Cooking for Bubbas

We have our second group of vacationers with us this week. They are self-described Bubbas from South Carolina and Virginia. These three guys are an unlikely trio, and are fascinating to be around.

The first night they were here, I took the easy route and cooked Johnsonville Brats at the outdoor fire-ring. We sat around the fire eating, drinking some beer, and telling stories. At one point the discussion turned to barbecue. The quietest member of the trio launched into a 20 minute explanation of the "best" way to BBQ a whole hog. I won't relate the entire discourse, but suffice it to say it takes all day and involves using the skin of the hog as a "bowl" in which to simmer the pulled pork and sauce. The sauce is made from scratch and includes ingredients measured in gallons and pounds.

I'm telling you that so I can tell you this...

When I was getting ready for bed that night, I glanced at the menu board for the week and got a sinking feeling in my gut. There it was in green dry-erase marker: BBQ Pork Ribs, scheduled for the next night. "Oh my God!" I thought, "I am going to serve BBQ to Southerners!!" Christie thought this was really funny, but I wasn't laughing.

Now, one of my specialties is Country Style Pork ribs, served with a local BBQ sauce. This cut of meat isn't really a rib at all, it is boneless strip of meat that comes from somewhere near the ribs. The Costco butcher shop cuts these strips into something more adequately described by words like hunk, chuck, or slab. These monsters are about 2"x2"x8" of pure pork with nice marbling all through. Needless to say, it is a moist and tasty "slab" of meat. I believe you could serve these on shoe leather and they would still taste good! Just for good measure, I rub them with some Chef Paul's Magic Seasoning.

The next evening came, and I built a nice big fire in the pit. The cooking went well, with corn cobs on the outer rim of the grill and the meat cooking in the middle over some nice hot apple wood coals. Rain threatened, and the first big thunderclap rumbled through our valley just as I was about to add the sauce. The sky opened up soon after, and I quickly declared the outdoor portion of the cooking finished. We ended up serving the meat bare with the BBQ sauce as a dip.

To my immense relief, the guys tore into that meat. We started with 9 lbs. of meat for 6 people and ended up with about 3 lbs. of leftovers. They even requested we serve the leafover meat the next day for lunch! At that point, I relaxed, knowing that my poor, Northern, imitation of BBQ was well recieved.