Kevin Bludso says because rib tips are not in the historical canon of barbecue, they are the most underrated cut. “Rib tips have always been big in LA,” he says. “That’s our buffalo wing.” Photo by Eric Wolfinger.

When Kevin Bludso was nine years-old, his paternal great aunt Willie Mae Fields “kidnapped” him to spend the summer with her in Texas. He remembers staying up all night with her smoking brisket but admits her biggest lesson was “learn your legal hussle.” DJing and catering after he lost his job at the Department of Corrections, Bludso says he fell back on “all those things she was teaching me at the time, I didn’t even know I was being taught.”

He recommends novices to barbecue, to start with an inexpensive smoker and learn how to master their temperatures. “The key to good barbecue is consistent temperature, once you get that down you can cook anything,” Bludso says. Start with chicken, then move up to ribs and pork shoulder before taking on brisket, which he concedes isn’t as hard to cook as it’s made out to be. “As long as you keep your temperature at 250, brisket is the easiest one,” he admits.

His new cookbook with Noah Galuten is “Bludso's BBQ Cookbook.”

Rib Tips Temperature: 250° to 260°F Rough Cook Time: 21⁄2 to 4 hours (The bigger the rib tip, the longer the cook. But always remember there are no set times on BBQ.) Cooking Equipment: Smoker, spray bottle

*Choosing and Prepping Rib Tips The bigger, the better when it comes to rib tips. You really want a big, meaty piece. Just keep in mind that the lean tail (flap) on a rib tip is basically a throwaway.

Bludso’s Brisket Rub Makes 2¼ cups

“Reprinted with permission from Bludso's BBQ Cookbook: A Family Affair in Smoke and Soul. Copyright © 2022 by Kevin Bludso. Photography Copyright © 2022 by Eric Wolfinger. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.”

Kevin Bludso (right) met business partner and co-author Noah Galuten when the former was working for Eater LA and came to help out in the Compton kitchen. Photo by Eric Wolfinger. 

Kevin Bludso recalls growing up in Compton and summers learning barbecue in Texas with his grandmother in “Bludso’s BBQ Cookbook.” Photo courtesy of Ten Speed Press.

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