West Chester man makes best ribs in the state

DES MOINES — Two years ago, at the Iowa State Fair, West Chester man Josh Carr won the rib creation contest for his beef ribs, where one judge said he didn’t think he could ever vote up a pork rib over the flavor of beef.

Carr, a former army cook with a habit of beating expectations, set out to prove that judge wrong.

“The guy who runs it told me, hands-down, beef is just better than pork,” Carr said. “I work at Brenneman Pork, pork’s kind of my thing, I’m an animal welfare specialist. So I knew I could get my pork rib to beat the beef rib, that was my thing.”

On Aug. 10, Carr did just that, winning the title of best overall entry to the state fair’s Cinnamon Ridge Farms Amazing Ribs competition, as well as the endorsement of that formerly skeptical judge who called it “the best ribs (he’d) ever had.” Carr’s beef rib entry scored nicely as well, for what it’s worth, winning second in its respective division of the contest.

Other than a nap around 4:30 a.m., the preparation involved hours of babysitting a Weber charcoal kettle outside his family’s camper on the fairgrounds. Early stages of trimming and seasoning began around 6:30 p.m. Aug. 9, over half a day before the entry was due at 10:30 a.m. The red meat went on the grill at 10:30 p.m. and the pork joined it the following morning at 4 o’clock. Both spent their time over the heat simmering at a steady 250 degrees until coming off the next morning.

The contest isn’t just about proving pork skeptics wrong, of course. Carr said he chose his food competitions based on which judges provided the best feedback, always honing his technique.

“These judges, in this competition, seem to really know what their talking about and they give you a lot of really good criticism to learn from, to get better in barbecue, because I love to do it,” he said. “I feed my family, and my extended family and friends … all your friends are going to tell you you’re great. Out at the state fair, they’re going to tell you if your food’s good or not.”

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Carr’s method involves countless techniques learned over the last decade or so. The charcoal is laid with a “snake method” to ensure a consistent, controlled temperature. The beef is spritzed with a mix of apple juice and apple cider vinegar to keep it moisturized. The seasoning mix of garlic, paprika, pepper and onion has carefully determined ratios. So does the sauce, a modification of “tiger sauce” that uses maple syrup instead of honey, a detail Carr provided with no small amount of hesitation.

It’s a science, not an art, according to Carr, whose phone is filled with notes taken every time he prepares meat.

He said entries like those at the state fair needed to make an impression in no more than one or two bites, meaning the smallest imperfection or error could make the difference between winning and loosing.

“You have to get the maximum punch of flavor in one bite … I’ve probably taken more notes with my barbecue than I ever did in school,” he said. “The only way to get better is to learn from what you’ve done … every time I cook anything, I prepare it like it’s going to be judged. I’m kind of a perfectionist when I do it.”

With the pork-proving challenge now resolved, Carr said he planned next to build his own wood smoker using parts from a decommissioned 120-gallon propane tank, rather than the pellet and charcoal setups more common in the area.

“I’m going back to the roots of barbecue,” he said. “And I’m looking at getting more serious at entering competitions.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com