This weekend, of course, was Father’s Day weekend. We spent the first half celebrating with my brother and his wife over their son’s high school graduation (go Chris!). The celebration included lobster rolls, buckets of beer (I’m not kidding – buckets), a warm sunny day, and reclining seats on the ride home so I could sleep. (Note to self – next time eat a little more, drink a little less.)
And then that brought us to Sunday. In our neck of the woods we usually have a local rib fest on Father’s Day weekend. It’s a wonderful event, well run, and lots of fun. We’ve gone for many years, but when you take 8 people to a rib fest (you have to pay to get in) and then you have to pay about $25 for each half rack of ribs (and let’s not forget the drinks, sides, and ice cream that all goes with that) we found ourselves often taking out a small mortgage just to attend.
The ribs were good, the festival was entertaining, but my pocketbook cried every time we went.
This year we decided to have our own rib fest at home. We had four people who wanted to enter so we got 4 racks of ribs and let it roll from there.
Here was the coveted prize for our First Annual Father’s Day Rib-Off (thank you Trevor for your *thousands* of trophies) – as you can see, the stakes were high, very high. And then Griffin went and decided that along with taste, presentation would also be judged. All righty then, game on.
Logan’s entry was “America Dry Rub Ribs.” His ribs actually caught fire on the grill and so everyone assumed they would taste like my mom’s pork chops, you know the meat splinters in your mouth. Logan went for the minimalistic presentation.
Marc’s entry was “South Carolina Mustard Sauce Ribs.” You don’t often equate that color with ribs, but he had slow cooked them using both the pressure cooker and the grill to get that awesome glaze. Marc went for the “caveman” presentation.
I went for the “Southern Cola Ribs” which were cooked all day in the crock pot. As you can see, I went big in the presentation category. (If I can’t win by taste, perhaps I can bribe with Ice Cream tokens.)
And then there was Griffin, who used the pressure cooker and oven for his “First Place Ribs.” I have to admit that Griffin’s entry brought presentation to a new level. He decided to add a little Game of Thrones swag to his entry.
After tasting all the ribs (and having a great time with the family) it was decided by secret ballot that Logan’s “America Dry Rub Ribs” was the surprise first place winner. Even though there was a little extra ingredient (called fire) that happened to slip in at the last minute, his ribs were moist and tasty. The underdog pulled it off.
Griffin’s “First Place Ribs” got second place.
Marc’s “South Carolina Mustard Sauce Ribs” got third (although if there was a category for most flavorful, his would have won.)
And my “Southern Cola Ribs” got last place (but everyone decided that due to the ice cream bribe, it was given the Miss Congeniality award.)
Logan wins the award for this year, but those of us with a slightly competitive streak (that would be all of us) are already making plans for next year. I have a feeling that this little competition will be become a yearly family holiday in our house.
Well done sweetheart!
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Wendy Thomas writes about the lessons learned while raising children and chickens in New Hampshire. Contact her at [email protected]
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