Photography by Donovan Roberts Witmer
What do a father, a son, an airplane and barbecue have in common? No, they don’t grill while flying the skies. Wendell Espenshade and his dad Wilmer, both backyard barbecue hobbyists, saw Meadow Creek, a barbecue supply store near their homes in New Holland (www.meadowcreekbbq.com) was offering the Kansas City Barbecue Society judging certification. Somewhere during the process, Wilmer got his pilot’s license. Now the father and son—certified barbecue judges—fly all over the place, eating their favorite food, together. “We’ll fly Saturday morning, judge, and fly back in the afternoon,” says Wendell nonchalantly; it’s just a normal weekend for them. One competition used to fall on Father’s Day weekend in Frederick that they loved attending, he recalls.
“When we first stated judging, we learned you really have to pace yourself,” Wendell explains. At each competition he and his dad taste creations by five to six different teams that present four types of barbecued meat (chicken, ribs, brisket and pulled pork). “We love ribs,” he notes, but they learned, “no matter how good it is, only one (or two if it’s really good) bites of each.” KCBS judges on three factors: appearance, taste and tenderness. Wendell and Wilmer give high marks for a perfect pink smoke ring on the meat and low marks for qualities like too much cayenne heat. “Taste is usually good on all [the entries]. Tenderness is the trickier part.”
Sticking to the Hobby
“When I first started this, I agreed to do the judging because entering a barbecue competition was on my bucket list,” but after seeing how much work it is, he’s content “sticking with backyard barbecue.” Espenshade explains, “Barbecue is a lot of work, and it’s more about the process.” He likes having an excuse to make it (like their family reunion each summer) since it’s such a time consuming process. So Wendell sticks to his day job as marketing director at Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences and keeps the backyard barbecue hobby just that.
“Barbecue has really taken off with the popularity of reality shows,” Wendell affirms. For those interested in getting started, he says, “you can get a nice smoker and get rolling for a couple hundred dollars.” Or, try his oven-to-grill method ribs recipe on p.68 to achieve the backyard barbecue flavor without the smoker.
BBQ Baby Back Ribs–Two Ways
Serves 5-6
Whether you have a smoker or not, you, too, can make ribs like the pros. Certified barbecue judge Wendell Espenshade shares his secret sauce plus, two ways of preparation for backyard barbecuing. Actually, this is his “pre-secret sauce, version 1.0,” because as Espenshade attests, no barbecue guy will give away his secret sauce recipe.
Ingredients:
4 pounds baby back ribs (two slabs) 3 garlic cloves, minced (1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic in a jar) Prepared yellow mustard 1 tablespoon additional liquid smoke (if using the oven and grill method) For the BBQ Sauce: 1 small onion (finely chopped) 2 tablespoons butter 1 cup of ketchup ¼ cup of brown sugar 3 tablespoons lemon juice 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons cider vinegar 1 tablespoon liquid smoke (hickory) 1 teaspoon ground mustard 1 teaspoon celery seed 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
BBQ Smoker Method
1. Rinse the ribs and remove thin “silver skin” membrane from underside of the ribs. To do this, slide a knife or fingernail under the membrane at a bone. Grip the membrane with a paper towel and pull it off. Pat them dry with a paper towel.
2. Run 2 to 3 lines of yellow prepared mustard the length of each rack and rub in to lightly coat ribs. Next, rub ¾ teaspoon of minced garlic over each rack. Try to evenly distribute the pieces. Place the ribs on a baking sheet with sides. Mix the dry rub ingredients. Gently and evenly dust a thin coating of it on the top and bottom side of each rack of ribs. Be sure not to put too much on. You will only use approximately half of the rub mix. You should still be able to see the meat through the coating when done.
3. Cover the ribs and refrigerate 8 hours (or overnight).
4. In a saucepan melt butter and sauté onion until tender and translucent in color. Stir in the remaining BBQ sauce ingredients. Reduce heat, stir and cook until thick (10 to 20 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Remove ribs from refrigerator 30 minutes before smoking. Bring smoker temperature to 250°F. Smoke for 2 hours and then cover the ribs tightly with two layers of aluminum foil. Cook another 2 hours or until they are done. When they are done you should be able to easily insert a toothpick between the bones with very little resistance, and the rib bone ends should be protruding from the rib meat.
6. Remove ribs from foil and baste with sauce in the last few minutes. Leave them on the smoker for a bit to caramelize the sauce.
The key to barbecue sauce is layering complex flavors: a little sweet, smoky, tangy and and savory with a little heat (cayenne gives immediate heat; ancho or other types of peppers create a back end heat) explains Espenshade.
According the pros, ribs that “fall off the bone” are actually overcooked. According to Espenshade and the Kansas City Barbecue Society, you should be able to bite into the ribs, and where the meat pulls away, the bone should be dry—for perfectly prepared ribs. Though, he admits, he still likes the amateur tender style too.
For the dry rub:
1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon paprika 2 teaspoons each: salt, black pepper, chili powder and ground cumin
Oven and grill method:
1. Rinse the ribs and remove thin “silver skin” membrane from underside of ribs. To do this, slide a knife or fingernail under the membrane at a bone. Grip the membrane with a paper towel and pull it off. Pat them dry with a paper towel.
2. Slowly pour and rub 1 tablespoon of liquid smoke over each rack of ribs. Next rub ¾ teaspoon of minced garlic over each rack. Try to evenly distribute the bits.
3. Place the ribs on a cookie sheet with sides. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 2 hours at 250°F. Remove the foil and bake another 1 ½ hours to until they are done and develop a nice crust. When they are done you should be able to easily insert a toothpick between the bones with very little resistance and the rib bone ends should be protruding from the rib meat. Cool them slightly.
4. Run 2 to 3 lines of yellow mustard the length of each rack and then rub in to lightly coat the ribs
5. Mix the dry rub ingredients. Gently and evenly dust a thin coating of it on the top and bottom sides of each rack of ribs. Be sure not to put too much on. You will only use approximately half of the rub mix. You should still be able to see the meat through the coating when done.
6. Cover the ribs and refrigerate 8 hours (or overnight).
7. In a saucepan, melt butter and sauté onion until tender and translucent in color. Stir in the remaining BBQ sauce ingredients. Reduce heat and stir and cook until thick (10 to 20 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.
8. Remove ribs from refrigerator 30 minutes before grilling. Grill over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes. Baste ribs with the sauce in the last few minutes.
Southern-style Spoon Bread
Espenshade and his wife spent about 10 years living down south in Virginia and picked up this family favorite recipe along the way.
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
1 egg, beaten ¼ cup butter, melted 17 ounces frozen or fresh whole kernel corn 1 package corn bread mix (I prefer Jiffy) 1 cup plain Greek yogurt ¾ cup milk Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Mix ingredients together and pour into an 8 x 8-inch baking dish sprayed with non-stick baking spray. Use a spoon to smooth the mixture.
2. Bake at 350°F for an hour or until middle is set.
Text by Keely Childers Heany / Recipes by Wendell Espenshade
