In 2001, Oscar and Olga were getting restless: Retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. So they tired to buy the place back, but the owner initially didn’t want to sell. The Worms started a different restaurant, but soon Bekker’s became available again, so they bought it, too.
The cooking process is similarly complicated – the ribs are baked uncovered for an hour and a half, then in a foil tent full of apple juice for an further hour and a half, then uncovered again for 15 minutes “to help them dry out”, and finally, for half an hour generously brushed with barbecue sauce. Sacrilege perhaps, but we find the rub overpoweringly spicy – I’m pretty sure it’s pork under there, but frankly, it could be anything. My flatmate, something of an rib aficionado by this point in the evening, suggests it would have been nice to give the barbecue sauce more time to caramelise as well. As with the Leiths recipe, however, the period under foil has helped to keep them nice and moist – shame there’s no finishing sizzle in Jamie’s method.
Rub pork shoulder liberally with barbecue dry rub. Place shoulder onto hot smoker. Every 45 minutes, liberally mop pork shoulder with sauce for first four hours. After the first four hours, place the shoulder into a tin foil lasagna tray and mop liberally. Add a little chicken broth and cover with tin foil. Place back into smoker and cook slow and low for a further 8-10 hours making sure to maintain cooker temperature of 220F (110C).
Heat olive oil in a medium saucepot, sweat onions and garlic over medium heat until translucent. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for another ten minutes. Strain and cool.
In 1978, Dale Worm was ready to retire, and arranged to sell all his barbecue equipment to one of his managers, a man with the last name of Becker who wanted to start his own restaurant.
Shortly before the place opened, Becker pulled out of the deal, so Dale enlisted the help of his son Oscar Worm, who was living in Texas. Oscar returned to San Diego to run the new place. The signs were already made: Bekker’s Bar BQ.