A foodie judges Lake Villa RibFest

Now I know how Steven Tyler feels.

Not in the rocker-adored-by-millions sense, of course. But in the judging-other-people’s-abilities sense, the Aerosmith frontman and “American Idol” panelist and I are brothers.

The event that brought Mr. Tyler and I together — in spirit only, sadly — was the second annual Lake Villa Township Winter RibFest, held Saturday at Caboose Park. The Daily Herald sponsored the bash, and fellow reporter Bob Susnjara and I were asked to help judge the contest, to separate the meat from the fat as it were.

Not that fat isn’t an important part of proper rib cooking. Pork fat rules, as celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse has been known to say.

But I digress.

Bob and I volunteered to join the judging panel because we’re both foodies — aficionados of good food. We like to cook. We like to eat. We both know our way around a grill.

Fortunately for us, Lake Villa Township Supervisor Dan Venturi thought these skills qualified us to hunker down with U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, state Sen. Suzi Schmidt, Appellate Court Judge Mary Schostok, Lindenhurst Mayor Susan Lahr and Lake Villa Mayor Frank Loffredo over plates of fresh barbecue to determine who makes the best ribs in the area.

Once the judges were secluded indoors, far away from the cooks, Venturi shared a warning: Eating one rib from each of the 19 contestants is essentially eating two racks of ribs.

It wasn’t until I was three or four entries in, however, that I realized how much meat that is — and it’s a lot. By the time Venturi brought the last entry around to the judges, I was ready to burst.

I wasn’t the only one.

“I am so full,” Walsh said toward the end. “But there are no quitters over here.”

We graded the ribs on 10-point scales in three categories: appearance; taste; and tenderness and texture. Most of the ribs came coated in sauce; those few that had dry seasoning rubbed into the meat were in a separate category.

I like ribs that are cooked slowly or smoked, have a nice bark-like crust, are pinkish and tender inside and are lightly brushed with sauce. The ones delivered with sauce glopped on top didn’t thrill me.

A few had chili powder or other zippy spices in the recipe, giving the ribs a little heat as they went down. They would’ve been perfect with coleslaw and an iced-cold beer, if I were eating at home or a restaurant.

And it almost felt like I was at home with friends as I and the other judges sampled each dish, one at a time. We talked, joked, shared our thoughts on the ribs and joked some more. It was nice to see the politicians I write about in a different light. Hopefully they felt the same way.

For best sauced ribs, the winner was a team called Man vs. Pig, and their succulent ribs were among my favorites.

For the second year in a row, the award for best dry-rubbed ribs went to the Ragin’ Cajun team.

After the judging was over, I asked Loffredo about the gathering’s unusual placement on the calendar. Cook-offs traditionally are summertime events, especially when they’re outdoors like this one.

“I think that’s one of the things that makes it unique,” the mayor responded. “It takes care of that cabin fever.”

And he’s right: It was a great excuse to get outside for an afternoon. Caboose Park was filled not just with rib-lovers but also with kids playing broom hockey and sledding down a nearby hill, and everyone looked like they were having fun.

Maybe Venturi should invite Steven Tyler to next year’s RibFest — or ex-”Idol” judge Simon Cowell. He could probably use the work.