and we all know about Corkys..”

“The problem with Rendevous is that on once occassion they might have good ribs and on another, the ribs are horrible. No consistency. Corky's ribs are good, but once they went to multiple locations and overnight shipping the quality dropped somewhat.”

“I should explain that Bob (my GM SQE) wanted to go to Beale.. and we did not want to DRIVE anywhere once we got there.. so our search was confined to anything in the 3 block section of Beale.

There are SEVERAL good places on that strip, by the way.

but ya.. Rendezvous is an old friend.. as is Corkys..”

“speaking of cooking.. I grilled some HUGE slabs of Salmon over the weekend.. and bar-b-qued about 30 shrimp also.. with some sliced green onions.. added some iced tea and a baked potato.. Deb and I were in heaven.

:)”

“Thank you Phil ¦ )
.”

“skullcap - OK. I want a rib report if you try it. BTW. I like mesquite chips and hickory chips for smoking ribs. Overall I would say the family prefers hickory over mesquite. A local restaurant we like uses a combination of hickory and apple wood. I tried it and liked it also.”

“Hickory and Applewood have been the combinations that have been used by Memphis In May World Champions for the past several years.”

“We cooked about 50 racks of ribs on Saturday, dry rub with a mixture of spices (the head cook won't tell anyone what's in the rub) then put on the pit at 250 F to cook, use a mop sauce of base Worchestshire and apple juice, with oranges,lemon and spices added.

We cooked the ribs for about 8 hours using pecan wood basting the ribs every hour.

We entered brisket, ribs and chickens in the cookoff. Made the top 10 in chicken and ribs.”

“OK Phil, when I try it, I'll let you know. I haven't decided on the wood chips yet. I've had both mesquite and hickory before and I liked the hickory best also. I've never tried apple before so I think the hickory apple combination looks likely. I haven't had time lately, other committments but as soon as I try it (next week, likely) I'll let you know. Thanks again!”

“Yummy ribs...

Equal parts of good red wine (NOT cooking crap),molasses,ketchup,mustard and apple cider vinegar.

Bring mixture to boil then soak ribs for 24 hrs in fridge.

Place in charcoal smoker heated to 140 degrees or so. Smoke for 12 hrs. The trick is to fill the water bowl in the smoker with apple cider not water, and to smoke with a mox of apple,cherry and hickory.”