Dee Jays
 Weirton, West Virginia        Date of Visit  11/13/15          http://deejaysbbqribs.com  

A little backstory, been to Dee Jays once before. It’s been 14 years. We talked about it on a pretty regular basis throughout those 14 years. It all started in culinary school. As many of the only-for-the-party students had disappeared and we reduced into clusters of more serious folk I met a strange mix of genetic expression. Closer to seven feet tall than six, he was big in everyway. You had to watch your pans closely cause the cook tops would shake while he was walking around the kitchen. Think T-Rex from Jurassic Park. At the top of the mountain, plop a huge head with the face of twelve year old and you have the whole package.
 

One day he starts telling me about this rib place. Didn’t think I could trust him, just met him. Plus, Shrek hadn’t come out in theaters yet and I didn’t know you could trust an ogre. I thought maybe he was trying to lure me to a secluded spot where other tree people would end up dining on MY ribs. Then one of my pastry chef instructors joined the conversation. “You talkin’ about Dee Jays? He’s right you have to go.”

Chef said

…when you get there and see the building…don’t let that stop you.
…when you get inside and see a bunch of paper parrots and other S*&% hanging from the ceiling…don’t let that stop you.
…no matter what you see on the menu, order the super rack…it not only has length and width, it has height.
…they are going to bring you a salad with three leaves of iceburg lettuce and one shred of carrot, don’t let that stop you.
…they are going to bring you a basket of cheap pasty white bread with cups of nothing like butter, don’t let that stop you.
…wait for the ribs, its worth it.

It was.

After a ridiculous hiatus we are back, with Shrek himself again. The old building has long been replaced with a much more sound, clean and ever expanding space to serve ribs. They have a lot on the menu…(onion ring loaf, fried zucchini, mussels, wings, spinach and artichoke dip, jalapeño poppers, fried cheese, tater skins, sausage stuffed banana peppers and fried pickles, soups, salads, lunch specials, sandwiches, burgers, seafood, steaks) We had none of that. I don’t know anyone who has.

Steph went with the single but everything else was the same. Ribs, salad, skins with everything, cause that’s what you do. They have clearly stepped up their bread and salad game along with the building. The salad actually has things in it and is awash in a pretty serious ranch dressing. The bread has some texture and flavor, they even have crackers.
 

Then there’s the business. Baby back ribs. I’ve had a few over the years and these are really well done. They start off with bones that pack a lot of meat, particularly for a baby back cut and trim them perfectly. I’ve never had a morsel of nasty show up in a bite. Exceptionally smoked over hickory, there is a balance to the smoke, which works so well with the pork but you don’t even really notice it until you’re burping it up three hours later. The ribs would be considered a little over by KCBS but they maintain great texture and there’s no hint of mushiness. Their sauce is an acidic tomato based version with just a flash of kick. Not my fav by far, but a mop over the hot super meaty ribs isn’t a problem at all. Make a wall of those on one side of the plate and load the rest with thin tater skins filled with an earnestly salty cheese sauce, good and plentiful bits o bacon and a cup of sour cream and you have the super rack of happiness. Even better, the super rack means midnight ribs so you can wake up at 4 o’clock still burping up smoky awesome. Excuse me…but that’s living. Good to see ya, Big Country.
 

Super Rack Glory
 

Even The Single Rack Is Enormous
 

But The Super Has Two Layers Of Bone Studded Valhalla
 

The Sauce Is Fine
 

But The Taters Are Fabulous