18 teams of ribbers from throughout Canada and the US descended on Burlington, Ontario to compete to see who could create the most heavenly combination of meat, sauce and flames. Warning to vegetarians: there is nothing remotely vegetarian about a ribfest. The closest thing we had to a vegetable there was probably this funnelcake.
The trick (imparted to me by Chris McAllister) is to go with a bunch of friends, so you can all get a rack of ribs and then swap ribs, allowing you to sample the different styles. We went twice (once on Saturday, once on Monday) and ended up with leftovers each time, so over a four-day period we ended up sampling the ribs from 10 different pigs (plus one cow).
The quality and style of the meat, sauce, and cooking vary between each, and people have different favourites. I'm a sucker for a delicious sauce, while Sawa is a purist who is most swayed by the underlying meat. Perhaps you can understand our approaches to rib eating best through these photos...
In the end, my vote went for Boss Hogs from London, Ontario, who went on to win the People's Choice award, while Sawa's favourite was Gator BBQ from Florida. Somehow, despite trying 10 different places, we didn't manage to sample any of the three ribbers who won the "Best Judged" category...
I have to say, I really like the atmosphere at Ribfest. The first night we went with a bunch of friends it was cold and started raining, but sometimes the most delicious and fun experiences are the kind where your hands are covered in rib sauce and funnelcake sugar and your clothes are wet and muddy and you're dashing through the rain with a bunch of friends. It's probably best summed up in the following sign:
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