Hot take: competition ribs are overrated comfort food

I spent last Saturday at the Memphis in May contest watching folks obsess over bend tests and bone pulls. An older pitmaster named Ray walked up after I'd polished off a competitor's entry and said "son, you just ate a science fair project." He pulled me over to his beat-up offset and handed me a plate of grocery store spares cooked at 275 for 5 hours. No wrap, no spritz, just salt and pepper with a simple mop. That plate tasted like real barbecue from a Sunday cookout, not some trophy-chasing experiment. Has anyone else had better backyard food than competition stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

bettyhunt9h ago

Competition ribs win for a reason since precision beats backyard luck every time.

elizabeth_williams6h ago

Does this kind of precision vs. "going with your gut" thing show up in other parts of life too, @bettyhunt? I see it all the time with friends who swear by detailed meal prepping versus those who just throw stuff together and call it dinner.