Chinese red ribs

[SmokinGuitarPlayer]

DONE-NESS VS. TENDERNESS.

I had some meat the other day .. it was burned and black...clearly "overdone" ..yet when I tasted it, even though it tasted burned and overdone, it was very very tender. WE ARE SCORING FOR TENDERNESS.

I had some meat the other day ..it looked raw. I ate a bite, it was very tender ... WE ARE SCORING FOR TENDERNESS ...

NOT DONENESS ...

I'm sorry but am I the only one that gets it? .. it can be overdone / underdone and still tender ... AND WE ARE SCORING FOR APPEARANCE, TASTE , TENDERNESS ... ...yes? we do NOT score for done ness and should not. Yes, the "amount of doneness" can affect the appearance, taste, tenderness but that will be reflected in the taste, the tenderness, and the appearance ... no judging for doneness please !! If I'm wrong, I should be banned from judging.

Also , in some parts of the world Barbecue is considerably different. There is probalby a place where those chinese style red ribs are considered bbq. I really think the judges should be reminded ...appearance, taste, tenderness .. not "authenticity" that is not a scoring category .

ok .. nuf said ..

 

[thesemicullen]

DONE-NESS VS. TENDERNESS.

I had some meat the other day .. it was burned and black...clearly "overdone" ..yet when I tasted it, even though it tasted burned and overdone, it was very very tender. WE ARE SCORING FOR TENDERNESS.

I had some meat the other day ..it looked raw. I ate a bite, it was very tender ... WE ARE SCORING FOR TENDERNESS ...

NOT DONENESS ...

I'm sorry but am I the only one that gets it? .. it can be overdone / underdone and still tender ... AND WE ARE SCORING FOR APPEARANCE, TASTE , TENDERNESS ... ...yes? we do NOT score for done ness and should not. Yes, the "amount of doneness" can affect the appearance, taste, tenderness but that will be reflected in the taste, the tenderness, and the appearance ... no judging for doneness please !! If I'm wrong, I should be banned from judging.

Also , in some parts of the world Barbecue is considerably different. There is probalby a place where those chinese style red ribs are considered bbq. I really think the judges should be reminded ...appearance, taste, tenderness .. not "authenticity" that is not a scoring category .

ok .. nuf said ..

I think you're getting caught up in a semantical loop. We know what the judging criteria are, and we know how doneness impacts those criteria. If someone mentions "doneness" of course they are talking about its impact on Appearance/Taste/Tenderness, the same way as when we talk about "balanced flavors" we are talking about the impact on taste.

 

[tduffy]

There's really no sense of debating the issue to death. If you believe that it is BBQ and good enough to win, by all means turn in chinese ribs. Let us all know how it worked for you.

 

[Jason TQ]

There's really no sense of debating the issue to death. If you believe that it is BBQ and good enough to win, by all means turn in chinese ribs. Let us all know how it worked for you.

Especially those commenting/debating that don't have a dog in the fight. Those are my favorite comments and always provide me a good chuckle. :grin:

We've gone away from sweet ourselves and it has been working just fine. I think the trend is shifting and more bold savory flavors are accepted

 

[Fornia]

Especially those commenting/debating that don't have a dog in the fight. Those are my favorite comments and always provide me a good chuckle. :grin:

We've gone away from sweet ourselves and it has been working just fine. I think the trend is shifting and more bold savory flavors are accepted

No, I'm certainly only interested for my own competition endeavors. I wouldn't be interested if I didn't cook BBQ, compete and/or judge contests. I personally hate Asian Ribs, but can appreciate that there are good ones out there. Just can't stand the idea that trying to turn them in is bad from the get-go.

Great to hear on the savory angle, possibly moving away from candied everything! And just like the 'don't try that's', I'll take your opinion as a positive movement for the hobby. Definitely good to hear this.

 

[deguerre]

Especially those commenting/debating that don't have a dog in the fight. Those are my favorite comments and always provide me a good chuckle. :grin:

Right about now I'd be pissed if it weren't so true, in my case anyway...:mrgreen:

We've gone away from sweet ourselves and it has been working just fine. I think the trend is shifting and more bold savory flavors are accepted

Which is why a really good char siu recipe could work. In theory. It IS a bold and savory flavor. It's got sweet elements to be sure, but those are balanced by the soy and Hoisin sauces too.

 

[DUBBAGA]

Right about now I'd be pissed if it weren't so true, in my case anyway...:mrgreen:

You're in comp and we aren't even talking about hats

 

[wtxsmoker]

I have to agree Char-su is not real BBQ. I lived with a guy who had a small BBQ joint in a beer store. He cooked the best BBQ I have ever had. Not plain Jane but not far from it. Pure smoke and great sauce.

He and I cook CASI chili and went on to comp BBQ for the $$. He quit after 3-4 cook-offs in total disgust and what won in comp cooks. I stuck it out and learned what "won" and how the winners cooked it up. I cooked for 5 years and usually got 1-2 calls and enough money to stay ahead of my expenses.

That said I cooked ribs and chicken with rib candy dry rub. When I'd wrap them add brown sugar, Parkay honey, light pepper flakes, and tiger sauce. Finally I glaze with a bright red sweet and sour sauce I bought from a local Chinese restaurant. I'd glaze, grill, glaze grill, build it up 1/4 inch and firm it up. Really sticky stuff looked like auto pearl paint. I personally hated it. Tasted like candy to me.

However at the 8-10 comps I'd attend a season I hit a couple of grand champs and usually placed in both chicken and ribs. I quit comps about the time all of the injecting started and cost to compete went through the roof.

I'd love to have a comp cook for real Q just smoke, salt pepper garlic rub, and see who can actually cook Q that tastes like meat is suppose to. I'd love to see this come back around.

 

[tduffy]

Especially those commenting/debating that don't have a dog in the fight. Those are my favorite comments and always provide me a good chuckle. :grin:

We've gone away from sweet ourselves and it has been working just fine. I think the trend is shifting and more bold savory flavors are accepted

I have upped the spice and savory this year and improved my scores.

 

[The Duke]

WOW I posted this just to see if I should hand in Chinese red ribs, I may try it once just to see the scores. There are some good char su ribs out there and there are some bad......... Chinese red ribs are real bbq ribs they just use a different seasoning and sauce. If these ribs taste soooo bad than why are they the first things to be eaten when the take out gets home yes they are usually dry but everybody loves them. I will try it just to see thanks for all the imput..... And ok I will stop handing in my chicken balls..... But they taste soooo good

 

[The Duke]

The reason I posted this is a couple of years ago I handed in bourbon glazed chicken balls, I thought they were the best I have ever made.... I scored in the middle of the pact. They were not red sauced and I think this is what killed me. I can understand balls do not look naturally like chicken. Hopefully someday I will figure this out

 

[Fornia]

The reason I posted this is a couple of years ago I handed in bourbon glazed chicken balls, I thought they were the best I have ever made.... I scored in the middle of the pact. They were not red sauced and I think this is what killed me. I can understand balls do not look naturally like chicken. Hopefully someday I will figure this out

You do what works for you man. I applaud your thoughts to go outside the norm. If it hits the right table, you've got a winner!

 

[landarc]

Real charsiu is not bright red, that was added to make Americans buy it. It is red in the same sense that any fire roasted pork product takes on a red hue. The red glaze, I can imagine would do well, but, I am certain the flavor would be tricky. As mentioned above, despite what we are told about judging, judges almost always bring some predisposition to the table, and that might be that they are looking for an "American" flavor profile, or it might be they are looking for a "Candied" or "Blues Hog" flavor.

You take your chances. Still the best ribs I have ever tasted at a competition were DAL 6's across the board untrimmed spares, that were delicious, I mean, I would pay for these good ribs, and again, DAL.

 

[The Duke]

What is DAL ? The ultimate rib I think would be a reddish looking rib with an American taste. I have played around with it and it is hard to get the Chinese flavor out....I have even put red food coloring in my bbq sauce.... No good. Wegmans here I come to buy some more wibs to practice on

 

[Fornia]

What is DAL ? The ultimate rib I think would be a reddish looking rib with an American taste. I have played around with it and it is hard to get the Chinese flavor out....I have even put red food coloring in my bbq sauce.... No good. Wegmans here I come to buy some more wibs to practice on

Term for coming in last in a category or contest...Dead Arse Last

 

[landarc]

The red in the charsiu and/or Chinese BBQ pork and ribs is largely a creation of the California Chinese dining scene of the late 1950's. The color is derived from ketchup and commercial grade red food coloring. Over the years, it has become more red and more shiny. I have had the opportunity to talk with some of the old cooks, and have their recipes. Ketchup and red food coloring can give your BBQ that same look.

The shine is from either the use of glucose syrup (read that as pure corn syrup in America) or maltose syrup (it has a funky taste). Both of these syrups will not turn dull when heated. Obviously, the corn syrup is relatively new to Chinese cooking, maltose is the more traditional syrup. The Japanese use a pure cane syrup, that is closer to glucose syrup, but, unless you are a baker, it is hard to find.

The Chinese red pork mix you buy from the store has 5-Spice in it, that is a very hard flavor to hide, the Star anise and cinnamon is going to always come out.