When I got big into barbecue, I renewed my membership to Costco because you can get good cuts of meat at a good price. The caveat to this, as you know if you’re a member, is that the cuts are large and plentiful.
One example is the spareribs they offer. They come in one package that includes three racks. If I’m at Costco, I usually buy a package and keep it in my chest freezer until I hankering for ribs. When I thaw them, I have a Sophie’s choice: time it out so that I let them thaw enough to separate them and then rewrap the rack I don’t use, or cook all three.
Last weekend, I did the latter.
Hey Honey, Nice Racks
Instead of making all racks the same way, I got the idea to do three different styles: Sweet and tangy (competition style), Memphis dry rub, and Texas style.
The Texas rack was a simple all-purpose rub (salt, pepper, garlic powder), and for the sweet rack, I used the same commercial rub used for the pork butt I recently made.
Memphis-style ribs usually means a smokier, paprika-based rub. This is what I came up with:
- 2 Tbsp paprika
- 2 Tbsp Kosher salt
- 4 Tsp garlic powder
- 4 Tsp chili powder
- 2 Tsp dry mustard
- 2 Tsp ground black pepper
Once all three racks were rubbed and ready, it was time to fire up my Weber Smokey Mountain. I put enough fuel on to last about five hours and put on some apple and cherry wood. Once the pit temperature hit 275 degrees, the racks hit the grill.
After about two hours, I did a quick color check. All three were looking pretty damn good. To keep them moist, I created a basic mop for the Memphis- and Texas-style racks:
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 1 Cup chicken stock
- ¼ Cup Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ Cup whiskey
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- Ground black pepper
- ¼ Cup tomato sauce (optional)
The competition-style ribs got a half-and-half apple cider/water spritz. I applied the mop and spritz every 15 minutes for about an hour, then wrapped each in foil except the Memphis-style rack (you don’t wrap a dry-rub rib).
The sweet-and-tangy rack got the competition treatment: butter, honey, and instead of brown sugar, monk fruit extract. I learned while attending Myron Mixon’s class that monk fruit is a lower-calorie and convenient substitute for brown sugar. It’s a 1:1 conversion, so no need to do any complicated math to try to figure out how many cups of brown sugar equals how many cups of monk fruit extract.
They stood on the smoker wrapped for about another 90 minutes. When I saw the meat starting to separate from the bone on the bottom side, I took them off and sliced them up. The sweet-and-tangy rack got a heavy dose of a half-and-half barbecue sauce and vinegar sauce, after which it went back on the smoker for about 15 minutes to set a glaze.
It really was a nice comparison of the three different styles. I think I am and have always been a more dry-rub rib kind of guy, but it’s good to have a diverse barbecue repertoire to accommodate your mood, guests’ tastes, or to pair with your favorite bottle of wine.
The Wine: 2015 Domaine Collotte Marsannay Le Clos de Jeu
Speaking of which, let’s talk about the wine I chose for this night’s cuisine. Texas (salty and peppery), Memphis (paprika-based dry), and competition style (sweet and tangy) presented a variety of flavor profiles.
I thought a versatile dinner needed a versatile wine. My first thought was Pinot Noir. Luckily, I had in my collection a 2015 Domaine Collotte Marsannay Le Clos de Jeu that I had bought last fall as a possible Thanksgiving Day wine. Pinot Noir is a great wine for Thanksgiving dinner because its lighter fruits and lower alcohol can pair well with almost anything on the table: turkey, potatoes, yams, stuffing, etc.
With the dry, smoky, and sweet flavors I created for tonight’s menu, I was pretty sure I had the right wine. I was right… of course.
On the nose, there were very pleasant cranberry, dark cherry, slightly earthy aromas. On the palate, more of the lighter red fruits with just a touch of spice. Every style of pork rib seemed to work well with it. I don’t think a California or South American Pinot Noir would have worked quite as well with the higher alcohol and more earthy components. This menu definitely needed an Old World Pinot.
A little bit about Marsannay from Wine-Searcher.com:
Marsannay is the most northern appellation of the Côte de Nuits sub-region of Burgundy. The communal (village level) appellation is unique in Burgundy for covering red, white, and rosé wine. Other than Marsannay, the production of rosé wines is restricted to the Bourgogne regional appellations (such as Bourgogne Passe-tout-grains and Cremant de Bourgogne)
It was difficult to find any website for Domaine Collette, but found this on BuzzWines.com:
Created in 1987, the Marsannay Villages appellation is a relatively new one in Burgundy but an ancient and well-respected source of fine wine. Located on the southern outskirts of Dijon at the northern end of the Cote de Nuits, Marsannay missed out when the first Villages appellations were handed out in 1930. But it wasn’t because the terroir was deemed inferior.
The Collottes have been grape growers in Marsannay for four generations, but it wasn’t until 1981 that a young, 16 year-old Philippe Collotte bottled the first wine under the name of Domaine Collotte. He subsequently purchased some mature vineyards of about 40 years of age in both Gevrey-Chambertin and Chambolle-Musigny, to further expand the domaine’s repertoire.
Theoretically, such a wine should be saved for a special occasion. But when I stretch myself enough to make three different styles of ribs in one cook, I think that’s pretty special.
Next up, a twist on a BLT.
Cheers!