Pitmasters Compete To Find Out Who Has Chicago's Best BBQ
By Melissa McEwen in Food on Aug 27, 2015 9:49PM
(Image courtesy Windy City BBQ)
Barbecue is fundamentally a cooking method, but there is no denying it’s also about the meat. Last year we talked with some of the pitmasters at the Windy City BBQ Classic about what they think makes the best meat for barbecue. If you want to try this kind of competition barbecue and judge the meat yourself, the event returns this September.
We found many teams are sourcing their meat from local butchers they trust. Team “Oak Porker” which consists of Dave Bennet, Phil Lotsoff and Jeff Tikanen from well, Oak Park, told us they “use the best beef possible because it tends to be tender right off the bat.” They trust and rely on local butcher Carnivore to select cuts of grass-fed beef that will work best for their recipes.
Bill Cole of Hot Cole’s Barbecue says they switched from the supermarket beef to family farm beef thanks to their favorite butcher shops Hofherr Meat Co., Al’s Meat Market and Harrison’s Poultry Farm.
”We’ve been using Al’s for years. It’s a few blocks from our house. They know the product, how to cook it, and what we need," Cole said. "We rely on their expertise. [they] look for ribs with a fair amount of meat on the bone, that’s hard to find in the supermarket. With brisket we are looking for marbled fat on top."
(Image courtesy Windy City BBQ)
Many also source from local farms they know. Kevin Whitter from BourBonQue says he gets his grass-fed beef from a farm in Mendora where they raise piedmont cattle. “It’s got less fat, so it cooks in one third the time and it’s juicier than Angus,”" he said.
But Ted Coleman of Smokey’s Q believes it’s more about his own knowledge than where it’s from. In many barbecue competitions he says it’s not an issue because the promoter donates the meat, but for a competition like Windy City, where you can supply your own, he gets some things from places like Restaurant Depot, Costco and the Military Commissary (he’s retired military). “If you look, you can find good meat” he says.
Luckily all these folks are coming back this year Head to this year's Windy City Classic on Saturday, Sept.12, 2015 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the South Parking Lot at Soldier Field. This year there will be guided tours of "pitmaster alley" where the competitors practice their craft.
You can sample competition categories of whole hog, ribs, tips, beef, pork and chicken, and wash all that barbecue down with Lagunitas and moonshine cocktails. Also, enjoy live music, butchering demos and a book signing with local barbecue icon and author Gary Wiviott. Grab a ticket on their website.