Spare rib cookoff

sudsandswine · 08-26-2018, 11:15 AM

Today I'm trying out a few different rub combos for competition practice. Not really focusing as much on presentation as I am picking a combo to go with for a couple comps the remainder of the year now that my Shirley is mobile.

The first I'm trying is Oakridge BBQ Dominator + Habanero Death Dust, second is Oakridge BBQ Beef and Pork, and the third is EAT Barbecue Zero to Hero. Also threw on a slab with just salt + coarse black pepper to serve as a control. The first three will basically get the competition treatment...wrap, sauce, etc. The fourth with salt/pepper will stay nekkid the whole time.

I also have a couple butts on there I tried trimming to a "competition style"...mainly staying above 4lbs uncooked per butt, maintaining the money muscle, tubes, and the "bacon". I have what I feel is good trim methods for brisket, ribs, and chicken, but for whatever reason I have a hard time getting butts trimmed the way I see in some vids on YouTube.

We'll see if I manage to keep track of them all during the cook...

Salt/pepper on bottom and Dominator + HDD on top

Oakridge BBQ Beef and Pork on bottom and EAT Barbecue Zero to Hero on top

Oakridge Beef and Pork on bottom, Dominator + HDD middle, salt/pepper top, and Zero to Hero on right

Oakridge Beef and Pork

Dominator + HDD

2000milesofsmoke · 08-26-2018, 11:30 AM

Looks amazing, can't wait to hear what you think was the better result!

sudsandswine · 08-26-2018, 05:10 PM

Aaaand the winner is....Oakridge BBQ Dominator + HDD, followed by Oakridge BBQ Beef and Pork rub. I used the same sauce on all 3 so as to change only one variable. I used a "raw" honey I picked up at Costco when I wrapped the ribs ...it was a lot more thick than I expected to be and I think it may have darkened up on some of the bones. Everyone liked Zero to Hero ribs too, but the votes edged out with Oakridge BBQ slightly ahead. I pretty much agreed with the guest opinions, Dominator + HDD was my favorite too. Just enough heat and savory to balance the sweet. I thought the salt and pepper ones were really good too, but it was such a contrast to the "competition style" ribs that eating them back to back was too big a shift in flavors for the palate. I let everyone else take home the competition style ones and kept the S+P ones for myself - I know they'll be good by themselves.

TL;DR - Oakridge BBQ Dominator + HDD gets the nod.

Pretty sure these were Oakridge BBQ Beef and Pork

Dominator + HDD

S+P

Dominator + HDD

hurricanedavid · 08-26-2018, 05:49 PM

Great job

Stingerhook · 08-26-2018, 05:56 PM

All looks fantastic.

ShadowDriver · 08-26-2018, 06:32 PM

Man, that looks great.

BillN · 08-26-2018, 06:37 PM

Your ribs look great, lately I have been using only SPOG on my ribs.

Joe Black · 08-26-2018, 06:40 PM

Those ribs look great. The color and finish are awesome.

ssv3 · 08-26-2018, 08:05 PM

Beautifully done! I tried Oakridge Dominator yesterday and no surprise the stuff rocks. I used it with Bad Byron's .

sudsandswine · 08-26-2018, 08:35 PM

Speaking of Oakridge BBQ...I just ran out of Smokey Chile Lime and upgraded to the 1lb bag....re upped some pork rub, Carne Crosta to give away to a born again steak lover, and Crucible for some wings in the next couple days

my wife is a big fan of Smokey Chile Lime so I use it often.

dshaffes · 08-26-2018, 08:56 PM

Not surprising the layered rubs beat the single rub.

sudsandswine · 08-26-2018, 09:04 PM

That's fair, in the past I did hit the Zero to Hero with something else but the Oakridge BBQ combo worked better than that one. By itself it was still 3rd behind another single rub in an unscientific experiment so....

ssv3 · 08-26-2018, 09:12 PM

So funny. Mike @ Oakridge shipped me out my TD prize pack. I did a rack of spares w/ dominator and bad Byron's as mentioned and a rack of baby backs with Chile lime + bad Byron's. I've had everything from Oakridge but those two until yesterday. Both excellent as usual.

sudsandswine · 08-26-2018, 09:21 PM

I've only done it on chicken but thought it might be good on some pork too....how'd they turn out?

Dr. Weld · 08-26-2018, 09:38 PM

Looking good!nom nom

What sauce did you use when you wrapped them? I just saw honey..

08-26-2018, 11:15 AM	#1
sudsandswine Quintessential Chatty Farker Join Date: 06-23-12 Location: Kansas City	Spare rib cookoff Today I'm trying out a few different rub combos for competition practice. Not really focusing as much on presentation as I am picking a combo to go with for a couple comps the remainder of the year now that my Shirley is mobile. The first I'm trying is Oakridge BBQ Dominator + Habanero Death Dust, second is Oakridge BBQ Beef and Pork, and the third is EAT Barbecue Zero to Hero. Also threw on a slab with just salt + coarse black pepper to serve as a control. The first three will basically get the competition treatment...wrap, sauce, etc. The fourth with salt/pepper will stay nekkid the whole time. I also have a couple butts on there I tried trimming to a "competition style"...mainly staying above 4lbs uncooked per butt, maintaining the money muscle, tubes, and the "bacon". I have what I feel is good trim methods for brisket, ribs, and chicken, but for whatever reason I have a hard time getting butts trimmed the way I see in some vids on YouTube. We'll see if I manage to keep track of them all during the cook... Salt/pepper on bottom and Dominator + HDD on top Oakridge BBQ Beef and Pork on bottom and EAT Barbecue Zero to Hero on top Oakridge Beef and Pork on bottom, Dominator + HDD middle, salt/pepper top, and Zero to Hero on right Oakridge Beef and Pork Dominator + HDD __________________ Shirley Fab 250g trailer \| Primo XL kamado \| [COLOR="Red"]Red[/COLOR] Weber Limited Edition kettle + 26” kettle \| Clonesaker PDS (pretty drum smoker)

08-26-2018, 11:30 AM	#2
2000milesofsmoke On the road to being a farker Join Date: 06-23-13 Location: San Diego, CA	Looks amazing, can't wait to hear what you think was the better result! __________________ Gateway Drum 55, Weber Perfomance, Yoder YS640S, Traeger Texas Elite, 4 Burner Elite, Uuni 3

08-26-2018, 05:10 PM	#3
sudsandswine Quintessential Chatty Farker Join Date: 06-23-12 Location: Kansas City	Aaaand the winner is....Oakridge BBQ Dominator + HDD, followed by Oakridge BBQ Beef and Pork rub. I used the same sauce on all 3 so as to change only one variable. I used a "raw" honey I picked up at Costco when I wrapped the ribs ...it was a lot more thick than I expected to be and I think it may have darkened up on some of the bones. Everyone liked Zero to Hero ribs too, but the votes edged out with Oakridge BBQ slightly ahead. I pretty much agreed with the guest opinions, Dominator + HDD was my favorite too. Just enough heat and savory to balance the sweet. I thought the salt and pepper ones were really good too, but it was such a contrast to the "competition style" ribs that eating them back to back was too big a shift in flavors for the palate. I let everyone else take home the competition style ones and kept the S+P ones for myself - I know they'll be good by themselves. TL;DR - Oakridge BBQ Dominator + HDD gets the nod. Pretty sure these were Oakridge BBQ Beef and Pork Dominator + HDD S+P Dominator + HDD __________________ Shirley Fab 250g trailer \| Primo XL kamado \| [COLOR="Red"]Red[/COLOR] Weber Limited Edition kettle + 26” kettle \| Clonesaker PDS (pretty drum smoker)

08-26-2018, 05:49 PM	#4
hurricanedavid is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 04-26-16 Location: Florida	Great job __________________ Stumps Baby XL, DigiQ DX3, Large Big Green Egg, XL Big Green Egg

08-26-2018, 05:56 PM	#5
Stingerhook somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 02-13-12 Location: SE Florida Name/Nickname : Marty	All looks fantastic. __________________ Marty UDS now gone, WSM 18", WSM 22" and pellet pooper in the garage for 18 months now.

08-26-2018, 06:32 PM	#6
ShadowDriver somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 11-29-12 Location: ABQ, NM Name/Nickname : Marc	Man, that looks great. __________________ [B]Hardware[/B] - Weber 22.5 Kettle (Sep '16), OK Joe Longhorn (Mar '17), UUNI 3 Pizza Oven (Jan '18 ), Blue Rhino Razor Griddle (May '19), Cajun Bandit 22.5 Roti (Aug '20), Weber 26.75 Kettle (Dec '20)

08-26-2018, 06:37 PM	#7
BillN somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 03-14-16 Location: St David, Az. Name/Nickname : Bill	Your ribs look great, lately I have been using only SPOG on my ribs. __________________ Bill, from Cochise County Arizona LSG 24 X 36 Horizonatal Offset w/warming oven, 32" fire pit with swinging cooking grate, PK 360 w/Grill Grates

08-26-2018, 06:40 PM	#8
Joe Black Babbling Farker Join Date: 12-05-14 Location: Greenville, SC	Those ribs look great. The color and finish are awesome. __________________ 24"x48" Bell Fab offset 22" Weber Premium Kettle Char-Grill gasser

08-26-2018, 08:05 PM	#9
ssv3 somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 07-25-12 Location: Los Angeles Name/Nickname : Sako	Beautifully done! I tried Oakridge Dominator yesterday and no surprise the stuff rocks. I used it with Bad Byron's . __________________ LSG 24x30 V/O Yoder YS640 DCS 36 Gasser Blackstone Griddle Retrofit Blackstone Pizza Oven WSJ(K) WGA(P) WJJ(CU) W22(BI) W26(CL) Pit Barrer Junior Kingsford Oval (resto mod)

08-26-2018, 08:56 PM	#11
dshaffes Knows what a fatty is. Join Date: 04-17-17 Location: Wayne, NJ	Not surprising the layered rubs beat the single rub.

08-26-2018, 09:04 PM	#12
sudsandswine Quintessential Chatty Farker Join Date: 06-23-12 Location: Kansas City	That's fair, in the past I did hit the Zero to Hero with something else but the Oakridge BBQ combo worked better than that one. By itself it was still 3rd behind another single rub in an unscientific experiment so.... __________________ Shirley Fab 250g trailer \| Primo XL kamado \| [COLOR="Red"]Red[/COLOR] Weber Limited Edition kettle + 26” kettle \| Clonesaker PDS (pretty drum smoker)

08-26-2018, 09:12 PM	#13
ssv3 somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 07-25-12 Location: Los Angeles Name/Nickname : Sako	So funny. Mike @ Oakridge shipped me out my TD prize pack. I did a rack of spares w/ dominator and bad Byron's as mentioned and a rack of baby backs with Chile lime + bad Byron's. I've had everything from Oakridge but those two until yesterday. Both excellent as usual. __________________ LSG 24x30 V/O Yoder YS640 DCS 36 Gasser Blackstone Griddle Retrofit Blackstone Pizza Oven WSJ(K) WGA(P) WJJ(CU) W22(BI) W26(CL) Pit Barrer Junior Kingsford Oval (resto mod)

08-26-2018, 09:21 PM	#14
sudsandswine Quintessential Chatty Farker Join Date: 06-23-12 Location: Kansas City	I've only done it on chicken but thought it might be good on some pork too....how'd they turn out? __________________ Shirley Fab 250g trailer \| Primo XL kamado \| [COLOR="Red"]Red[/COLOR] Weber Limited Edition kettle + 26” kettle \| Clonesaker PDS (pretty drum smoker)

08-26-2018, 09:38 PM	#15
Dr. Weld Knows what a fatty is. Join Date: 06-24-18 Location: PA Name/Nickname : Dr. Weld	Looking good!nom nom What sauce did you use when you wrapped them? I just saw honey..