Event Sun Sep 01 2013

Ribs 'n More at Windy City BBQ Classic

By Judy Wu

There's nothing like the scent of charcoal and burnt meat that makes my inner Texan twitch with involuntary pride. Because you see, modern BBQ has its roots in the South, where people learned to tenderize tough cuts of meat by slowly roasting them over fire. And when you grow up on Jesus and BBQ, the taste of smoky meat trumps sex, friendship, money, and basically anything important in the world. So it was no surprise that I was Person #25 in line for the Windy City BBQ Classic event at Soldier Field, quivering in fervent anticipation for an afternoon of pure bliss.

The Windy City BBQ Classic is Chicago's premier BBQ Pit Master competition, where teams vie for the beastly title of Grand Champion Pit Master (aka Brass Balls of Barbecue) in four categories of meat: ribs, chicken brisket, and pork shoulder. Teams can only cook with hard-wood, meaning no gas or electricity. Although general attendees couldn't (legally) sample from any of the 30 competitors, there was more than enough BBQ from the People's Choice participants, which included:

• A1 Country Firewood


• Baby Back Blues BBQ


• Barn & Company


• Chicago Q


• Chuck's Southern Comforts Café


• County Barbeque


• Dirk's Fish


• Famous Dave's


• Honky Tonk Barbecue


• Mr. Spanky's


• One Stop Shop


• Real Urban BBQ


• Rubs Backcountry Smokehouse


• Smoke Ringz BBQ


• Smoque


• Sun Wah BBQ


• The Pit Room


• TK's Smoke Pit


• Uncle Bub's BBQ

Although I don't play favorites when it comes to barbecue, the pulled pork from One Stop Shop was marinated in such a succulent, sweet marinade that I almost bit my fingers off trying to lick off the sauce. The pork from Rub's Backcountry Smokehouse, generously doused with their smoky sweet sauce, followed in close second.

The ribs were equally diverse in their range of sauces and texture, ranging from firm-n-burnt to fall-off-the-bone soft. Although Smoque had the longest line (for good reason, mind you), Real Urban BBQ stole my heart with their ribs of honey and brown sugar love.

And all the briskets I sampled were meltingly tender, with the sticky sweet fat still clinging onto the meat's charred crust.

Now what's the secret to great BBQ, you ask? I asked many restaurants and competitors, and while they all have some secret sauce or special wood/charcoal, the secret is really no secret at all. At its very core, great BBQ requires time (and even love, many say). To obtain that incomparable smoky flavor, a seasoned pit master will rarely cook at temperatures greater than 200 degrees. According to Wikipedia, the smoke taste occurs when "the myoglobin in the meat reacts with carbon monoxide from the smoke," although who cares when you're ripping meat off a rib like some prehistoric cave beast?

With the exception of Sun Wah's awesome pigs-on-a-spit, the overall event reminded me of one giant tailgate party: grilled meat, beer, sweaty men in sport attire, party mixes booming from shoddy speakers, and of course, that one racist guy who everyone wants to shut up. And all the BBQ cooks I talked to were extraordinarily passionate about their craft. Despite sweating profusely in the heat with little or no beer energizing their weary muscles, they continued to roast, chop, and pour sauce like nobody's business. Even though most of them hailed from the Midwest, they were friendly, humble, and generous (yes, I got many freebies) in that wonderful Southern kind of way.

Alas, I would've stayed longer to watch the judging, but my skin was slowly crisping under the afternoon heat, and I was getting pretty damn full. And so, with the smell of charcoal permanently infused into my hair, I waddled home in a ribs n' brisket laced coma, my inner Texan as content as could be.