Toronto’s best racks of ribs to barbecue

Chefs pick T.O.’s best backyard barbecue

In our ultimate guide to throwing the most delicious backyard barbecue, we asked five chefs to grill popular barbecue items at home. Here grillmaster chef Roger Mooking barbecues up racks of ribs from local butcher shops. When it came to which rack had the most meat, best flavour and ideal smoke, the Yonge & Eg spot came out on top.

Winner: The Butcher's Son

“This rack was the most meaty, had the most porky flavour and took on more smoke than the rest of the racks,” says chef Roger Mooking. 2055 Yonge St., $10.99/lb.

Runner-up: Bespoke Butchers

“This rack also had a similar amount of meat and fat but the porky flavour was not as pronounced. It was also very good,” he says. 215 Madison Ave., $33/kg

Olliffe

“The flavour was respectably porky, but the cut is not meaty or substantial in size,” says Mooking. “My preference is for larger cuts, and if there are leftovers, so be it.”1097 Yonge St., $12/lb.

Cumbrae's

“This rack had the longest bones and seemed to be a good baseline pork rib for balancing meat to bone ratio,” he says. “It was great for saucing and glazing.” 1591 Bayview Ave., $12.99/lb.

The Friendly Butcher

“A full rack with a promising balance of meat, fat and bone,” he says. “The flavour balanced the savouriness with mild sweetness.” 3269 Yonge St., $11.99/lb.

Roast Fine Foods

“Although the largest rack, there seemed to be a bit more fat that you have to be mindful of as it melts,” he says. 768 St. Clair Ave. W., $25–$30/rack