BB IQ

[auror]

The single best restaurant dish I've had in my life was lamb.

The lamb shoulder at Zahav in Philly

Really want to get to Zahav.

As to ribs, I like a dry rub with a spicy/sweet BBQ glaze applied late in the cook a couple times so that it gets a couple of layers and gets sticky.

Ribs near me took a big price increase during pandemic. Went from $10 for a rack when on sale to $15-$20, so I haven't made any in a while. Now I'm jonesing.

 

[UConnfan4ever]

The single best restaurant dish I've had in my life was lamb.

The lamb shoulder at Zahav in Philly

My son lives in Philly and took us to Zahav. Amazing restaurant. One hottest restaurants in Philadelphia before the pandemic.

 

[gtcam]

Always pork for ribs and beef for brisket
Lamb on the grill is much better than baked - hands down

 

[gtcam]

The single best restaurant dish I've had in my life was lamb.

The lamb shoulder at Zahav in Philly

Have you eaten at Laser Wolf - his rib place in Philly?
My friend has promised to take me there but we havent returned to Philly - will when the crap in the city eases.
He claims it is pricey but unreal

 

[karstenkibbe]

Have you eaten at Laser Wolf - his rib place in Philly?
My friend has promised to take me there but we havent returned to Philly - will when the crap in the city eases.
He claims it is pricey but unreal

It’s not a rib place. It’s a shipudiya, which is a style of meat/fish kebab/skewer joint in Israel. I highly recommend. Also try Merkaz, which is fantastic Israeli street food, and his felafel joint, Goldie. Best felafel I’ve had in the U.S. and the tehina shakes are bonkers. Throw in Federal Donuts and Dizengoff, and you can glutton your way thru a weekend in Philly just on Solomonov’s eateries.

 

[mauconnfan]

Love the way this thread went. Forgot about our 2 guys who aren’t that smart on the court but know their BBQ.

By the way that’s why Auburn is so good because Pearl combines BBQ with their B.B. IQ!

 

[August_West]

Since moving to southern BBQ territory, it is pork for ribs and beef for brisket.

Sure. And especially in northeast they are hard to find but I have a butcher in old saybrook ( shout out to Walt’s ! ) who cuts me Fred flintstone size beef ribs , I treat them exactly how I’d treat brisket in seasoning and smoke time. Incredible. and in Texas you will find them everywhere. Not as ubiqiquitous as brisket, but Texas does beef ribs way more than anywhere else.

 

[MexicoHusky]

Sure. And especially in northeast they are hard to find but I have a butcher in old saybrook ( shout out to Walt’s ! ) who cuts me Fred flintstone size beef ribs , I treat them exactly how I’d treat brisket in seasoning and smoke time. Incredible. and in Texas you will find them everywhere. Not as ubiqiquitous as brisket, but Texas does beef ribs way more than anywhere else.

I see

 

[Icculus]

Zahav looks amazing but I'm probably not going to make it down to Philly any time soon. Is there some sort of equivalent to that in NYC?

 

[Spaceman213J]

Wow, perfect example of a highjacked thread/topic.

 

[August_West]

Wow, perfect example of a highjacked thread/topic.

This thread deserved it.

 

[AdamaNation]

I read the original post as BBQ IQ. A bit of dyslexia on my part.

My contribution to my incorrect reading of the thread title:

I know rib meat should bite clean off the bone. Not fall off. But to be honest, I don't mind or care if it falls off. It tastes great either way.

Yes and the bark is a major play.

 

[MexicoHusky]

Yes and the bark is a major play.

The cafeteria in the Alumni dorm complex made ribs a few times each semester. No bark at all. Just mass quantities of "boiled" ribs in a shallow buffet pan covered in Sweet Baby Rays.

It was easily my favorite night at the cafeteria. Yum!!

 

[MexicoHusky]

I have a coworker who's a semi professional meat smoker. Does some catering for $$ on the weekend. Has his own line of rubs (chicken, brisket and rib). He has legit credentials.

He claims you can frequently judge the quality of a BBQ joint by the shi**yness of their sides. The lousier the sides, the better the BBQ. For example, if the mac & cheese is kraft from a box, the ribs are probably really great.

 

[AdamaNation]

The cafeteria in the Alumni dorm complex made ribs a few times each semester. No bark at all. Just mass quantities of "boiled" ribs in a shallow buffet pan covered in Sweet Baby Rays.

It was easily my favorite night at the cafeteria. Yum!!

I also cannot turn down a McRib.

 

[Greathusky]

In reflection, I am guessing that the OP wished his post title said "Basketball IQ" instead.

 

[August_West]

Yes and the bark is a major play.

That's why as opposed to conventional wisdom I dont wrap brisket or St louis cut ribs, at any point in cook. Foil softens bark, I've used butcher paper on brisket instead of foil and the bark holds up better than foil, but I still prefer it unwrapped.

 

[PAHusky]

Zahav looks amazing but I'm probably not going to make it down to Philly any time soon. Is there some sort of equivalent to that in NYC?

Also interested in the answer to this question. Live in NYC and have had Dinosaur and Virgil's, which are decent if a bit commercial, but looking for better.

 

[August_West]

Also interested in the answer to this question. Live in NYC and have had Dinosaur and Virgil's, which are decent if a bit commercial, but looking for better.

Zahavs in no way, shape or form is a BBQ joint.

 

[pepband99]

I also cannot turn down a McRib.

Try this - you'll never go back.

The REAL McRib Sandwich - Barbecuebible.com

What if we made a McRib sandwich at home by using real smoked rib meat without the bones? One that looks and tastes like a BBQ rib sandwich, because it is!

barbecuebible.com

 

[Hugo]

Love the way this thread went. Forgot about our 2 guys who aren’t that smart on the court but know their BBQ.

By the way that’s why Auburn is so good because Pearl combines BBQ with their B.B. IQ!

You beat me to it. Definitely a better and more useful topic than the original 2 guy post.

 

[karstenkibbe]

Also interested in the answer to this question. Live in NYC and have had Dinosaur and Virgil's, which are decent if a bit commercial, but looking for better.

Strongly suggest you head to Crown Heights and thoroughly enjoy Izzy’s Brooklyn Smokehouse. It’s kosher but don’t let that fool you. The guy is a BBQ genius and has won Brisket King of NYC and Rib King of NYC competitions in the last few years against some stiff competition. He just opened an outpost in Miami too. Just don’t expect to find any pork products on the menu.

 

[auror]

I have a coworker who's a semi professional meat smoker. Does some catering for $$ on the weekend. Has his own line of rubs (chicken, brisket and rib). He has legit credentials.

He claims you can frequently judge the quality of a BBQ joint by the shi**yness of their sides. The lousier the sides, the better the BBQ. For example, if the mac & cheese is kraft from a box, the ribs are probably really great.

This is an interesting theory. It's true that most sides are a completely different skillset than BBQ. It's always funny to see BBQ cooks go on like TV cooking contests (think Chopped, Top Chef, Next Level Chef, etc.). They're almost always slow and terrible at the competitions. You're not cooking to service or under any time crunch when making BBQ (in fact the opposite, you have hours and hours to make the sides).

But I don't see any reason why the sides HAVE to be bad. Potentially it could indicate a chef that got into BBQ vs. a BBQ person who opened a restaurant. Chains probably also have some corporate chef that handles sides and devotes more attention to it than mom and pop shops, and they often have mediocre BBQ, so that part checks out too.

But a great BBQ place that understands both the science and the art aspect of high end BBQ surely know how to cook sides well also.

 

[Icehawk]

It's sad but kinda true down here in Miami - the good mom & pop joints have pretty bad sides. I'll have to check out Izzy's.

Check out Big Boyz BBQ "in" Ft. Lauderdale if you live down here, it's the yellow mustardy style and damn good. Juicy fresh grilled chicken not stuff cooked days before and slapped back on a grille to reheat like most down here. Sides are... passable.