Ribs

Everybody has their own tips, tricks and sworn secrets when it comes to making ribs. This weekend, the experts will be duking it out in Victoria Park at the Downtown Kitchener Ribfest & Craft Beer Show, all of them trying to prove that theirs are the tenderest and the tastiest.

Many of the Kitchener fest's "ribbers" hail from London, and, for no apparent reason, most of are Greek. Some of them spend their whole summer on the ribfest circuit, going from one city to the next.

In an effort to pick up a few pointers, I recently chatted with George Kefalidis of Crabby's BBQ, last year's winner here in Kitchener for Best Ribs Overall. While some believe that true ribs require some gnawing, Kefalidis says he guarantees nothing less than fall-off-the-bone tenderness.

"I say to watch it every time, because maybe it's gonna fall off the bone and make your shoes very messy," he laughs.

Here are a few of Kefalidis's best suggestions:

- Start with good meat. "All my meat is Ontario meat," he says. "I try to support our local farmers." Buy ribs fresh from your favourite butcher or from the farmers' market.

- Never boil ribs. And never start cooking on the barbecue right off the bat, otherwise, says Kefalidis, "they're never going to be tender. Bake the ribs, then give the final touch on the barbecue. Put lots of sauce on at the end and caramelize it. Then you have a totally different taste."

- For optimum barbecue flavour, use charcoal or firewood over gas or propane. Kefalidis favours cherry, apple or pear wood to give a natural fruity, smoky taste. He never opts for liquid smoke. (You can make homemade woodchip smokers for your gas barbie at home -- look online for tips).

Kefalidis uses a liquid marinade made with a tomato base and cranberry juice, which he says tenderizes the meat really well. He bakes his ribs right in the marinade and then uses an oil-based sauce that also involves whisky. (Most people, he says, opt for a ketchup-based sauce).

Like I said, everyone's got their tricks. My mother-in-law's ribs are some of the best I've had. I don't know the exact recipe, though I've seen her making them many a time up at the cottage. Something to do with a can of Coke. She also layers thin slices of lemon across the rib racks that get so perfectly caramelized by the end of the long, slow cooking process that you can actually eat them, rind and all, along with your ribs. Heavenly. I don't even think the barbecue is involved, come to think of it -- just the oven.

Here's a tried-and-true recipe for ribs that I've made and loved, courtesy of my former volleyball teammate Angry Johnny (who is actually not angry at all). He got it from The Chez Piggy Cookbook, a collection of recipes from the great restaurant of the same name in Kingston.

This recipe suggests cooking ribs in the oven at 300F for two hours, but you could also try it lower and slower, say for three hours at 200F, for even greater tenderness. It's also worth pulling the silvery membrane off the back of the rib racks to allow for better flavour penetration and less toughness.

Vary the amount of chopped chilies according to how spicy you like things. As for the beer tips (read below), while I'm not sure whether they come from Angry Johnny or from Chez Piggy, I say it's worth following the instructions.

Ribfest runs from noon to 10 p.m. today and again tomorrow from noon to 6 p.m. See www.kitchenerribandbeerfest.com for further details.

Ly's Grilled Fire Ribs

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 cup water

4 lbs pork ribs, fresh from market

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup beer (drink the rest)

1/4 cup molasses

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp chopped garlic

2 tbsp chopped chilies

Preheat oven to 300F.

Mix lemon juice and water and set aside.

Bake ribs in oven, uncovered, for two hours, brushing them every 30 minutes with the lemon/water mixture.

Mix remaining ingredients in sauce pan and simmer for eight minutes. Open another beer.

Preheat barbecue to medium. Brush ribs with sauce and barbecue 20 minutes, turning every five minutes and brushing with more sauce.