‘Low and slow’
‘Low and slow’
BBQ cook Alex Moreno cuts into the rack of ribs. He said the secret to great ribs was patience. He cooks the ribs for six hours at low 220 degrees without wrap and a little spraying at the end.
Porktoberfest cook Mike Davis opens up his wood fire grill, showing off several racks of ribs.
Stacks of ribs cook or a wood fire grill at the first Turner Hall Porktoberfest
The Setterholm family (L to R) Ash Setterholm, Susannah Setterholm, Erick Setterholm and Ava Setterholm enjoy a rib meal in Turner Hall Park as part of the Porktoberfest celebration, Sunday.
BBQ cook Alex Moreno cuts into the rack of ribs. He said the secret to great ribs was patience. He cooks the ribs for six hours at low 220 degrees without wrap and a little spraying at the end.
Porktoberfest cook Mike Davis opens up his wood fire grill, showing off several racks of ribs.
Stacks of ribs cook or a wood fire grill at the first Turner Hall Porktoberfest
The Setterholm family (L to R) Ash Setterholm, Susannah Setterholm, Erick Setterholm and Ava Setterholm enjoy a rib meal in Turner Hall Park as part of the Porktoberfest celebration, Sunday.
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NEW ULM -- What is the secret to a great rack of ribs right off the grill?
That was the top question asked during Turner Hall's “Porktoberfeast” celebration on Sunday. All weekend rib enthusiasts from the region took part in a grill-off. On Saturday, it was a rib cooking competition at Schell, but on Sunday it was all about the joy of eating. Multiple rib teams volunteered their services to cook for Turner Hall's first Porktoberfeast.
Porktoberfeast, officially started at 11 a.m. Sunday. It was at this time customers could get in line for a rib meal. However, to have enough ribs available on time the cooking started earlier.
Mike Davis said his team started cooking ribs for this event on Saturday during the Schell's event.
Next door on the Swine-O-Mite grill, Alex Moreno also got an early start on cooking for Porktoberfeast. Moreno was in Turner Hall Park at 4 a.m. Sunday cooking to make sure the ribs were ready in time for the feast.
Davis and Moreno cooked on different teams but they both agreed on the secret to making great ribs: patience.
If you want great ribs, you cannot fast cook them.
"The secret is to keep them low and slow," Moreno said. "I set the temperature at 220 to 225 and cook for 6 hours with no wrap."
Davis agreed that patience is the secret ingredient for ribs, but added there is no set schedule.
"Every rack of ribs is different," he said. "I know by the smell and the feel of the ribs when they are done. You have to let the meat do its thing and when it is ready, it will let you know."
Davis and Moreno were both using wood fire grills to cook ribs. Davis said wood heat is the best way to cook BBQ.
Asked if they used any flavoring, Davis said they had sweet BBQ ribs and a raspberry chipotle flavor.
Moreno said he would add a spray to his ribs a few hours into cooking. He said the ingredients in spray was a trade secret, but hinted it was a mixture of different juices.
Asked what inspired them to become BBQ enthusiasts, Moreno and Davis had the same answer. They like to eat.
"I am originally from Northern Texas and a lot of my family likes to cook," Moreno said. It was just a family tradition.
Davis said he did it for the love of food. It wasn't just about the ribs. He would grill up just about any type of food.
"I believe if you talk to any BBQ experts they will say the same," Davis said. "We just like food."
Fortunately, the cooks were not the only ones who loved food. The Porktoberfeast fundraiser saw a surge in customers at the start. Customers learned patience was not just for those cooking ribs, but those waiting in line for ribs.
Despite the long line, Turner Hall was flying ribs at a fast pace. In the first 45 minutes, about 75% of the prepared ribs were gone, forcing the cooks to keep going.
The ribs supplied for Porktoberfeast were supplied locally from Christensen Farms, Schwartz Farms and Wakefield Pork.
Amber Portner and Jodi Haala with Christensen Farms said together with other pork producers about 350 racks of ribs were provided for Sunday's event. Another 60 were given to Schell's for Saturday's cook-off.
Portner said part of the inspiration for the event was to celebrate National Pork Month, which is October. The other inspiration was a spin-off of Turner Hall's Rib Fest event held in the winter.
Tuner Hall executive director Andrea Boettger said they have considering hosting a fall fundraising event like this for years. After tossing around the idea for a while, they were able to partner Christensen Farm with others to make the event happen.
Based on turnout, Boettger confirmed Porktoberfest would continue as a fall event in the future.