It's been a busy month of May. Cooked two events, the first being Smoke in the Valley in Green Lane, Pennsylvania. Q Haven took 2nd place in chicken, ninth in ribs and was 15th overall for the contest. Not the finish we were looking for but I suppose you can't win them all. The weather was great, and we spent the weekend surrounded by friends, which was a bonus.
After a week off it was time for the Roc City Ribfest in Rochester, NY. We have always heard what a great event this is but had never made it up there before. The event is always Memorial Day weekend and we always seemed to have something come up that kept us away. The festival certainly lived up to its billing, and we had a blast. Got a 4th place call in Brisket out of 57 teams, along with tenth place pork to finish 9th overall. Our chicken hit a very low scoring table, and if it had scored where it usually does the overall result would have been much different.
As of now, we only have one event on the books in June, the Sun BBQ Fest at Mohegan Sun Casino June 13-14. We cooked this event last year and also vended BBQ, and we plan to do the same this year too. Should be a great time.
Monday, June 01, 2015
Monday, April 20, 2015
Ridgewood BBQ
Visited Ridgewood BBQ today in Bluff City TN. We were in the area for the Beistol NASCAR races and stopped by on our way out of town. We shared the beef platter and a pulled pork sandwich. Smoky flavor and a tangy sauce. Here's the beef platter.
The meat appears to be smoked and later cut really thin with a slicer and reheated on a griddle. We also really enjoyed the sweet tea and the blue cheese dip.
The smokehouse.
Had a nice stop, grabbed a bottle of sauce to go too. Good times.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Staten Island Grand Champs
It was really good to be out there again. It helped to have nice weather and a good spot away from the peoples choice madness. Really allowed us to focus and have a good cook.
Next up is Green Lane PA in a few weeks.
2nd place ribs.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Here We Are In 2015
I know I said I wasn't going to post on here anymore. Well, I lied.
The 2015 season will be our tenth on the BBQ circuit. I can't believe that I have been cooking competition BBQ for more than 20 percent of my life. There have been a lot of great times, and plenty of lowlights too. We have won five KCBS grand championships, two grilling grand championships, cooked the Jack Daniel's World Invitational BBQ three times and been called to the stage each time. It's been a fun ride so far.
I have seen so many teams come and go over these last ten years. Some were very successful and just decided for their own reasons that they just didn't want to do it anymore. Some were just a train wreck and never figured out what it's all about. Some transitioned into the business of BBQ, which makes it harder to get out there and compete. I really miss seeing some of those who have moved on, some I'm happy they're not around any more. But we keep on going.
If I was going to walk away, I think this last year would have pushed me to do it. It was a tough year for us on a personal and professional level. My real job has become more and more difficult, and various factors with our living situation had become a huge distraction.
We got decent calls during the BBQ season but struggled at times. We finally win a big contest in September, taking grand champion of a contest in Allentown, PA and winning $3,250. On paper. The organizer stiffed us, the other winners and pretty much anyone he could fleece. As of this writing we have collected $325 of those winnings, and that only came after the media jumped on the story and us threatening legal action. We probably will have to sue to get the rest of the money. But the good news is that the contest is in the Jack draw, so that's something.
Many frustrations. But I have no interest in walking away.
There are a few reasons. I enjoy the travel, and some of the people we see out there. Since we moved closer to New York we have been cooking more Mid-Atlantic than New England. That has been a nice change for us, as we have met a lot of cool people on teams from the region. Also, I left the New England Barbecue Society board last year on not the best of terms, so not seeing some people who drove me to walk away has not been such a bad thing. And I really do enjoy a road trip, and BBQ gives us plenty of opportunity for that.
How many things in life are you going to be good at? Through a lot of practice and cooking dozens of contests, we usually can expect to have decent results. While we are not one of those top teams that expects to win every event, we always have a puncher's chance when we high step into town and have proven we can win against a strong field of teams. If you're good at something and you still enjoy it, why quit? For a few years I have had the discussion about packing it in with myself many times, and have determined that I just don't want to quit.
So now what?
In the short term, I need to throw a new floor in our trailer before the first contest, which will be Staten Island in early April. I have stayed in game shape cooking for my brother's restaurant, Le Jardin du Roi in Chappaqua, NY. They're a French restaurant, but more and more people are coming in for the ribs, burnt ends and other BBQ items my brother and I have been cooking for them. It's been a great partnership, and is continuing to grow. Stop in for some BBQ, it's not exactly our competition food but most of the elements are there. lejardinchappaqua.com or on Facebook.
Longer term, we have pretty much our usual season planned. Last year we cooked ten contests, which tied the most we have ever cooked in a year. This year we will probably do about the same.
So far the plan for 2015 is Staten Island, Green Lane PA, Roc City Ribfest, Mohegan Sun, Harpoon, Sam's Club Harrisburg, possibly New London and definitely Bear Smokehouse in Hartford. That gets us into September. We also have a trip to visit family in Tennessee planned for April, where I am taking Max to the NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway. And it looks like my brother and I will be road tripping to the Grateful Dead's final shows in Chicago on the July 4th weekend. Looking like a real busy year. Who knows, maybe I will post again.
The 2015 season will be our tenth on the BBQ circuit. I can't believe that I have been cooking competition BBQ for more than 20 percent of my life. There have been a lot of great times, and plenty of lowlights too. We have won five KCBS grand championships, two grilling grand championships, cooked the Jack Daniel's World Invitational BBQ three times and been called to the stage each time. It's been a fun ride so far.
I have seen so many teams come and go over these last ten years. Some were very successful and just decided for their own reasons that they just didn't want to do it anymore. Some were just a train wreck and never figured out what it's all about. Some transitioned into the business of BBQ, which makes it harder to get out there and compete. I really miss seeing some of those who have moved on, some I'm happy they're not around any more. But we keep on going.
If I was going to walk away, I think this last year would have pushed me to do it. It was a tough year for us on a personal and professional level. My real job has become more and more difficult, and various factors with our living situation had become a huge distraction.
We got decent calls during the BBQ season but struggled at times. We finally win a big contest in September, taking grand champion of a contest in Allentown, PA and winning $3,250. On paper. The organizer stiffed us, the other winners and pretty much anyone he could fleece. As of this writing we have collected $325 of those winnings, and that only came after the media jumped on the story and us threatening legal action. We probably will have to sue to get the rest of the money. But the good news is that the contest is in the Jack draw, so that's something.
Many frustrations. But I have no interest in walking away.
There are a few reasons. I enjoy the travel, and some of the people we see out there. Since we moved closer to New York we have been cooking more Mid-Atlantic than New England. That has been a nice change for us, as we have met a lot of cool people on teams from the region. Also, I left the New England Barbecue Society board last year on not the best of terms, so not seeing some people who drove me to walk away has not been such a bad thing. And I really do enjoy a road trip, and BBQ gives us plenty of opportunity for that.
How many things in life are you going to be good at? Through a lot of practice and cooking dozens of contests, we usually can expect to have decent results. While we are not one of those top teams that expects to win every event, we always have a puncher's chance when we high step into town and have proven we can win against a strong field of teams. If you're good at something and you still enjoy it, why quit? For a few years I have had the discussion about packing it in with myself many times, and have determined that I just don't want to quit.
So now what?
In the short term, I need to throw a new floor in our trailer before the first contest, which will be Staten Island in early April. I have stayed in game shape cooking for my brother's restaurant, Le Jardin du Roi in Chappaqua, NY. They're a French restaurant, but more and more people are coming in for the ribs, burnt ends and other BBQ items my brother and I have been cooking for them. It's been a great partnership, and is continuing to grow. Stop in for some BBQ, it's not exactly our competition food but most of the elements are there. lejardinchappaqua.com or on Facebook.
Longer term, we have pretty much our usual season planned. Last year we cooked ten contests, which tied the most we have ever cooked in a year. This year we will probably do about the same.
So far the plan for 2015 is Staten Island, Green Lane PA, Roc City Ribfest, Mohegan Sun, Harpoon, Sam's Club Harrisburg, possibly New London and definitely Bear Smokehouse in Hartford. That gets us into September. We also have a trip to visit family in Tennessee planned for April, where I am taking Max to the NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway. And it looks like my brother and I will be road tripping to the Grateful Dead's final shows in Chicago on the July 4th weekend. Looking like a real busy year. Who knows, maybe I will post again.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
2013, A Season
The 2013 competition BBQ season is in the books. Q Haven had a respectable year, and even qualified for the Jack Daniel's World Invitational BBQ. But overall, the season was a step backwards for us.
By far 2012 was our best season. Counting grilling contests, we won three grand championships, one reserve grand, and came close at several other contests. I had certainly hoped this would carry over into 2013 and there was really no reason why it shouldn't have. While we finished towards the top at nearly every contest, we only won once, and at the two biggest money events of the year we laid colossal eggs.
The season started with a KCBS contest in Staten Island, NY. Decided to rough it at this event, didn't bring the camper because I didn't want to tow in through NYC. It was just me and J Ambrogio, who volunteered to help out since Sheila couldn't make it. The highlight was first place brisket, the low points were the bad weather and cooking on a hill. Finished 5th overall.
Next up, Green Lane, Pennsylvania. Really tough field, one great call for 2nd place pork. Finished 6th overall. This is a great event but the bad weather really made things tough, many had to be towed out of the flooded field! I slammed the Expedition into 4WD and blasted through the mud, getting out without needing a tow.
Up next was our last trip to the Greenwich Town Party. While the concept of a contest organizer giving teams $1,000 to cook food for a BBQ people's choice with $12,000 in prize money looks great on paper, losing to a local restaurant that cooked pizzas and Asian wings was a little too much for me this time. No more GTP for us.
The confidence began to rise the following weekend at the Monadnock Up In Smoke BBQ Festival in Swanzy, New Hampshire. This was a great event with endless possibilities for the future. We got calls all over the place in both the grilling and the BBQ contests. In grilling, we took second in dessert, third in wings and 5th in the bacon category to finish fourth overall. In BBQ, we took first place ribs, sixth in chicken and seventh in pork to wind up third overall. Our friends Jared and Suzanne Huizenga killed it at this contest, winning both grilling and BBQ. If you are not going to win, it's always great when your friends do.
Took a few weeks off to cook some catering jobs (somebody has to pay for all this ridiculousness) before heading up to Lake Placid NY for the I Love BBQ Festival. This was one of the first contests we ever cooked in 2006, and we always come back up to this beautiful mountain town whenever we can. Really glad we did this year, as we took 3rd in pork, fifth in ribs and sixth in both chicken and brisket to take grand champion honors. This win got us back to the Jack Daniel's World Invitational BBQ for the second year in a row and the third time in our seven years of competition BBQ.
A couple of weeks later we jumped right back into it, cooking the Pork in the Park contest close to home in Stamford, CT. This ended up being a ton of fun. We were inside a "courtyard of friends," made up of JC's Wicked BBQ, Diva Q, Stubborn Bull, Fire and Spice, BBQ Brethren and more. We finished 5th with yet another call in pork, 3rd place.........
And that's where I stopped writing in January. It's now May 14th. I hate to leave work unfinished so I'll wrap it up.
We cooked Harpoon, Sam's Club in Long Island, New London and Atlantic City before heading back to the Jack. Got good calls at all, but no wins. Bombed AC, finished towards the bottom, which was like a kick in the nuts. The Jack in October was fun but difficult, as it was just me, Sheila and Max with no helpers. We still got a call for 6th place Pork, 11th place Brisket and finished 22nd overall among the world's best 2013 teams.
The 2014 season is now upon us, we finished 6th out of 41 teams in Staten Island, and that's been our only contest of the year. We have all kinds of scheduling issues this spring, but have around 10 events on the schedule through October.
I may never post on this blog again. If not, thanks to all of you who have read it over the years. As you know social media has moved past blogs, and so have we. But I appreciate all of you who have read, commented and messaged me over the years. Even the insulting ones, some of those were my favorites. You can find us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram in the future, and of course at qhavenbbq.com. Peace and Love.
By far 2012 was our best season. Counting grilling contests, we won three grand championships, one reserve grand, and came close at several other contests. I had certainly hoped this would carry over into 2013 and there was really no reason why it shouldn't have. While we finished towards the top at nearly every contest, we only won once, and at the two biggest money events of the year we laid colossal eggs.
The season started with a KCBS contest in Staten Island, NY. Decided to rough it at this event, didn't bring the camper because I didn't want to tow in through NYC. It was just me and J Ambrogio, who volunteered to help out since Sheila couldn't make it. The highlight was first place brisket, the low points were the bad weather and cooking on a hill. Finished 5th overall.
Next up, Green Lane, Pennsylvania. Really tough field, one great call for 2nd place pork. Finished 6th overall. This is a great event but the bad weather really made things tough, many had to be towed out of the flooded field! I slammed the Expedition into 4WD and blasted through the mud, getting out without needing a tow.
Up next was our last trip to the Greenwich Town Party. While the concept of a contest organizer giving teams $1,000 to cook food for a BBQ people's choice with $12,000 in prize money looks great on paper, losing to a local restaurant that cooked pizzas and Asian wings was a little too much for me this time. No more GTP for us.
The confidence began to rise the following weekend at the Monadnock Up In Smoke BBQ Festival in Swanzy, New Hampshire. This was a great event with endless possibilities for the future. We got calls all over the place in both the grilling and the BBQ contests. In grilling, we took second in dessert, third in wings and 5th in the bacon category to finish fourth overall. In BBQ, we took first place ribs, sixth in chicken and seventh in pork to wind up third overall. Our friends Jared and Suzanne Huizenga killed it at this contest, winning both grilling and BBQ. If you are not going to win, it's always great when your friends do.
Took a few weeks off to cook some catering jobs (somebody has to pay for all this ridiculousness) before heading up to Lake Placid NY for the I Love BBQ Festival. This was one of the first contests we ever cooked in 2006, and we always come back up to this beautiful mountain town whenever we can. Really glad we did this year, as we took 3rd in pork, fifth in ribs and sixth in both chicken and brisket to take grand champion honors. This win got us back to the Jack Daniel's World Invitational BBQ for the second year in a row and the third time in our seven years of competition BBQ.
A couple of weeks later we jumped right back into it, cooking the Pork in the Park contest close to home in Stamford, CT. This ended up being a ton of fun. We were inside a "courtyard of friends," made up of JC's Wicked BBQ, Diva Q, Stubborn Bull, Fire and Spice, BBQ Brethren and more. We finished 5th with yet another call in pork, 3rd place.........
And that's where I stopped writing in January. It's now May 14th. I hate to leave work unfinished so I'll wrap it up.
We cooked Harpoon, Sam's Club in Long Island, New London and Atlantic City before heading back to the Jack. Got good calls at all, but no wins. Bombed AC, finished towards the bottom, which was like a kick in the nuts. The Jack in October was fun but difficult, as it was just me, Sheila and Max with no helpers. We still got a call for 6th place Pork, 11th place Brisket and finished 22nd overall among the world's best 2013 teams.
The 2014 season is now upon us, we finished 6th out of 41 teams in Staten Island, and that's been our only contest of the year. We have all kinds of scheduling issues this spring, but have around 10 events on the schedule through October.
I may never post on this blog again. If not, thanks to all of you who have read it over the years. As you know social media has moved past blogs, and so have we. But I appreciate all of you who have read, commented and messaged me over the years. Even the insulting ones, some of those were my favorites. You can find us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram in the future, and of course at qhavenbbq.com. Peace and Love.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Q Haven BBQ Catering
Q Haven's schedule is filling up fast for the 2013 season. Q Haven is available for BBQ catering in Connecticut and southern New York. For more information about having Q Haven's championship BBQ at your next party or event contact Ted Lorson by e-mail at tedlorson@gmail.com.
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Dinosaur BBQ In CT
Heard that Dinosaur BBQ is now open in Stamford. I have previously visited their locations in Syracuse and in Troy NY and enjoyed the food. I especially liked the fried green tomatoes. Since Sheila works in Stamford a visit is certainly coming soon.
http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/locations/stamford/default.aspx
http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/locations/stamford/default.aspx
Thursday, November 29, 2012
The 2012 Season In Review
Since I took a sabbatical from blogging for most of the 2012 season, I wanted to give a recap of the season, which was by far Q Haven's best since entering the competition circuit in 2006.
We kicked off the year with the New England Barbecue Society sanctioned Snowshoe Grilling Challenge on March tenth, which is the annual beginning of the competition season in New England. We started the season off by scoring second place in the burger category, ninth in strip steak and eighth overall.
Next up was Grilling on the Bay in Brooklyn, New York two Saturdays later, which was also a NEBS event and ended up being Q Haven's first grand championship of any kind since 2006. We took first place in the vegetable category with stuffed jalapenos, and also got calls for sixth place chicken wings and ribs and eighth place chef's choice to win grand championship honors. It was awesome to finally win a contest, after cooking over 50 events between wins.
We had more than a month off after Brooklyn, with our next event coming in May and Smoke in the Valley in Green Lane, Pennsylvania. This was our first KCBS cook of the season, and our first since reworking the entire cooking program over the winter. While we did not get any calls, our brisket was 13th and all four categories were in the top 23 in a field of 54 strong teams. We finished 17th overall. The bad news was that I forget that my slicing knife was in the dish water and I got a nasty cut, which required five stitches to close. However, this was a great event, and we will certainly return again in 2013.
This was followed by an unusual event we decided to cook, which was a people's choice contest at the Greenwich Town Party in our home state of Connecticut. The categories were chicken and pork, and the format called for teams cooking as much food as they wish, but it all must be cooked on site and served in tandem on a single plate. We finished third in pork and fourth in chicken, and did not miss winning either category by much, although we did win enough money to make it more than worth our while. However, our good friends at JC's Wicked BBQ won both categories and a cool six grand, so it was not a disappointment at all.
It was another few weeks before we cooked again, making the annual trip to the New Hampshire Rock-n-Ribfest in late June. We collected calls for third place brisket and ninth place ribs, finishing tenth overall. It was also the first contest I used a new chicken process, and at 27th place it didn't work out too well. But I learned a few things that served us extremely well in the next four contests. We finished fifth overall in grilling in New Hampshire, including first place in the burger category.
Then it all come together.
We cooked the Troy Pig Out in Troy, NY and took first place in chicken and brisket, fourth place pork and fifth place ribs to win our first KCBS grand championship since 2006. We also took custody of Victor, the large plastic pig that serves as the Troy traveling trophy. It was the first time Victor had not been owned by a Massachusetts team, and we were excited to bring him to Connecticut!
That's 2,257 days between KCBS victories for those of you scoring at home.
After a week off we headed to the Harpoon Championship of New England BBQ at their brewery in Windsor, VT. Q Haven's roll continued with another first place chicken, second place pork ribs, fourth place pork and sixth in brisket, and once again we were grand champions. Combined with a fourth place overall finish in grilling, strong vending sales and a great time with friends and family, this was by far the highlight of our season. It also guaranteed us an automatic invitation to the Jack Daniel's World Invitational BBQ in October. We finally made it back to the Jack!
Decided to try and ride the wave, and quickly signed up to cook the Battle of the BBQ Brethren in Manorville, Long Island NY. For the third straight event, we took first place in chicken. Also for the the third straight event, we took fourth place in pork. Also got called for third place brisket, but it was not quite enough to take out Matt Ragusa and Jacked Up BBQ, who took grand championship honors and we had to settle for reserve grand.
Two weeks later it was back to Long Island for the first round of the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour event. The top six teams would move on to the regional final in Virginia, and we made it with a fifth place overall finish. Also, we took first place chicken for the fourth straight contest.
We made it to the Sam's Club regional final in Chesapeake VA, but might as well had stayed home. We finished 25th overall out of 30 teams, including a dismal 29th place brisket. The only bright spot was a call for 7th place chicken. The other bright spot was that we had a really good time. It was just myself and my brother Cristiaan, and we had a nice trip. Enjoyed a beautiful late summer day in Rehoboth, Delaware on the drive down, then had fun hanging out with some of the teams. We had an especially interesting dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant with Tim Rohrs of Stubborn Bull BBQ, then got to watch him celebrate a strong 3rd place finish.
Our final event before the Jack was again in our home state of Connecticut, an event on the New London pier. We again had a great time, and again got to watch Stubborn Bull have a great day, as they were grand champions. We had a decent tune up before the Jack, getting calls for third place ribs and fifth place in both pork and brisket to finish 5th overall.
Then there was the Jack, where we got two calls and finished 18th overall, but I recently posted all about it and don't need to cover it further.
So what happened to turn the ship around?
Well, a few things. First and foremost, sponsorship. My brother Cristiaan's restaurant Le Jardin du Roi in Chappaqua NY stepped up as our sponsor in 2012. They have covered the cost of much of our meats, rubs and other supplies, which has been a huge help. It also helped to take Chris Hart's class, where I picked up a few tricks that certainly helped us take it to the next level. It also helped that Sheila changed jobs, and now has a lot more time and flexibility in the summer, allowing her to be there and to be focused a lot more than in years past.
So now what? Practicing in the cold, getting ready for 2013 is the winter plan.
We kicked off the year with the New England Barbecue Society sanctioned Snowshoe Grilling Challenge on March tenth, which is the annual beginning of the competition season in New England. We started the season off by scoring second place in the burger category, ninth in strip steak and eighth overall.
Next up was Grilling on the Bay in Brooklyn, New York two Saturdays later, which was also a NEBS event and ended up being Q Haven's first grand championship of any kind since 2006. We took first place in the vegetable category with stuffed jalapenos, and also got calls for sixth place chicken wings and ribs and eighth place chef's choice to win grand championship honors. It was awesome to finally win a contest, after cooking over 50 events between wins.
 |
| First Place Vegetables |
We had more than a month off after Brooklyn, with our next event coming in May and Smoke in the Valley in Green Lane, Pennsylvania. This was our first KCBS cook of the season, and our first since reworking the entire cooking program over the winter. While we did not get any calls, our brisket was 13th and all four categories were in the top 23 in a field of 54 strong teams. We finished 17th overall. The bad news was that I forget that my slicing knife was in the dish water and I got a nasty cut, which required five stitches to close. However, this was a great event, and we will certainly return again in 2013.
 |
| War Wound |
 |
| Greenwich Set Up |
It was another few weeks before we cooked again, making the annual trip to the New Hampshire Rock-n-Ribfest in late June. We collected calls for third place brisket and ninth place ribs, finishing tenth overall. It was also the first contest I used a new chicken process, and at 27th place it didn't work out too well. But I learned a few things that served us extremely well in the next four contests. We finished fifth overall in grilling in New Hampshire, including first place in the burger category.
 |
| Turn your head sideways |
We cooked the Troy Pig Out in Troy, NY and took first place in chicken and brisket, fourth place pork and fifth place ribs to win our first KCBS grand championship since 2006. We also took custody of Victor, the large plastic pig that serves as the Troy traveling trophy. It was the first time Victor had not been owned by a Massachusetts team, and we were excited to bring him to Connecticut!
That's 2,257 days between KCBS victories for those of you scoring at home.
After a week off we headed to the Harpoon Championship of New England BBQ at their brewery in Windsor, VT. Q Haven's roll continued with another first place chicken, second place pork ribs, fourth place pork and sixth in brisket, and once again we were grand champions. Combined with a fourth place overall finish in grilling, strong vending sales and a great time with friends and family, this was by far the highlight of our season. It also guaranteed us an automatic invitation to the Jack Daniel's World Invitational BBQ in October. We finally made it back to the Jack! |
| The Harpoon Team |
Two weeks later it was back to Long Island for the first round of the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour event. The top six teams would move on to the regional final in Virginia, and we made it with a fifth place overall finish. Also, we took first place chicken for the fourth straight contest.We made it to the Sam's Club regional final in Chesapeake VA, but might as well had stayed home. We finished 25th overall out of 30 teams, including a dismal 29th place brisket. The only bright spot was a call for 7th place chicken. The other bright spot was that we had a really good time. It was just myself and my brother Cristiaan, and we had a nice trip. Enjoyed a beautiful late summer day in Rehoboth, Delaware on the drive down, then had fun hanging out with some of the teams. We had an especially interesting dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant with Tim Rohrs of Stubborn Bull BBQ, then got to watch him celebrate a strong 3rd place finish.
Our final event before the Jack was again in our home state of Connecticut, an event on the New London pier. We again had a great time, and again got to watch Stubborn Bull have a great day, as they were grand champions. We had a decent tune up before the Jack, getting calls for third place ribs and fifth place in both pork and brisket to finish 5th overall.
Then there was the Jack, where we got two calls and finished 18th overall, but I recently posted all about it and don't need to cover it further.
So what happened to turn the ship around?
Well, a few things. First and foremost, sponsorship. My brother Cristiaan's restaurant Le Jardin du Roi in Chappaqua NY stepped up as our sponsor in 2012. They have covered the cost of much of our meats, rubs and other supplies, which has been a huge help. It also helped to take Chris Hart's class, where I picked up a few tricks that certainly helped us take it to the next level. It also helped that Sheila changed jobs, and now has a lot more time and flexibility in the summer, allowing her to be there and to be focused a lot more than in years past.
So now what? Practicing in the cold, getting ready for 2013 is the winter plan.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Big Bubba's BBQ Closed
Learned over the weekend that Big Bubba's BBQ at Mohegan Sun Casino is now closed. The sign at the entrance and on their web site says temporary, but my sources say this is because of financial reasons and is permanent. I reviewed Big Bubba's a couple times in this space and had a love-hate relationship with the place. It was decent BBQ in an area of Connecticut where there were no other decent BBQ options.
I hope the location stays as a BBQ restaurant when it reopens.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
The Jack 2012
Q Haven qualified for the Jack Daniels World Invitational BBQ in 2006 by winning our second contest we had ever cooked. Our fifth contest was the Jack. It all seemed too easy. This would be an annual journey for us.
Not so fast.
In 2007 we didn't win any contests. Almost won Harpoon in 2008, settled for reserve grand champion. Nothing in 2009. Nearly won the Connecticut auto-qualifier in 2010. Had a really tough year in 2011. After a particularly bad contest at Harvard in late 2011, I seriously contemplated quitting competition BBQ altogether. You can only work so hard without gaining the desired results for so long before deciding to find some other ways to spend weekends.
So I decided to take a different approach to things. After a lot of soul searching and hours of conversations with Sheila, I decided to stop being so stubborn and unwilling to make any changes and started to look at things differently. Between 2011 and 2012 we made a lot of life changes. Sheila got a new job that gives her much more flexibility in the summer. We moved back to the New Haven area, and I started doing a lot more cooking and catering with my brother's restaurant, Le Jardin du Roi in Chappaqua NY. They agreed to sponsor us in 2012, covering much of of our meat costs and providing a good deal of our supplies. I also took the Chris Hart class in February, as I wanted to open my mind to new ideas and processes. All of these things really set us up to have a better year.
We cooked Green Lane and New Hampshire and did ok, finishing 15th in Green Lane with no calls and tenth in Merrimack with a call for third place brisket. Then it all came together and we won the Troy Pig Out, and two weeks later we won Harpoon. Harpoon is an auto-qualifier as the only Vermont contest, so we knew that we were finally going back to the Jack!
All you need to do is go back in this blog to 2006 to see how wrong my approach was to the Jack that year. I had no clue what I was doing. So I immediately began planning to do it the right way. Put new tires on the truck and got it all tuned up. Shopped like crazy to find the best possible meat. Didn't worry about decorations, giving samples to the public, etc. Just wanted to cook the best possible food that I could and hope for the best. In the end, all we wanted really was a call.
I decided that the only ones who would be coming down with the team were myself, Sheila, my brother Cristiaan and Max, who is now four. For weeks before we left, every day he would ask me "are we leaving for Tennessee today Daddy?" He as excited to be making the trip and any of us.
The drive down was perfect, well nearly perfect. At one point we were stopped at a light somewhere in Tennessee and a woman opened her window and told me that the side door of the camper was open. Oops! It had apparently just happened, no damage, nothing lost. Aside from that, the weather was great and it was an easy, enjoyable ride. Arrived in Tullahoma Wednesday night. Arrived on site in Lynchburg Thursday morning, got some setup done, then took the Jack Daniel's distillery tour, which was great.
We had a hotel room in Tullahoma Thursday night as well. I made the decision early on to hotel it Wednesday and Thursday night, as our camper is very small and I felt that we all might kill each other if we had to live out of it four straight nights. There was a lot of partying going on Thursday night on site, but I decided that it was much better for us to be rested and fresh heading into the world championship event so I stuck to the script.
Friday, the real festivities got underway. Lunch at Miss Mary Bobo's, meat inspection, trimming and injecting. Then the parade came. The parade of teams is part of the tradition of the Jack. This is where the emotion of the whole journey finally caught up with me. I know it's just BBQ, but when you work so hard at a goal and it is finally realized, it's easy for the emotions to get the better of you. But I didn't cry.
Sheila and I had planned to go up to BBQ Hill for the cook's dinner after the parade, but I still had prep to do so we decided to skip it. I regret not making it up there, even though it is a pain to get a bus up to the hill, it is always overcrowded and nearly impossible to get a seat or a drink. It's part of the Jack experience, but in the end I decided that the cook was more important.
I have been doing pretty much the same thing all year when it comes to the cooking process, so overall things went smoothly. The brisket was looking great, as was the pork. Got a few hours of sleep, and got the ribs and chicken into the cooker on time in the morning.
BBQ day on Saturday was cold. That actually helped us because Max pretty much stayed in the camper all day watching DVDs, allowing us to really focus on the task at hand. I don't really care about the cold, living in the Northeast you get used to it.
The Jack Daniel's sauce category was first. I had practiced a few things in the weeks leading up to the contest, and overall I was pretty happy with the sauce I had mixed up. Next was cook's choice, where I decided to do beef short ribs with bacon cheddar potatoes. I had done well with short ribs in the past and decided to give them a shot. The dish looked great and got all 9's in appearance, but on a couple of the tasters I felt the meat was dry. The judges agreed, and it finished 30th.
I was worried about the chicken category from the start. Having to cook both white and dark meat is something different, and I didn't like how the wings I cooked came out at all. Chicken was 57th. Bummer. I wasn't totally thrilled with the ribs either, and they finished in the middle of the road in 36th. Brought eight racks of ribs with us and cooked four. Should have cooked the other four instead. Pork and brisket, I was much happier with. It was definitely the best pork I have ever cooked. The brisket burnt ends came out great.
Sheila handled the dessert category, and did chocolate chipolte cheesecake. I thought it looked and tasted great, and it came in 20th place. I am so proud of Sheila and the effort she put into it, she really wanted to do well for the team and did not disappoint.
As awards approached, it got colder and colder. We decided to get inside near one of the heaters, knowing the awards would take over an hour. Naturally, as the awards were starting Max had to use the bathroom so I scooped him up and ran for the port-o-potties. Made it back in time for the sauce category. Good thing, because we got what we were looking for. A call for 5th place sauce. A Jack trophy! Awesome.
No calls in chicken and ribs, then we were called again for tenth place pork. It was the greatest feeling to get called twice at the Jack. The announcer even introduced Max and he waved to the crowd, it was a great moment for us that I won't soon forget. We just missed a third call, as brisket was 11th place. In the end, we finished 18th overall. At most contests this would not be an acceptable result for me, but for the Jack I was thrilled. In 2006 we finished 44th and the Jack, and all I really wanted was to finish a lot higher than that. Mission accomplished.
Saturday night was fun, but with news of a hurricane bearing down on our home state of Connecticut there was not a whole lot of time to relax. We rolled out of Lynchburg Sunday morning and drove straight home, stopping for gas and for lunch at the Waffle House (Sheila and Cristiaan had never been). Got home at around seven Monday morning, woke up at around 2PM, lost power 45 minutes later. It was out for more than four days. Welcome home.
Looking back, the Jack was a great reward for what has been by far Q Haven's best year on the competition circuit. I hope it is an annual trip for us, but I know first hand how hard it is to get there and will not take anything for granted. Who knows, it may take another six years to get back, but I will keep trying. The trip leaves me more excited than ever about cooking competition BBQ, and the Snowshoe cannot come soon enough.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Saratoga Springs
As soon as I pulled out of the Harpoon parking lot I began thinking about what to do next. I knew there was a Friday-Saturday contest five days later in Saratoga Springs, with a relatively small field and $12,000 in prize money. Decided, why not make the drive up there and throw a dart at the dartboard? Figured that even on a bad day we could win enough of the prize money to cover fuel costs. Unfortunately, all we won was gas money.
Since my work days off are Friday-Saturday, didn't have to worry about getting time off, which is helpful. I can get Sundays off but don't like to dump that on my bosses on short notice.
Got to the site, which was a harness racing track and casino. Looked like a nice place, although I didn't explore at all.
As soon as I got the trailer unpacked and the basic set up done, the skies opened up. Naturally. Fortunately it poured for 15 minutes and and was great the rest of the two days.
The contest site itself was great. It was the first time I have ever met the organizer Arlie Bragg, but I knew going in that he runs some serious events. I wish more organizers had come up to see how he runs things, as the guy clearly knows how to take care of the teams. There was awesome power, as my air conditioner was on from the moment we arrived until I pulled out to leave and we had no problems. He also built a fenced in area with a full restaurant dish washing station, a commercial ice cooler filled with bags and bags of ice, and ash dump exclusively for the teams. As contest setups went this guy is first class.
Our site.
We were set up with Meat@Slims next to us and Sean Keever and Big Guns BBQ behind us. Couldn't have asked for better neighbors.
Sheila had to work all weekend and did not make the trip, but we made some basic garnish boxes and I brought them to the site, where they were transferred to the actual boxes. This was our first time trying this method and we will definitely do this again. On turn in day, my sisters Jenny and Kathleen fine tuned the boxes, including doing touch up with parsley I have been growing on my patio. The home grown stuff is really nice, next year I will be raising an entire parsley garden.
But our turn in boxes looked great. Best appearance scores we have ever had, all but three scores on the entire sheet were 8 or 9. A lot of that had to do with the overall massive scores that were being handed out at the event, but I feel we deserved the high scores.
Anyway, on to the meat. Chicken I thought came out decent, but was a little on the salty side. It took 7th place call out of 16 teams. Ribs were next, I thought they were good, but they were also 7th place. With such a small field I knew I was screwed as far as winning the contest and the $3,000 first place. Bummer.
Anyway, pork was a disaster at Harpoon, and I was determined not to let that happen again. Another call, this time 6th place.
Final category was brisket, and while it was decent, I just wasn't happy with the results, but it was good enough for 4th place. Although the category score was a 173, which at most contests is good enough to win the category. But this was a weekend of massive scores, the trademark of upstate New York contests.
So in the end we were 5th overall, and walked away with a mere $325 of the $12,000 prize purse. It's ok though, sometimes you go to an event just to have fun and wind up winning some dough, other times you go with the goal of trying and win money and end up having a great time. That's what happened here.
Was the first time that I was able to get a massage after turn ins. Was a nice way to end what was a a fun weekend of BBQ.
Since my work days off are Friday-Saturday, didn't have to worry about getting time off, which is helpful. I can get Sundays off but don't like to dump that on my bosses on short notice.
Got to the site, which was a harness racing track and casino. Looked like a nice place, although I didn't explore at all.
As soon as I got the trailer unpacked and the basic set up done, the skies opened up. Naturally. Fortunately it poured for 15 minutes and and was great the rest of the two days.
The contest site itself was great. It was the first time I have ever met the organizer Arlie Bragg, but I knew going in that he runs some serious events. I wish more organizers had come up to see how he runs things, as the guy clearly knows how to take care of the teams. There was awesome power, as my air conditioner was on from the moment we arrived until I pulled out to leave and we had no problems. He also built a fenced in area with a full restaurant dish washing station, a commercial ice cooler filled with bags and bags of ice, and ash dump exclusively for the teams. As contest setups went this guy is first class.
Our site.
We were set up with Meat@Slims next to us and Sean Keever and Big Guns BBQ behind us. Couldn't have asked for better neighbors.
Sheila had to work all weekend and did not make the trip, but we made some basic garnish boxes and I brought them to the site, where they were transferred to the actual boxes. This was our first time trying this method and we will definitely do this again. On turn in day, my sisters Jenny and Kathleen fine tuned the boxes, including doing touch up with parsley I have been growing on my patio. The home grown stuff is really nice, next year I will be raising an entire parsley garden.
But our turn in boxes looked great. Best appearance scores we have ever had, all but three scores on the entire sheet were 8 or 9. A lot of that had to do with the overall massive scores that were being handed out at the event, but I feel we deserved the high scores.
Anyway, on to the meat. Chicken I thought came out decent, but was a little on the salty side. It took 7th place call out of 16 teams. Ribs were next, I thought they were good, but they were also 7th place. With such a small field I knew I was screwed as far as winning the contest and the $3,000 first place. Bummer.
Anyway, pork was a disaster at Harpoon, and I was determined not to let that happen again. Another call, this time 6th place.
Final category was brisket, and while it was decent, I just wasn't happy with the results, but it was good enough for 4th place. Although the category score was a 173, which at most contests is good enough to win the category. But this was a weekend of massive scores, the trademark of upstate New York contests.
So in the end we were 5th overall, and walked away with a mere $325 of the $12,000 prize purse. It's ok though, sometimes you go to an event just to have fun and wind up winning some dough, other times you go with the goal of trying and win money and end up having a great time. That's what happened here.
Was the first time that I was able to get a massage after turn ins. Was a nice way to end what was a a fun weekend of BBQ.
Monday, August 08, 2011
Harpoon
The weekend of July 23rd and 24th brought the Harpoon New England Championship BBQ in Windsor, VT, one of our favorite weekends of the year. We always have a great time at Harpoon, and this year was no different.
Arrived around noon after an uneventful drive. Usually the drive up to Harpoon is relatively easy, a clear shot up Interstate-91, but the states of Massachusetts and Vermont decided to add a layer of challenge this year. Numerous bridges are being repaired, and they have them closed down to one narrow lane, with around an inch clearance on each side of the trailer. Amazed I did not clip the trailer at least once, it was really close.
Cristiaan and I got on site around noon Friday. Went to lunch at the brewery with Mike and Kris of Lakeside Smokers, was great to see them again as always. Great lunch, and afterwards members of our team for the weekend started to trickle in. Some of pour longtime friends were coming up for the weekend, including John Kozub, who introduced me to my wife and was in our wedding. Also there were Bill Bonato and his wife Sue, who we have been friends with for a long time. They were coming to enjoy the event for the first time and help us with vending.
My Mom came out too, her first contest since my father passed away last October. It was great to have her at a contest again.
KCBS is Saturday at Harpoon, and NEBS grilling is Sunday. Teams are also allowed to sell their food at Harpoon, which is good and bad. The good is that you can make money, the bad is that it can distract you from the reason you are there in the first place, which is to try and win the contest.
Overall the KCBS contest cook went ok. I have been working on some changes to my chicken recipe, as it has always scored decently but has never been first place. Clearly my changes have gone the other way, as chicken was 20th place out of 40. Back to the drawing board.
I was determined to cook better ribs than our last time out at New Hampshire, where they were 33rd out of 39. That was completely unacceptable to me. Harpoon ribs came out much better, and were 5th.
Pork was where I really screwed up. Distracted by the vending and overall zoo around me, I neglected the pork. It was done too early and all I really had to turn in was mush. It finished 24th, and I was shocked that it finished that high.
Brisket was another story. I normally only cook one brisket at contests but at Harpoon I cooked two, knowing I could sell it all. I cut into the first one and it just wasn't exactly where I had hoped, so I tried the second one and it was right on. The judges confirmed this, and it was second place.
Overall, we were 6th for the contest. Our good friends at Lakeside Smokers won, which was awesome. If we are not going to win I want them to, and they nailed it. Nailed the whole weekend, as they also won the grilling contest the next day.
Think I am going to leave the discussion about the grilling contest out completely. No calls, and a pedestrian finish of 15th overall. I did not put my best foot forward here and it showed. I think the food was ok but you really need to take it to the next level when it is open garnish and such a strong field of teams. Also, I stubbornly refuse to cook a dessert for chef's choice, even though I know that it what has been hitting.
12th place wings.
Cooked ABT's for chef's choice. A disappointing 16th place.
But overall it was a great time, especially cooling off in the river after a long day Saturday. Truly a highlight of the weekend for me.
Harpoon was great as always. While we did not win the ultimate prize, we got a couple of good calls and had a blast with some great friends. To me, that's what it is all about.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Southwick
Really falling behind with my blogging these days. I'll catch up eventually.
Made a last minute decision to cook Grill-n-Daze, a one day grilling event in Southwick, Massachusetts on July 17th. I originally was just going to go up and vend, but when the organizer told me that I wouldn't have to pay the vending fee if I competed, I decided why not just enter the contest as well.
I originally thought the contest was on Saturday. However, a few days before I was informed that the event was actually Sunday. This would not have been a problem if I did not have to work that Sunday, and would never be able to get it off on such short notice. It just meant that I had to cook all day and write all night. Needless to say it was an extremely long night.
Mostly this event is cooked by locals. I arrived Saturday afternoon, just me and Max. At first I was a little confused about the contest location, because there was not a sole there. But I was in the right place. Bob of Smokey O's came down and we went to lunch at one of the local spots, it was a nice afternoon.
I had heard there were huge crowds at this event in years past, but it was extremely hot and that kept some of the people away. But we sold all of our ribs and had a good time there.
The contest had me a little worried. It was one of those deals for an established team that many consider a no win situation. If we do well, people would say that we are just beating up on the backyard teams. If we don't do well, people would say "haha, you lost to a bunch of backyarders." But I decided that I really don't care what people say any more, and I'm just going to do what I want to do and have fun doing it. So we entered three of the four categories, chicken, beef and pork.
I viewed this as a tune up for Harpoon, cooking my competition chicken and pork recipes, and beef short ribs for the beef category. I quickly found out that I would not be able to practice presentation, because the turn in boxes we got were literally half the size of the usual ones we get at KCBS contests. I literally crammed six pieces of each category into the box and turned them in with no garnish.
Awards came, and no call for chicken. Here we go...not a good sign. Then came pork, first place. Beef, first place. Really cool trophies, mini-Weber grills. Overall we had a good time, very different than most contests we cook, and we met some great people. That's what its all about.
I'll try to get the Harpoon post up soon. In the meantime, I am heading up to Saratoga Springs, NY Friday to cook the Taste of BBQ Nationals event at the raceway.
Made a last minute decision to cook Grill-n-Daze, a one day grilling event in Southwick, Massachusetts on July 17th. I originally was just going to go up and vend, but when the organizer told me that I wouldn't have to pay the vending fee if I competed, I decided why not just enter the contest as well.
I originally thought the contest was on Saturday. However, a few days before I was informed that the event was actually Sunday. This would not have been a problem if I did not have to work that Sunday, and would never be able to get it off on such short notice. It just meant that I had to cook all day and write all night. Needless to say it was an extremely long night.
Mostly this event is cooked by locals. I arrived Saturday afternoon, just me and Max. At first I was a little confused about the contest location, because there was not a sole there. But I was in the right place. Bob of Smokey O's came down and we went to lunch at one of the local spots, it was a nice afternoon.
I had heard there were huge crowds at this event in years past, but it was extremely hot and that kept some of the people away. But we sold all of our ribs and had a good time there.
The contest had me a little worried. It was one of those deals for an established team that many consider a no win situation. If we do well, people would say that we are just beating up on the backyard teams. If we don't do well, people would say "haha, you lost to a bunch of backyarders." But I decided that I really don't care what people say any more, and I'm just going to do what I want to do and have fun doing it. So we entered three of the four categories, chicken, beef and pork.
I viewed this as a tune up for Harpoon, cooking my competition chicken and pork recipes, and beef short ribs for the beef category. I quickly found out that I would not be able to practice presentation, because the turn in boxes we got were literally half the size of the usual ones we get at KCBS contests. I literally crammed six pieces of each category into the box and turned them in with no garnish.
Awards came, and no call for chicken. Here we go...not a good sign. Then came pork, first place. Beef, first place. Really cool trophies, mini-Weber grills. Overall we had a good time, very different than most contests we cook, and we met some great people. That's what its all about.
I'll try to get the Harpoon post up soon. In the meantime, I am heading up to Saratoga Springs, NY Friday to cook the Taste of BBQ Nationals event at the raceway.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
New Hampshire
Had a great time at the New Hampshire Rock-n-Ribfest last weekend. This was our first KCBS contest since Norwalk in September, so I was anxious to see where we would stack up after such a long layoff. Overall I was happy with the results, with a few major exceptions.
Arrived on site at around noon Friday. It was just me and Max, with Sheila coming up later in the day. We were a little concerned because it would be just the three of us, with nobody to help out with Max. Since he is almost three, he obviously requires a lot of attention. But he was just great all weekend, especially KCBS Sunday when he kept himself occupied and just did his own thing right through turn-ins.
Anyway as I started to get the setup going, it began to rain pretty hard. So I scrambled to get the pop up tent open, so I could unload everything from the trailer and put it all under there to stay dry. Unfortunately, it is somewhat difficult to open one of those EZ-ups solo, and I snapped it. "Hello Sheila, can you stop by the house and pick up the backup tent before you come up?"
Friday night was a great time. I always love Friday nights at a Saturday-Sunday contest. There is no pressure to be up early Saturday, so we can hang out and have a good time. I don't get out a whole lot in my day to day, as I work at home now, so I really like being able to visit with people and have fun on nights like these.
As usual, we had a blast hanging out with the Lakesides. We spent a lot of time under a tent city, as several teams had pooled their pop up tents and created this huge space. Charlie Cicero of Mighty Swine Dining shared a proscuitto with us that had been curing in his walk in refrigerator for a year and a half, it was outstanding. Some fine tequila and Gentleman Jack was also shared. We had a great time with old friends and made a few new ones along the way.
Saturday was grilling. I was feeling good about the sausage and pizza categories going in, but as documented in a previous post I was not thrilled with the salt water fish fillet category. It sure did show, as I put together a horrible entry that came in dead ass last. It was fish tacos, and the fish was blah, the tortillas were too doughy, the salsa too watery and it just bombed, rightfully.
The good news was that the pizza took second place and the sausage was third. Sheila made shrimp wraps for the shrimp category, and they finished in the middle of the pack somewhere. I liked the entry though.
So we were 13th overall for grilling. I was able to laugh the fish entry off for the most part publicly, but in reality I am upset at myself about it. I could have just grilled up some salmon and dumped butter all over it and finished much better than dead ass last. Why I decided to do fish tacos I have no idea. And if I am going to do something outside my comfort zone, it might help to practice it first.
Anyway, it was on to the BBQ contest. It was just me, Sheila and Max at this contest. We had no visitors, no guests and really were able to focus on prep. Everything went well heading into the overnight.
Woke up Sunday morning and the smokers were chugging along just fine. However, when I temped my pork it was ahead of schedule. I had to nurse it to the finish line, and did not like the finished product. Shows what I know, as the judges scored it third place. I chalk this one up to being able to make last minute adjustments, something that was never my strength but I have been working on it. I used to just put the meat in the box and just turn it in. But I have learned subtle adjustments can be made that make a big difference.
Unfortunately there were no such adjustments that could save my ribs. For some reason they just tasted off. I can't really put my finger on it, but something wasn't right. Judges confirmed it for me, 33rd out of 39th. Ouch, I would have to go back and check but I think this was my worst ever rib finish. I thought the box looked atrocious too, although the appearance scores were not too bad.
Chicken was ok, 16th place.
I was a little concerned about brisket going in. I had not cooked a brisket since the Norwalk contest (although we took first place brisket there). Also, the current trend has many teams using these fancy, waygu briskets from cows that are hand fed by virgins and massaged daily. I still buy my briskets at Restaurant Depot, but I have gotten better at picking them out. But there is always the concern that using a lesser meat will eventually hurt me in the end.
Usually you have a good idea what you have with brisket when you make that first cut. I liked it, and as I cut further I felt pretty good about it. The box looked great, and the brisket was 3rd.
The low rib score dragged us down, and we were 8th overall. Overall, I came away happy, eight categories over two days, and four of them in the top three. Could have been a lot worse.
The bummer is that it looks like our next KCBS contest will be at Harpoon. That's a month away. I wish it was tomorrow.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Cape Cod, New Hampshire
Well the Cape Cod BBQ Championship is in the books. This was the second year I organized it and it seemed like more work this time around. But it's over, and I am relieved. I haven't cooked a KCBS contest since September, but I have organized or helped organize two events since then. These experiences have reminded me that I enjoy cooking contests a lot more than organizing them. But I will be running Cape Cod again next year, but I plan on keeping things a lot simpler.
The good news is that the cooking starts this weekend in Merrimack, New Hampshire at the New Hampshire Rock-n-Ribfest. This was our second ever contest in 2006, and we won it that year. It is not the best contest in the world, with huge crowds and small prize money, but we keep going back. I like looking across the field at the spot where we cooked that year, it seems like so long ago. Especially since we have not won a contest since then.
Looking at the forecast I am beginning to worry that we may be dealing with more of the mud that made that 2006 contest such a mess for everyone. Hopefully I'm wrong.
So I am excited about getting up there for the weekend. I have been packing, unpacking, cleaning, trimming, and planning all week as we get ready to cook this one. The grilling will be a little screwy, with shrimp and salt water fish fillet as two of the categories, and pizza and sausage as the others. I was tempted to just say "screw grilling" and skip it but we are just going to give it a shot. As of this writing I have no clue at all what I am doing for that fish fillet category. I'll come up with something and let you know how it goes.
The good news is that the cooking starts this weekend in Merrimack, New Hampshire at the New Hampshire Rock-n-Ribfest. This was our second ever contest in 2006, and we won it that year. It is not the best contest in the world, with huge crowds and small prize money, but we keep going back. I like looking across the field at the spot where we cooked that year, it seems like so long ago. Especially since we have not won a contest since then.
Looking at the forecast I am beginning to worry that we may be dealing with more of the mud that made that 2006 contest such a mess for everyone. Hopefully I'm wrong.
So I am excited about getting up there for the weekend. I have been packing, unpacking, cleaning, trimming, and planning all week as we get ready to cook this one. The grilling will be a little screwy, with shrimp and salt water fish fillet as two of the categories, and pizza and sausage as the others. I was tempted to just say "screw grilling" and skip it but we are just going to give it a shot. As of this writing I have no clue at all what I am doing for that fish fillet category. I'll come up with something and let you know how it goes.
Monday, May 30, 2011
OK, Let The Season Begin
My season, anyway.
This past week I finally addressed a major problem of my BBQ team, my tow vehicle. I have been using a Ford Explorer to tow our BBQ camper for the last four years, and it was never powerful enough. Honestly, I am amazed that the truck didn't die on me, and that I was able to get a decent trade amount on it. This allowed us to buy a new to us Ford Expedition with a bigger engine and factory tow package. It is rated to tow a trailer twice the weight of my fully packed camper, so I should be fine for a while.
The USS Lorson....
While we cooked the Snowshoe, I was unable to cook Lexington and couldn't get the time off to go to Rochester, so I really am chomping at the bit to cook. But for the next two weeks, my focus will be on Cape Cod. The planning this year has been easier than last year, when organizing was completely new to me. But it is still a challenge.
Once Cape Cod is over, we start competing. The paid entries so far are New Hampshire, Harpoon and Norwalk CT. Battle of the BBQ Brethren on Long Island in early August is one I really want to cook, but Sheila cannot travel that weekend because of work. That event is appealing to me because the New London Ferry to Long Island makes getting there and back a snap. Only 50 miles of actual driving, and most of it through the scenic wineries of Eastern Long Island. Going to try and make it.
Factor in a couple of vending events, a wedding in August and hopefully at least one more contest, and it's going to be a great summer of BBQ for Q Haven. Icing on the cake would be winning one of these things, it has been so long that I don't even remember what it feels like.
This past week I finally addressed a major problem of my BBQ team, my tow vehicle. I have been using a Ford Explorer to tow our BBQ camper for the last four years, and it was never powerful enough. Honestly, I am amazed that the truck didn't die on me, and that I was able to get a decent trade amount on it. This allowed us to buy a new to us Ford Expedition with a bigger engine and factory tow package. It is rated to tow a trailer twice the weight of my fully packed camper, so I should be fine for a while.
The USS Lorson....
While we cooked the Snowshoe, I was unable to cook Lexington and couldn't get the time off to go to Rochester, so I really am chomping at the bit to cook. But for the next two weeks, my focus will be on Cape Cod. The planning this year has been easier than last year, when organizing was completely new to me. But it is still a challenge.
Once Cape Cod is over, we start competing. The paid entries so far are New Hampshire, Harpoon and Norwalk CT. Battle of the BBQ Brethren on Long Island in early August is one I really want to cook, but Sheila cannot travel that weekend because of work. That event is appealing to me because the New London Ferry to Long Island makes getting there and back a snap. Only 50 miles of actual driving, and most of it through the scenic wineries of Eastern Long Island. Going to try and make it.
Factor in a couple of vending events, a wedding in August and hopefully at least one more contest, and it's going to be a great summer of BBQ for Q Haven. Icing on the cake would be winning one of these things, it has been so long that I don't even remember what it feels like.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Latest Doings
It has really been a crazy few weeks, barbecue and otherwise. The Rose City BBQ Cook Off was last Saturday, and it ended up being a great day. The weather held out for the most part, and the people in our adopted hometown of Norwich came out and supported the effort. In the end, the event raised more than three thousand dollars for charities that serve the homeless of Norwich.
This was my first time as a vendor at this kind of event. I have vended at Harpoon several times, but most of the other teams vend too so there is little pressure.
I was disappointed with how the vending went, although the response from the public was generally favorable. I was involved in the event planning, and was so busy with work and otherwise that I did not get as much pre event prep done. Also, I agreed to help with meat inspections for the contest teams, and that hour and a half I really should have been focused on my vending.
It just wasn't my best food. But I learned a lot for next time. And I also passed my first true health inspection, and the guy didn't just rubber stamp me, he was temping all my food and my coolers.
Had a catering job yesterday, a 50 person shower in Sprague. Unlike the vending, the food came out great. The people who booked me had our food at Harpoon and remembered us when they decided to do a BBQ themed shower. I still need to work on my amounts but was very happy overall with the job.
Now, I have a few weeks where I can focus on finalizing the details of the Cape Cod BBQ Championship. Then, I can finally turn my attention to the fun part of all this, which is actually cooking BBQ contests!
This was my first time as a vendor at this kind of event. I have vended at Harpoon several times, but most of the other teams vend too so there is little pressure.
I was disappointed with how the vending went, although the response from the public was generally favorable. I was involved in the event planning, and was so busy with work and otherwise that I did not get as much pre event prep done. Also, I agreed to help with meat inspections for the contest teams, and that hour and a half I really should have been focused on my vending.
It just wasn't my best food. But I learned a lot for next time. And I also passed my first true health inspection, and the guy didn't just rubber stamp me, he was temping all my food and my coolers.
Had a catering job yesterday, a 50 person shower in Sprague. Unlike the vending, the food came out great. The people who booked me had our food at Harpoon and remembered us when they decided to do a BBQ themed shower. I still need to work on my amounts but was very happy overall with the job.
Now, I have a few weeks where I can focus on finalizing the details of the Cape Cod BBQ Championship. Then, I can finally turn my attention to the fun part of all this, which is actually cooking BBQ contests!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Hello Again
Hi again. It has been way too long between posts, I know. I don't really have an excuse, except that I have been writing so much for work that by the time I am finished really the last thing I want to do is write more. It's a little depressing because I always enjoy writing about BBQ, but hopefully the warmer weather will motivate me to write more.
Also contributing is the fact that I have not really been doing a whole lot of cooking. I cooked a few pork butts yesterday, and that was the first time I lit my Backwoods since Christmas Eve. It felt good to be cooking again.
Meanwhile, the planning for the Norwich Rotary Rose City BBQ Cook-Off is going great. A month ago, the contest was stuck at seven teams and morale was low. However, as of this writing there are 18 teams and our secondary goal of 20 teams is now a possibility. However, 18 is great, and we really appreciate the support of every single one of them.
I know as a cook, choosing which contests to cook is not always easy. And sometimes teams are hesitant to sign on to cook a first year event, as they don't really know what to expect. But Sheila and a few of her Rotary Club members have worked awfully hard to pull this off, and the momentum seems to grow a little more each day.
As for Q Haven, the season is still a work in progress. I am vending at Norwich and organizing Cape Cod, so it looks like our first contest will be New Hampshire in mid June. We will also be going back to Harpoon in July, and to Norwalk in September. The rest, completely up in the air.
Also contributing is the fact that I have not really been doing a whole lot of cooking. I cooked a few pork butts yesterday, and that was the first time I lit my Backwoods since Christmas Eve. It felt good to be cooking again.
Meanwhile, the planning for the Norwich Rotary Rose City BBQ Cook-Off is going great. A month ago, the contest was stuck at seven teams and morale was low. However, as of this writing there are 18 teams and our secondary goal of 20 teams is now a possibility. However, 18 is great, and we really appreciate the support of every single one of them.
I know as a cook, choosing which contests to cook is not always easy. And sometimes teams are hesitant to sign on to cook a first year event, as they don't really know what to expect. But Sheila and a few of her Rotary Club members have worked awfully hard to pull this off, and the momentum seems to grow a little more each day.
As for Q Haven, the season is still a work in progress. I am vending at Norwich and organizing Cape Cod, so it looks like our first contest will be New Hampshire in mid June. We will also be going back to Harpoon in July, and to Norwalk in September. The rest, completely up in the air.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
