The Saucy History of BBQ Ribs in Texas
Texas-style barbecued pork ribs. An article has never seen a better opening sentence. Okay, I’m joking, but let’s just pause for a sec. What images did those words conjure up for you? Perhaps you thought about hunks of juicy pork ribs, generously coated in a thick glaze? Or, if you’re like me, maybe you imagined the feeling of giddy fullness that comes with finishing a juicy rack of these bad boys?
The story behind Texas BBQ ribs, as well as how this dish has come to play a role in the lives of Texans, just goes to show how historically significant this meaty meal really is. This story culminates in ribs being hailed as a crucial part of the barbecue holy trinity – ribs, brisket and sausage.
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Barbecue pork ribs are a rather modern invention, at least in the States. In fact, it was only in the early 20th century that innovations in the meat industry, immigration in the US, and the spread of barbecue joints all over the country ushered in the demand for the barbecued ribs we know and love.
Ribs are Rooted in Feasts
Nowadays, we take for granted how easy it is to store and preserve food for long periods of time. But back in pre-Civil War America, slaughtering livestock at any time of the year was out of the question. Butchering pigs occurred during the colder months of the year, when temperatures would drop below 40°F, as the cold allowed for longer preservation times. Community members would gather together during slaughters and use all parts of the pig for food, consuming the animal within a fixed period.
After butchering whole hogs, people would set up cooking pits and roast the pig over coals or wood. Such is thought to be the origin of barbecued pork, with the ribs being eaten as one animal part of many.
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The Neglected Racks
“Porkopolis” was the name given to Cincinnati over 200 years ago. During the early to mid-18th century, the city was one of the biggest pork producers in the world. This was due to improvements in meat transportation, with railroads and rivers being used to journey across the country.
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Given the improved means of shifting meat from city to city, butchers would mix sugar and salt and boil meat products in water. They would then stack the meats in barrels, filling out empty spaces with a combination of jowls, hocks, and chines, before filling them with a pickle mixture to further preserve the items.
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Due to the shape of pork ribs, it was difficult to pack them into barrels. And the meat-to-bone ratio of the cut made ribs less cost-effective to transport. With the absence of refrigeration methods, racks of ribs began to be sold at a discounted price – there are even accounts of them being given away for free!
These neglected cuts of meat started to be used for special recipes. For example, in Central Texas, Czech and German immigrant settlers would smoke rejected cuts to preserve them.
Eventually, developments in food storage came racing in, with artificial ice makers and mechanical refrigerators becoming all the rage. This in turn meant that previously discarded cuts could be stored and sold at lower cost compared to their prime cut counterparts.
As a result, cheap cuts of meat became widely available to the working class market. As the 19th century drew to a close, pork rib recipes were seen in more and more cookbooks and newspapers. A popular recipe of the time involved cutting ribs into three pieces and boiling them until tender. Seasoning would then be added to the ribs, with the meat being finished over hot coals in the kitchen firepit. Nowadays, families develop their own barbecue rib recipes according to their own flavor preferences.
For the Love of Ribs
In the late 19th century, recipes using ribs started to become more popular, as it was discovered that many people could be fed at a relatively low cost. However, it can be said that Country Style ribs truly gained their place in the American consciousness when the dish started to be served as part of the Thanksgiving feast.
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As urbanization expanded across the country, rib shacks started to pop up all over the United States, especially in hog-producing regions. Livestock raisers would slaughter their pigs and roast them over pits. The slow-cooked meats would then be transported to busy urban centers, to then be sold at shacks or food carts to hungry passers-by.
Eventually, these enterprising farmers realized that there was more money to be made in selling these ribs, and thus they started buying meat from packing houses instead of producing it themselves. At this point, barbecue ribs (What wine goes well with barbecue ribs?) took the country by storm, becoming widely available at a variety of food stops.
One of the earliest spots in Texas to get a juicy rack of pork ribs was A.R. Hubbard’s Cafe in Houston. Back in the 1920s, the restaurant served up barbecued ribs as part of their dinner or lunch offerings.
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A decade later, pork ribs sky-rocketed in price due to their high demand. This meaty dish could be seen in the swankiest of restaurants, with eateries charging hefty prices for this once humble cut of meat. From this point on, ribs have been devoured by just about anyone and everyone, and they are now a total staple at BBQ joints across the State. It’s hard to remember that ribs used to be discarded as scraps!
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