We have been living in Apple Valley for several months now and Pauline seems to remind me about once a week how much she is craving ribs. She has told me on several occasions that she has heard that the Rack Shack in Burnsville is really good.
Now I have driven by the Rack Shack several times running errands and chaffeuring kids from place to place. The location is a small strip mall and it looks rather plain. I had been avoiding going to the Rack Shack for one reason and one reason only... I have become a BBQ snob.
I have been to rib fest and to all sorts of great places that claim to have the best BBQ ribs, but after enjoying the Arthur Bryant experience in Kansas City, there is a very large gap between my favorite ribs and my second favorite. That is until now.
The Rack Shack has some amazing ribs and they are not even what the place is famous for. The Rack Shack is known for a meal called "The Hobo" and "The Hobo Challenge". The Hobo is a skillet full of meat and sides. The meal starts with a smoked potato served with one helping of each of the seven sides they offer (slaw, tatar salad, BBQ beans, corn bake, corn bread, fried and their famous cheesy mac). Then if that is not enough they top it off with pulled pork and brisket. The challenge is to eat THREE of those bad boys in 30 minutes and you win yourself a $100.00 gift card to the Rack Shack and a t-shirt.
Pauline and I decided to have the full rack of ribs with two sides. We chose corn bake and BBQ beans for sides and we both had a Summit Extra Pale Ale. The corn bake was good, but left no lasting impression on either of us. The BBQ beans were sweet and tasty and had great flavors and texture.
The ribs are what would make me come back. They are rubbed with the Rack Shacks special blend and slow smoked for up to 48 hours. The formula works folks. The ribs were absolutely fantastic without any sauce at all.
We had to try the sauces though. Pauline and I started with the St Paulie Sauce and Kansas City Spice. The St Paulie Sauce was mild while the Kansas City Spice had great kick. It was spicy enough for me to get a little sweat on the brow. But that wasn't even close to the hottest they had.
We decided to venture a little further and pulled the Georgia Sticky and Memphis Sweet from the shelf. The Georgia Sticky was a simple brown sugar and mustard (tasted like some honey too) while the Memphis Sweet blew my socks off. It was a perfect combination of smokey, sweet and spicy.
In summary all I can say is if you are ever in the south Metro, you have to stop at The Rack Shack and enjoy the great ribs sides and sauces.