- 1 year ago
Top Secret Recipe - S01E07 - Chili's
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00:00Behind the most iconic American foods
00:02are the recipes which made them famous.
00:04And big companies, with big money,
00:07have kept those secret formulas under lock and key.
00:10Until now.
00:12My name is Todd Wilber.
00:14I'm a food hacker, and I'm setting out
00:16to crack the codes to the most secret recipes in the country.
00:21But for each one, I've got only a few days to figure it out.
00:24Crazy?
00:25Maybe.
00:26But this is my mission.
00:28As I crisscross the country in my mobile food lab,
00:31I'll use my taste buds, a little science, undercover work,
00:36and I'll even get down and dirty to reveal
00:38the recipes you love to eat.
00:41So let's get cracking.
00:53I'm here in Dallas, Texas, where I'm
00:55going to clone one of America's most popular entrees,
00:58Chili's famous baby back ribs.
01:00These ribs are awesome, but they're not
01:02going to be easy to duplicate.
01:03I've got to figure out the seasoning blend,
01:05the cooking technique, and how to make
01:07that awesome barbecue sauce.
01:09I've got a lot of work to do, so let's get cracking.
01:14The first Chili's grill and bar opened in Dallas, Texas,
01:16in 1975, serving up an affordable full service
01:19dining menu of American staples influenced by Tex-Mex cuisine.
01:23But it wasn't until 1986 that Chili's
01:25debuted their now famous baby back ribs,
01:28along with a catchy jingle that has now become
01:30a part of pop culture history.
01:32I want my baby back ribs.
01:33Chili's baby back ribs.
01:36With over 1,500 locations worldwide and 281 million guests
01:41served annually, just about everyone
01:43has tasted these barbecue sauce soaked ribs.
01:46But it's going to be up to me to figure out
01:48exactly how they're made.
01:54That's a big pepper.
02:06Hi, you must be Doug Brooks.
02:08Doug Brooks.
02:09What can I do for you?
02:10I'm going to try to recreate Chili's ribs.
02:13Hmm.
02:17I don't have very high confidence
02:18you'll be able to clone it, but let's talk about it.
02:21OK.
02:21OK, so Todd, when Chili's started in the mid-'70s,
02:25eating out in the US, you either put on a suit
02:28and went to a white tablecloth, or you went to McDonald's.
02:30And baby back ribs was an innovative product
02:33nobody else had, and we could sell it for $8.
02:35So you guys were one of the first casual chains
02:38to feature baby back ribs?
02:40We were the first.
02:42Wow, OK.
02:43So who created this recipe?
02:45Well, a guy named Doug Bates was our head of R&D at the time,
02:49and he helped put it together back in 1986.
02:51But he's not with the company anymore.
02:53Does he live here?
02:54I can't tell you that.
02:55My job is to protect this top secret recipe with my life.
02:59If I see you snooping around this office, I'll shoot you.
03:07You know, we are in Texas.
03:09Yes.
03:10Are you packing heat?
03:11I'm packing heat.
03:12You are?
03:12I'm packing heat.
03:13Everybody's packing heat here, right?
03:15In Texas, be careful.
03:16Don't try to steal.
03:16All right, all right, all right.
03:18Is there someone else I could talk to who maybe won't
03:20protect it with their life?
03:21Well, I don't think you can do this, so I'll tell you this.
03:23Todd, I'm so confident I'll even let
03:25Daryl show you the process over in our secret test kitchen.
03:28OK, love it.
03:29All right.
03:30That would be awesome.
03:31I'm going to go meet Daryl.
03:32OK, all right, good luck.
03:35OK, so I'm heading into R&D now, and here's
03:39why magicians are now going to hate me.
03:41I'm going to use a special device
03:44I'm going to use a special device
03:48to see if I can get any ingredients possible in there.
03:51This is what a magician would do with this.
03:53They would poke a silk into their hand like this,
03:58and it would be gone.
03:58Where'd it go?
04:02Don't hate me, guys.
04:03This is called a thumb tip.
04:05This is where the silk went, and I'm
04:07going to now use it to see what ingredients I
04:09can get in here in R&D.
04:11So I don't see it.
04:14I don't see a thumb tip.
04:16It looks just like your hand.
04:18Hey, guys, looking for Daryl.
04:20You got him.
04:20Daryl?
04:21Hi.
04:22Todd Wilbur.
04:23So you're the guy that's going to try to crack our rib recipe.
04:25Yes.
04:25Can you show me a few things?
04:27A few things, yes.
04:28We don't usually do this sort of thing.
04:29I see you have some ribs here.
04:30We do, we do.
04:31Oh, those are beautiful.
04:32Yeah, I think they're pretty nice.
04:33That's a beautiful baby back right there.
04:35Smile.
04:35Oh, he smiled for me.
04:39OK, thanks.
04:40Great, all right.
04:41So what's next?
04:43Next up, the seasoning.
04:44Here's what the seasoning looks like.
04:45Let me see.
04:47That smells good.
04:48Let me just have a little taste.
04:49Yeah.
04:51OK.
04:52You want a nice coverage.
04:53It's about a tablespoon plus a teaspoon on average.
04:56OK, keep going, keep going.
04:58Do the rest.
04:59I like the way this tastes.
05:00Oh, yeah, you like the way that tastes?
05:01Yeah, yeah, yeah.
05:02Yeah, it's good.
05:03That's good.
05:04It's really nice.
05:06We like it.
05:07It's got a little pepper, a little salt, a little garlic.
05:09Yeah, a little pepper, you can tell.
05:10Something like that.
05:11Some flecks of pepper in there.
05:12Yeah.
05:13What else?
05:14Did I miss anything?
05:15I think you're off to a good start.
05:16How many things are in here?
05:18I'd say there's five primary, and there's
05:19about 20 individual spices.
05:21Do we let them sit for any amount of time,
05:23or we just take them right from there and put them into the?
05:25We put them right in our steamer.
05:26Steamer?
05:27Right in our smoker, rather.
05:28Do you steam them?
05:29No, we smoke them.
05:30You smoke them.
05:30OK, so show me how you do that.
05:33So this is a Convotherm.
05:34Convotherm, it says right there, Convotherm.
05:37Is this the secret to making your ribs taste so good?
05:41Part of it.
05:42What's it set at?
05:43What's going on here?
05:44Be specific.
05:46Specifically, it's making the ribs great.
05:49You're not helping me a lot here.
05:51It does a couple of different things to the process.
05:53OK, that's what I got to figure out, I guess.
05:55Just got to figure out.
05:56How am I going to duplicate that at home?
06:00Good question.
06:01Low and slow.
06:03Low and slow, that's all he's going to say.
06:05Yeah, so down in the bottom of the oven,
06:07we have a little metal smoker box.
06:08You usually have a box where you have the wood chips.
06:12Oh, wow, look at this.
06:13So these are our pecan chips.
06:15They're in pucks.
06:17We've used loose pecan chips before,
06:19and now we're using these because it works better in here.
06:22Do you add water to this when you put it in, or oil?
06:26Maybe oil?
06:29Should I add oil to this?
06:35Yeah.
06:35You would?
06:36Just put it in.
06:37Just put it in.
06:37Can we look in here and see what this looks like inside?
06:40Yeah, you want to see what they look like?
06:41All right, here we go.
06:42Oh, yeah.
06:48That pecan wood definitely gives off a distinctive smell.
06:51Wow, that smells amazing.
06:53I would eat them just like this.
06:54Are those done?
06:55They're done with their smoking part.
06:57We got a full rack of baby backs.
07:01So what's the next step after this?
07:03We pop them on our grill, so.
07:05Can you show me that?
07:06Sure, we can show you that.
07:07So the last step to preparing these ribs
07:09is throwing them on the grill and smothering
07:11them in barbecue sauce.
07:12They just keep looking more and more delicious.
07:15I just want to check this out.
07:16It's really good.
07:17What do we got in here?
07:18Tender.
07:20Oh, yeah, look at that.
07:21Let me just have a bite of this.
07:26What's going on with the sauce there?
07:27What do you got in the sauce?
07:29Yeah, what's in that?
07:30I'll give you one hint.
07:31OK.
07:31A little bit of mustard.
07:32Mustard.
07:34Yellow mustard or brown mustard?
07:35One little hint.
07:36Mustard.
07:38All right, I got some work to do.
07:39But first, would it be cool if I just
07:42get a little bit of this sauce?
07:44All right, and we'll give the guests the sauce.
07:46Yeah?
07:46All right.
07:47That'd be great.
07:51Is this it?
07:52This is all you're going to give me?
07:53Just a go.
07:54Come on, guys.
07:55That's not very much sauce.
07:56No, it's enough to taste to get the idea.
07:59All right, OK, thank you.
08:01All right, good luck.
08:02All right, don't burn nothing.
08:03All right.
08:04See you.
08:04All right, see you later.
08:07Hey, Doug.
08:08Todd, you're back?
08:09Yes.
08:10Back so soon?
08:10Did you go meet Daryl?
08:11Did.
08:12Good stuff.
08:13OK, good.
08:14Yeah, so I think I can clone your baby
08:19back ribs in three days.
08:22Three days?
08:23Yeah, three days.
08:24By the end of the week.
08:25Took us months and months to create this back in the 80s.
08:29I know.
08:30So if I can make ribs that taste just like Chili's ribs
08:35and fool one of the judges, then I win.
08:38If it's a panel of judges, the judges all have to agree.
08:43I mean, I may get slaughtered here.
08:44I may not fool all of them.
08:45If I fool one of them, at least I'm doing,
08:47I've fooled somebody.
08:49We'll call that a win for me, right?
08:51OK.
08:52It's not going to be easy.
08:53OK, three days.
08:54Three days, that's all you got.
08:55I don't think you can do this.
08:56I'll tell you this, if you can come up
08:58with the recipe, the smoking, the seasoning, the flavor,
09:02and the sauce, I will give you a card
09:03that you can buy Chili's baby back ribs the rest
09:05of your life on this planet.
09:07Chili's ribs for life?
09:08Chili's ribs for life.
09:09But if you can't do it, I want to hear
09:11you singing the Chili's baby back ribs
09:13song in one of our restaurants in front of all of our guests
09:16and film this.
09:17You've got to sing the Chili's baby back ribs song.
09:19And we're going to bring a lot of people.
09:21Acapella?
09:22I don't get a band?
09:23No band.
09:23No music, no background.
09:24Oh, man, I am the world's most embarrassing singer.
09:27All right, yes.
09:29All right, shake on it.
09:30See you soon.
09:30All right, got some work to do.
09:32You do.
09:33No way.
09:34No way.
09:36The steaks are set.
09:37And now I've only got three days to tackle
09:39Chili's extremely secretive baby back rib recipe.
09:42I better get moving if I want to avoid that jingle performance.
09:46Coming up, see if I can clone Chili's baby back ribs.
09:51Barbecue sauce.
09:54Ow.
09:57I'm here in Texas, where they know barbecue.
10:00My mission, cloning Chili's baby back ribs.
10:03I heard that Hersh's was the place
10:04to get the best quality meats.
10:06So let's see if they can help me get the baby back ribs I need.
10:09Hi, how are you today?
10:10How you doing?
10:11Is it possible that I could show you a picture of some meat
10:13and you can tell me what kind of cut it is?
10:15Sure, what you got?
10:16I'm trying to make some ribs.
10:18Those are your loin back ribs.
10:20OK.
10:21Unlike your spare ribs, these come off the top,
10:23where you normally get all your pork chops.
10:25Show me whatever you've got.
10:26OK.
10:27Are these baby backs?
10:28Those are baby backs.
10:29OK, this is what I want.
10:30I need a bunch of these.
10:31Sure.
10:32You made my day.
10:33You got your work cut out for you.
10:34I do.
10:35All right, make me look good.
10:36OK, got my ribs.
10:38A lot of ribs.
10:39Time to get cooking.
10:41At Chili's headquarters, I learned five clues
10:43for cooking their ribs.
10:44They use five primary spices in their rub,
10:47plus about 20 additional ingredients.
10:49They cook the ribs low and slow.
10:51There's mustard in the barbecue sauce.
10:53They use a combo therm to cook the ribs.
10:56And finally, they use pecan chips for smoking.
10:59But before I start to make some ribs,
11:01I've got to take a stab at what I think goes
11:02into Chili's barbecue sauce.
11:04This is Chili's.
11:05They gave me a small quantity of it at R&D,
11:08so I'm going to try and match that.
11:091 and 1 1⁄2 cups of water, 1 cup of apple cider vinegar,
11:131⁄2 cup of tomato paste.
11:15We actually heard at R&D that there
11:17is, in fact, mustard in the sauce.
11:19So 1 tablespoon of yellow mustard,
11:221⁄2 cup dark brown sugar, 1 and 1⁄2
11:25teaspoons of salt. We'll do 1⁄2 teaspoon of onion powder,
11:281⁄4 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1⁄4 teaspoon of paprika.
11:35Next up, liquid smoke.
11:37This is how we give the ribs the smoky flavor
11:41without using a smoker.
11:44Let's get this on the stove.
11:45I'm just going to leave the sauce
11:46on low to medium heat for 45 minutes to an hour
11:49until it's nice and thick.
11:51In the meantime, we need to work on some seasoning.
11:54I was able to secure some of that
11:56right here in this thumb tip.
11:58Thanks to the magic thumb, we have a nice little quantity
12:02of seasoning.
12:03Let's look at this a little closer.
12:05I just try and get a good sample of it, put it on the slide.
12:09What have we got here?
12:10See those crystals?
12:11Those are salt. This black stuff is your pepper.
12:14Now, that could be citric acid.
12:16That right there, that could be granulated garlic.
12:18It has kind of a yellow color to it.
12:21Here's salt. Salt is squares.
12:23This is what salt looks like.
12:24That is probably granulated onion.
12:28I don't see anything else.
12:29That's odd.
12:30Daryl from R&D told me there were five primary spices
12:33and 20 others.
12:34There's about 20 individual spices.
12:36You're kidding me.
12:36No, no, no.
12:37I wonder if he's trying to throw me off.
12:39Garlic, onion, citric acid, pepper, and salt.
12:43That's it.
12:44Five ingredients.
12:45Simple, right?
12:46Let's see what happens.
12:48Let's go with two teaspoons of salt,
12:50of course, ground black pepper, which
12:51you can see right on the ribs, citric acid.
12:54Powerful stuff.
12:55Theirs is yellow.
12:56Ours is not.
12:57We need to pump up that garlic.
12:59Also, another quarter teaspoon of onion.
13:01Now we're getting closer to that color.
13:03It's tasting pretty good.
13:05Got a rack of ribs right here.
13:06I don't have a Convotherm like they do at Chili's,
13:08so I'm going to try and make these ribs
13:10in my conventional oven.
13:11Into a low oven at 250 degrees for about two hours.
13:15We're going to be cooking them a long time,
13:17so this should be a low enough temperature
13:18to keep them from drying out.
13:20While those ribs are cooking, this is done.
13:22Cover it up, take it off the heat.
13:24We'll just let that sit there until those ribs are done.
13:27We've cooked them low and slow.
13:29And we'll just put it down on the grill like that
13:31and let it go for a couple minutes, I guess.
13:34We're going to baste this now.
13:35Let's use that sauce.
13:36Ribs on the grill, bones up like this.
13:40That's what I saw at the test kitchen at R&D.
13:44Let's flip it.
13:45Those look good.
13:46I don't know how they're going to taste,
13:47and they seem a little tough.
13:50I think we're done.
13:51Well, there you go.
13:52We got two different looking ribs.
13:54Here's your chili's rib.
13:56There's a big difference.
13:57Look at that.
13:58It just falls off the bone, right?
13:59Look at that.
14:00It just falls apart like this.
14:02Let's see if mine does that.
14:03Oh, it's tough.
14:05Look at that.
14:06It's tough, rubbery.
14:07You can't tear it apart.
14:09My ribs aren't falling off the bone as easily as chili's,
14:11which means I may have to cook them even longer.
14:14The sauce is wrong.
14:15The sauce isn't thick enough.
14:17Here's your chili's rib.
14:18Have a bite.
14:21Wow.
14:22Oh, it's messy.
14:23It's falling apart.
14:24It's good.
14:26It's got that smoky flavor that this one doesn't have.
14:28The liquid smoke just isn't cutting it.
14:30The smokiness is coming from the meat itself, not the sauce.
14:34The only way to achieve that is with a smoker.
14:36Not even close.
14:37I think my rub is a pretty good match,
14:40but the texture and smokiness of the meat and the sauce
14:43all need work.
14:45It's now day two of the challenge,
14:46and I'm going to need some help with this sauce.
14:48Let's call Claudio.
14:51Hello.
14:52Hey, Claudio, it's Todd.
14:53How are you?
14:54Todd, how are you?
14:55Doing great.
14:56Got a new assignment, something a little meatier.
14:58Meatier is good.
14:59What do you have?
15:00I'm cloning chili's baby back ribs.
15:03Have you ever had those?
15:04We got your baby back, baby back, baby back.
15:07We got your baby back, baby back, baby back.
15:10Chili's baby back ribs.
15:13Yeah.
15:14You like those?
15:15Yeah.
15:16Don't worry about the ribs.
15:18Get some ribs at Chili's and ask for extra sauce on the side.
15:22It's the sauce that I'd like you to look at.
15:24OK.
15:25Let me get to work.
15:25All right, thanks, Claudio.
15:26I'll call you tomorrow.
15:27Sure thing.
15:29While Claudio's working on the sauce,
15:31the next thing I've got to do is get a smoker.
15:34How you doing?
15:34Oh, hey, back so soon?
15:36Sure, how you doing?
15:37Good to see you.
15:37How are those ribs?
15:38Not good, not good at all.
15:40I need one of those.
15:42You got it.
15:43All right, wood chips, pecan.
15:44Pecan?
15:45Yeah, that.
15:47Yeah.
15:48All right, thank you very much.
15:49Oh, you're welcome.
15:49Appreciate it.
15:50Let me know how they turn out.
15:51I will.
15:51All right, let's get to work.
16:15Time to start smoking up some ribs.
16:18I'm going to be chain-smoking.
16:22I need to season my next batch of ribs and test them out.
16:24So at R&D, they used pecan wood pucks.
16:28I don't have pucks.
16:29I have these chips here.
16:30Still pecan wood, but this should still work.
16:32And we also heard that they used a little oil on these chips.
16:36So let's just drizzle a little oil in there.
16:39All right.
16:41Just go in here, here, here.
16:46Let's get it smoking.
16:47Not really sure about temperature yet
16:49or time to smoke these.
16:51I guess two and a half hours, something like that.
16:53Just have to keep checking on them.
16:55All right, so first time using the smoker.
16:58Look at that smoke.
16:58It's building up right there.
17:00Oh, man, I think I've got to open that.
17:01You can't even see the ribs anymore.
17:03The glass is so smoky, I kind of want to look in there
17:06and see what's going on.
17:08Oh, oh, that's not good.
17:10I've got to get that out of there.
17:12Coming up, see if I can nail this Chili's Baby Back Ribs
17:15recipe.
17:17Yes!
17:18See that?
17:21First time using the smoker.
17:22Look at that smoke.
17:23It's building up right there.
17:25Oh, man, I think I've got to open that.
17:26You can't even see the ribs.
17:27Oh, oh, that's not good.
17:30That is not good.
17:31I've got to get that out of there.
17:33I better unplug this.
17:34OK, OK, hold on.
17:36Oh, oh, man.
17:38Those are not smoked.
17:41All right, hold on.
17:42It's coming out.
17:45I need an extinguisher.
17:46Be careful.
17:47Don't try to steal recipes in Texas.
17:49I'm packing heat.
17:50I'm packing heat.
17:54Clearly, the oil on the pecan chips caused this grease fire.
17:57I wonder who told me to do that.
17:59Should I add oil to this?
18:03Yep.
18:04You would?
18:04Just put it in.
18:05Just put it in.
18:06Don't burn nothing.
18:10Daryl.
18:10Let's try that again.
18:12This time, hopefully no fires.
18:13I'm cooking this batch at 275 degrees for 2 and 1 1 1 hours.
18:18Smoking generally takes longer than baking,
18:21but there's a world of difference in the flavor.
18:23While the meat's cooking, it's time to take
18:24another stab at the sauce.
18:26Needs to be a little more sour.
18:28So let's do three tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.
18:31Bump our mustard up just a little bit.
18:34Back off on the onion powder.
18:37Put on the heat.
18:40We're good.
18:41We're going to let that sit while our ribs smoke.
18:44Let's check these out.
18:46All right.
18:48Let's give this a try.
18:49Look, it's tough.
18:50It's not at all like the chili's ribs.
18:52It's not falling off the bone, that's for sure.
18:57Wow. OK.
18:57Whoa.
18:58There's a ton of smoke there.
18:59Whoa. Too much.
19:01So my ribs got the smokiness flavor,
19:02but there's way too much of it.
19:04And the ribs aren't falling off the bone like chili's.
19:06So I'm going to make up another batch, use fewer wood chips,
19:09and cook for two hours and 45 minutes.
19:12Lower and slower.
19:14Nice thick coating of sauce.
19:16Sauce is an OK color, but you can tell there
19:18are some differences right now.
19:19It seems like the ribs are a little bit more tender,
19:22but I'd sure like to get some expert feedback.
19:24Let's bring these to some other taste testers at this time
19:26and see what they think.
19:27Speaking of smoking, I know just the experts
19:31to help me with this.
19:325, 6, 7, 8.
19:34The only thing more iconic to Texas than barbecue
19:37is the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.
19:40Hey, guys.
19:41Hi.
19:42Big fan.
19:44I have this show where I try to recreate iconic foods.
19:47You guys are pretty iconic, don't you think?
19:49So I think this could be a good chance
19:51to do a little taste test.
19:52Did you make those?
19:53I made one of them, and one of them is chili's.
19:55So take one of each and give it a little taste test.
19:58Just grab some ribs and taste them.
20:02Mm.
20:03Mm.
20:04Mm.
20:05Mm.
20:06Mm.
20:07Mm.
20:07Mm.
20:08Mm.
20:10Go for it.
20:11Those are kind of big.
20:12Oh, oh, really?
20:12OK.
20:14Saucy.
20:15Eat away.
20:17Yeah.
20:23I need help to make my ribs taste like chili's.
20:26I need to know where I'm going wrong.
20:27So talk to me.
20:28Wow.
20:29The texture's different.
20:30OK, so what's that about the texture?
20:32These fall off the bone.
20:33Very tender feel, falling off the bone.
20:36So these are more tender?
20:38Yes.
20:38Really?
20:39Definitely.
20:40These are tougher?
20:41Mm-hmm, yeah.
20:42These are chili's?
20:43Oh.
20:43Oh.
20:44Yeah, these are mine.
20:45I like the chili's sauce better than your sauce.
20:48Really?
20:49Definitely.
20:50Just got to get the sauce, and you're cooking down,
20:52and you're set.
20:53Well, it sounds like I'm not getting too many cheers
20:55for my ribs just yet.
20:57Should I go whip up some more and come back?
20:58Yeah, definitely.
21:00You can interrupt back just any time.
21:01I'll be right back.
21:02So my ribs just aren't as juicy and tender as chili's,
21:05even though I've increased my cooking
21:06time to almost three hours.
21:08I need to know what that combo therm does.
21:11You know, it does a couple of different things
21:12to the process.
21:13That's what I got to figure out, I guess.
21:14That's what you got to figure out.
21:16I've decided a little sleuthing may be in order.
21:19Time to go undercover.
21:20There's a camera in here.
21:22I want to see if I can get my smoker to do
21:24what theirs does in chili's.
21:27Got my pad, pen, recorder.
21:30I am a reporter.
21:32I am a food blogger.
21:33Stay frosty.
21:34Full rack of ribs.
21:35Thanks.
21:36And this is for you, bones.
21:37Just put them in here.
21:39Do you know about how these ribs are made, or?
21:41I'm not quite sure, but I can get to my manager.
21:43She knows more about it than me.
21:45Oh, yeah, that'd be awesome.
21:46OK, we'll be right back, guys.
21:47Yeah.
21:49Hi, there.
21:50Hi.
21:50It's Brandi.
21:51Hey, Brandi.
21:52Hi, I'm Tom Jones.
21:54Hi, Tom Jones.
21:55Hi.
21:55Yeah, I, um, you know, Tom, Tommy.
21:58I know, get that all the time.
21:59I'm from a food blog called the New York Times.
22:02We have a food blog called The Nibbler.
22:05We're doing a series of articles on the best
22:07ribs in the country.
22:08Can I ask you a few questions about your ribs?
22:10Um.
22:11OK.
22:12Is it OK if I record this?
22:13Nah.
22:14Where are you going again?
22:16It's called, it's a food blog called The Nibbler.
22:18OK.
22:19Yeah, it's huge.
22:20We are known for the accuracy of our articles.
22:23OK.
22:23Well, we have a-
22:24You want to sit?
22:25Please, just for a sec.
22:27Yeah, I'll make it, I'll make it fast.
22:28What makes your special?
22:30Actually, we have a, um, a three-step cooking process.
22:33Yeah.
22:33And it takes over three hours.
22:35And, um, it does go through the different processes.
22:37OK.
22:38It smokes it first.
22:39Yeah, and it's the longest process,
22:40is the smoke process.
22:41The smoking takes the longest.
22:43I don't know if we should quote a time.
22:44215?
22:45Somewhere in that area.
22:46215 to 230, uh, you know.
22:48Then it does a steam.
22:49What?
22:50They use steam for these ribs?
22:51I can't believe I didn't pick up on that clue earlier.
22:54And go right in our, right in our steamer.
22:55Steamer?
22:56Right in our smoker, rather.
22:57Do you steam them?
22:58No, we smoke them.
22:59You smoke them?
23:00Yep.
23:02Daryl.
23:03It does a steam for, what, a half hour or so?
23:05Yeah, roughly.
23:06And then super steam.
23:08And then super steam?
23:09Mm-hmm, which is high intensity.
23:10High intensity?
23:11So we're going to, the heat's going
23:12to pop up to a higher level?
23:14Yes.
23:15How many minutes on the super steaming, 10 minutes or so?
23:17I don't want to, I don't want to give you any.
23:20I want to be accurate.
23:218, 10, 9.
23:22It's much shorter than the other times.
23:24OK, I'll say 8 to 10.
23:25And then the sauce, last thing.
23:27I can't share any more of my secrets.
23:29Are you sure?
23:29What about, uh, all right, um, OK.
23:35I'm out of here.
23:36As I'm walking out, I notice a sign on the wall.
23:40According to this, I need to triple baste my ribs.
23:43This plan has been really successful.
23:45Let's smoke these babies.
23:48Y'all stay tuned now to see if Todd can form
23:51those chili baby back ribs.
23:53What's up my neck?
23:53The secret is in the sauce.
23:56Oh, that's weird.
23:58I don't have a good clone of Chili's baby back ribs yet,
24:01but I made some great progress on my undercover mission.
24:04Now, before I start cooking my next batch,
24:06I've got to get more help with my barbecue sauce.
24:08It's just not coming out right.
24:10So I'm heading out to one of Dallas's oldest and most
24:12delicious barbecue spots.
24:14That looks incredible.
24:16It's pretty good stuff.
24:17Are you Mac?
24:18I am Mac Jr.
24:19My day was mine.
24:21So barbecue's been in your family a long time.
24:23Yes, sir.
24:24Mac, my name's Todd Wilbur.
24:25Yes, sir.
24:26I'm Todd Wilbur.
24:27Mac, my name's Todd Wilbur.
24:28Yeah, Todd.
24:29I know you're busy and stuff, but maybe I could talk
24:31to you about sauce a little bit.
24:32OK.
24:33I brought sauce with me that needs help.
24:36Needs help?
24:37I'm trying to copy another sauce, not yours,
24:40somebody else's, this place called Chili's.
24:43You might have heard of it.
24:44I think I have.
24:45This here is my sauce.
24:46OK.
24:47This is Chili's sauce right here.
24:49So if you could, just give them a taste
24:51and tell me what I'm doing wrong, what I'm missing.
24:55I taste tomato, ketchup, vinegar, and sugar.
25:00Let me try yours, Todd, and see how it tastes.
25:02OK.
25:05Well, Todd, it's not as good as the Chili's.
25:07What's in this sauce?
25:09It's tomato paste.
25:11OK.
25:12Instead of using tomato paste, let's
25:14use a good grade of tomato ketchup.
25:16Tomato paste doesn't have all the other spices
25:20in it as ketchup does.
25:22Get rid of the paste altogether?
25:23Get rid of the paste.
25:24And sugar, brown sugar?
25:26Use white sugar.
25:27Use white sugar.
25:28Yes, sir.
25:29Brown sugar is a little too raw, and you
25:32don't get the sweetness out of it.
25:33Add a little more vinegar to it, a little black pepper.
25:36How long do you let it cook?
25:38All day long, real long.
25:39All day long?
25:40I don't have that much time.
25:41The longer you let it cook, the better it's going to be.
25:45What's the minimum amount of time
25:47I can let this cook for it to be good?
25:49Two hours.
25:49Two hours.
25:50On a double boiler, medium heat.
25:52OK.
25:53All right, Mac, thank you.
25:54Good luck to you.
25:55All right.
25:55I appreciate it.
25:56I hope you can get it done.
25:57See you later.
25:58All right, man.
25:59Now that I've got a few leads on my sauce,
26:01it's time to make a new batch of ribs.
26:03But let's review what I've learned
26:05since my last taste test.
26:06At Chili's, I learned that the cooking time
26:08should be about three hours, with smoking
26:11being the longest process.
26:12They steam and then super steam the ribs.
26:15And finally, the ribs are triple basted with barbecue sauce
26:18before serving.
26:19Let's make some sauce.
26:21I'm going to use some of the techniques
26:23I learned from Mac's.
26:24They've been doing it for years, so I've got to trust them.
26:27Got a cup of ketchup here.
26:28And ketchup brings a lot more to the sauce
26:30than that tomato paste did.
26:32So maybe Mac's onto something here.
26:34Quarter cup sugar, onion powder, garlic powder,
26:37ground black pepper.
26:39That's it.
26:39This sauce takes a couple hours.
26:42So while this is going, let's get that batch of ribs
26:44going in the smoker.
26:46First, we have to smoke our ribs for two hours.
26:49Then we add a bowl of water for the steaming
26:50part of the process.
26:52After half an hour, it's time to super steam at 350 degrees.
26:56Tomorrow's our taste test.
26:58Don't have a lot of time.
26:59Hope this works.
27:00While I wait for this to cook, it's
27:01a great time to call Claudio back and see if he's
27:04got any new information.
27:05Hi there.
27:06Claudio, it's Todd.
27:07How you doing?
27:08Not bad.
27:09How are you?
27:09I'm good.
27:10Did you get the sauce?
27:12I got the sauce, and I also did some testing here.
27:15Basically, to do this, what you're going to need
27:17is just paper.
27:19Paper?
27:20The sauce.
27:21OK.
27:22I have to cut the leg of my table to get this.
27:25Isn't your table crooked now?
27:27My table is crooked now, but it's all about getting
27:30the experiment done, right?
27:32It better work.
27:33So what is this?
27:34This is the sauce.
27:35That's barbecue sauce I put in the jar.
27:37OK, so you put the sauce into the table leg
27:39onto a piece of paper.
27:41One, two, three, go.
27:44And what does this tell us?
27:45After we wait for one minute, we're
27:48going to measure the spread.
27:49Oh, OK.
27:51You can compare chili sauce with the sauce
27:53that you make by comparing the size.
27:57The bigger the stain, the more liquid it is.
28:00I test the viscosity of chili sauce,
28:02and then I test mine and see how mine compares to theirs.
28:06Correct.
28:07And what if mine is too thin?
28:09You can cook it more.
28:11Can you tell me anything else?
28:12No.
28:13Well, thank you for showing me this.
28:16Who do I send the bill to fix the table?
28:18Can you say that again?
28:19Who do I send the bill to?
28:20It's not coming through.
28:21OK.
28:23If our sauce isn't the same thickness as chili sauce,
28:25that could be a dead giveaway.
28:26So I thought we'd try this viscosity test.
28:29I just need to find some sort of shape
28:31that's about this big that I can pour a sauce into.
28:36Let's see.
28:38Let's look outside.
28:43This is perfect.
28:47That'll work.
28:48Let's go test some sauce.
28:49Paper, chilies, todds.
28:53We load our chili sauce into this.
28:55We just cut, and then lift.
28:59This will be mine.
29:02Wait a minute.
29:03This one is tighter.
29:06This one's spread out more.
29:07Let me just give it a measure.
29:08This one's just over 2 inches, and then
29:11mine, 2 and 1 1⁄2 inches.
29:13Mine is too thin.
29:14Thanks, Claudia.
29:15Good test.
29:17This means I've got to cook that sauce a little longer.
29:19Probably about 15 more minutes.
29:21In the meantime, let's throw this on the grill,
29:23put some sauce on it, and see how it tastes.
29:26Those look good.
29:27I cooked the sauce for 15 more minutes, and it looks perfect.
29:30Time to baste the ribs.
29:32I saw on a sign of Chili's that it said triple basted.
29:36So we put it on the grill, basted it, flipped it,
29:39basted it again, flipped it again,
29:41and here goes our third coat of sauce.
29:45Smells amazing.
29:46Let's take it off.
29:47Let me get a nice saucy chunk off of the Chili's.
29:54There's our ribs.
29:55Look, that bone comes out clean now.
29:56Ah, it's so hot.
29:57Let's try a bite.
29:59Oh, yeah, OK.
30:02I think I finally nailed the sauce.
30:04It's the same taste and consistency as Chili's.
30:08That's good.
30:09It's falling off the bone, but it's
30:10something they're doing to lock in all
30:13that flavor and juiciness.
30:15There's something I'm not doing right,
30:16and I can't quite put my finger on it.
30:18Tomorrow is the taste test, but I still
30:21don't have a perfect clone.
30:24Stay tuned to see if I can crack Chili's baby back ribs.
30:27On Top Chef University, coming right back.
30:33It's now the day of the taste test.
30:35I've been working all morning making subtle tweaks
30:37to the cooking process, and I'm still not
30:39able to figure out why Chili's ribs are so much more
30:42moist and juicy than my own.
30:43They're tender.
30:44They fall off the bone.
30:45There must be something they're doing
30:46to lock in all that flavor and juiciness.
30:50I now only have time for one more batch.
30:52Got to get these in the smoker.
30:55Make me proud.
30:57After 2 and 1 half hours, I steam them.
30:59After another 30 minutes, I'm super steaming them.
31:01But I know, even after all this, when I pull them out,
31:04they're still not going to be quite right.
31:05I'm missing a key step that makes them as
31:07juicy and flavorful as Chili's.
31:09Wait.
31:11I might have one avenue left to explore.
31:13I remember at R&D, they talked about Doug Bates.
31:16He helped put it together back in 1986.
31:19But he's not with the company anymore.
31:21So you won't be able to find him or talk to him.
31:23He may not be with the company anymore,
31:25but that doesn't mean he's unlisted.
31:27It's ringing.
31:28Is Doug Bates there?
31:30Hi, my name's Todd Wilber.
31:32Is this the Doug Bates who created Chili's baby back
31:35ribs?
31:36Yeah.
31:37I love your ribs.
31:38Let me just say that right now.
31:39Those are great ribs.
31:41And I love them so much that I'm actually
31:44trying to make ribs that taste just like them.
31:48And I thought I'd give you a call.
31:50Maybe you could help me out with some trouble I'm having.
31:57I was just hoping you'd, you know, as a fellow rib lover,
32:00you would be willing to share some information with me.
32:03I'm not sure if I can do that.
32:04Or you would be willing to share some information with me.
32:09Are you there?
32:10Doug?
32:16I'm having a problem with the texture.
32:18It's not the same as Chili's.
32:31Finally, the secret to locking in the juiciness and flavor
32:34of the meat.
32:35Doug, how long do I need to wrap them, do you think?
32:41Oh, great.
32:42I have only an hour left to finish cooking
32:44and preparing my ribs.
32:46And now I'm learning about this extra step that's
32:48going to take up all that time.
32:50Thanks, Doug.
32:50I appreciate it.
32:53Bye.
32:53All right, let's do it.
32:55Smells good.
32:56OK, my ribs are done super steaming.
32:58I'm going to wrap these in some plastic.
33:01I just hate using this stuff.
33:04After I wrap it in the foil, let
33:08them rest for about an hour.
33:11People are already starting to show up,
33:13and there's no way to speed up this process.
33:15This is the final sauce for the final taste test.
33:18Needs to get a little thicker.
33:19All I can do is wait, wait, and stir my sauce.
33:24A little pinch of citric acid in there.
33:26Stir that in.
33:29Come on, come on, come on.
33:31It's getting thick.
33:33I don't have the time to leave the ribs
33:35wrapped up for a full hour.
33:36So I'm going to have to pull them out early
33:38and hope for the best.
33:39We've got our ribs here, wrapped up.
33:41Baby, baby back ribs.
33:44Everyone's waiting.
33:45So we need to grill them.
33:48Because I'm pressed for time, I've
33:50amped up the heat on my grill just a little bit
33:52to hopefully cook them faster.
33:54All right, getting some fire.
33:55I don't want them to burn.
33:56Turn this off.
33:59Look at that.
34:01I didn't flip them soon enough.
34:02This grill's way too hot.
34:03See how big those grill marks are?
34:05That's going to be trouble right there.
34:07Let's cover them with sauce.
34:08It is what it is here.
34:09I'm ready.
34:10Let's go.
34:12Now it's judgment time.
34:18Yeah!
34:20All right, good luck.
34:22Man, I'm tired.
34:24Woo!
34:25That truck is hot.
34:27You are looking tired, man.
34:28In fact, you don't smell too good either, as a matter of fact.
34:30And I'm sticky.
34:31Yeah, that's what happens when you start trying
34:33to rip off our rib recipe.
34:35No, honor your rib recipe.
34:37Oh, OK.
34:37That's what I'm doing, honoring.
34:38We like that.
34:39We have a bet.
34:40Remember, Todd?
34:41After they pick the Chili's ribs,
34:43you're going to go to one of the local Chili's
34:45and sing the Baby Back Rigs song in our bar.
34:48Have you ever heard me sing?
34:49And we're going to tell them I sing.
34:50Are you sure?
34:51Are you sure you want to hear me sing?
34:53That could be a very bad thing.
34:54But I, you know, being a good sport here.
34:56There's another side to this.
34:58Being a good sport, if one of our three judges
35:00actually pick that you have matched our ribs,
35:03I'll not only give you a black Chili's card,
35:06which means ribs for life, we'll also
35:08give 100 rib dinners to friends of the show.
35:11Yes, yes, right?
35:12Yes.
35:13I love it.
35:15We've got our judges.
35:16OK.
35:16We've got the judges.
35:17All right, who do we have here?
35:18Todd, this is Jennifer.
35:20This is Matt.
35:21Matt, hey, Matt.
35:22And Sarah.
35:23Hi, Sarah.
35:24Jennifer, Matt, and Sarah.
35:25Yeah, so rib connoisseurs.
35:27Oh, that's what I wanted to know.
35:28And they eat at Chili's all the time.
35:29Oh, really?
35:30So you guys go to Chili's a lot?
35:32That's right.
35:32That's right.
35:34I see what's going on here.
35:36So we're going to bring out two plates of ribs for each of you.
35:39You're not going to know which is which.
35:41One's Todd's ribs.
35:42The other's Chili's ribs.
35:44See if you can tell the difference.
35:46Now, if you can't tell the difference,
35:48then I've done my job, right?
35:49And that's one for me.
35:51OK, OK.
35:52So should we do this thing?
35:54Let's do it, Todd.
35:55All right.
35:56OK, ribs.
35:56Ribs, ribs, ribs, ribs, ribs, ribs.
35:59Ribs, ribs, ribs, ribs, ribs, ribs.
36:02These look like you went to Chili's and bought them all.
36:04I promise you, I did not cheat.
36:06Pretty impressive, Todd.
36:08Those look pretty good, in fact.
36:09I know at least three of those plates aren't really good ribs.
36:13Let's go ahead and just dig in.
36:19Think about it.
36:20Take your time, and see if you can tell the difference.
36:24Hmm, this is amazing.
36:27Make a mess.
36:28We like it.
36:29These are just as tender, just as moist.
36:31Both very good.
36:32Yeah, they are both very good.
36:34OK, what are you guys thinking so far?
36:37The meat is really tender.
36:38It just falls off the bone.
36:40The sauce is good, hard to tell.
36:42I don't know if I'm ready to pick one against Chili's yet.
36:44All right.
36:45It's really good.
36:46Sarah, what are you thinking?
36:47You've had a little bit of each, right?
36:49Yes, this one's more smoky, and this one's
36:52a little more tangy, sweet.
36:54So you may have formed an opinion already, right?
36:57OK, Sarah, which one do you think is Chili's?
37:01Definitely this one.
37:02Definitely that one.
37:04All right.
37:05Lift up your plate.
37:09And lift it up.
37:11Yes!
37:12Yes!
37:12Yes!
37:13Yes!
37:14Yes!
37:15Yes!
37:17Matt, what are you thinking?
37:21I think I'm going to lean this way as far as Chili's ribs.
37:23Then push that plate forward.
37:25And Matt has chosen.
37:27Matt, why don't you lift up your plate,
37:29and let's see what it says under there.
37:35Yay!
37:36All right.
37:38I've lost two judges, but I still have a chance.
37:40I only need to get this last judge to win
37:42my lifetime supply of ribs.
37:44Now, last one.
37:46Jennifer, have you had enough to make a decision?
37:50I want my baby back, baby back, baby back, baby back.
37:52Can you choose one over the other
37:55as Chili's, or are they too close?
37:56Is it too hard to tell?
37:57I want my baby back, baby back, baby back.
37:59I want my baby back, baby back, baby back.
38:01I want my baby back, baby back, baby back.
38:04I want my baby back, baby back.
38:06I want my baby back, baby back.
38:07I want my baby back, baby back.
38:09Yay!
38:11Wow!
38:12I did it, right there.
38:13You did it?
38:15Hey, chefs and competitors have been trying since 1986.
38:18Yeah, well.
38:19No one's ever done it.
38:19Well, I didn't make them better.
38:21I just made them close.
38:22OK, OK.
38:23I'm a man of my word.
38:24Yeah?
38:26You have done an amazing job of matching Chili's baby
38:28back rib recipe.
38:30So 100 fans of your program, we're
38:33going to give them 100 baby back rib entrees.
38:35I love it.
38:38You don't have to go sing in the bar in our restaurant.
38:41And this card, this card you take to any Chili's
38:46anywhere in the world, lifetime baby back ribs for Todd.
38:49Well, that's cool.
38:50Look at this.
38:51There you go.
38:52Whopper.
38:54So thanks for allowing me to clone these amazing ribs.
38:57My favorite baby backs.
38:58It's been an honor.
38:58Thank you so much.
39:00And join me next week when I try to crack
39:02another top secret recipe.
39:04Yes.
39:06Want to try some of my recipes at home?
39:08Log on to cmt.com for my versions of the recipes
39:12featured in the series.
39:13Barbecue sauce.
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