The Rib Cage

When you're hiring someone to cook ribs to order, speed and consistency are non-negotiable, but so is wood choice and temperature management. The Rib Cage has to execute: meat selection that doesn't vary week to week, a smoke or heat regimen that works in Cape Town's variable coastal weather, timing that means ribs leave the kitchen ready rather than still cooking in their container. Poor rib operations fail on either end—rushed meat or meat that's been sitting. Good ones understand the difference between smoking low and slow versus finishing hot, how long a rib actually stays good after it leaves heat, and how to pack it so moisture and smoke flavour stay in rather than steaming out. That's the competence that separates a place worth ordering from repeatedly and one that fades.