Flavorful Oven-Slow-Cooked BBQ Ribs

Posted by Matthew Tessnear

I love a rack of barbecue ribs, but it’s one of the few dishes I’m particular about if ordering it at a restaurant. Are they meaty enough? Will I like the rub or sauce? Are they expensive?

It’s been on my mind for months that I could take the guesswork out of enjoying ribs by just making my own at home. And while I could transform my simple charcoal grill into a smoker, I’ve really wanted to come up with a delicious, simple recipe to cook the ribs slowly in the oven. I’ll grill in any season or weather possible, but sometimes it’s actually much easier to use the oven.

After doing some research online and doing a bit of experimenting with our spice rack and fridge compartments, I’ve created a recipe that I’m very happy with. Now, I want to make it several times to perfect it.

I used St. Louis-style pork spare ribs. You can use baby back ribs, but the St. Louis spares have a bit more meat on them typically, and I’ve often found in eating them from different places that they hold more of the smoke and rub flavors.

Without further delay, here’s my recipe.

Homemade Barbecue Rub

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/8 cup paprika

1/2 T salt

1/2 T pepper

1/2 T chili powder

1/2 T garlic powder

1/2 T onion powder

1/2 t cayenne

Barbecue Sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup honey

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1/4 t garlic salt

1/4 t pepper

Cooking Directions

Prepare your ribs by removing the membrane on the bone side and the extra flap of meat hanging off. You can use a knife to get under the membrane and then a paper towel to help grip it and pull it off. Removing this piece will help your rub soak into both sides more thoroughly.
Mix your barbecue dry rub together and then use your fingers to coat both sides of your rack of ribs in the rub. The general rule is that what sticks to the ribs is enough rub to use. Wrap your ribs in aluminum foil and let them sit for six hours or overnight.
Cover an oven-safe pan (big enough for your ribs) with foil for easy cleanup. Unwrap your ribs and sit them on top of a cooking or cooling rack on top of the pan.
Put your ribs uncovered in the oven on broil for a few minutes to help caramelize your dry rub coating.
Reduce the temperature to 250 degrees and cook for two hours.
Remove from oven and tent a piece of foil over the ribs, then put them back in the oven on the same temperature for two more hours.
Mix your barbecue sauce, remove your ribs from the oven and use a basting brush to generously cover the ribs on the meat side.
Reduce your oven temperature to 200 degrees and put your ribs back in the oven for 10 minutes.
Repeat the saucing and cooking process as many times as desired to cook the sauce into the ribs.
Use a sharp knife to cut your ribs into smaller racks or into individual ribs. Be sure to cut between the bones, not next to the bones. After the cooking time allotted, your ribs should be done, tender and pulling slightly away from the bones on the ends.

Matthew’s take: I had never made ribs, so I was a bit intimidated. No more fear after this first-time process. These ribs turned out delicious! The rub and sauce were both adaptations of recipes I found online, and I won’t change either of them moving forward. The rub would work great for chicken or other barbecued meats as well, and the sauce would go well with chicken, burgers and more! The ribs turned out meaty and tender, spiced to perfection by the rub and then sweetly sauced by the barbecue coating added at the end. If you don’t own a grill, prefer not to grill in the cooler months or just would rather cook in your oven, this is the recipe for you if you want to try ribs at home. They’ll be cheaper that way. My rack only cost me $7, while the rub and sauce were from ingredients already in our pantry and fridge, and we got four servings from the ribs. I give this recipe an A+ for taste, cost and presentation.

Molly’s take: Having never had homemade ribs before, I was blown away by this creation Matthew put together. I’m pretty sure once I started in on them, I didn’t stop until every last bite was picked clean off the bones. The ribs alone – with the seasoned rub – were smoky and flavorful, but the sauce really made the flavors pop. The honey in the sauce gives it a great sweet flavor which fits well with the smoky ribs. If you’re looking to try something new, this recipe is worth your time. I’ve never had homemade ribs, but I’ve had ribs at restaurants, and trust me, these are some of the best I’ve ever tasted.

Foodie Travels: McClard’s Bar-B-Q, Hot Springs, Ark.

Posted by Matthew Tessnear

As I’ve traveled this vast food nation of ours, I’ve noticed a striking response from many of the restaurants I’ve shared with other diners. Some folks seem to have a penchant for high-end restaurants in modern, museum-like spaces that serve expensive, “premium” food that barely fills the center of the plate. Others appear to prefer the cliché chain establishments that all have the same menu of good but unmemorable food, served very much in a cookie-cutter style.

McClard’s Bar-B-Q doesn’t fit into either of those categories. And that’s just the kind of spot I’m always seeking when I’m ready to sit down for a good meal anywhere across the country. Yes, McClard’s is part of a class of restaurants that is unique, iconic and customer-focused, all while serving delicious one-of-a-kind plates you can’t get just anywhere else. That’s also the take of a review on the restaurant’s website. Academy Award-winning actor F. Murray Abraham says:

“I am an actor and have made movies all over this great land. I’ve eaten BBQ from Kansas to Missouri to the Carolinas to Alabama, and McClard’s is the best, no doubt about it. I’ve eaten there many times and everything they make is so good, I just don’t understand why there isn’t a McClard’s everywhere I go.”

I can’t disagree with those sentiments. I’ve enjoyed barbecue of all kinds (pork, ribs, brisket, burnt ends) from Texas to Kansas City to Memphis to Birmingham to the Carolinas, and McClard’s is right there in the mix for the greatest Q out there. We made a planned visit during a day at Hot Springs National Park, and my wife, Molly, and I found just what we were looking for when we scoped out the joint months in advance. (You’ll find McClard’s is listed by Thrillist as the must-visit restaurant in all of Arkansas.)

As we sat down and were about to order, it was a tough choice for me—chopped pork or ribs—until I saw a few plates coming out of the kitchen. I had the plentiful rib plate with beans and slaw. The ribs were incredibly meaty (an issue with other ribs that I’ve previously discussed on other posts), and the sauce had just the smoky-sweet flavor I’m looking for in a wet sauce. (Dry rubs are another ballpark altogether, and I like both.) The beans possessed a meaty taste and just a little bit of spice kick. Everything cooled down with the creamy coleslaw to round out my plate.

Molly enjoyed a hearty, fresh cheeseburger and decided to add a tamale on the side. Now, it’s the first time in all of our barbecue experiences that we’ve seen a BBQ restaurant serve tamales. We were almost suspect to try them, but we love a good tamale. McClard’s is the spiciest, softest tamale we’ve ever eaten. For those who like a strong punch in the tastebuds, it’s a must-try.

That’s how I’d also categorize McClard’s as a whole. When you drive up and park, you smell the smoky barbecue as soon as your vehicle door opens. You spot the cooking pit out back. You hear the local crowd inside the dining room as the restaurant door opens. Folks around you are wearing Arkansas Razorbacks gear.

Maybe there is one thing on which I disagree with Mr. Abraham. McClard’s Bar-B-Q is certainly among the best I’ve ever had. But the fact that there’s only one location, established in 1928, is just fine with me. If there was a McClard’s on a corner in every town, it just wouldn’t be as unique, as special and as Arkansas. No, I love McClard’s just how and where it is. When it comes to great places to have a meal, it’s just what I’m looking for every time.

McClard’s Bar-B-Q, 505 Albert Pike, Hot Springs, Ark.

Foodie Travels: Carolina BBQ, Spartanburg, S.C.

Posted by Matthew Tessnear

I’ve savored barbecue from corner to corner of North Carolina, but South Carolina is a different story. I realized recently that I couldn’t name even one prime barbecue restaurant in South Carolina that I could recommend to a BBQ-loving friend. So, of course, we had to change that.

Earlier this year we came across Carolina BBQ—perhaps the most common name for a barbecue restaurant in either of the Carolinas (seriously, there’s one almost everywhere it seems)—and I added it to my #FoodieScore scouting list for the state of South Carolina. (We receive a lot of “you have to eat here” recommendations, and each one goes on a list that changes almost daily. Thank you for your great suggestions!) Luckily, Carolina BBQ is in Spartanburg, which is about a 90-minute roundtrip from our home in Shelby, N.C. And it just so happens to also carry Southern Living magazine’s endorsement as the best barbecue in the state of South Carolina.

Normally, I’d classify barbecue restaurants into two categories, legendary dives and modern Q shacks. Carolina BBQ is almost a solid hybrid of the two. From the outside of the place, you almost get the sense you’re about to venture into a decades-old kingdom of delicious meats and sides. When you walk in the door, it feels like a new-age take on the old lunch counter experience, with bar-and-stool and booth seating available.

Then you hit the menu, and you continue to toe the line of old school and new school. Carolina BBQ plates a hearty assortment of Carolinas BBQ favorites. We’re talking pulled pork (always my first meat choice at a Carolinas BBQ establishment, and theirs was a nice mix of meaty and seasoned), sliced pork and half chicken, the stuff you read on the menu of an iconic barbecue spot. But keep reading because there’s also St. Louis ribs, beef brisket and smoked turkey, and that’s just the meat.

The side dish lineup is strong, including creamy, thick, hearty mac & cheese, the biggest fried squash you’ve seen in your life, creamy and crunchy coleslaw, and quite possibly the best Brunswick stew I’ve ever eaten. For folks not familiar, Brunswick stew is a thick soup that usually contains lima or butter beans, vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes and corn, along with shredded meat and spices for flavor. A cup of Brunswick stew is the perfect warmup on a cold day, and I’ve eaten my share of it from my days living in Eastern North Carolina. Carolina BBQ’s stew will also delight folks who are more familiar with the term “chili” or “chili beans” due to its warmth, richness and spice kick.

Of course, a restaurant’s barbecue sauce of choice is always a heady question, and that’s one place Carolina BBQ functions as more of a modern Q shack. There’s no one sauce to rule them all. You get three on the table. When I think of South Carolina barbecue as shared by the traveling experts, I think of a mustard sauce, and Carolina BBQ’s is a good one, with a solid influence of mustard but almost a smoky-sweet side to it as well. There’s also a “mild” sauce that, to me, had more of a kick to it. And finally there’s a Cheerwine sauce that tastes more like Cheerwine than any Cheerwine BBQ sauce you’ve ever had in your life. If you love Cheerwine, you have to try it first, especially if you’re not already drinking the soda by the same name, so you can tell the difference. The sauce is a ringer for the taste of the North Carolina-based soda that celebrates 100 years in 2017. I had to sample all three sauces in separate areas of my plate, and I couldn’t pick a clear favorite. They’re all good.

My pork plate came with two sides AND four hushpuppies (so did my wife Molly’s savory smoked turkey plate, of which there was so much that she took half home), so we had plenty to eat without dessert. But how could we resist either the deep-fried brownie bites or homemade banana pudding? We went with the banana pudding, which is unlike most you’ll find in our part of the South. The pudding is sweet, light and almost airy, not heavy at all, filled with fresh banana slices, and all on top of a crunchy pecan sandie-like cookie base. When you dig in with your spoon, dip all the way to the bottom to get a solid crunchy bite of that cookie as you scoop up through the pudding, the bananas and the whipped cream. For someone who likes to get creative in the kitchen, the Carolina BBQ banana pudding is a delightful new take on the classic Southern dessert.

Carolina BBQ offers both the classics as you’ve come to love them and favorites with new twists—and we loved both angles—so I might have to create a new “hybrid” category to describe similar barbecue restaurants. One thing’s for sure: This Spartanburg Q shop has plenty of choices for you, and they’ll all come at an affordable price. We savored two plates, two drinks and dessert for $23. Not bad at all for a filling Saturday dinner!

Carolina BBQ, 7115 Lone Oak Road, Spartanburg, S.C.

Foodie Travels: Charlie Vergos Rendezvous, Memphis, Tenn.

Posted by Matthew Tessnear

North Carolina has always been my home, but my heart for barbecue has always been in Memphis, Tenn. Unfortunately, until recently that penchant for Memphis-style barbecue only lived through the enabling of national brands that emulate the tradition.

No longer.

We recently spent a couple days in Memphis, “the pork barbecue mecca of the world,” as the history reads on the website for Charlie Vergos Rendezvous, the location of my first authentic Memphis BBQ experience. And what a baptism in barbecue paradise our dinner at “The Rendezvous” was.

Just a few blocks from iconic Beale Street, The Rendezvous is tucked away, the entrance off an alley in the city’s downtown. You know you’re close to the place when you catch the whiff of the pork aroma in the breeze between the tall buildings surrounding you.

Seeing the crowd, we expected a solid wait to savor the taste that accompanies the fragrance, but that was not the case. Almost as soon as our names went on the wait list, we were called to our table for two and our rendezvous with a barbecue masterpiece.

For me, the type of barbecued meat I order stems from the location where it’s prepared. In Texas, I had to sample the brisket. In North Carolina, it’s the chopped pork. In Memphis, and at Charlie Vergos’ establishment, I had to try the ribs, known for their dry-seasoning rub and signature vinegar wash to seal in the moisture.

Our waiter (more on the wait staff in a moment) smartly urged me to purchase a full order instead of the half size. And it turns out he wasn’t just trying to make a sale. For $3 more, he wanted to make sure I fully immersed myself in the foodie experience that is The Rendezvous’ ribs.

Pull-apart tender. Cooked to perfect doneness all the way to the bone. A seasoning that delights ALL of the senses. Ten meaty pieces, each more pleasurable than the last, until the final rib that makes you wish you lived in Memphis to visit for dinner at least once a week. That’s how I would describe the ribs at this “mecca” of barbecue.

In addition to sampling one of my ribs, Molly enjoyed an incredibly flavorful barbecue chicken sandwich, with a delicious smoky taste enveloped by a hearty, soft bun. And both of our main courses were accompanied by a side of wonderful baked beans and slaw, which offered a unique mustard base in lieu of the mayonnaise base that we’re accustomed to in our home state of North Carolina.

As heavenly as the food at The Rendezvous is, the price you pay also provides a front-row seat to a unique dining experience. The place has been a Memphis mainstay, just a short distance from the Mississippi River, since the 1940s, and you get the feel of an old-time eatery in the décor of the building and the presentation of the wait staff. Many of the waiters have served at the restaurant for decades, and you can tell from the smiles on their faces that they enjoy their jobs every night.

There are so many places in Memphis, Tenn., to experience “Memphis-style” barbecue, and specifically ribs. From our experience, I don’t see how any of them could top Charlie Vergos Rendezvous.

Charlie Vergos Rendezvous

52 S. Second St., Memphis, Tenn.

hogsfly.com

Foodie Travels: The Flying Pig, Shelby, N.C.

Posted by Matthew Tessnear

In any part of American barbecue country, announcing a favorite produces instant disagreement among supporters of other choices. Here in Cleveland County, N.C., the frontrunning favorites are a pair of legendary Bridges-named establishments that have successfully served customers for decades. And as much as both of those restaurants deliver unique meat, side and atmosphere experiences, I believe I have a different favorite than most of my neighbors.

The Flying Pig on N.C. 150 between Shelby and Boiling Springs sits in a small, unassuming building across from the local airport. It’s part of the landscape enough that some people pass it not realizing it serves up delicious barbecued pork, chicken, brisket, red slaw and some of the meatiest ribs I’ve ever eaten.

When you drive past Flying Pig during the morning hours, you see smoke rising from the back of the joint. If you come back at lunchtime, there’s often a big enough crowd in the parking lot and in the dining room that your choices for spaces are limited. Don’t be fearful or fooled though: the service here is always fast, even at the busiest times. And if you do have a bit of a wait, it’s absolutely worth it, and here’s why.

A few things that set The Flying Pig apart from the local and regional competition. One, it’s all about the delicious flavor of the meat. You won’t get a meat drenched and swimming in sauce when it comes to your plate. You get a pure, flavorful meat, no matter which you choose.

Two, you get plenty of sauce in the form of three individual and unique choices that come in cups to your table. You can enjoy sweet, sour or spicy. My favorite is the sweet, which reminds me of a reddish, transparent sauce you’d find alongside chicken in a Japanese restaurant.

And three, this eatery maintains a bit of “best kept secret” off the beaten path.

The first time I visited The Flying Pig, I entered at an “off time,” later than the early dinner crowd and on a weeknight. The owner gave me the royal dining treatment, explaining how everything is freshly made, sharing the specifics of the different sauce choices and even offering a chance to look through a barbecue book that chronicles some of the most unique and celebrated BBQ restaurants in the region.

I’ve recommended The Flying Pig to colleagues at multiple employers, to old friends coming through Cleveland County and wanting to know where to get the best barbecue, and to people who find out just how much I love food and want to know where I like to eat. I highly recommend The Flying Pig to you, too.

While the “big boys” on the local “Q” scene are certainly purveyors of delicious meats, sides, sweet tea, desserts and a hometown restaurant scene, there’s nothing that beats walking into this place, biting into plentiful, flavorful meat, getting a greeting from the owner and always being encouraged to come back again. And you get all of these treats for about the cost you would expect for barbecue (less than what you would expect to pay for expertly crafted brisket and ribs).

There are a lot of places in our part of the world that serve outstanding barbecue, but there’s not one that does it any better than The Flying Pig.

The Flying Pig

901 College Ave., Shelby, N.C.

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