Community Corner
Summer Cooking, Southern Style: A Lesson on BBQ
Under the tent on Springfield Avenue, delicious flavors are grilled at the new Ribs by Rufus.
On a strip of Springfield Avenue in Maplewood is a scene that looks like it belongs at the Jersey shore. At the cross section of Boyden and Springfield avenues sits the peppy Chris & Cathy's Coney Island Grill—known for its Italian hot dogs—complete with a sweet shack and picnic tables. But the piste de resistance is a new addition this summer, housed under a yellow- and white-striped tent in the parking lot. Ribs by Rufus is a gem, an authentic Southern take on BBQ by Atlanta native Rufus Alexander. I was able to hang out under the tent with Rufus for quite a while and glean some valuable BBQing tips for you, just in time for the Fourth of July.
In true Southern fashion, Rufus started the conversation by practically throwing food at me. First came a styrofoam takeout container with a mound of what he called “chopped barbecue,” better known to me as pulled pork.
“In the South,” he told me, “you just pick it up with your hands and eat it.” Then came the grilled cabbage, what Rufus dubbed “fried cabbage,” though it definitely wasn't thrown in a pot of oil. That was finished by a drumstick of BBQ chicken, smothered in what stands out most: Rufus' special sauce. It's his father's recipe, something he's been tweaking for years. It's tangy and sweet with a hint of spice. Perfection.
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While Rufus wouldn't give up the top secret recipe (he has dreams of having it bottled and distributed one day), he was willing to share a basic formula which can be further amended to taste. Rufus is obviously someone who cooks by sight and instinct, but he did his best to give us some measurement guidelines. He estimated that this will be enough for 12 to 15 people, though I'm going to wager it'll suffice for quite a bit more.
Combine a half gallon of apple cider vinegar, a 32-ounce bottle of Heinz ketchup, six ounces garlic powder, half cups each of brown and white sugar, one stick butter, one cup molasses, one cup Crystal Hot Sauce and three teaspoons of red pepper flakes. Squeeze four lemons into the concoction and then throw the used-up rinds in right after it. Cook it over very low heat for at least 35 to 40 minutes. Though Rufus prefers his meat basted with sauce as he goes along, he only adds it on at the end when cooking commercially so that he can customize the meat for both sauce lovers and haters alike.
When using a charcoal grill, Rufus recommends throwing in some cherry or oak wood before lighting it. Let the coals turn white. Then, cut a Spanish onion or two into quarters and lay them on the coals to add flavor and moisture, which is especially effective when using a dry rub. This was my favorite nugget, something I now intend to do whenever I fire up the grill (you can do this with a gas grill as well, likely best under the grates). While explaining, he picked up a garbage bag filled to the brim with quartered onions to prove that he practices what he preaches. The onions are also particularly good at bringing down the flame, if necessary, since they hold water. Rufus' other temperature control device? A good ol' hose which he says works wonders when the fire gets too hot for a nice slow cook.
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Applying a dry rub is Rufus' standard go-to method of flavoring. He suggests rubbing down ribs or chicken the day before and letting them sit overnight. He recommends a simple rub of garlic powder, Lawry's Seasoned Salt and a bit of ground black pepper.
When it comes to chicken, Rufus advises washing it in lemon juice. This method takes the yellow out, turning it a more palatable white. Rinse it off and then move on to the rub. Chicken gets cooked at about 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes. If you have the time, I suggest going even more drastic—cooking for about an hour and a half at 250 to 275 degrees, though Rufus' method yields great results at half the time. In my opinion, the worst thing you can do to chicken is cook it for 10 minutes at a high temperature, especially if you're not cooking it bone-in, skin-on. HELLO, dry meat central!
Rufus cooks his ribs for between an hour and two and a half hours at a ballpark of 350 to 375 degrees. Every time he flips them, he makes sure to give them a nice basting. His trick comes in the form of a squirt bottle. He fills it with apple cider vinegar, Lawry's Seasoning and garlic salt. This keeps the rack nice and moist, while adding flavor at the same time.
The steam table carries a lot of weight when it comes to moisturizing meat in Rufus' world. At home, where steam tables are far from plentiful, he suggests putting a quarter inch water in a baking pan and adding seasonings similar to that of the dry rub, which will add flavor as well as moisture. Place the cooked meat in the pan, cover tightly with foil and put it in the oven for as long as you need to at 200 degrees. This method will protect the meat, especially if you don't get right to it or if it ends up finishing on the grill too early.
At the healthy age of 55, Rufus has been cooking for 30 years. Most recently, he was grilling on a beach in Grand Rapids, MI, and has done the festival circuit. He has cousins in Trenton, which brought him to the area. They would get together and cook, cook, cook. They were looking to set up shop there but everyone knew them, so they'd just end up hanging out all day, eating for free.
What brought Rufus to our neck of the woods? As it happened, he was standing at a bus stop across the street from Chris & Cathy's Coney Island Grill and something told him to cross the street, which he attributes to divine intervention. He started talking with the couple and before he knew it, he opened up shop after Memorial Day weekend. Cathy takes care of the business end—you order and pay at the Coney Island Grill stand—leaving Rufus to do the two things he loves most: cooking and chatting.
The team wanted to help inspire the neighborhood. Bringing a Southern style here was not a hard sell. “No one's doing what I do,” he said. Rufus has watched people turn around at the red light and double back because they smelled something different. Business has picked up faster than he anticipated. “This is who I am. I'm just glad people like it,” he said. I'm sure the $2,600 dual access grill doesn't hurt (not to mention the $400 just to ship it from California). “It hasn't let me down yet,” he patted the handle affectionately with a smile on his face.
When feeding your Southern BBQ cravings at Ribs by Rufus, just make sure you leave enough time to converse with the cook. By his own admission, the man can talk to anyone. He's as charming as his sauce is lip-smacking.
Ben Salmon is a former literary agent and the owner of Kitchen a la Mode: Accessories for Cooking & Entertaining in the heart of downtown South Orange. Each week, his local food column at Patch explores the food and drink scene in the area.
