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By Root 1151 0

cut of pork presents its own particular challenge to the barbecue chef. The rib section is the most delicate of a pig’s assets, we had been told in the judging seminar at the New Daisy Theater. It is the hardest part to cook, both because of its delicacy and because “anybody that’s ever owned a Weber thinks he can cook a real dynamic rib.” Only two rib cuts are eligible, the fatty, dense spareribs from the hog’s belly and the lighter loin ribs from the hog’s back, called baby back ribs when they come from a young hog. Ineligible are country-style ribs, which have a piece of the tenderloin still attached, almost like a pork chop. A slab of loin or baby back ribs, which have narrow bones separated by ethereal flesh, weighs less than two pounds; taken from high on the hog, they are favored in barbecue competitions. When a four- or five-pound slab of spareribs is entered, it is usually first trimmed down to a St. Louis cut—all visible fat removed along with the gristly “brisket flap” that runs obliquely across the back of the slab.

Some teams skin their ribs, and some do not; all of them argue about which is the best policy. The tough membrane lining the underside of the bones may hold in moisture, but it prevents the penetration of smoke and spice. When any cut of pork is exposed at length to hardwood smoke, its outer layer takes on a rich pinkish tint, sometimes as much as an inch into the meat. In Texas, entries are judged on the depth and color of this “smoke ring.” In Memphis it is simply a harbinger of deeply flavored meat. For some odd and unaccountable reason, the tasty, crunchy part of a barbecued rib does not matter. “It may taste great,” the head judge explained to me, “but it’s not Memphis barbecue.”

As pork is barbecued, it goes from tough to tender to mushy, and it can dry out if it is not cooked in moist surroundings. Competition cooks often use a thick glaze to mask a mushy or dry entry. On the barbecue pit, ribs pass through the perfect state of doneness for only fifteen minutes. If the bones slip right out of the slab, the ribs are mushy; if the meat refuses to separate from the bones, it is tough. As with all pork barbecue, the meat must have body but separate easily from itself with a gentle pull. Most teams throw on a fresh slab of ribs every twenty minutes for two hours early in the morning so that one slab will be perfectly done six hours later for each of the three judges. An hour or two afterward, perhaps on an auxiliary grill, they begin again—just in case the team reaches the finals and needs some fresh slabs for the second round.

A whole hog must weigh at least eighty-five pounds (suckling pigs do not count in Memphis) and is cooked either whole or halved down the spine, on its back or on its belly, for twenty to twenty-six hours, with or without its head and feet, skinned or unskinned. (The skin of a mature pig is too thick and tough to eat.) Whole Hog teams stay up all night before judgment day, basting and fussing and adjusting the heat. The challenge of barbecuing a whole hog is to get the huge, thick shoulder (the mass of muscle above the front leg) and the ham (above the hind leg) done at the same time as the delicate central portions of loin and rib—while making sure that the flavor of spices and smoke penetrates deep inside the hog. Accordingly, a Whole Hog judge must sample, at the very least, pieces of the shoulder, the ham, and the loin. He or she is also allowed to taste the delightful bacon and the amusing rib section, but these cuts do not count.

A pork shoulder can weigh fourteen to twenty pounds and in its raw state is riddled with fat. The trick is to cook it long and slow, without drying out the meat, until every bit of fat disappears and the cooking flavors permeate every morsel. This is even more difficult under Memphis rules than elsewhere, because an official shoulder must include both the picnic shoulder and the Boston butt, which together make up a vast quantity of meat and bones. An on-site judge should ignore how easily the leg bone slips from the meat; the team may have