Sides are sides right? They are second. These sides are firsts. This bowl of fries hit my plate: two half racks quarter stacked deep black bark with brown sugar glaze.
And there I was giving the ribs a rest. I know they must have been tucked away for at least an hour. I just couldn’t take myself away from these fries and baked beans. Coarse sea salt coated hand cut (must have been scrubbed) grit free spuds. And beans, baked beans in a metal pot that almost looks like an ice cream dish. A dish fit for the smoker. The beans hit like Maine bean hole beans, nice wide soldiers. Boy Scout old school. Smokey and yet with a twist. Cayenne and cumin, not tex mex but not flat, not average not seconds not a side: Firsts.
I lowered my head and grasped the plate with both hands. A cookie sheet of a plate with light brown wax paper holding the prize: 2 half racks of baby backs. I inhaled deeply, brown sauce covered black bark with notes of vinegar. Was this St. Louis? Was it Tennesee? Kansass City? No, this was Blue Bird custom original.
So what I look for in my ribs is the smoke ring. This kiss of smoke that surrounds, envelops the meat. There is a school of thought that states that there is a diminishing return of any smoke after 1 hour. Blue bird does not subscribe to this philosophy. They cruise past an hour or two or seven of smoke driving their pink right to the bone. 4 bone bark crisps in flakes, chips with fingerlings of sweetness revealing voids where the fat used to be. And now, what’s left? Flavor. I asked for two lemons to clean my paws, these racks left their mark. These were competition ribs. They refused to release. My preference is to “over cook” them up to 190 to 195 degree internal temperature releasing all the connective tissue resulting in clean bones. The kind of ribs that financial men with silk ties and dress shirts eat with forks and knives. Blue bird stick the meat to the bone. Not for some trend I am sure, I can only guess it is the wish of the pit master. This is a dance. If these gains were gotten so easily would I enjoy them less? I will never know. At times it is hard to put a finger on delicious. I searched my mouth. Was this dry rub, was it brine? I cant say that these were brined. They certainly were not 4,3,2,1 rubbed which would have left them salty. So what does this leave? Sweet mysteries.
($$$) (Two thumbs up)
If you go: www.bluebirdbbq.com 317 Riverside Drive, Burlington VT. Reservations 802-488-3070. Open most days at 4:30 pm, Recently open Saturdays and Sundays, call ahead before leading 3 riders from Nova Scotia to closed doors the weekend of the GMR. Oops.
My dollar system:
$:I got this
$$: I still got it let me tell my wife.
$$$: Lets go Dutch
$$$$: We’d better call Uncle Curt.
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