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Hey, I'm Anthony Anderson,
actor, comedian, and food fanatic.
Mmm! Mmm!
That's right.
And when I want to get down and dirty with my food
and thousands of my closest friends,
you can find me at a good old American food festival.
Mmm! That is delicious.
Make you want to holler.
Ohh!
Today, I'm in Chi-town,
where the wind is blowing the aroma of ribs on the grill.
That is a tender piece of meat.
16 competitors are going head to head
with special sauces and dry rubs,
from sweet and sour to hot and smoky,
and it's all rib-tastic.
So, let's get to the meeting, eating, and competing.
This is "Eating America."
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
There's one meat that has real history in this city,
and that's a good, old-fashioned rack of ribs.
That's why I'm here at Ribfest Chicago,
where for 16 years, the best of the fest
have smoked and grilled their way to meaty perfection.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
This teeny, tiny town they call Chicago
is in the northeast corner of Illinois.
50,000 devotees come each June
to sample from the 25 food vendors,
and 16 of those vendors are competing for two titles --
the People's Choice and the Judge's Chef award.
50,000 pounds of pork goes up in smoke
over these three days.
And with that, I'm ready to pig out.
And with all these sweet, sweet ribs,
I think I've come to the right place.
What's going on, baby?
You ready for this?
I think I am.
We take a very large rib, rub it with our rub...
...and we let it sit overnight.
Okay.
Then we throw it into the smoker for 7 1/2 hours.
We top it off with our sweet sauce,
so you taste the smoke, you taste the rub.
I taste the smoke.
For these, we did a little bird's eye chili powder.
There was a pause.
Whoo! There it is!
When it hits your mouth, there's a huge party going on.
It's not overpowering. The sauce is sweet.
Am I dripping?
WOMAN: No, a little bit, yeah.
ANDERSON: I'm a give you 20 seconds
to name as many famous pigs as you can.
Porky Pig.
Mm-hmm.
Can't get stuck on that one. 12 seconds left.
Come on, look. They're down here.
Look at that. Okay, look.
Okay. Miss Piggy, Babe, uh...
That's -- Okay. Uh-huh.
You cheated, but come on.
Okay, that's it. Time's up.
Miss Piggy, Babe, Porky Pig,
Petunia Pig -- that's Porky's girlfriend --
three little pigs, Wilbur from "Charlotte's Web,"
and Arnold Ziffel from "Green Acres."
Beautiful.
ANDERSON: One famous face competing in this year's cook-off
is Mark Link,
last year's Judge's Choice winner.
LINK: In this barbecue world, it's very competitive.
The rumor this year is that they're all coming after me,
and I say, "Bring it on."
ANDERSON: He's not just defending his title...
Okay. Let's do better.
ANDERSON: ...he's aiming to be the first person ever
with back-to-back wins.
LINK: I didn't get much sleep last night.
The adrenaline's flowing.
Those look beautiful.
I really want to take it two years in a row.
St. Louis-style ribs.
I always refer to the baby back as the filet mignon.
I refer to the St. Louis as the New York strip.
Okay.
And I like New York strip.
This is the key -- little bit of fresh lemon.
Uh-huh.
And that's gonna open up the pores of this meat, right here.
Exactly.
Then I like to rub it in, and then flip her over.
How do we know that this was a female pig?
This could have been a male pig.
[ Laughing ] You're right.
Then we take our rub.
What do we have in there?
There's 14 different herbs and spices.
Garlic salt, garlic powder.
Some garlic salt, some chili powder,
some garlic powder, uh-huh.
And there's a few others,
but if I tell you, you know what will have to happen.
Yeah, we'll have to eat it all.
[ Laughing ] Yeah.
So, then we're gonna put them in the smoker,
and we're gonna cook with apple and hickory wood.
Four hours at 215 degrees.
Meat side up.
Every hour, we're gonna spray them down
with apple juice.
I just happen to have
[ Laughs ]
Is that gonna keep the moisture in there,
and add a little sweetness to the meat?
Exactly.
I'm just gonna take that off right now and have a little bit.
Taste the smokiness already.
We're gonna do one more step -- the agave nectar.
We're just gonna go one, two, and three.
A little bit of butter.
Then we'll take
a little bit of apple juice, there.
That's it. That's perfect.
And then we take the rib, and we do the same thing.
Perfect. Then we'll make it into a boat.
All of that
is going to just seep into this meat as we're doing it,
making it even more tender.
You already have some waiting for us.
I've got three ready for you.
And look at that.
Can you smell what Mark is cooking?
Next step, then, is to glaze them on the grill,
and then we eat them.
Okay, well, let's talk about your barbecue sauce.
Tomato based, a little bit of vinegar.
Little sweet, little heat -- not too much.
An all-around great blend.
Oh, I like that.
ANDERSON: Some of that marble ring around that meat right there.
This meat is so tender. Look at that.
Oh.
The first thing that hits me is the hickory smoke,
and then the sweet sauce, right here.
The apple juice, the butter, the agave --
all of that blends together.
Everything happens at once.
Like a beautiful marriage.
I see why this was an award-winning rib last year.
I have right here last year's winners.
[ Laughs ]
Not "Mm-mmm, good," like, "What it is." "Damn."
Think that could be a winning rib this year?
Tastes delicious.
Deliciously saucy.
That's some good eating, right there.
It is.
ANDERSON: I don't know if it's all this competition talk,
but I'm ready to rumble and kick some butt --
you know, with colorful, little balloons.
Gonna go color for color, balloon for balloon.
Okay.
All right, let's see what you got.
All right!
Aah! Uh-huh.
Bottom row green!
Bottom row orange!
Oh!
Ohhhh!
Sudden death!
All right, we got to do it at the same time.
It's only one.
One, two, three, go!
Uh-oh!
Oh! I hit two! I hit two!
[ Laughs ]
Coming up, one competitor puts a little sauce in his sauce.
Am I supposed to taste the whiskey?
Could this be the edge he needs later on
against the big dogs?
And number one....
ANDERSON: Stay with me.
How do you get a sick pig to the hospital?
Oh, God.
This is a hard one.
This is for all the ribs in Chicago right now.
Aha! She got it!
In a ham-bulance!
Oh!
You guys think on that one.
Yeah, you should have known that one.
All right, you guys have a good one.
Take care.
I'm here at Ribfest Chicago,
where 55,000 rib fanatics gather
to taste the perfectly cooked rack of ribs.
2013 People's Choice winner?
MAN: 2010 through 2013.
Four years in a row now.
My bad!
What do we have here?
We have some awesome ribs.
We grill them off. We braise them.
It's a nice, sweet tomato sauce.
That is a tender piece of meat.
It sure is.
Am I supposed to taste the whiskey in this sauce?
You're supposed to get a hint of it.
We reduce down some Irish whiskey.
We add some orange marmalade to sweeten it up a little.
I get a nice, little kick from the pepper.
What else do you have in your rub?
Cajun and pepper.
It adds a little spice to it.
That sauce complements it well,
knocks down that spice just a little bit,
and the sauce is sweet and tangy.
I see why you were the people's champion.
Appreciate it.
Thanks.
I want you to name
as many flavors of barbecue sauce as you can in 10 seconds.
Go!
Hot, smoky, honey.
Mesquite.
Mesquite. Hickory!
Spicy hot.
Vinegar mustard.
Jalapeño, okay.
Garlicky. Carolina style.
Corn?
I don't know about that one.
LEONARD: Hey!
Hey, what's going on, brother?
ANDERSON: Someone who is not a fan of barbecue sauce
is competitor Jared Leonard,
the Judge's Chef award winner of 2012.
Normally, ribs covered in sauce are dry
or they've been reheated.
I don't want to eat them. I am definitely a purist.
ANDERSON: Jared's looking for vindication
after being shut out from placing last year,
and he's more than ready for battle.
Nice and juicy.
I know our ribs are the best.
Oh!
Some nice cuts of meat right there.
Thank you, thank you.
We just met, but I'll take the compliment.
All right, yeah, well, you know,
we're gonna get real close and intimate.
Main ingredients --
Right.
...and the smoke. That's it.
When you put these on,
you turn into a bit of a barbecue superhero.
There you go.
So, we want to mix up our spices.
Light or dark.
It is a kosher salt.
Really?
We're adding kosher salt to pork?
To pork, yeah, that's how we roll.
Red pepper flakes.
Chili powder.
Yes, sir.
Onion powder. All right.
Yes, sir.
There we go.
There you go.
Yes, sir.
Thyme. Dried basil.
Oregano.
Two left.
These are two of the secret ingredients.
Yeah, yeah.
Yes, sir.
So, we have our secret blend -- no longer a secret.
We just told everybody that's watching the show.
So, it's all mixed up.
So, now we're gonna coat the meat -- both sides.
Yes, sir.
Ready to flip. All right.
Come on, let's go put your meat in the smoker.
Let's do it.
This is the rub tub.
You get about 400 slabs of ribs at once.
What's our wood blend that we're gonna use?
Oak predominantly,
and then some cherry, also, to sweeten it up a little bit.
Oak and cherry -- that's going to give a nice, little flavor.
Yeah.
You got to rub the rub tub.
Got to rub the rub tub.
Couple slabs here.
It's nice and fatty and juicy.
Hey, are we still talking about the ribs,
or are we talking about me?
No comment.
[ Laughs ]
So, it should tear in half without using a lot of pressure.
We're just getting to the basics of what we do as men.
We're barbarians.
Gnawing on a bone. Hands and teeth.
Hands and teeth. That's it.
Cheers, man.
Mmm. That has a real nice, smoky flavor.
You can see that's a perfectly smoked rib right there.
The sweetness of the brown sugar,
a little natural kick from the chili powder --
you don't need any sauce.
Sauce is just an extra accoutrement.
I don't know what that word means, but yes.
We're bringing the trophy home this year.
I hope so. I hope so.
Hey!
Before you eat that piece of dried meat
that's slathered in sauce,
I want you to try this right here.
Take one, ma'am.
Thank you.
Way better.
Definitely has that smoky feel.
I usually don't like it without sauce.
It's good.
Oh, delicious.
I love the dry rub.
It's yours, boo boo.
I'm taking my belly to go
so I can find more delicious food from today's competitors.
Look! It's the king!
And I'm not talking about Elvis.
How'd you become the barbecue king?
Self-proclaimed?
[ Laughs ]
How about you try this?
Oh, my God.
That's called our Pretzel Bomb.
Our hickory-smoked pulled pork, mac and cheese,
homemade cheese sauce, and a little barbecue sauce
on a toasted pretzel bun for you.
I'll have a heart attack. I'm going in!
That's not bad.
You didn't know what to think of that, did you?
[ Laughs ]
That macaroni and cheese is real cheesy.
The sweetness of the sauce
on this perfectly smoked pulled pork -- love it.
That bun is soft and delicious, too.
Next, I never thought I'd see this at a rib festival.
What the hell do you have going on over here, brother?!
And my mouth gets a little taste of heaven.
[ Vocalizing ]
That was my religious experience.
Don't change that channel.
That's right. I'm talking to you.
I want you to look directly in the camera.
Hi!
Give your best pig impression.
Oink, oink. [ Laughs ]
I had sleep apnea surgery awhile ago,
and I don't know if I can do it anymore.
You have to commit to it. You have to commit.
[ Snorts loudly ]
[ Laughing ] I don't know what to do.
You did it. That's good.
Give your best cow impression, right there.
Moo!
You have the best cow impersonation I've ever seen.
ANDERSON: If you want to taste the best ribs around,
then you should be right here with me at Ribfest Chicago.
Although I do believe
I smell something non-ribby coming from over there.
What the hell do you have going on over here, brother?!
Chocolate-covered fried bacon?
It'll be ready in just a second.
No problem. Hey, baby, perfection takes time.
You're gonna need a bunch of napkins.
All right, I'm gonna need a bunch of napkins?
It's very hot.
Anybody want to try this bacon with me?
Bon appé***, brother.
All right.
Mm.
That is good!
I like the sweetness of the dough.
And the bacon is precooked...
It was just chocolaty bacon goodness.
New definition of pigs in a blanket.
MAN: It doesn't get any better.
Bacon! Who knew?
[ Laughter ]
That gets my vote
for best chocolate-covered fried bacon.
But that's not why we're really here today.
Look at that rib right there. Look. Come here. Come here.
Look. This came off a dinosaur.
One cook-off contender who was sticking to his ribs --
hmm, see what I did there? -- is Jeff Shapiro.
For the last two years,
his St. Louis-style ribs placed second and third
with both the people and the judges.
SHAPIRO: It's all about the sauce.
We got the best barbecue sauce in the area.
ANDERSON: And he wants to move on up,
just like George and Weezy.
This year, we're taking home first place.
Let's go ahead. Why don't you grab some dry rub?
And we're gonna coat these bad boys.
Our dry rub --
we've got turbinado sugar,
a little brown sugar, some cinnamon,
paprika, oregano,
and I can't tell you the rest.
I'd have to kill you.
Well, you're gonna have to kill somebody else.
A little bit.
I ain't telling you no more, man.
I believe that yellow mustard is the key.
Okay.
That's an interesting way to look at it.
Now we're just gonna massage this mustard in.
It's gonna seal in the spice.
It's gonna give it a nice mahogany color.
And the vinegar in there helps in the cooking process.
So, you're doing a reverse osmosis,
seal in, smoke your ribs method.
Oh, my God. Look at that.
If I could eat raw pork without dying,
I would bite into this right now.
There it is.
This is where the dripping begins.
We're gonna let this sit in there for 3 1/2 hours.
Yes, sir.
What do we do then?
We're gonna create what is pretty much a pouch.
I take a little bit of honey, some brown sugar,
take a little bit of secret butter, here...
Okay.
...and a little bit of apple juice.
If you just want to squirt just 2 tablespoons.
We're gonna take these ribs and put it right on there.
Meat side down.
Let's wrap and roll.
We're gonna put them in for an additional 45 minutes.
ANDERSON: We're making this pouch, steaming the ribs,
causing the meat to become even more tender.
And cook that sweetness into the meat --
the sweet, the smoky.
And that's what creates perfection.
Whoo!
Oh, wow.
See how it's coated?
We're gonna put that right on the grill.
We're gonna put some of our original sauce on there.
Ketchup base, brown sugar, molasses.
Oh, look at that.
Let's see what it's gonna taste like.
[ Vocalizing ]
That was my religious experience.
Yes, it is.
And your sauce, which is out of this world --
I've never had a sweet tooth when it comes to ribs.
I got a sweet tooth for this one, right here.
ANDERSON: Whoo! I've got a belly full of ribs.
If I had to pick a winner for today's competition,
it would definitely be --
Oh, wait a minute. I don't have to.
But these guys do.
What does it take
to have the winning rib here in this competition?
First off, it has to look good --
you know, no char, no burnt ribs.
MAN: To be able to pull the bones, separate them with my fingers.
Dry rub -- I like to be able to put my own sauce on my ribs.
I like it tangy.
It can have a little spice to it.
Have some smoke flavor to it.
All that stuff,
you know, adds up to deliciousness.
ANDERSON: Nerves are raw, but the meat is done.
Two big awards are up for grabs --
the People's Choice and the Judge's Choice.
Which of the 16 racks will rack up the most points?
MAN: It's the time you've been waiting for.
Let's hear the winners.
ANDERSON: We'll find out soon enough.
We have an actual tie.
Ribfest Chicago, baby.
The cooking competition is underway,
where professional chefs tempt the taste buds of the judges
to try to bring home the grand prize.
The adrenaline's really pumping right now.
I just turned my ribs in to the judges.
I'm a little nervous.
I know there's some high-quality judges here,
some great chefs, and I know they got to be perfect.
Okay.
They like something.
ANDERSON: We've got 16 competitors
going head to head in a blind taste test.
SHAPIRO: They look phenomenal.
The pouching process that we do --
They're glistening, they're sweet,
they're full of mahogany.
Coming second two times, today's the day.
ANDERSON: The ribs are judged on flavor, texture, tenderness,
then an overall score,
and I can safely say it's anyone's game.
Okay, Chicago, it's the time you've been waiting for.
Let's hear the winners.
We're gonna go first with the People's Choice award.
We have an actual tie for third place
between Uncle Bub's BBQ and Real Urban Barbecue.
Awesome. Congratulations.
Way to go. Thank you.
Number two...
was Q BBQ Lakeview.
[ Cheers and applause ]
ANDERSON: All right, Q!
And number one for the fourth year in a row,
Mrs. Murphy & Sons Irish Bistro.
Let's hear it.
We know how they got there. [ Laughs ]
Okay, now we're gonna move over to the Chef's award.
Number three...
Real Urban Barbecue.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Number two, BBQ King Smokehouse.
And the number one...
is Uncle Bub's BBQ.
Whoo!
Whoo!
Way to go!
Whoo!
Thank you.
We didn't win any awards this year.
We had a great time. We cooked a lot of ribs.
Jared should have took home a trophy!
Be honest when you talk to the camera, Jared!
Don't by lying to these people!
Speak from the heart!
He's right. I'll let him do my talking.
Maybe we got to use a little bit more brown sugar,
maybe we need to cook them a little bit longer.
I'm not sure.
Two years in a row.
Oh, it feels great.
I'm very honored.
I'm kind of shaking right now --
the adrenaline flowing and everything --
so I can't say enough how happy I am.
ANDERSON: Great people, great competition,
and, of course, an endless supply of meat.
This is what makes Chicago
one of the best cities in the nation.
Am I right?!
Yeah!
See you next time on "Eating America,"
with me, Anthony Anderson.
Why do you add kosher salt to your ribs?
[ Laughs ]
I'm a do it all from the beginning.
WOMAN: Whoa!
[ Laughter ]