Wisconsin State Journal from Madison, Wisconsin • B3

Wisconsin state Journal Wednesday, June 26, 2019 B3 00 1 Locking in moisture Brian Perrone, co-founder of Slows Bar BQ in Corktown and Slows-To-Go in De- troit, said a common misconception is that you should boil ribs before cooking. Still, he thinks moisture is a good thing for ribs and suggests a method called the Texas Crutch. wrapping the meat or whatever smoking in Perrone said. foil can be a real friend to the backyard Allowing the ribs to finish inside foil means almost braising them. you want fall-off-the-bone ribs, the way to Perrone said.

Once cooked ribs low and slow for a few hours, wrap them in foil with sauce on them and place back on the grill. way the sauce can penetrate the meat and the sauce over-caramel- Perrone said. Once the ribs are done, remove from the foil and put them directly on the grill for a final finish, he advised. key is to let them (the ribs) take as long as it Perrone said. rush it or you get the doneness and con- sistency you His other piece of advice: ap- proach the grill with perfection in mind.

supposed to be fun. The rub on doneness Kirk Churchill, a Smokehouse chef, fa- vors St. Louis-style ribs sprinkled with a rub. the St. Louis-style, there is more of fat-lean protein Churchill said.

stays moist and unlike the baby back, which is mostly the meat, more mar- bled, more like a Before cooking, Churchill sprinkles both sides of the ribs with a rub and refrigerates them overnight. He lets ribs come to room temperature before smoking them. When it comes to wood, he prefers Michigan native hardwoods like apple, oak and maple. As for the rub, Churchill sticks with simple salt, pepper and garlic powder. pork, you can go a little sweeter with brown sugar, mixed with salt and he said.

Churchill said important to allow for plenty of cooking time because ribs need to cook low and slow. want a minimum of four hours before the party to cook the he said. With St. Louis-style ribs, an average rack is 2 pounds. Churchill said a good size and will feed two or three hungry people.

To test for doneness, Churchill lifts the last two or three bones from the thicker end of the rack to determine whether the meat is giving away. snapping back, not done, and the connective tissue is not broken he said. You want them completely fall- ing apart, Churchill said. St. Lou- is-style, it needs a meatiness to it along with a tiny bit of chew.

With ribs, Churchill goes with a straight rub during smoking and finishes them off with a sauce. At that point, he cooks them only enough to warm the sauce. Red, white and blue cake Servings: 12; Prep time: 45 minutes; Total time: 1 hour (plus chilling times) Ingredients 1 box (15.25 ounce) Red Velvet Cake mix 5 cups favorite vanilla ice cream 1 tablespoons cold water 1 cups heavy cream 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin 3 tablespoons powdered sugar teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups fresh blueberries Directions Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two (9-inch) round cake pans. Place paper baking cups in two standard-size muffin cups, or grease and flour two 4-ounce ramekins.

Make the cake mix batter according to package directions. Fill muffin cups or ra- mekins three-fourths full. divide remain- ing batter between prepared cake pans. Bake according to package directions. Cool cake layers and cupcakes in pans on wire racks for 15 minutes.

Transfer cake layers and cupcakes from pans to wire racks, and cool completely, about 30 min- utes. Wrap cupcakes in plastic wrap, and freeze 2 hours. Prepare the ice cream layer: Line a 9-inch round cake pan with plastic wrap, allowing ends to extend over edge of pan to create handles. Remove cupcakes from freezer, and cut into cubes. Place ice cream in a large bowl; beat at medium speed until soft but not melted.

Gently fold cupcake cubes into ice cream. spread ice cream into prepared pan. Cover and place pan in freezer until frozen, at least 3 hours or overnight. Prepare the frosting: Place water in a small microwavable bowl, and sprinkle with gelatin; let stand 5 minutes. Mi- crowave on high until gelatin melts and mixture is smooth, about 10 seconds.

Let stand 5 minutes. Place cream, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat at medium-high speed until soft peaks form. With mixer on low, gradually add gelatin. Increase speed to high, and beat until stiff peaks form.

Assemble the cake: Place one cake layer on a platter or cake stand. using plas- tic wrap handles, remove ice-cream layer from pan and place on top of cake layer. Top with remaining cake layer. spread thin layers of frosting over the sides, more gen- erously on top. Loosely cover with plastic wrap, and freeze at least 2 hours.

Let stand at room temperature 20 min- utes before serving. Top with blueberries. Freeze any leftovers. Cake From B1 Ribs From B1 Carolina Eastern-style barbecue sauce Makes: about 4 cups; Prep time: 15 minutes; Total time: 15 minutes Ingredients 3 tablespoons crushed red pepper 3 tablespoons freshly ground pepper 3 tablespoons of salt cup molasses 4 cloves of garlic, minced 1 quart of white vinegar Directions In large bowl, mash together crushed red pepper, ground black pepper, salt, molasses and garlic. stir in the vinegar and mix.

allow to stand for several hours. use as a marinade or basting sauce for pork. From detroit Free Press archives. Baby back ribs with Carolina-style sauce RYAN GARZA, DETROIT FREE PRESS 10 Daiya Homestyle Ranch Dressing One taster said that de- spite being strangely sweet, the dressing had tex- ture and flavor profiles one would expect from ranch dressing. Another participant wrote that though the dressing looked cheap, it tasted better than expected.

14 Walden Farms Ranch Dressing The consistency was watery and thin. Many complained of a dirty water or chemical flavor, but one optimistically said that it could be the kind of ranch used for bagged ice- berg lettuce or a cheap ban- quet salad. would make anyone hate ranch, even ranch one wrote. 9 Own Ranch Dressing With a runny consis- tency and evident spices, was super sweet and sour with a chemical note. Some said it tasted like a factory, and others complained it was too citrusy, almost like an AirHead candy.

13 Cowgirl Ranch Dressing Tasters hated the consis- tency, saying that it was too watery and looked gray, drab and It smelled like feet or sweat and tasted like bad cheese with a powdery aftertaste, they said. taste it one wrote. 7 Simply Balanced Organic Ranch Dressing This ultra-thick, Tar- get-brand dressing had a strong, garlicky scent and a super thick consistency. One taster complimented its vin- egar profile. But other par- ticipants had issues with it tasting too much like mayo 11 Organics Ranch Organic Dressing While this ranch evoked childhood memories for one taster, others complained that it tasted like spoiled dairy with an overpowering tartness.

Another complained that it smelled like fish or mayo, nei- ther of which were what they wanted in a ranch dressing. 8 365 Organic Ranch Dressing Multiple people said it tasted less like ranch and more like Caesar dress- ing, writing that the fla- vor was off and totally unbalanced. One taster said it was but others said it may be good on salad, pizza or fries. 12 Sir Avocado Oil Ranch Describing its flavor as like lemon Pledge or pop- pyseed dressing, tasters complained that this ranch was too salty, cloy- ingly sweet and acidic. is super one taster wrote.

6 Wish-Bone Ranch Dressing This is the kind of ranch dressing that one taster would serve to vegeta- ble-averse children to convince them that veg- etables are good. Tast- ers also said this was a lighter style and looked cheap on a table. 2Kraft Classic Ranch Dressing Although Kraft Classic receive marks as high as the winner, tast- ers were pleased with its balanced flavor and called it and with a great consistency and pleasant, egg- like aroma. However, others said it tasted cheap, like a grocery store brand, and one taster complained that the consistency was too thick for a dressing. 5 Trader Organic Ranch Dressing For people who want a dressing that is on the sweeter end and with- out that tangy zip, this is the one for you.

An optimistic taster said it had potential if served with fries. 1Hidden Valley The Original Ranch Hidden The Original Ranch is proof that sometimes, the original really is the best. Tasters loved this one for its creamy texture, strong tang and peppery fla- vor. One commenter said this would go perfectly with pizza, and another said that the more she tasted it, the more she grew to like it. Another par- ticipant accurately called it 4 Steak House Ranch Dressing Steak House re- ceived compliments for its rich flavor, consistency and appearance.

Although one taster said she would dip her pizza in this ranch, another participant said it reminded him of the ranch from the salad bar in middle school. 3 Tuscan Garden Ranch Dressing The most common praise for this Aldi-brand ranch dressing was the consis- tency, which is thicker than most of its compet- itors. Participants said it would be good on fries and wings and has a creamy flavor that reminded them of buttermilk. RANCH RANKINGS PRICE: $2.87, 12 ounces PRICE: $3.29, 12 ounces PRICE: $1.49, 16 ounces PRICE: $3.49, 16 ounces PRICE: $2.79, 16 ounces PRICE: $2.49, 16 ounces PRICE: $2.49, 15 ounces PRICE: $3, 16 ounces PRICE: $3.99, 16 ounces PRICE: $7.69, 9 ounces PRICE: $4.39, 16 ounces PRICE: $3.29, 8 ounces PRICE: $4.99, 8.36 ounces PRICE: $3.99, 12 ounces TASTE TEST We just use the creamy white dressing for our vegetables. We use it as a dip for our pizza, wings, chips, cheese curds and egg rolls; as a marinade for meats to throw on the grill; and as a topping for nachos, burgers and more.

Which brand is best? There was only one way to find out a blind tasting. We tried 14 brands of bottled, shelf-stable plain ranch dressings. Chicago Tribune TASTE.