There is little in the culinary world as primeval as cooking ribs over glowing coals. It calls to mind campfires on the old cowboy trails or the smoke filled halls described in Beowulf.
Yeah, nowadays the backyard barbecue can seem a bit removed from its rustic origins. Gleaming tongs from Williams-Sonoma, stainless steel hybrid grills with more power than a professional kitchen (and six-figure price tags to match), locally sourced free range meat — preparing a batch of ribs often looks like more of an upscale leisure activity than an ancient necessity.
Still, there is something compelling about ribs, especially in the warmer months.
“It’s the smoke factor,” explained Mark Linback, chef at The Blue Wing Saloon in Upper Lake. “The aroma is to die for. It fills up the room and triggers memories.”
So perhaps a little of that frontier campfire spirit remains, unleashed each time we see the words “baby back ribs” on a restaurant menu. But these days chefs might rest these over anything from good old hardwood to a regular old burner to get the right results.
The restaurants serving some of the best ribs in Lake County each prepare their versions a little differently. Some use smokers, others regular indoor kitchen equipment, so a little of both.
“There are so many different techniques, so many ways to do them” observed Jose Witrow of The Pit Stop in north Lakeport.
So set aside for a moment the purist definitions of smoking, grilling and barbecuing. Here is a quick sample of how different can be very, very good.
O’Meara Bros. Brewing Company, Lakeport
901 Bevins St. (707) 262-1234
Chef Roy Iversen follows the “low and slow” gospel of minimal heat and a lot of time on the grill. But he doesn’t actually used a wood fire, instead cooking his baby back pork ribs over the stove.
“Everybody thinks they are smoked, but they’re not,” he said.
Still, the meat falls from the bone with just the slightest touch of a fork. And the flavor is dense, even though Iversen prefers a reserved hand when it comes to seasoning.
“I don’t like to overpower the meat,” he explained.
To pick up on the natural sweetness of pork, he pours a little beer over the top — a fruity hefeweizen, if available — before locking it all down over the heat. He lets the ribs sit over heat for three hours and readies them for serving.
The Pit Stop, Lakeport
3740 Lakeshore Blvd. (707) 262-0931
At this lakeshore spot in north Lakeport, Witrow uses oak chips to smoke racks of baby back pork for at least six hours. When pulled from the rustic grill they are just firm enough to hold the restaurant’s homemade barbecue sauce.
Although Witrow relies on hardwood to cook the meat, he starts with a dry rub of earthy, rustic herbs and spices and finishes with a splash of the sauce. It’s difficult to decipher everything that goes into this ruddy mix: pineapple, molasses, tomato sauce — naturally — and something with a distinct and savory edge. But people respond. On Saturday of last week he sold out several times, telling customers when they might have to return.
Or to just call ahead and ask about their availability.
Danny’s Roadside Kitchen, Lower Lake
9800 Hwy. 53 (707) 701-6025
The owner of Danny’s, a tiny kitchen attached to a roadside smoker, also enjoys the alchemy of a good dry rub. His consists of 17 different (and secret) ingredients, along with a little brown sugar to caramelize the crust.
Carl White takes a different approach to baby backs. He smokes each rack over oak — though he would rather use cottonwood — for up to eight hours, depending upon the weather that particular day.
“I go by feel,” he explained.
He is forced to, actually. When he built the smoker outside the restaurant, he decided for an old school approach — meaning no temperature gauge. Instead, he tries to read the the big metal box, watching for the belching smoke to change in subtle ways.
“We’re married in a way,” he said of the smoker. “But that’s where the years of experience comes in.”
White also whips up his own sauce, a unique and tangy douse based on apples to again draw on the meat’s natural flavor profile.
Blue Wing Saloon, Upper Lake
9520 Main St. (707) 275-2233
Chef Mark Linback takes a more complicated approach to his baby back ribs. He starts with a dry rub and allows the meat to rest overnight. He then places racks on the smoker over mesquite, but for just a couple of hours.
Linback, it seems, wants to use every inch of his kitchen.
After smoking the ribs he tosses them into the oven to bake for two more hours. After that he throws them on the grill before covering them with one of the most interesting (in a very good way) sauces around.
“The main thing is starting with a good cut of meat,” Linback pointed out. “You want the ribs falling off the bone, but not completely off.”
With hints of smoke, fat melting into the fibers, the enigmatic sauce — well, it’s a plate that will bring a smile.
“The meat is sweet, there’s fat for flavor, the smoke — you can’t go wrong,” he said.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
