21st annual Great American Rib Cook-off and Music Festival is back downtown for Memorial Day

CLEVELAND - The sweet smell of ribs fills the downtown Cleveland air calling the hungry to the Flats.

The Great American Rib Cook-off and Music Festival is back for the 21st year. The grills are fired up kicking off the summer barbeque season. Ten professional grilling teams are battling for the best ribs in America and the greatest sauce in America. The B-52s, Todd Rungren, Michael Stanley and others will perform on stage throughout the weekend.

We went behind the scenes to get griller Dan Johnson’s secret to fall-off-the-bone ribs.

"When I grew up on a farm I noticed that a hog wallows on the right side, I don't cook that side, I cook the left side that tender side and I leave the right side for my competition and in addition to that I’ve got spice that I put on it that permeates the meat to make it real tender. I cook it low and slow with hickory wood, you can take your teeth out and eat it," said Johnson.

The cook off runs the entire weekend through Memorial Day at the Jacobs Pavilion and the Nautica Complex on the west bank of the Flats.