Barbecue Redemption.
The anxiety and dread are behind me. I can now say I have eaten the worst barbecue ever. I went to a local joint called Pig-N-Out the other day. It was the last business in a long, sweaty line that had no A/C on that 97-degree day.
Even in my road-weary condition, I noticed the inside was dark and eerily quiet. I know now that there are good reasons why some restaurants are nearly empty even at mealtimes. I oredered the rib plate, expecting some concoction of pork, smoke, and spice, but what I got what a mystery wrapped inside a riddle inside some beef-flavored mess.
The pig logo should have been replaced with Batman's Joker or the Riddler. Why were the ribs so soggy? Why was the only flavor besides meat an overpowering Texas Pete? (sorry, TL Gardner) How hard did you have to work to transform beef ribs into peppery, meat-flavored chwewing gum?
Out of six huge ribs, (I use the term in the academic sense) I only found three bites I could swallow. The sides of beans and potato salad and fries and hush puppies were really good, though. The ribs went home with me, for I had vowed that that beast would not have given his life in vain. I would redeem the ribs.
I placed the meat in question in a ziploc bag with liquid smoke, KC Masterpiece sauce, garlic powder, and fresh cracked pepper to marinade overnight in the fridge. The next morning, they spent three hours in foil in a 325 degree toaster oven...what? Smoke them outside? The heck you say! It was 97 degrees again. I am not about to cook myself trying to smoke meat in a heat wave. Even the toaster oven was placed in the garage.
Anyway, the ribs were delicious come suppertime: tender, sweet, smoky (cheated), spicy ribs. It's true, they were beef. The meat was too much, the grain too long, the color too dark for them to be pork. It was against my heritage to indulge in beef and not pork ribs, but they were great nonetheless.
The bigger lesson here is that if you want at least good-tasting ribs in Winston Salem, NC, stay away from any establishment that calls itself a barbecue joint. I have learned the hard way; not any one of them are worth it.
BBQ / Barbecue / Barbecue Ribs
Even in my road-weary condition, I noticed the inside was dark and eerily quiet. I know now that there are good reasons why some restaurants are nearly empty even at mealtimes. I oredered the rib plate, expecting some concoction of pork, smoke, and spice, but what I got what a mystery wrapped inside a riddle inside some beef-flavored mess.
The pig logo should have been replaced with Batman's Joker or the Riddler. Why were the ribs so soggy? Why was the only flavor besides meat an overpowering Texas Pete? (sorry, TL Gardner) How hard did you have to work to transform beef ribs into peppery, meat-flavored chwewing gum?
Out of six huge ribs, (I use the term in the academic sense) I only found three bites I could swallow. The sides of beans and potato salad and fries and hush puppies were really good, though. The ribs went home with me, for I had vowed that that beast would not have given his life in vain. I would redeem the ribs.
I placed the meat in question in a ziploc bag with liquid smoke, KC Masterpiece sauce, garlic powder, and fresh cracked pepper to marinade overnight in the fridge. The next morning, they spent three hours in foil in a 325 degree toaster oven...what? Smoke them outside? The heck you say! It was 97 degrees again. I am not about to cook myself trying to smoke meat in a heat wave. Even the toaster oven was placed in the garage.
Anyway, the ribs were delicious come suppertime: tender, sweet, smoky (cheated), spicy ribs. It's true, they were beef. The meat was too much, the grain too long, the color too dark for them to be pork. It was against my heritage to indulge in beef and not pork ribs, but they were great nonetheless.
The bigger lesson here is that if you want at least good-tasting ribs in Winston Salem, NC, stay away from any establishment that calls itself a barbecue joint. I have learned the hard way; not any one of them are worth it.
BBQ / Barbecue / Barbecue Ribs
posted by Sage at
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
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