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Vent: guy at the Mesquite cookoff told me my ribs were 'too clean' and I can't stop thinking about it
I was at a small cookoff outside Mesquite two weekends ago and a guy I'd never met walked up to my table, poked at my spare ribs, and said they looked 'too clean' like I'd trimmed all the character off them. I've been cooking the same way for 4 years, trimming to a consistent 1/4 inch, and now I'm second guessing whether I've been cooking for judges instead of for people who actually eat ribs. Do y'all trim tight for turn-in boxes or leave more fat on and trust the bite?
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jamie_taylor1d ago
Trimmed to a quarter inch every time is not a crime, that guy just has a different idea of what good ribs look like. Clean trimming gives you a even cook and a bite that pulls apart right instead of leaving a fat slick on the roof of your mouth. Judges score appearance first off, so there is a real reason folks trim tight for turn in, and it has nothing to do with hiding bad meat. Sounds to me like you know exactly what you are doing after 4 years, so don't let one stranger with an opinion undo all of that. Fat is flavor, sure, but too much of it is just a mess on the plate, and most people eating ribs don't want to work around a half inch of grease.
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alice1211d ago
So when he said "too clean" was he talking about the trim itself or the color and bark? There is a big difference between a rib that looks trimmed tight and one that looks like it never saw smoke, and if your bark was set right he probably would not have said a word. What did the rest of the table look like, same trim and same rub as always? Curious if he actually ate one or just poked it and walked off, because a lot of these guys talk big without ever taking a bite.
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