Gapers Block BBQ Bowl - A Judge's Thoughts

Yesterday I had the pleasure of being one of five judges at the first annual Gapers Block BBQ Bowl held at Club Lucky, a Wicker Park area bar. Kudos to Andrew Huff and his team for pulling together a well attended event!(http://gapersblock.com/drivethru/2012/0 ... _bbq-bowl/ ).

There were two prizes awarded as part of the competition, "Critics Choice" and "People's Pick". 

Seven local establishments bravely stepped forward to participate, and they should all be commended for their efforts and generosity, including:

1) Honky Tonk BBQ
2) Rub BBQ Company
3) Honey 1 BBQ
4) Mrs. Murphy & Sons Irish Bistro
5) Pork Shoppe
6) The Piggery
7) Club Lucky

Most offered up spare ribs, and two including Honey 1 BBQ, were serving up rib tips -- a cut that placed them at a disadvantage, and is deserving of a competitive category of its own. 

In addition to eating a lot of ribs, and slurping a lot of sauce, I spent time talking to each of the entrants, asking them how they actually prepared their ribs and sauce.  My heart sank when the first contestant mentioned steam.

As someone who loves BBQ and BBQ culture, I was saddened to learn that only three of the seven competitors (Honky Tonk, Rub BBQ Company, and Honey 1 BBQ) actually used any type of smoker. One of those three, The Rub BBQ Company, finished their ribs in a smoker. 

The other four contestants were all variants of what's sadly claiming the moniker of "Chicago Style BBQ". 

These are ribs that don't get their tenderness from spending hours in a wood burning smoker cooking "low and slow". Smoke doesn't even play a role in the process, and is at times poorly mimicked with liquid smoke. These are ribs that endure some form of flavor sapping boiling or steaming, and spend their lives baking in an oven immersed in sauce. The result is a coveted "fall off the bone" tenderness, at the expense of authenticity -- resulting in a product that some refer to as "meat jello". 

After two hours of gorging, sampling everything twice (some even three times), I was ready to submit my vote card. I was anxious because I feared Chicagoans would cave to the "soft side".

Sure enough, Andrew Huff announced a split decision between the Critics and the Masses.  

In the "Critics Choice" category, out of 5 total points (combined score Ribs and Sauce), Honky Tonk BBQ won, edging out Chicago Rub Company by just 1/2 a point. It turns out my 1/2 point was the deciding factor, a  1/2 point that was to me, all about preserving BBQ tradition. 

Honky Tonk was the ONLY contestant that offered up traditionally prepared ribs -- rubbed then smoked in a wood burning smoker -- with no natural gas assist (CORRECTION: Honey 1 BBQ should be added). The bark was awesome. The smoke ring well penetrated. While the sauce was too thin and weak for my taste, their meat carried the day. 

Kudos to Willie Wagner, Chef and Owner, for bringing along his son to assist, and for passing on the tradition to the next generation. Willie says his son is his biggest critic, and helps keep quality up. I could sense his passion, and could taste it in every bite. 

While Rub BBQ Company's ribs carried a smokey flavor, they lacked the signature smoke ring earned by spending quality time in the smoker when the meat is still raw. The smoker was more of a homage to tradition, a layer of flavor, for ribs that were being put through an oven based process first. The rub however was very flavorful, and for the most part eliminated the need for any  of the four sauces they presented. Their ribs still had a bite and were very juicy. Almost reminding me of Brother Jimmy's dry rub ribs that claimed to taste like sausage in your mouth.

In the "People's Pick" category, the masses voted for the "Chicago Style Ribs" variety. Who'd have thought that Mrs. Murphy & Sons Irish Bistro would win the people's hearts and stomachs? Only in Chicago. 

In all fairness, I have to give praise to Mrs. Murphy's sauce, with an orange marmalade and Jameson Irish Whiskey base. It was spoon licking tasty. Their ribs were the best in the "meat jello" category, saved by some char developed during their time on the grill -- about as close to any  smoke these ribs saw.

Along with The Pork Shoppe, The Piggery and Club Lucky, Mrs. Murphy produces the type of ribs that I can't come to call BBQ, no matter how much sauce is slathered on them. 

To call them "Chicago Style Ribs" will only sully this city's reputation amongst those that appreciate BBQ tradition. We need a new term for this style. Perhaps BakeBQ? FakeBQ?

The "People's Pick" announcement took me back to the biggest rib letdown I ever experienced, that first bite of Twin Anchors' ribs, after hearing all the hype. It was that terrible Twin Anchor's experience that launched me down the rabbit hole of BBQ discovery. 

After moving to Chicago, and having to adjust to "Chicago Style Pizza", I just didn't have the stomach to accept "Chicago Style BBQ" of the meat jello variety. I could totally respect the likes of Lem's and their aquarium style smokers as "Chicago Style", but not meat jello.

Since then I've travelled across the U.S.A., have tried many styles of BBQ, and have spent time with BBQ pit masters learning the tradition. I graduated up to a Big Green Egg and make BBQ within sight of the Sear's Tower that some say is better than any they've had in Texas. I even created my own sauce, affectionately branded "Liquid Pig", which varies like a vintage with each smoke, primarily because the key ingredient are the flavors derived from tasty scraps and rubs used during that cook. You'll often find me sharing "Random Acts of BBQ" in and around Chicago, during my "Art & Science of Smoking Pigs" presentations. 

BBQ is a labor of love that takes a lot of time and energy. There are no shortcuts to good BBQ. There's no guarantee of consistency. Most restaurants can't stay true to tradition because of economics. I can understand that. What I have a harder time understanding is how the masses can be sold on accepting a product that has no relation to a long tradition, and proudly calling that product "Chicago Style BBQ". 

Chicago, we can do better, and the new wave of BBQ joints opening up in and around the city, that are actually burning wood, are leading the charge. 

Here's hoping that more traditional BBQ enthusiasts participate in the next Gapers Block BBQ Bowl. And here's hoping that I get to judge again. It was truly an honor. 

Thank you!

Moshe Tamssot @Tamssot
Founder & CEO, CookItFor.Us @CookItForUs
Founder, Liquid Pig BBQ @LiquidPigBBQ
Founder, Monks of Invention @MonkOfInvention

Welcome. You're really preaching to the choir here, and this particular choir has agreed with your position, in general, for a decade.

Maybe an oversight, but the suggestion that Honey1 uses gas or some fuel other than wood is incorrect. True BBQ is alive and well in Chicago, with its own well documented local style. Please see MikeG's tremendous SkyFullofBacon video on Chicago BBQ men and aquarium cookers.

Interesting small cross section of contestants. How were they chosen? I'm a Honky Tonk fan going back to the mobile smoker/street fest days, but without Smoque, the south side stalwarts or some of the several newer north side BBQ spots or Toons, lots of worthy reps were missing.

Last, Club Lucky is a full service red sauce Italian restaurant with a nice little bar. Never knew they even made ribs.

Thanks for the welcome JeffB.

I didn't mean to suggest that Honey 1 BBQ used anything other than smoke. They opted to serve rib tips vs. ribs which placed them at a disadvantage. They were one of the three that actually used a smoker.

Not sure how the entrants were chosen, but there was definitely interest in the event, and my hope is more BBQ lovers participate.

Best

Moshe

Thanks for the clarification on H1. Funny that Mrs. Murphy's did so well. A friend who likes jello ribs swears they are the best ever. I'm a BBQ purist but I enjoy those kinds of ribs from time to time, same as I enjoy braised short ribs and any number of things that aren't BBQ. Also, not sure if you know the story behind the Piggery, but that place is keeping alive the memory of North Center's legendary hangout Biasetti's - and Italian tavern known for steaks and ribs favored by local politicos, wise guys and Ira Glass. Same building, allegedly same rib recipe, not the same ribs. In its heyday, Biasetti's ribs were similar to Carson's. Good for the style.

Moshe, i can understand your confusion. Living as I now do in Georgia, I don't have that problem. We do our que over wood, none of the other crap, gas, electric, whatever. And I judge quality BEFORE adding any sauce. At home I usually do small racks with salt/pepper/cayenne only over an oak fire. If any sauce is to be added, it's Stubb's.

Keep looking for the good stuff...it ain't cooked with steam.

JeffB wrote:but without Smoque, the south side stalwarts or some of the several newer north side BBQ spots or Toons, lots of worthy reps were missing.

Barn & Company was invited to participate as was Toon's and, I'd guess, Smoque. We, meaning Barn & Co, were honored to have been invited, but day before the Superbowl is a tough day to split resources. We plan on participating in the Gapers Block BBQ Bowl next year.

Congratulations to Honky Tonk, runner up RUB and Honey 1 as well as all who participated.

See you next year, watch out....

Regards,
Gary Wiviott
Pitmaster, Barn & Company

Just to clarify, Rub BBQ Company uses an all wood burning smoker. We started with a gas assist pit, but recently added a custom built all wood burning rig to our line. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZFzAtZ6MQA

....and unfortunately I wasn't there to explain our smoking technique to you. I recently started teaching BBQ101 classes (mostly to the Chicagoans you refer to that think good BBQ is Gale St. Inn or Twin Anchors - I'm trying to spread the word on the real deal here in Chicago), and had a class full of 16 students in our pit room from 1-4pm. I smoked our ribs in the morning, set up at club luck at 12pm and headed back north to teach my class. Adam, our rep at the contest, has never worked in the restaurant - he has a culinary background, but no experience in our restaurant. He was the only one available on a busy Saturday to man our booth (everyone with extensive knowledge of our product was needed in the restaurant). Not sure what he explained to you about our smoking process, and in hindsight I should have filled him in rather than have him come up with something on his own. I didn't plan for him to answer any questions, just serve our ribs. Our ribs are smoked properly over hardwood (cherry). I'd be happy to explain the process to you, and give you a tour of our pit room and all hardwood burning smoker anytime.

and to any LTH'ers that were disappointed with our ribs and/or brisket in the beginning...I have learned from my mistakes, and we're constantly improving our techniques. I learned you can't get a properly smoked product from a gas assist pit, and we're now cooking with all hard wood. Our brisket is the best I've had, and I'm embarrassed by what we served when we first opened...that being said (and I don't mean to hijack this thread, I know this is getting wordy) we get complaints from our regulars about the new brisket - especially the Jewish community in Rogers Park that loved our braised, non-smokey product. Goes to show you what Chicago knows about good BBQ..

Thanks for the clarification @RubBBQCo .

So the question I have, seeing the roasting oven on the line, is do you start your ribs in the oven before transferring them over to a 100% wood burning smoker, as was communicated -- or do they spend 100% of their cook time in the smoker?

The lack of a smoke ring in the samples I tasted (three rounds), extreme juiciness, no real bark, and bite of the ribs seemed to jive with a hybrid cooking process.

BTW, would love to join you sometime for a smoke!

to clarify, i let the ribs "soften" in our alto shaam at 170 for about an hour before they go into the smoker. So, am I "cooking" them in an oven? Not really, but I suppose that's a semantics discussion (they're about 80 degrees internally when they go to the smoker). I consider it softening them up, opening the pores in the meat, getting them to sweat a little prior to exposing them to the smoke and higher cooking temp (225). This produces a juicier rib, and the smoke flavor is nicely balanced by our rub - not just an overwhelming smoke flavor. It's just something I learned through trial and error, and i find the ribs hold better post smoke due to the juiciness, which is important in a restaurant. Preparing them this way doesn't guarantee a smoke ring, but even KCBS judges are coached to not look at a ring - flavor and texture are the real grades. That being said, 90% of the time - I produce a nice ring. The ribs I delivered to the competition weren't as smokey as I would have liked, and I would have preferred them to cook another 30 minutes in the smoker - I just ran out of time.

Many people were invited to participate. There are not any convenient Saturdays for participating in a contest if you run a restaurant. Some establishments chose to compete in contests. It grows the comradery and knowledge of all participants. Some places choose to never compete. We love to compete and we love to meet all the other folks. At Honky Tonk we serve a barbeque that is unique compared to the other places in town, especially the Southern Pride spots. Our barbeque is greatly improved over the 5 years that we have been open. We have participated in the World Championship Memphis in May cookoff for the past 5 years. It might be time for you guys to give us another taste. It has been a long time since you outspoken barbeque enthusiests have been to Honky Tonk. I know there are many options in this great food town, but it is time to make that trip to Pilsen! Please say hello, I am there every day. Thank you to all my fans!!!

Hi, Andrew Huff here. Thanks, Moshe, for judging and for the excellent perspective here. The event was extremely successful, and we'll definitely be doing it again next year. We're talking about holding another barbecue event later this year, too -- possibly beef, so as to let non-pork eaters partake. Brisket, maybe?

The competitors were those who were willing and able to participate. We asked, I'm fairly confident, every barbecue joint within city limits and a couple from the suburbs. As Willie and G Wiv note, it's a tough time for restaurants to take time out and participate, and some flat out said no. Others took a wait-and-see approach; I suspect G Wiv won't be the only additional contestant next year.

The competition was originally going to be rib tips, which is why Honey 1 brought tips. They're a quintessential Chicago cut, and we figured they'd be cheaper for the competitors and easier to dole out in sample portions. Unfortunately, we discovered that most of the newer barbecue restaurants don't serve tips, and they weren't interested in doing it for the competition. We had a couple early contestants who dropped out once we switched to ribs (they were somewhat unorthodox entrants, not places you'd even think of for barbecue). Apparently Honey 1 either didn't get word of the change or decided to stick with tips. I do think it hurt them in the competition, which is unfortunate. That said, they were in my top three in voting.

I'd still like to hold a rib tips competition, so maybe with a little more lead time, we can make that happen.

Rib tips are my specialty. I can't wait.

Moshe wrote:
To call them "Chicago Style Ribs" will only sully this city's reputation amongst those that appreciate BBQ tradition. We need a new term for this style. Perhaps BakeBQ? FakeBQ?

I really don't have a problem with the moniker "Chicago Style Ribs". They ARE Ribs. They ARE prepared this way all over Chicago and - as you could see with the "People's Choice" selection - they ARE popular. I DO, however, have a problem if people wish to call this "BBQ", cuz that's one thing it ain't.

I kinda wish I had known about this event--I had a friend in town from New York and he wanted to experience some Chicago barbecue. That said, I took him out on Saturday to get a half slab from Lem's and tips & links combo from Uncle Johns, so I think I did a reasonable job in giving him an overview of traditional aquarium smoker Chicago style Q. That said, it would have been interesting to see what he thought of real barbecue vs. braised, sauced ribs. I'll have to keep an eye out for next year's event. I'm definitely going to make a stop at Rub BBQ. I just can't keep track of all the new barbecue places in Chicago over the last few years, and this place was completely off my radar. The brisket, in particular, intrigues me. Thus far, my gold standard (other than what comes off my WSM) is Smoque's product.

Kman wrote:

Moshe wrote:
To call them "Chicago Style Ribs" will only sully this city's reputation amongst those that appreciate BBQ tradition. We need a new term for this style. Perhaps BakeBQ? FakeBQ?

I really don't have a problem with the moniker "Chicago Style Ribs". They ARE Ribs. They ARE prepared this way all over Chicago and - as you could see with the "People's Choice" selection - they ARE popular. I DO, however, have a problem if people wish to call this "BBQ", cuz that's one thing it ain't.

Agreed. I really like the concept of the event, but calling the event something like "Rib Rumble" would be more accurate. Doing it as a competition that pits BBQ Ribs vs. BBQ Tips, vs. Braised/baked Ribs isn't a BBQ Bowl. It's kind of like setting up a French Fry competition and having a bunch of baked potatoes, potato salads, and mashed potatoes represented (and one person shows up with Yams).

That said, I certainly like the idea of letting people compare BBQ ribs to "Chicago style" ribs. I've spent a lot of time learning the best ways to make real smoked ribs, but I have also spent a lot of time learning how to make some great braised Asian style ribs. I would like nothing more than for people to get a better understanding of BBQ as a cooking technique instead of it being just a sauce. Thanks to everyone who worked on putting this event together! Just please change the name