Memorial Day Brisket

Cooked this brisket beginning at 12:15AM Sunday, took it off mid afternoon. Overall it came out pretty good, a little too tender though. But I will take a slightly over-tender brisket over a tough one any day!

Cost of Competing #2

Case Study #2: Snowshoe Grilling Challenge
Abington, Mass. March 29, 2008

Unlike the FYBO, the Snowshoe was a straight grilling contest, with the categories of fish steak, sausage fatty, beef of any kind and vegetable.

- Entry Fee: $35
- Fish Category: $41
- Fattie Category: $15
- Beef Category: $34
- Vegetable Category: $19
- Garnish: $10
- Gas $50
- Total: $194
- Prize Money: 0
- Calls: 0
- Trophies: 0

Net: $-194

Since this was a one day grilling event and the drive was less than two hours, there was no need to bring the trailer, which saved a lot in gas. We clearly overspent on the fish and beef categories. Was a fun contest, and grilling events are a crap shoot when it comes to scoring. Fortunately, there was no "other" column at this contest, because we were able to do the event with all existing resources, ie foil pans, gloves, charcoal, wood, etc.

Next up will be a look at the Oyster Bay contest earlier this month, with a much more depressing bottom line!

By the way, I've had a brisket on since midnight, and will post some pictures of the finished product tonight.

The Cost Of Competition BBQ

My next few posts will explore the costs of competing on the BBQ circuit. I decided that this year, I would keep much closer tabs on what I spend on each competition, mostly just for my own curiosity. But I think some may find it interesting, especially those thinking about competing for the first time.

Case Study #1: The Freeze Your Butt Off BBQ Competition, Maynard, Massachusetts, March 1 and 2, 2008

- Entry Fee: $135
- Ribs (4 racks loin backs) $36
- Brisket (1 full packer and 1 flat) $41
- Pork (2 Boston butts) $20
- Chicken (16 chicken thighs) $15
- Iron Chef: $0
- Garnish: $20
- Gas $100
- Other $92
- Total Expenses: $459

- Prize Money: $0
- Calls: Chicken 4th, Pork 4th, Brisket 5th
- Trophies: 3 medals

Total: $-459

The "other" category includes a pro-rated estimate for rubs, sauce, injections, charcoal, wood and other BBQ related expenses only. I did not count the amounts spent on our personal food, beer, etc. This is only a look at costs associated with the actual competition. Also, there was no vending at this contest, as it was really just an event for the teams, not the general public. So there was very little chance to bring in any money.

The calls we got were for medals only and no cash. I believe cash was paid for category winners only in this contest. But to me, this event was more about practice and hanging out with friends, so overall I deemed it a success.

Next up, I will break down the Snowshoe Grilling Contest that took place at the end of March.

Congrats Mike and Kris!

Congratulations to Mike and Kris from Lakeside Smokers, who were married yesterday!

Oyster Bay Wrap Up

We cooked the first annual Oyster Bay Smoke & Steam grilling competition this past weekend on Long Island, New York. We went into the event with high hopes, had a lot of fun while we were there, took it on the chin from the judges, then returned home tired and confused. Here's the rundown.

The plan was to stay overnight in Long Island Friday night, as we were supposed to be on site around 7:00 in the morning, and we didn't want to have to leave the house in Connecticut at 4AM. I am not a morning person. So we stayed at a hotel in Melville, NY, around 20 minutes from the contest site.

I packed the truck Thursday night so all we would have to do is throw the cooler in the truck and leave Friday after work. That plan worked out pretty well, and we were on the road at around seven p.m. with the jam packed vehicle.

The drive was rough because it poured the whole ride, but we arrived at the hotel at around 10PM. The cool thing was that Brendan and Julie from Transformer BBQ were staying in the same hotel. Once we checked in, we went downstairs to the hotel bar and had a few drinks and a lot of laughs.

The contest site was a town street in front of the historic railroad station. It was a unique place for a contest. It was hard to tell exactly where to set up, so we grabbed the first spot we could find. Here is our site.

Ended up next to a team from Long Island called "Rub This." I remembered them from Sayville last year, except I did not meet them at that event. They are a cool bunch, and we had fun bantering throughout the day and trying each other's food.

The categories were beef steak, pork chop, chicken and oysters.

For the beef steak, we cooked NY strips with red wine butter. If it wasn't for one of the teams being DQ'd for missing the turn in time, we would have been last place, instead it was 11th out of 12. I'm not going to dwell on this a whole lot but this one bothered me the most.

We bought nice NY strips from a good butcher, gave them a splash of extra virgin olive oil, rubbed with sea salt and fresh ground pepper, grilled to medium rare, hit with a dab of red wine butter and sliced. I would eat that six days a week, regardless of what the judges thought of it.

I'm just bummed we gave the judges three whole strip steaks. Hope they choked on it.

Next was pork chops. Did a frenched chop with apple butter. I thought it was OK. I was hoping the quality meat would carry us here, but it didn't quite get it done. Pork chop was 5th place, our best finish of the day.

The chicken. What might have been.....

I hit them a little too hard with the smoke and left them on a pretty hot smoker a little too long as I was cooking the first two categories. I kind of took it for granted that they would be fine. The color ended up really dark. The meat was still pretty juicy and tasted good, but the color pretty much did me in. Three 5's for appearance tells the story, and the judges were right. It's a meat contest, and the meat didn't look very good. 10th out of 12.

The funny thing is that one of the judges gave this a 9 for appearance.

Oysters was last. Until around two weeks ago, I had never cooked oysters in my life. I have had oysters Rockefeller a few times and liked it, so I decided to make them for the contest. Took a basic recipe and added a few of my own touches. I thought they were good, and some of the judges agreed. Three gave it an 8 for taste, another gave it a 3. Another second to last finish, 11th place.

So in the end, we would have been dead last if it wasn't for the team that got DQ'd in steak. If they had turned in a slab of horse meat we would have been last. It was not the best feeling for sure. Transformer BBQ won the grand championship and just rocked the whole event. Sheila and I tried so hard to be happy for them but we were both pretty depressed. They obviously cooked some killer food.

Transformer BBQ

I was really bummed because this is basically it for us on the competition circuit for some time, and we will have to wait a long time to redeem ourselves. Sheila is now seven months pregnant, so we cannot commit to any more competitions for a while. Our next event will probably be in September. We will be at Harpoon but depending on the baby situation, I may not be there at all. Hopefully I will be able to make it for at least part of the weekend.

Baby Mama Sheila

Oyster Bay Scores

Posting our scores from Oyster Bay for their entertainment value. Enjoy!

Dead @$$ Last!

Well, almost.

If it were not for one of the teams missing a turn in time, that's exactly what we would have been at the Oyster Bay Smoke and Steam Grilling Competition Saturday on Long Island. We finished 11th out of 12 teams for the event, including dead last for beef steak, second to last for chicken and 10th of 12 for oysters.

I am not really happy with the results but hey, what can you do. Overall, we had a good time at the contest, the weather was great, we got to hang out with some friends and made a few new ones, so the weekend was not a total loss at all.

I will put together a full recap of the contest in the next few days. Check http://www.qhavenbbq.com/ and click pics as I will upload pictures from the event right after I post this.

Getting Ready For Oyster Bay

We are heading down to Oyster Bay, Long Island this weekend for the Smoke n' Steam Grilling Contest. As Sheila is almost seven months pregnant, this will be our last contest until after the baby comes.

This should be a fun event. I've never been to Oyster Bay, but I hear it is really nice. We are leaving after work Friday, and are staying in a hotel Friday night near the contest site. We had considered driving up early Saturday morning, but that would have required us leaving at around 4 AM in order to get there early enough. That would have been a long day. Staying overnight Friday will allow us to be well rested for the contest.

The categories are beef steak, pork chop, chicken and oysters. I'm happy with the recipies I have come up with for the weekend, and hopefully we will do well. If not, it will be a long drive home afterwards.

KCBS Judging Class

This past weekend I attended the KCBS judging class at the Maynard Rod and Gun Club in Maynard, Massachusetts. I had wanted to attend a judging class for a long time, but this was the first time I was able to make it to one.

While I am planning to judge once in a while, I wanted to attend mostly as a cook. As a competition cook, we live and die by the scores given to us by judges. The ones that give us high scores are cheered, the ones who give low scores are cursed. I have to say, that I didn't learn a tremendous amount that will help me in competitions. But I did learn a lot overall.

When I arrived, it was good to see that Brendan Burek of Transformer BBQ and Steve Farrin of I Smell Smoke!!! were going to be cooking for the class. At least I knew that we would be eating some good Q.

I was impressed to see that Mike Lake, President of the Kansas City Barbeque Society, had flown in from Illinois for the class. Since there were more than 80 new judges being trained, apparently the organization felt it was important for him to be there. I thought this was a great bonus for the people who attended the class.

Mike Lake and ubiquitous New England KCBS rep Ken Dakai instructed the class. They did a really good job of explaining the important role of the judges. I believe this was Ken's first judging class as an instructor, and he did a great job. I probably haven't said it before in this space, but Ken and his wife Kathy make a tremendous contribution to competition BBQ in the Northeast. They deserve a lot of credit for what they do, and it is appreciated.

While there were some experienced cooks there, clearly many of the attendees knew very little about competition BBQ. This was clear by many of the questions and the wide differential of scores early on in the class. The instructors did a good job of explaining how important it is to be consistent as a judge, and you could see the difference as the class went on.

However, there are a few people in the class that I hope my food never ends up at their table. One guy didn't want to give a score higher than a 5 for anything. Another guy was a bottomless pit of inane questions. But overall, I feel a lot of good judges have just entered the pool. As the class wrapped up, we took the oath of being a KCBS judge, which reads....

"I do solemnly swear to objectively and subjectively evaluate each Barbeque meat that is presented to my eyes, my nose, my hands and my palate. I accept my duty to be an Official KCBS Certified Judge, so that truth, justice, excellence in Barbeque and the American Way of Life may be strengthened and preserved forever."

And at that point, I became a certified KCBS judge! My name tag will be arriving soon in the mail, and I already have a hat with pins to wear when I judge. I expect to make my judging debut at the Peter's Pond contest in Cape Cod, Massachusetts in June.

This Weekend

Going up to Maynard, Massachusetts Sunday to get myself trained to be a certified Kansas City Barbeque Society judge. I've wanted to take a judging class for a long time now, but have not been able to make any of the classes that have been held in the area.

It should be interesting. I've cooked more than a dozen contests now, and this should be a good learning experience for me.

Also, officially submitted the application for the Oyster Bay grilling event May 10th on Long Island. I already have a good idea of what I am going to cook for three of the categories, which are chicken, beef steak and pork chops. Saturday, I'm going to do a practice run on oysters, which is the fourth category. Sheila will be in California for the weekend, so I have all day Saturday to cook and eat. Probably not the best thing for my waistline but it will be a great day of gluttony.

Something is holding me back from sending in the application for the New Hampshire Rock-n-Ribfest June 20-22. Don't get me wrong, I really want to cook the contest, but Sheila will be into the 9th month of pregnancy and I'm really not sure being away for three days is the right thing to do. She could go into early labor or something and I would miss the whole thing.

Chances are, it will be fine, as her pregnancy has been going along well. Over the last month, she has seriously started showing, and the kid sure is moving around and kicking. It's becoming more and more real.

By the way, it's a boy, and his name will be Max.

Smoke and Steam

We have decided to enter the "Smoke and Steam" Grilling Contest" in Oyster Bay, Long Island New York on May 10th. We were unsure whether or not to enter this one, as Sheila will be around seven months pregnant about that time. However, since it is a grilling contest, we don't need to bring a whole lot, and it sounds like it will be a cool venue and event.

Now, time to figure out what to do with the oyster category!

BBQ Guru Follow Up

I just wanted to follow up on Sunday's first cook with the BBQ Guru.

I loaded the charcoal pan for the Backwoods party pretty full with Kingsford and wood chunks, but I definitely could have gotten more in there. I set up the Guru blower, plugged everything in, and clipped the temperature probe in the middle of the cooking area. Third rack from the top.

I set the Guru temperature to 225 and started around 15 briquettes and placed them in the charcoal basket in the corner next to where the blower was. Slowly, the temperature climbed to 225, and it just stuck there. For three hours. Then I opened and foiled two racks, and left a third in unfoiled.

Closed back up, around 10 minutes later it was back at 225. Stayed there for another hour and a half.

Once the ribs were glazed and pulled, I closed up again and left it empty. Another hour at 225 until I decided to shut it down. Incredible. I can't wait to try this out on an overnight cook to see exactly how many hours it will go before having to add fuel. One thing is sure, I will be able to sleep very well at contests with the Guru minding the store.

Coolest Thing Ever

Maybe not ever but I love my new BBQ Guru! My brother gave me the Guru DigiQ 2 for my birthday last month,and the first cook with it is going on right now. Three racks of ribs going, I'll post some pictures afterwards.

Update: Didn't take a picture of the finished product, but they came out really good. Below is all that was left!

ABT's!

I had meant to cook these at the Snowshoe, but ended up making them when we got back. So good!

Snoeshoe

Cooked the Snowshoe Grilling Challenge last weekend in Abington, Massachusetts. I felt pretty good about the recipe plans going into the event, but it just didn't work out well. The team list was strong, but I feel we could have done much better with better execution.

We got on site at around 7:30 AM. That was plenty early, as the only thing we were cooking that would take any time is the sausage fatty. The rest of the categories, fish, beef and vegetable, were all short cook recipes.

Our setup was bare bones. Since it was sunny, we didn't even take the pop up tent out of the Ford Explorer. Two tables, two plastic bins of supplies, one cooler. We fit everything for the event in our SUV, and didn't even have to tie anything to the roof. We did all the prep at home Friday night, so all we really had to do was show up and cook.

The fish category, I had planned to play it safe and do a grilled swordfish. That's something I have cooked many times before, and gotten several calls for it. However, while I was on the way to buy fish, Sheila called and pitched a recipe for a pistashio encrusted salmon. We talked about it and decided to give it a try.

How did it taste? Well, we will never know. I only purchased one large Atlantic salmon filet, and we cooked it whole, and turned the whole thing in. It was finished with a teriyaki glaze, which I had planned to drizzle from a squirt bottle. However, a chunk of the dice in the sauce clogged the top of the squirt bottle, and when it came out it blasted a huge blob of sauce on the fish. I tried to salvage the appearance but it didn't look that great.

The fish took 9th place out of 17 teams. I could not find a judge to admit having eaten it. It appeared to be very moist. If any judge cares to admit having it please shoot me an e-mail to qhaven@comcast.net and give me some feedback.

Next was sausage fatty. In case you do not know what that is, it is sausage (usually breakfast) either stuffed or mixed with cheese and other ingredients, then hit with some BBQ rub and smoked. I used my usual fatty recipe,and it just missed the mark, taking 6th place.

Next was beef of any kind. This was our worst category of the day. I cook steaks all the time, both at home and in grilling contests. However, with the strong team list, I decided to cook a tenderloin. I seared it, then roasted it with a gorganzola panko crust. Finished with a red wine reduction. I didn't have enough usable pieces so I had to half them, and the box did not look good. 12th place.

The final category was vegetables. We decided to make vegetable quesadillas, with Sheila's famous salsa, jalapenos, a blend of cheddar and jack cheeses, finished with a dallop of limed sour cream. We could have assembled these hours earlier. However, we didn't. We barely made the steak turn in time, and were scrambling to get these finished and in the box. Still, took 6th place.

So overall we got no calls and finished 9th place of the 17 teams. Could have been better. You can't make key mistakes like I did and expect to finish among the top teams that were at the event. While I was unhappy and a little embarrased by the showing, it's not the end of the world. We learned a lot and will be ready for the next one, whenever that is.

Sunday Night Dinner

A little bummed about the pedestrian showing at the Snowshoe yesterday, I decided to do some cooking today. Guess I needed to show myself that I could still cook.


With Sheila gone for the day on business, I decided to cook a rack of lamb that I've had in the freezer for a while. Sheila doesn't eat lamb, so this was a good opportunity.

Rubbed the rack of lamb with coarse ground mustard, then fresh chopped rosemary, fresh ground pepper and kosher salt. Pan seared, then 14 minutes at 450 in the oven. Nice medium rare.

Served over roasted garlic mashed potatoes, finished with a port wine demi. Great blend of flavors. Would have been in the top 5....

Back From The Snowshoe

There was no snow but it was pretty cold yesterday at the Snowshoe grilling challenge in Abington, Massachusetts. Just missed calls with 6th place in the sausage fatty and vegetable categories, and we came away empty handed for the event. We finished 9th overall out of 17 teams. But it was a lot of fun seeing people, and we had a really good time. It was around 35 degrees and windy, but the sun stayed out all day.

As always, we learned some stuff for next time. Needed a chicken wing category! More later....

There Must Be A Competition Coming Up

Had a dream last night that I forgot to cook or turn in chicken at a BBQ contest. Everything else was turned in at the wrong time, and we got a score of zero. That's how I know a competition is coming up. It takes over the mind.

We go to the Snoeshoe Grilling Challenge on Saturday. It will be an extremely competitive event. I can't wait to get there.

Route 7 Grill, Great Barrington, MA

Last weekend, we started our trip to upstate New York with a little detour. Rather than taking the highways, we drove Route-44 from Hartford into Litchfield County, then up into Great Barrington, MA for dinner at Route-7 Grill, before continuing on to our stop near Binghamton, NY.

The place was easy enough to find, you guessed it, right on heavily traveled Route 7 in the quaint Berkshires town of Great Barrington. I had learned of the place last year, when the New England Barbeque Society held a road trip there. I was intrigued by the menu when I considered the trip, which struck me as a little more upscale than your regular BBQ joint. For some reason I couldn't go on the road trip.

My intrigue grew when I saw a review on PigTrip.net which featured a picture of a dinosaur beef rib that looked really good. But from where we live in Norwich, CT, it is a hike, so I didn't have a chance to get up there until now.

You are greeted by a great hearth fireplace as you enter the restaurant.

This picture and the one at the top of the post were stolen from the Route 7 web site. There is also a neat bar area with a curved bar, and a large, open dining room. That's where we sat.

As I looked over the menu, I saw several things that were trying to talk me out of what I had planned to order here for weeks: the dinosaur beef rib. They offered a chef's BBQ tasting menu, what could possibly be better than that? They also had a few sampling platters that sounded great. They offer all the BBQ staples, spare and baby back ribs, brisket, pork, chicken.

An interesting note is that the owners have decided to use all locally grown products. Nice touch.

There are also all kinds of other things to eat in addition to BBQ, including locally raised steaks, meatloaf and pasta dishes.

We started with the house smoked chicken wings with BBQ sauce. Several apps caught my eye, including the scallops wrapped in bacon (one of my favorites) and the spiced shrimp. But the wings were great, nice smoke flavor, big, moist, flavorful. Good choice.

I stuck to my guns and got the beef rib. What arrived was one huge rib, with lots of meat and great marbling. It certainly lived up to my expectations. It came with sauce on it, which I probably do without next time. It's nothing against the sauce really, but more of a personal preference these days for me. Especially in a case like this, where the meat is so flavorful that it stands on its own. Had fries and onion strings as sides, both were great.

Sheila being pregnant, she has not really had a taste for BBQ lately. She ordered the Cobb salad with maple bacon vinaigrette, and liked it a lot. She says everything was super fresh, and she particularly liked the large pieces of cheddar cheese that came in the salad.


She also had a side of macaroni and cheese, which she described as some of the best she has ever had. And Sheila is a connoisseur of good mac and cheese.

We had such a fine meal that I was in a good enough mood to allow the waitress to talk me into a piece of house baked velvet chocolate cake that was really good. It was huge, and I was only able to finish half of it.

Overall, we had a great meal and an enjoyable stop at Route 7 Grill. This place was right up my alley. Great food and service, a good vibe in the place (not to mention clean bathrooms!). If I lived anywhere near Great Barrington we would eat here. A lot.

In fact, we are going to Albany, NY for my niece's 4th birthday party today, and I have already began lobbying to take a long cut home and visit again on the ride home.

What A Bummer

Another competition goes by the wayside.

It was revealed this week what I had expected, that the BBQ contest Memorial Day weekend at Lime Rock park here in Connecticut has officially been cancelled. That followed news that the East Hartford contest would not be happening this year, and there will be no state championship in Maine and Rhode Island either.

That means that out of the six New England states, only Vermont and Massachusetts are certain to have qualifying contests for 2008. New Hampshire may have one too, but ongoing venue problems and a weak prize pool have made it possible that the June event in Merrimack may not be able to attract the minimum of 25 teams it needs to be a qualifier.

Fortunately, some outstanding events have developed in nearby New York. The I Love BBQ Festival in Lake Placid, the Hudson Valley Ribfest in New Paltz and the Battle of the BBQ Brethren were all huge successes in 2007 and are returning in 2008.

But what can we do to get Jack Daniel's qualifiers in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Maine? I wish I had the answers, but I don't. But it is a shame that those states have no qualifier, as I would love to see more New England teams have a chance to go to the Jack. Unfortunately, there will probably only be three or four New England teams heading to the 2008 Jack. That's a shame.

I personally pledge to do whatever I can to get an '09 qualifier in Connecticut. Even if it means holding a contest in a vacant lot.

St. Patrick's Day

It's not BBQ but.....

With my wife's maiden name being Keenan, I again took a shot at St. Patrick's Day corned beef and cabbage. Not my best effort but not my worst either. Mixed 2 tablespoons honey with 2 tablespoons coarse ground mustard, roasted on a rack 2 and a half hours at 350. Boiled the potatoes and steamed the cabbage.

Brisket was only a little tougher than my competition brisket lately...

Danny's Little Taste Of Texas

Met up with BBQ reviewer extraordinaire Gary Goldblatt of Pigtrip.net Thursday night for a little BBQ at Danny's Little Taste of Texas in South Windsor, CT. Was a good time, and we had some pretty good Q for the most part.

The place was empty when we arrived at around 6:00 PM. It seems to me that they probably do a lot of takeout there, and are probably busier for lunch than for dinner. We took a booth in a more isolated area. The country music was pretty loud, and the decor featured all kinds of pictures, plates and other assorted trinkets with a Texas theme.

We started out with the smoked BBQ wings and a deep fried buffalo burger. The wings were ok, pretty dry but they tasted good. Half were sauced, the other half not.

I didn't like the deep fried burger at all. It was well done, and as a medium rare guy it just didn't taste right. I'm sure a lot of people would have really liked it, but it just wasn't my thing.

We got buffalo chili as the side order with the burger. I liked the chili's flavor, but it was loaded with large tomato pieces and beans, with very little meat. But don't get me wrong, it tasted good, and I ate most of it.


Sidebar: I'm sitting in a coffee shop called Phoenix Coffee in Canandigua, NY writing this. I came here because the place has a big Wi-Fi sign outside designed to lure people like me in. The owner of the place just came over and told me and a guy at the table next to us that in order to plug in our laptops, we have to pay a one-dollar "electric use fee." People never cease to amaze me. The place is also blaring some kind of religious chamber music. I know it is Palm Sunday but come on...

Back on topic: For the main courses, we ordered a special of a half rack of ribs and fries for $10, along with a combo of pulled brisket and pulled pork. The ribs were baby backs, and were clearly the best thing I had all night. They had a strong smoke flavor, were very tender and meaty. There was sauce, but just enough to compliment the rest of the flavors.


The beef and pork combo, the meat tasted ok. However, I honestly could not figure out which one was the beef and which one was the pork. Gary says the beef is the one in the cup, but I still believe they could have been interchanged and nobody would have noticed. But overall, they didn't taste bad. But I doubt the beef was brisket, was probably some other cut of beef, pulled.

Towards the end of the meal, owner Dan Ford came over and said hello. Nice guy, still hasn't lost his Texas accent, despite living in the middle of Yankeeland. Waiter must have tipped him off to the guys in the back booth taking pictures of the food.

Another sidebar: They just turned the chamber music off. Thank god (no pun intended).

Overall, the food was ok. They clearly make an effort to cook BBQ they way it is supposed to be done. They missed the mark in some places,and I personally feel the menu is way too big. I would scale it back a little and focus on their BBQ core. But I understand why they offer so much. They probably feel that in the CT suburbs, you have to appeal to the masses. They have been open for some time, so it is a formula that seems to be working.

I had a nice time with Gary talking about Q and competing. He is considering taking the leap into the competition scene, and I think he should do it. He has eaten enough Q to know the difference between good and bad. I think he will do well.

On The Road

It's 11:40 PM and I'm sitting in a hotel room in Oneonta, NY. I came along for the ride with Sheila, who has to do presentations for her job Saturday and Sunday. We hit Route 7 Grill in Great Barrington on the way up. I'll be writing about that tomorrow, along with a trip to a CT BBQ joint that I took with Gary Goldblatt of Pigtrip.net on Thursday.

Freeze Your Butt Off Competition, Maynard, MA

After a venue change, the Freeze Your Butt Off BBQ competition took place as scheduled this past weekend in Maynard, Massachusetts. It was supposed to be at Jiminy Peak Ski Area, but was moved a week before to the Maynard Rod and Gun Club.


I went into this event looking at it as a great place to try out the new Backwoods smoker in a contest setting. I knew the team list was tough, and the chances of winning were slim, but since this was not a KCBS sanctioned event it was the perfect place for a trial smoker run.

The stress level was high well before we even packed up and left for the event. The forecast called for anywhere between four inches and a foot of snow through the entire region. Based on this, I was unsure whether or not to bring the camper. However, almost all of our competition stuff was packed into the camper, and going up without it would have been a real mess.

The good news was that where I live in Norwich, CT, we mostly just got rain. While there was more snow up near the contest site, I was confident that I could bring the camper. I was right. The roads were fine all the way there, and we arrived without incident.

Once we were unpacked, the camper again proved its value. The furnace worked great, and the thing is so well insulated that it was extremely warm and comfortable all weekend. Sheila was not at this contest, as she was stuck going to Reno for the weekend on business. My brother Cristiaan and his girlfriend Kim rounded out the team for the weekend.

We arrived in Maynard at around 1:30 p.m., and most of the other teams were already there. We got a nice spot in the middle of the lot, with iQue on one side of us, I Smell Smoke on the other and Transformer BBQ right behind us. Great neighbors all around. A total of 13 teams competed in the contest.

The people's choice wings contest was cancelled because of the venue change, so we had a potluck dinner made by members of the assorted teams, along with some who were not competing and just came down to hang out. It was great to see so many people from the competition scene after months of inactivity. Saturday night was great, just a lot of people hanging out, enjoying adult beverages and having a good time.

Once the party was over, we all passed out. Unfortunately, a miscommunication between Cristiaan and myself caused neixther of us to check the smoker holding our pork and brisket for several hours. By the time I realized it at four a.m., the smoker temperature had dropped to 170. Not good. Fortunately, I was able to get the temperature back up quickly. The lesson here is to make sure that charcoal pan is packed full before going to bed, whether I think someone is going to be watching the pit or not.

Anyway, the snafu basicly meant that I didn't get very much sleep. I normally like to sleep from 1a.m. until around 5:45 a.m. on turn in day, which usually keeps me feeling good throughout the day Sunday. Instead, I felt like crap all day.

Overall though, the cooking went well. My chicken recipe is getting better and is coming together well. I've been grilling chicken instead of smoking it, and it has finally started to bear fruit. We got called for 4th place chicken.

Ribs, I knew were going to be a problem once I started cutting into the racks. We pulled the ugliest of the four racks I cooked off a little early to sample them. They were great, and the tenderness was right on. Unfortunately, we ate the best ribs I had cooked. The other three racks were a little tougher, and it showed in the scores. Ribs were 7th place, our worst score of the day.

Next was pork. I really haven't changed our pork recipe from last year. it has been doing pretty well, so I decided not to mess with it. Another fourth place finish.

By now you're probably saying "wait a minute, where are the pictures?" Well, after discussions with some of the other teams, I have decided not to post the BBQ turn in box pictures any more. I will post grilling and chef's choice pictures, but not BBQ. Sorry!

Anyway, brisket was next. This was a relatively new recipe I was trying, complete with a new injection. The flavor was great, but again I just have not been able to get the tenderness I have been looking for lately. Scored OK though, 5th place.

Finally, the last category was an "Iron Chef" type deal. However, despite the rules calling for teams receiving a "mystery meat" to cook, we received a jar of spaghetti sauce, a head of garlic and a package of spaghetti. Ugh.

Since there was no cash prize for this category, and only a trophy for first place, I decided not to go out to the store and spend money on a meat. I had prepared for the category based on the expectation of receiving a "mystery meat." I brought stocks and spices, not something to make pasta.

So I decided not to sauce several pieces of chicken we had cooked for the BBQ contest, then pull the chicken. We roasted the head of garlic, and sauteed the chicken with some of the tomato sauce and a little red wine. We boiled the spaghetti, placed a bed in the turn in box, topped it with the chicken concoction, then shredded a little cheese for garnish. Somehow took 4th place, go figure.

So, in the end, it was a pretty good weekend scoring wise. We finished 5th overall, and got three more medals for the collection and learned a lot about the Backwoods in competition. Am I happy that we finished 5th? Not really. But I see this as a building block for the future. Hopefully we will be able to get a few more contests in before Sheila has the baby in July.

Back From The FYBO

Got back last night from the Freeze Your Butt Off BBQ contest at the Maynard Rod and Gun Club in Maynard, Massachusetts. We did pretty well, getting calls for 4th place chicken, 4th place pork and 5th place brisket, finishing 5th overall with almost all the best teams in New England in attendance. Was a difficult contest, but overall I am pretty happy with the results.

Sorry I didn't get much written about this contest last week leading up to the event, but I'll get a full post up recapping the weekend in the next few days.

Jiminy Peak Contest Moved

The BBQ competition scheduled for this coming weekend at the Jiminy Peak Ski Area has been Moved to the Maynard Rod and Gun Club in Maynard, MA.

The explanation we have been given is that since they are having such a good ski season, they don't want to sacrifice parking space and other resources for the weekend.

We apologize to all our family in the Albany area who had planned to come, along with other family and friends who made plans to come that have now been forced to change with so little notice.

Anyway, I guess the good news is that the contest is still on. Logistically, it is actually a lot better for me with the new location, as the place the camper is stored is right along the way. Hopefully this will be the last change and the event will go off as planned.

Nothing's Cooking

On the smoker, that is.

But in three weeks, that should all be changing with the Freeze Your Butt Off BBQ contest that is being held March 1st and 2nd at the Jiminy Peak ski area in Western Massachusetts. It looks like the summer cooking season is going to be pretty much lost this year, with Sheila due July 22nd. So all I have to look forward to competition wise is a couple of early season events.

Hopefully the FYBO will happen. But there are only nine teams signed up so far, and they need at least 12. When the contest was first announced, tons of people on the message boards said "count me in!" Then, of course, they started dropping like flies, probably worried about the cold temperatures.

I'm sure all the hardcore New Englanders will be there. I Smell Smoke!!!!!, Lunchmeat, iQue, and Transformer BBQ will all be there. Q Ball is coming too. I hope a few other teams get off the fence and sign up. it would be a bummer to see this contest get cancelled.

I believe 16 teams came out last January for the Winter Sizzler in New Hampshire. It was cold, it snowed, and we all had a great time. I'm sure this one will be fun too. I hope it happens.

Giants Win!!!!

Unbelievable...the Giants did it, knocking off the undefeated and supposedly unbeatable Patriots.

To all my friends in Massachusetts...sorry about that!

Super Bowl Smoke

No better excuse than the Giants being in the Super Bowl to fire up the smoker. Also, I have a contest in less than a month, and I need to stay focused and practice.

Cooked up some ABT's and some wings. ABT's look a little burnt, but they just got his with too much smoke. Still learning that you don't need to use that much wood with the Backwoods!

Made these with pulled pork. I really do prefer ABT's with Italian sausage. But they were still pretty good.

Also smoked up some wings, marinated, hit with some Plowboy's Yardbird Rub, smoked around three hours, then hit em with a little sauce. Came out great!

Go Giants!!!

Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl Sunday has arrived! I will be watching the game with Sheila at home. As a Giant fan, I want to see the game with no distractions. I'll also be firing up the smoker, but for an easy cook. I will be making smoked BBQ wings and ABT's with pulled pork for the pre-game feast. If anything comes out looking good I will post pictures.

Go Giants!