SETH: Chef.

MATT: Hey, Seth!

SETH: Good to see you.

MATT: How are you?

SETH: I'm doing pretty well.

MATT: It's, uh... SETH: And, uh, wow, that is a sizable rack of ribs, right there.

What are, uh, what are we looking at?

MATT: So, we've got actually two variations of ribs here.

So, you've got your spareribs, which are down here, with all that belly meat, with a ton of like, you know, nice fat, marbling.

And then, you've got back here, in the loin meat, you've got the, uh, the, the baby backs.

SETH: All right.

MATT: So, these guys here, they're a little bit more lean.

The, it, uh, if you think about it, like a pork chop versus pork belly.

SETH: Yeah, yeah.

MATT: What's gonna have the most moisture.

SETH: It probably explains why some of the ribs I've had over the years, may be a little more dried out.

MATT: Absolutely.

They're quicker to cook.

Um, these guys here, take a little bit longer, the spares.

But I think the, the end result is what's really gonna pay off.

First, I'll trim it up here.

My grandfather said, "We use everything on the pig, but the oink."

Okay.

So, all the trimmings, they go into stocks, broths... SETH: Yeah.

MATT: Beans.

So, we've got, right here, we've got these chine and this cartilage here.

All right.

That's what you call a rib tip.

SETH: You want a nice aerodynamic shape for the smoker too, right?

MATT: Yeah, you want aerodynamic, you know.

You don't want these little thin bits 'cause they're gonna burn up real quick, right?

The way we season it here, which is kind of what makes our signature dish, we use a little bit of Chinese five spice.

We're always layering flavors... SETH: Got it.

MATT: So we don't get the palate fatigue.

'Cause a lot of times, you're just using salt, pepper, paprika.

So, we like to vary each cut with a little bit different flavor and kinda, you know, push you around with the flavors.

SETH: All right.

MATT: All right.

SETH: Feel free to push me around.

I like... (laughing).

SETH: And so, what is the, what is the five spice you add to the... MATT: So, five spice, okay, that's got Szechuan peppercorn, ginger, white pepper, a little bit of cinnamon.

You could smell the aromatics coming off of, right there.

SETH: Oh, yeah, all right.

For sure.

MATT: All right.

And then, we'll season it with just, you know, this is what we call TCB, we're taking care of business.

All right, this is the house blend of, uh, salt, pepper, garlic, you know, a nice dry rub.

SETH: You're not skimping on the seasoning here.

MATT: No, no, no, no, no.

Flavor, baby.

All right, now, that we've got them all seasoned up, I've got a few out in the smoker.

We've had it going for a couple hours.

Let's go take a look.

SETH: Sounds great, let's check it out.

MATT: All right.

SETH: Of course, we do this on a day when it's over 90 degrees, right, Chef?

MATT: Yes, Seth.

Well, you know, beautiful day like this, (laughs) summer's all about barbecuing and with the family.

Let's see what we got going on.

SETH: Oh, wow.

MATT: So... SETH: Look at that beautiful crust, right there.

MATT: Yes.

It's nice bark.

Some of the, uh, the ribs are starting to get exposed here.

So we're, uh, we, we wanna touch them for feel.

We kinda see if they're, uh, if they're jiggling, how they bend.

And we're gonna add the, uh, the glaze to them too.

And that's really gonna, you know, kick it up.

So, some of the flavors we've got in this glaze here, we're using, uh, gochujang.

My wife's Korean, so, we like to use, you know, some of her side of the family's recipes, as well, and some of her influence.

We've got some dried and smoked chilis.

It's also got a little, uh, caramelized brown sugar in it.

Ginger, shallots.

So, lots, lots of different flavors going on.

We'll just glaze them up then.

SETH: If you put this glaze, on right, right at the get-go, after a few hours in the smoker, this thing would just be burnt to a crisp, right?

MATT: Yeah, we've got sugars in there and, and, it, it would just completely, just over caramelize.

So, we wanna do that when it's almost ready to come out of the smoker.

But you do wanna have it set in that smoker a little bit, kinda tighten up the glaze and get real sticky and delicious.

SETH: Sticky sounds good.

So, what are the last steps here?

MATT: Well, I'm gonna put them back on the smoker.

Let that glaze kinda set and finish cooking and then, wrap them up.

SETH: Sounds great.

Can't wait to try it with you, back at the table.

MATT: Excellent.

Looking forward to it.

SETH: Thanks, Chef.

MATT: Thanks, Seth.

What do I love most about Southern cooking?

I love just the feeling of warmth you get when you eat it.

And you know, it reminds me of my childhood.

I wanna bring that to everybody, and how good I felt when I was eating that food when I was young.

And I think it was something people really craved.

A little homespun hospitality, warmth.

And I think that the hospitality that we try to engage here, is, is shown in the food, and then with the staff, and everything about Ruthie's.

SETH: Chef, this spread, this looks so good.

These spareribs look so hearty and delicious.

I'm just gonna dig in.

MATT: Do it, do it, man.

Let's eat.

SETH: All right.

I don't know how I'm gonna eat this without making a mess.

So, I'm just gonna go for it, so.

MATT: It's barbecue.

SETH: It's barbecue.

MATT: You gotta be a little messy.

SETH: Oh, my gosh, Chef.

That's just awesome.

Even picking up some of those spices that you put on, it's not just salt and pepper.

MATT: Yeah, we wanna make every bite unique, you know.

So, everything that you're gonna get, when you come in, every dish is gonna be something different.

SETH: Mm-hmm.

MATT: And, you know, hopefully delicious.

SETH: And I like it's, um, it's a good hearty bite to it, too.

MATT: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Not falling off the bone.

A common misconception is the meat should be falling off the bone.

You want them to be tender and, and moist and delicious, but not where at the pulling off the bone and everything's coming off.

SETH: You wanna see where you sunk your teeth into.

MATT: Absolutely.

SETH: I gotta go for another one.

Hmm, wow.

That's amazing.

And all these sides too, is it... MATT: It's, it's part of the meat and three concept.

You get to come in, you, you pick your protein and then, pick whatever sides.

We got fresh vegetables, salads, leafy greens.

SETH: And that's kind of a Southern thing, the meat and three.

MATT: Absolutely.

It dates back to when people went from the farms, to the mills.

They still needed a home cooked meal for lunch and dinner.

And they went into these places, the cafeteria style restaurants, where you could get, you know, great home cooked meals with, you know, ribs and, um, mac and cheese and collard greens.

And we take some interesting takes on it.

The pinto beans have pork shoulder, uh, chili powder, cumin.

The, the collard greens, we do with smoked tomatoes and soy sauce.

They're actually vegan.

Most collard greens have everything but the kitchen sink.

SETH: A little pork and then, yeah, yeah.

And I do have to try one of these sides, here.

MATT: Oh, yeah, for sure.

SETH: I'm gonna go for the, go for this mac and cheese.

MATT: You gotta, you got to.

SETH: All right.

MATT: Ruthie wouldn't have it, any other way.

It's, uh, sort of a casserole style mac and cheese.

So, a little bit different, delicious, all the same.

SETH: Now, that is great.

And Chef, you've got this, uh, this big old restaurant, you know, huge menu, you're open, you know, all day long.

Do people sort of consider you a barbecue joint, a restaurant?

MATT: What we try to strive for is be a really hospitable place to go, you know.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner, you can come in.

I mean, you might not want ribs every day, but you can get them once a week.

(laughing) SETH: I can eat these in more than once a week, yeah.

MATT: There you go.

SETH: You know, that is great.

The sides, I feel like I'm in a pretty upscale cafeteria, right here.

(laughing) Thank you so much for taking me out to the smoker, on a hot day.

MATT: Yeah, you bet.

SETH: I'm glad we can cool down and get some cold beer to wash it all down.

MATT: Good day for barbecue, Seth.

SETH: Sure was.

Hey, cheers.

Appreciate it.

MATT: Salud.