Positive Results

The results of the cook, and the Alabama-LSU game yesterday, were all positive. Well, mostly positive.

For the cook, I made three racks of baby back ribs. The last few times I have cooked ribs, they came out a little on the bland side. So this time, I wanted to make them spicy. I started with my usual rib rub, then added some cayenne pepper for additional heat. Since I had so much room in the smoker, I decided to throw a fattie in there too for a pre-dinner snack.

The fattie consisted of breakfast sausage, shredded cheddar and pepper jack cheeses, one large chopped jalapeno pepper, then rubbed before going into the smoker with Plowboys Yardbird Rub. Was a great second quarter snack.

The ribs were smoked with apple and hickory chunks for three hours, then a while in foil, finished with a couple of sauces that I wanted to clear out of the fridge. Served with homemade cornbread on the side.

They were really tender, which was exactly what I was shooting for. I thought they were a little too spicy, although Sheila didn't think so. Extremely flavorful.

So in the end, we had a great afternoon of BBQ and football. It ended well, with Alabama needing overtime but defeating rival LSU to remain undefeated. In two weeks it's Auburn, who Alabama has not beaten in the last six games. I'll be cooking that day too for sure....

Roll Tide!!!

Saturday: Ribs and Alabama Football

It could not be a better plan for a Saturday afternoon. My college football team, Alabama, is ranked number one in the country and is playing a rivalry game against LSU. As a perfect compliment, I will be firing up the Backwoods and cooking a few racks of ribs. My goal is to time the ribs so they are done just in time to be devoured at halftime. I will post some pictures when it is all over.

The Backwoods

Hey, all you New Yorkers: If you want to have some BBQ and experience the passion of Alabama football, head down to Brother Jimmy's BBQ at Lexington Avenue and 31st Street in Manhattan. The Greater New York Alabama Alumni Association holds their game watching events there. I went to one a couple years back, when they used to hold them at the Mercury Bar. It was pretty cool, they even got the waitresses to wear Alabama cheerleader uniforms.

I'm sure it will be even better at Brother Jimmy's. It's apparently a new place, complete with flat screen TV's. I cannot vouch for their BBQ at all, but I'm sure there will be plenty of buzz. The Alabama faithful really come out when the team is playing well. The game starts at 3:30 Saturday afternoon.

Here's a link to a review from PigTrip about one of the other Brother Jimmy's BBQ joints in New York. Can't be too much different....

Brother Jimmy's Review

Cristiaan And Kim Engaged

Breaking news, as my brother and teammate Cristiaan is now engaged to his longtime girlfriend Kim Schneider. They got engaged Sunday, which was also Cristiaan's birthday. Congratulations guys! I doubt I will be able to convince then to have a BBQ wedding, but we'll see!

Chili Recipe

I had hoped to do some cooking this weekend, ribs, but ended up laid up in bed sick for the last couple of days. Feeling better though, thanks for asking....

For the first time since I started this blog, I'm going to post a recipe. I haven't posted any before because for one, I'm not posting my competition BBQ recipes for obvious reasons, and quite frankly I don't have many homemade dishes that are so good that they warrant someone else trying them at home.

But this chili recipe is pretty good and very easy to duplicate at home. It is basically meat, spices and some peppers.

Mix together in Large Bowl:

2 lbs Beef Sirloin tips, cut into 1/2inch cubes

1lb Ground beef

1/2 cup Chili powder (I use Gebhardts)

3 Garlic cloves, fine chop

1 Red chili pepper, fine chop

1 Habernero, fine chop (optional, if you like really hot)

1 Jalapeno pepper, fine chop

1 Tablespoon cumin

In a large pot, saute one large finely chopped white onion in 2 tbsp oil (I use bacon fat). Once the onions are clear, add meat mixture and brown.

Once meat is browned, add:

2 cups beef or veal stock

1 cup beer

1/2 cup water

Bring to a boil and simmer for two hours, stirring occasionally. After two hours, add:

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1/2 tablespoon cumin

1/2 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

Cook for another one hour, stirring occasionally. When the hour is almost up, add 1 teaspoon hot sauce (I use Dirty Dick's Hot Pepper Sauce). Adjust up or down based on how hot you like your chili. If you like beans, add one cup of black beans for the last 10 minutes of cooking.

I serve with chopped red onion, shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese and tortilla chips.

This recipe is the result of a lot of experimenting over the last few years. That's the beauty of chili. Just like BBQ, there are so many ways to make it, and none of them are wrong.

Judging, Sayville

For the second time since becoming a KCBS certified judge, I judged a contest this past weekend. It was the battle of the BBQ Brethren in Sayville, Long Island, New York. This experience reminded me again that I am really a cook, not a judge.

Before I go any further, I want to say that I respect those who come and judge BBQ contests. They take time out of their lives, and spend in some cases a great deal on gas or hotels to come and serve as a judge, and do not get paid for their efforts. From what I have seen, most come and make their best effort to be fair and judge each entry on its merits. They have an important role in BBQ and I appreciate them as a cook.

The only thing that really bothers me about the judges in the two contests that I have done is that many will take the tiniest nibble of their food, then pack all the rest into plastic bags and coolers to bring home. This process kind of creeps me out. I picture them sitting down to dinner with the family, with this nice platter of BBQ with one bite out of each piece at the center of their dining room table.

Ugh....

They should not allow judges to take food they have scored home. I feel the judges that only take the tiny bite are not doing the cooks any good by doing that. They should take at least one big bite, maybe two. Maybe bite both sides of the rib. But saving any of the entry to bring home should not be an option.

I would rather that they require 10 samples in the box, so there is extra food for judges to bring home afterwards.

But that is not my biggest problem with judging. One of the main reasons I like to cook BBQ contests is being there for the weekend, seeing friends, enjoying adult beverages and what not. And of course, the actual cooking of the food, and the challenge of cooking it just right.

When you judge, it is different. You arrive Sunday morning, and you are not allowed to converse with the teams. You can kind of walk past and wave, but you are not really supposed to stop at anyone's site and talk to them. Then, when it is over, it is also hard to visit with anyone. The teams are all in breakdown mode, they have been there all weekend, and really all they want to do is get their gear packed up so they can get out of there as soon as the awards are over. You kind of feel like you're in the way.

However, the hardest part for me yesterday was the drive. Out the door at 5:30 a.m. and it was two and a half hours to get to my brother's place in Montrose, New York to pick him up. Then, another two hours driving to Sayville. We decided to stay until the awards were handed out, but it turned out they were not scheduled to begin until five and didn't actually start until 5:30. We didn't get on the road until 6:30, and it was just before midnight that I walked in my door at home. And because I took the SUV, I spent around $60 on gas alone.

When I judge in the future, it will be a lot closer to home.

Oh yeah, the food. I'm not going to be one of the haters who says "everything was terrible." There was some of what I consider to be bad BBQ, but I also tried some really good food. One of the rib entries was outstanding, and we didn't have any really tough brisket out of all 6 entries. Several chicken entries were good too, with both nice flavor and bite through skin.

The worst entries of the day were two of the pork turn ins. Both had the appearance of cat food, this cold, mushy pile of unappetizing pork. Both tasted a little better than they looked, but all at our table agreed that these were the worst two entries of the entire day.

I do take my judging responsibility seriously though. I feel that my scoring is fair, accurate and thoughtful. I don't give out too many 9's, but I also don't give out many 5's either. I actually did give a 4 yesterday, it was a rib that was so tough you could barely bite it.

So in the end, it was an OK day. The weather was nice, and it was nice to visit with friends, and see Clint and Smoke In Da Eye win the contest. However, all things being equal, I would have rather picked up some BBQ from one of the local slop joints, spent the day with Sheila and Max, and watched the Giants-Steelers game on the plasma.

Big Week In BBQ

It's a big week in the BBQ world, and for the most part Q Haven will be on the sidelines for it.

This Thursday through Saturday is the Jack Daniel's World Invitational BBQ, which in my opinion is the most prestigious BBQ contest there is. There are others that are bigger, that have larger payouts, but no contest is harder to get into than The Jack. In case there are any readers who are not aware how it works, you have to win a state championship to even have a chance to go to the Jack. If there are more than one championships in a state, there is a draw to determine which team goes. Some states like Vermont only have one, so they are an automatic qualifier. Others, like Missouri have more than 30 contests each year, so winning that draw is much more difficult.

Q Haven qualified for The Jack by winning our second ever contest in 2006. However, we have not won a contest since. I would really like to go back someday.

Also this weekend is the Battle of the BBQ Brethren in Sayville, NY. We cooked this contest last year and had a great time, but we have so much going on with Max, and it turns out Sheila will be in California Friday and Saturday anyway, that I decided not to cook it this year. However, my brother Cristiaan and I will be heading down to judge on Sunday. It will be fun to see everyone, but I would much rather be cooking.


So when is our next contest? I don't know. I hear the "Freeze Your Butt Off" contest is going to happen again this winter. I'll probably cook it if it happens. In the meantime, there will be lots of practice...

To read about Q Haven's 2006 trip to "The Jack" click HERE

Pork, The Other White Meat

My competition pork recipe has been pretty much the same for the last two years. But it is very different from when I first started cooking BBQ.

When I got my first smoker, I started cooking pork using the "Mr Brown" recipe that I found at the Virtual Weber Bulletin Board web site. For someone first starting out cooking Q, this is a great recipe. By the time I cooked my first contest in May of 2006, my pork recipe had changed somewhat, but was still based on the Mr. Brown recipe. However, I turned the pork in without sauce at that contest. Here is the picture from the turn in box at Rhode Island.

To me, this box looked super dry. It scored 12th out of 21 teams.

The next contest we cooked, I changed it up and used pulled, chunks and slices of pork in the box. This took 13th out of 33 teams.

This box was kind of a mess looking at it now....and it is the only time I have ever turned in sliced pork.

Anyway, the next few contests, it was pretty much the same, with pork scoring in the middle of the pack. I knew that I had to make some changes to push it over the top. I made wholesale changes, using new rub and sauce, and I also started injecting. The first time I tried this recipe in competition was at the Jack Daniel's in 2006. It was our best BBQ result of the Jack, taking 20th place. Here it is....

Since then, the recipe has been tweaked and the presentations have changed, but overall my pork is pretty much the same. It has gotten some really good calls, including 3rd place out of 35 teams at Westport last month. While I love change and experimenting, this is one category I will be leaving alone, at least for now.

Friday Night Food Porn

Well, since everyone else is stealing the idea from Mike Boisvert of the Lakeside Smokers blog, I might as well do it too....

Grilled Swordfish with Lobster Cream Sauce

New England Represents at the Royal!

The New England teams that cooked at the American Royal in Kansas City this past weekend certainly represented well.


iQue finished 8th overall out of more than 400 teams in the open competition, and I Smell Smoke was 20th overall. Transformer BBQ took 11th place ribs out of the more than 400 teams. In the invitational, I Smell Smoke took 1st place in chicken.

After hearing so much about the Royal, I really want to cook it. Someday....

American Royal This Weekend

This weekend is the American Royal, certainly one of the biggest and most prestigious BBQ contests of the year. I have never cooked it or been to the Royal, but am planning to do so sometime in the future. We were qualified for the invitational contest in 2006, but had a vacation to Jamaica planned for the same week and decided to just go to the Jack.

New England will be well represented at the Royal. Transformer BBQ, I Smell Smoke!!! and iQue will all be cooking the Royal this year. Also, the Brothers in Smoke, Phil and BBQ Brethren.com from New York are making the trip.

Brendan and Julie Burek, Transformer BBQ

Chris Hart, iQue

Steve Farrin, I Smell Smoke!!!

Phil Rizzardi, BBQBrethren.com

Good luck everyone!

Ribs

Ribs are the reason I started cooking BBQ in the first place. But man have my preparation of them evolved over the years.

I am embarrassed to admit that when I first started cooking "ribs" on my own, I boiled them. And they weren't even ribs! I would take those "country style ribs" and boil them with spices. Then, I would finish them on the grill or in the oven with KC Masterpiece. Real BBQ'ers are probably cringing at this, but they were actually pretty good.

I always wanted to cook real ribs the way I had remembered them from eating out as a kid, and from my years at the University of Alabama.

Once I started learning about real BBQ on the Internet years later I started cooking loin back ribs regularly. And they were usually pretty good. These are our first place ribs from our second ever contest, the New Hampshire Rock-n-Ribfest in June of 2006.

Here's some extra porn...

Once I started competing, I learned that a lot of the teams that score consistently high in ribs use spare ribs instead of back ribs. This year I started practicing spares, and turned them in for the first time at Harpoon. They took 12th place, not bad at all for a first time out at a tough competition. My second shot at competing with spares was at New Paltz, and those came in 3rd out of more than 50 teams.

Will I stick with spares when competing in the future? I'm not sure. Only the judges will really know :-)

Westport, Connecticut, USA

Q Haven finally got to cook in our home state this past weekend in Westport, Connecticut, the first annual Blues, Views and BBQ. With the drive so short and perfect weather forecasted, it seemed like this would be an easy weekend. It was a lot of fun, but it was also anything but easy.

It started off easy enough. I took Friday off work so I could focus on getting ready for the contest. It was a whirlwind day. Dropped Max off at daycare, went down to BJ's for gas and final meat purchasing, then to Stop and Shop for final groceries, then home to prep meat and do final packing. Then it was off to pick up the camper, take it to a nearby campground to dump the tanks, then home to finish packing up. Oops, I forgot to stop and get beer, zipped down to the liquor store and loaded up, back home, showered and was ready. We hit the road at around 6:30 p.m.

Talk about leaving everything to the last minute....

Sheila, Max and I got to the site, and there were only a few other teams there. got the camper into the site and it was tight. At some contests there is some wiggle room, but here the sites were strictly 20 feet by 20 feet. Paying for the extra large site would have been a good idea.

We got our basic setup done pretty quickly, thanks to Merle and company from Wine and Swine, who all started unloading our stuff, was really nice of them. The bad news is that for some reason, the power was not being turned on until Saturday morning. This was bad for us, as it got pretty cold, and we only had battery power in the camper. When we had to turn on the camper furnace in the middle of the night, we were worried that the power would run out and poor Max would freeze. The battery was about dead when the juice was turned on in the AM Saturday.

Once we got up Saturday, there wasn't a whole lot to do. They wanted the teams to judge for the backyard BBQ contest, and the Iron Chef contest was not until after the cook's meeting at 5PM. We got there to judge and they had more than enough, so we were turned away.

In the meantime, we got to spend a little time with the many teams who made the trip. Lakeside Smokers, Transformer BBQ, Wine and Swine and a few other cool teams were all located right around us. However, it was just me and Sheila, and we were kind of tied to our site because Max was there, and I did not get to really hang around with everyone as much as I would have liked. It was easier with Max at New Paltz, because he was new and everyone wanted to hold him and watch him. This time we felt a little more tied down.

Max

Fast forward to the Iron Chef. The ingredients they provided were a pork tenderloin, a sweet potato, a zucchini and a bottle of Paul Newman's marinade. We really did not go too far outside the box here. I marinated the tenderloin and smoked it, and Sheila made brown sugar mashed sweet potatoes and mixed the zucchini with some red pepper and butter. Overall the dish was OK, really nothing special, and it scored towards the bottom. We were so bummed about it that we didn't even take a picture.

There was a lot of partying going on Saturday night, but I didn't partake a whole lot. For some reason I just wasn't feeling it. Reloaded the Backwoods with charcoal and went to bed around 11:30, was up at 4:30 AM to start cooking.

Finally, Cristiaan showed up at around 9AM. He had to attend a wake Friday night, then had to work until late Saturday night, so he could not make it until then. It was good to have him there, we really needed the morale boost and an extra set of hands.

Cristiaan

The chicken could have done really well. It was probably the most well cooked chicken I have made in a while. The only problem was that I used a little too much rub, and we all agreed that it tasted too salty. Finished 25th (35 teams).

Next were the ribs. I was worried before these ever hit the smoker. When I bought them, I thought I had selected two packages of two racks of spares each. However, one of them was deceiving, and actually contained three racks. Three scrawny racks. The other two were ok, so I knew the turn ins would probably have to come from those two.

The ribs missed. 20th place.

Thank goodness for the pork. Just like at New Paltz, one good call salvaged the weekend for us, as we were called for third place. I had experimented with a new pork recipe at New Paltz, and it didn't work at all. I went back to the basics this time, and the old recipe worked pretty well.

Funny story about this call to the stage. We obviously didn't have a discussion about what to do if we did in fact get a call. When we got called, Sheila, Cristiaan and I all headed up to the stage to accept the award. I just assumed that my parents would stay with Max as we went to the stage. I assumed wrong...when we got back people immediately pointed out that we just abandoned our little boy, right there in the crowd! It was embarrassing, but seriously, I would never worry at all with him surrounded by great BBQ people!

Max all alone at the awards!

Next was brisket, and I knew immediately this was not going to win any awards. I cooked a whole packer and a flat. The packer just wasn't where it needed to be, and the flat ended up being shoe leather. We took 12th, which surprised me a little. I thought it would be much lower.

So in the end, we were 9th overall. Not great, not too bad. The one good call really helped though, without it it would have been a pretty lousy scoring weekend.

The grand champions were "Sledneck" Steve and R2-BQ. Was great to see a new face in "victory lane."

So with the Westport contest history, our 2008 season is likely done as well. While we had a good time at Sayville last year, it is a lot of work and expense. Especially with the choices getting there being a $300 ferry across to Long Island, or driving down through the Bronx and Queens, then on the LIE with the camper. As of this writing, I am just not feeling up to it.

But overall, ending the season probably isn't the worst thing right now. We got a really late start because of the birth of Max, but were still able to get Harpoon, New Paltz and Westport in after he was born July 11th. We were reserve grand champions at Harpoon too, which was one of our all time team highlights.

Probably the best thing I can do is start practicing for 2009. I feel like some changes are in order.

Back From Westport

Got back from the Westport contest around 9PM last night. Was a really fun weekend, great weather, great venue, lots of friends close by. Our scores weren't where I would have liked them to be, but the judges were really right on. I can identify exactly what went wrong with each category that led to the scores missing the mark.

Got one good call, 3rd place pork with 35 teams, and we finished 9th overall, so it was an OK showing. But 25th place chicken and 20th place ribs hurt. Brisket was 12th, and I was surprised it finished that high.

It's funny how I think that the more competitions you do, the easier it should get, and that is never the case. In a couple of ways, it is back to square one for me. I'll post the whole weekend round up soon....the good, the bad and the ugly!

Westport!!!!

It's competition day!

We leave for Westport tonight. Finally a contest I don't have to drive more than two hours to get to. With light traffic, as I am expecting after 6 tonight, it shouldn't take us more than an hour and 15 minutes.

The best part for me today is that I took the day off work. I do have a full day planned though.

First, it is off to the camper place to get a new house for dumping my tanks. The last one is what came with the camper, and it never really stayed on properly. I don't want to go into detail but this is the nasty part of owning an RV. I will be getting the best one I can buy.

Next, it's off to BJ's to get last minute meat and charcoal. Then, home to do a little prep work. After that it will be off to the place where I park the camper these days, bring it home and do some final packing. I went over to the camper yesterday to get some stuff done, so everything is clean and ready to go.

After that, some final packing, then when Sheila gets home with Max we are off!

The good news is that a lot of friends are coming tonight. Lakeside Smokers, Transformer BBQ and Wine and Swine will all be there tonight. We really have nothing to do until the Iron Chef contest Saturday night, so we will have a lot of time to just hang out and relax.

Finally A Connecticut Contest!

This weekend, Q Haven will be competing in my home state of Connecticut for the first time since I started cooking contests in 2006. It's the Blues, Views and BBQ in Westport. It should be a very interesting weekend to say the least.


As of now there are 30 teams signed up for the contest. That's a great showing for a first time event, with a few factors playing into it. One, it seems like it is going to be a pretty cool event. Two, pretty good prize money. Three, as things stand now it is an automatic qualifier for the Jack. However, that could change if there is another Connecticut contest added between now and September first of next year. But I have heard nothing, so it is very likely that whoever wins will know that they are going to Lynchburg in October of 2009.

Anyway, I am excited for this one. It may be our last contest of 2008, so I really want to do well as I get ready for the long winter off season.

We will be arriving in Westport Friday night. I'm taking Friday off work so I do not have to go nuts getting ready all day.

The Jack Draw

The Jack draw was today. We weren't in it. Bummer....

Actually, Q Haven came pretty close. We missed an automatic bid to the Jack at Harpoon by 2.2 points. So close, but yet so far.

I am not complaining though, as it can go both ways. When we won the New Hampshire state championship in June of 2006, our score was 632.0002. The team we beat, BS BBQ, had a score of 632.0000. Two ten thousandths of a percentage point. That must have been tough on them, but because of it we went to the Jack.

I really want to go back someday. When we went in 2006, I was so new to the competition scene that I don't think I quite appreciated it. We kind of did our own thing, and did not really spend a whole lot of time with the great teams that were there. It did not help a lot that the first two days it poured like crazy.

This year, only three New England teams are qualified. But if you could pick three New England teams out of the pool, most would pick the three that are going, I Smell Smoke!!!, iQue and Lunchmeat. Congratulations to all three teams, I wish you the best of luck down there!

Hopefully at this time next year, we will be in the draw with a chance to go back.

For a flashback post, click HERE to read about our trip to the Jack in 2006.

Labor Day Weekend Catering

Been a while, sorry for the lack of posts lately.

I've been pretty tied up with the combination of caring for our little man, along with working a full and a part time job (so our little man can enjoy a comfortable lifestyle!)

Got to do a little Q'ing, however, as for the second straight year we did a catering job for a Hamden, CT family on Saturday of Labor Day weekend. Naturally I had to complicate things by bartending Friday night. It was margarita night at the country club where I work part time, and I have learned that making myself unavailable for an important shift like margarita night usually leads to being left off the schedule for weeks. So I sucked it up and worked.

So that meant that I had to work from 5AM until noon at my full time job, drive home to Norwich, load six pork butts and two whole packer briskets into the Backwoods, then get into the car and drive to New Haven by 5PM to bartend. While I was gone, Sheila filled in admirably as pitmaster and made sure the smoker stayed at temperature. Home at 1PM, dumped the ash and reloaded a new full basket of charcoal, filled the water pan, threw in a brisket flat I was making just in case and it was off to bed for a few hours of sleep.

Up at 7AM, once the meats were at temperature I wrapped them all in foil and piled them into a large cooler for transport to the site. Got there at around 12:30 PM, with arrival between 3 and 3:30 PM.

The job was for 50-55 people, and they wanted plenty of leftovers. I cooked the six butts, two whole briskets and one flat in advance. On site I cooked 50 smoked chicken wings, three sausage fatties and 50 ABT's (bacon wrapped stuffed jalapeno's). I served the ABT's and one of the fatties as appetizers, with each fattie slice cut into fours and toothpicked. They all went pretty quickly.

All the other food was on the buffet. By the time we left after most people had already eaten, all of the other two fatties were gone and there were only three wings left. Most of the brisket flat remained, along with the burnt ends (which I put out last as a final treat), and there were a couple of small chaffing pans of pork left.

Overall, everyone seemed to really enjoy the food. Catering jobs are a lot of work, but can be really satisfying when they go well. We really had a good time doing it, and hopefully they will ask us back for a third year next year!

Naturally, we forgot to bring our camera and did not take any pictures of the food. If the host took any that she can send me I will post them.

New Paltz, Take Three

For the third straight year, Q Haven cooked the Hudson Valley Ribfest in Highland, New York. It's really New Paltz, a college town which is minutes from the contest site.

The last two years, we have not done really well at this contest. In 2006, we were shut out, and did not get a single call in either the New England Barbeque Society grilling contest or Kansas City Barbeque Society BBQ contest. In 2007, we did well in the grilling contest, taking 2nd place in fish and sausage, but were again shut out in BBQ. Badly. Horrible scores across the board.

Would the third time be the charm?

The goal was to leave no later than one p.m. Friday for the site. This was a drive I dread, as Friday traffic in Danbury, then in New York state, is usually terrible. Finally got on the road more like two, and the traffic was surprisingly light. Arrived at the contest site at around 6:30. I was towing the toy hauler, while Sheila and Max followed in the Jetta.

Yes, Max made the trip for his first BBQ competition. At five weeks, we figured we had waited long enough haha. Seriously, having the camper and several willing volunteers to help watch him, we felt we could bring him. Here's Max in his portable camper crib.

We got our site assignment, and it was not in the location where I had hoped to be. However, we were sited next to our friends Mike and Kris from Lakeside Smokers, so it was OK.

Fortunately, the thunderstorms expected Friday rolled past before I got there. The weather the rest of the weekend was great.

Anyway, on to the cooking.

Saturday was the NEBS grilling contest, and it was business as usual for Q Haven at New Paltz, as we got shut out. However, our scores were not too bad. 33 teams competed in grilling.

The first category was pork chop. I did a Frenched chop, seared in a cast iron skillet, then finished on the grill with a dijon sauce. I had a presentation idea, but the chops ended up being too big. I just did what I could to get them all in the box and turned it in. Seventh place.

888 899 778 857 866 877

Next was sausage. I did the exact same sausage fattie recipe that took second place at New Paltz last year. The recipe is now retired for competition purposes, so I will post the recipe in a future post. It took 19th place.

867 688 766 878 788 867

Next was steak. I did a NY Strip, and Cristiaan made a red wine reduction that we lightly splashed on there. This was close, just needed a little more flavor and it could have hit. 12th place.

867 589 888 778 758 788

Last was fish. I always keep it simple with fish, and this time I did swordfish, grilled with a little salt, pepper and Old Bay, then finished with a coating of an olive oil, lemon juice and fresh oregano. For some reason, the judges did not score this well for appearance. A little better appearance score and this definitely gets a call. Instead, it was 7th place.

789 677 688 888 679 889

Is that a 6 in appearance? Three judges thought so. Perfectly cooked, look at those nice, subtle grill marks! Oh, forget it....

Maybe it was an attack on the "boring" all parsley presentation. Feel free to post a comment if you have any thoughts.

So we finished 9th overall for the contest. While we didn't get any calls, it was a far better showing than our last grilling attempt, when we came in second to last at Oyster Bay.

After grilling, Cristiaan and I hit the pool. There's a huge, Olympic sized pool on the grounds of the Ulster County Fairgrounds. A great way to unwind after a long day of cooking.

Saturday afternoon and evening, I learned a lesson. I always enjoy cooking for people, and I invited several family members to come Saturday afternoon. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but having to entertain and cook for all those people is clearly a distraction. I get distracted by the normal goings on at a contest to begin with, and adding that much pressure just makes it worse. I have decided to focus on the contest cooking at contests, and save the cooking for family for home.

Saturday night, I needlessly stayed up too late. Did not get a lot of sleep. Dam dip was served late, and I try not to miss it!

Dam Dip is a massive cast iron skillet of Mexican goodness served late night by Sully of Lunchmeat. It is always awesome after an evening of adult beverages.

Sunday went smoothly cooking for the BBQ contest, which featured 53 teams. Most of the big names in BBQ in the Northeast that have been doing well were there, including iQue, Lunchmeat, Lakeside Smokers, Transformer BBQ and BBQ Brethren.com. Oh yeah, I Smell Smoke!!! was there too :-)

I was concerned that the chicken would not be finished on time because I didn't get the grill hot enough, but it ended up being done just enough. Chicken was 10th place.

Next were ribs. It was my second time cooking spares, and they came out really well. Tenderness was right where I wanted it to be, took 3rd place. Here is Cristiaan modeling one of them.

Pork...tried a couple of new things, missed the mark. My old pork recipe will return for Westport. This one took 23rd place.

Last was brisket. We hardly followed up on taking 1st place in brisket at Harpoon. Even though I cooked it for 16 hours, I never got these briskets up to the right temperature, and the meat was not nearly as tender as I would have liked. I knew it, and the judges confirmed it. 40th place. Ouch.

Sheila handled the apple category. She made crepes. What she made for the filling had great flavor, but the crepes themselves did not have any flavor at all, and it hurt the dish overall. 41st place.

So in the end, we were 11th overall. Not the worst showing but not where I would have liked to be. I have identified some mistakes and areas for improvement, and hopefully it will show at Westport next month.

iQue won the event, taking first place pork and brisket in the process. However, so many different teams got calls to the stage, and others took big steps forward. Our friends from Wine and Swine finished 8th overall, and Sexy Gino's took first place chicken and 9th overall. Both are Connecticut teams too, and it is good so see some other teams from the state doing well on the circuit.

After it was all over, we took our time breaking down, really cleaning everything and packing well. After breakdown was complete, Cristiaan, Mike Boisvert of Lakeside Smokers, and Sean McCabe of Group W Bench all went over and took a final dip in the pool. After a long weekend of extremely hard work it felt so great.

I was the last BBQ team to leave the contest site. BBQ contests are too short. While I got to hang around and visit with a lot of people, there is never enough time to see everyone. I miss being there already, and cannot wait for the next one.

Max Attends His First BBQ Contest

Max attended his first BBQ contest this past weekend in New Paltz, and was clearly the rock star of the weekend. Everyone, especially the girls, enjoyed meeting our little guy!

Thanks to Kris of Lakeside Smokers, who watched Max during the grilling contest Saturday and muchof the weekend. It was greatly appreciated!

Back From New Paltz

Got home early this morning from the Hudson Valley Ribfest in Highland, NY. We had a great time, took 3rd place in ribs among 53 teams, and learned a few lessons along the way. A recap of the event is coming soon.

Oh, and that picture is of a beef short rib I cooked for Saturday snacks. They came out pretty good.

Off To New Paltz

Well, it is early Friday morning, and early this afternoon we will hit the road for New Paltz and the Hudson Valley Ribfest. I really can't wait to get there. In fact, getting there, or to any BBQ contest is the worst part for me.

The reason? Towing the toy hauler/camper to get there.


I really do not enjoy towing at all, at least with my current tow vehicle. It is a 2004 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer, and it has a strong V8 engine. The vehicle is rated to tow 7100 pounds, and the camper is 3,500 pounds empty. I add around a thousand pounds of gear to it, so I am still well below the rated weight, but the SUV still has to work really hard. I'm worried that one day the tranny will just drop right out of the bottom of the thing.

If it happens, I hope it is on the way home, not on the way there.

Once we arrive, having the camper is the greatest thing at a competition. Between the bed, toilet and shower, along with air conditioning, it brings a layer of comfort that I feel gives us an edge. It will also allow us to bring our baby Max this weekend.

After our strong showing at Harpoon, I feel pretty good going into this contest. There are a lot of great teams cooking this one, and a lot of teams, period, with at least 53 paid entries. We are doing both the grilling Saturday and BBQ contest Sunday. Last year at New Paltz, we did very well in the grilling contest, but tanked the BBQ contest. Hopefully this year we can have a successful two days.

In the meantime, we got Sheila a Blackberry last week. Maybe if I can figure out how the thing works I will post something from the contest.

To Grill Or Not To Grill

As is usually the case, this weekend's contest at New Paltz, NY will be both a BBQ contest and a grilling contest. While grilling can be fun, it adds additional layers of planning and expense with small prize pools that sometimes make me think they are not worth cooking.

But I keep coming back.

I've done pretty well in grilling contests in the past, but it is safe to say I am in a bit of a grilling slump. The last two grilling contests I cooked I didn't do very well. In fact, we would have come in dead last at the last one in Oyster Bay, NY if one of the teams had not missed a turn in time.

But I am grilling at New Paltz. What I am grilling at this moment remains up in the air.

The categories are fish, sausage, pork chop and beef steak. These are nearly the same categories as last year's event at New Paltz, where we took 2nd place in both fish and sausage and finished fourth overall. If I had not tanked the steak entry we would have had a shot at grand or reserve. So while I always like to change things up from event to event, I am inclined to keep things pretty similar to last year.

If I had only written everything down....

I can guarantee that the steak entry will be completely changed. Last year, I turned in a single strip steak with some kind of Gorgonzola cream sauce i whipped up. That is not happening again. The rest are starting to come together in my head, I'll finalize in the next couple of days.

Harpoon

Months ago, I stared at my calendar and had pretty much decided that I would not be able to go to Harpoon. Sheila was pregnant with Max, and her due date was July 22. The Harpoon BBQ contest is July 25-27. There was just no way I could possibly plan to go with the baby's due date so close.

Then, something happened.

In June, the doctors moved her due date up to July 15, and I started thinking that maybe it would be possible. When he was born healthy even earlier on July 11, the decision was made. I was going.

Now, we are the reserve grand champions of the event. But let me back up.

I always expect to do well at BBQ contests. If I didn't, I wouldn't compete. I doubt any of the teams put in all the time, effort and money with a hope of finishing 38th. However, at this particular event, I did not feel any real pressure to do well. We had not competed at a sanctioned KCBS contest since last October at Sayville, and most of the top teams at Harpoon had competed five, six times so far this season. To think I would show up after so much time off and do really well would have been silly. Also, some big national teams had come up, making the normally tough Harpoon field just that much tougher.

But the good thing is that I have been cooking and practicing all along. Mostly chicken and ribs, but I did do a brisket last month too. Since Sayville, I also got a new smoker, a Backwoods Party, and have added a BBQ Guru to it to help better control the temperature.

I was also planning to cook spare ribs in the competition instead of baby backs for the first time. While I felt pretty good with my new spares recipe, you never really know how they will do the first time out of the box.

We were planning to vend too, which adds a layer of difficulty to things.

So going in, I decided a few things; For one I wasn't sleeping Friday night. One problem in the last few contests was that if I go to sleep at all, the pit temperature crashes. I was not going to let that happen. Also, while I wanted to do well vending, my competition meat was going to get top priority.

So the plan was to have my brother Cristiaan go up early to secure a good vending spot for us. He got up there Thursday morning, but the site we wanted was already roped off. So we got a good spot next to our first choice, which was near the beer tents, but not on the main drag. I had no intention of cooking enough food to justify taking a spot on the main road, which is where most of the food is sold.

I got up there Friday before noon. We were set up right next to Lakeside Smokers, which was awesome. Mike and Kris are the best, and there is nobody I would rather be set up next to. On the other side was the Giggling Pigs, who were nice.

Unfortunately, Sheila did not make the trip. The baby was only two weeks old, and even with the camper, we felt that it was just too soon to bring him to a contest. Also, his presence would have been a huge distraction. That, combined with Sheila needing to be near a computer to deal with work issues, made it impossible for her to come.

We got our meat inspected quickly so I was able to get everything marinated and seasoned quickly. Usually I end up running around socializing with everyone, but I really tried to stay on our site and focus on the task at hand.

With the exception of the new ribs, the rest of the recipes for the contest were set. The only difference is that I went back to my old butcher for briskets, Salem Prime Cuts in Salem, CT. While he always gets quality meats, when I picked them up, they were really small. This concerned me, but I just adjusted cooking times and they clearly worked out well.

So Saturday rolled around, and while I was pretty tired, the cook went very smooth. My sister Kathleen, her boyfriend Jon and Cristiaan's girlfriend Kim all were going to handle the vending operation. This allowed myself and Cristiaan to focus on the contest.

The chicken came out ok. I was not sure how it would do. The skin was a little rubbery, despite my best efforts, but it tasted pretty good. Chicken was called for 9th place.

The ribs, I cooked three racks of spares for the contest. Two of the racks, I overcooked. I lifted them with tongs and they fell apart. Ut oh....but the third rack was not too tender and sliced nicely. All six bones came from the same rack, which I understand is unusual for competition spares. They did ok, 12th place in a difficult field. Not bad for a new recipe.

Next was pork. My pork recipe has been pretty consistent, usually gets called in the top ten. This time was no different, 7th place.

Then came the brisket.

I should have had some idea that the brisket was going to come out really good during the overnight hours. Brendan from Transformer BBQ was over, and commented how good the brisket smelled coming out of my Backwoods smoker. Then, once the vending started, I carved some of the brisket for a few customers and they raved about it.

Once I started carving for the contest, I knew the meat was really good. However, a couple of the slices seemed a little bit tough, although they all tasted great. When they called it for first place, it was a great feeling.

About a minute later, we were called as reserve grand champions. We missed being grand champions with an automatic bid to the Jack Daniels contest by 2.2 points. While of course I would have liked to have won, I really couldn't have been much happier to win reserve. With the strong team list, even finishing in the top ten is a great accomplishment.

My only regret is that Sheila was not there to share the experience. She is my partner and biggest supporter, and I know she would have really enjoyed the weekend.

Harpoon, Reserve Grand Champions

Even though we did not win, Q Haven represented this past weekend at the Harpoon New England Championship BBQ in Windsor, Vermont. We got calls for 9th place chicken, 7th place pork and 1st place beef brisket and were reserve grand champions of the event. We missed winning the contest by 2.2 points.

The 1st place brisket at this event was my single best accomplishment as a BBQ cook.

The only bummer was that Sheila couldn't be there to enjoy the great weekend with us. We decided that at two weeks old, Max was just too young to bring to a contest. They were both sorely missed.

I will write up a full recap of the event at some point this week. But I want to say thanks to everyone who was so great to us this weekend at Harpoon. An unforgettable weekend for sure.

[[Photo shamelessly stolen from Lakeside Smokers, thanks Mike!]]

Harpoon!!!

Four days until I head up to Harpoon!


I cannot wait to get up there. We haven't cooked a KCBS sanctioned contest since late October of last year, almost 9 months! It seems like forever, that's for sure. However, I do not regret putting the schedule on hold as Sheila's pregnancy progressed. Looking back, she was fine, and we certainly could have cooked at Peter's Pond, New Hampshire or even Lake Placid. In fact, she worked at her job until the day that her water broke. Pretty impressive, a tough, hard working woman. I am proud of her.


Unfortunately, she will not be coming to Harpoon. She keeps saying that she wants to come up for one of the days. Max is doing great, and seems to enjoy riding in the car. But we know that it is just not worth it. She will be missed, that's for sure. She has been handling all the garnish for the turn in boxes, and my brother and I will have to pick up the slack. Also, we expect to be busy vending, and her help would certainly make a difference.


With the air conditioned camper, she certainly could come. But it would be just more trouble than it is worth. However, Max will be coming to Hudson Valley next month for sure.

Max Has Arrived!

I haven't had much time to post lately, with a very good excuse. Our first child, a boy named Max, was born Friday, July 11th.

The little guy and Sheila are both doing great, and today is the first time I have been able to start thinking seriously about BBQ. We leave for Harpoon next Friday morning, and I have started planning for the contest and the vending operation.

Since the baby came early (he was actually due July 22), I will be able to go up to Vermont for the whole weekend now for sure. If he had just been born on the 22nd as expected, there is no way I could have left Sheila alone and gone away for the weekend. But now, that has changed. Sheila had the baby naturally, and she has bounced back great. We have friends who will come down and stay with her for those days if she needs it, but she feels that she can handle him on her own either way.

The last time I cooked a KCBS contest was last October. Wow, that is nine months ago. I cooked the FYBO in March, but that was not KCBS sanctioned. I am really concerned that I will fall flat in the competition at Harpoon because I am so out of practice. Most of our competition friends have cooked three, four, five or more events this year. But if that happens, so be it.

Regardless, I will be sure to have a great time and soak it all in. Harpoon may just be the first time I get a full night's sleep!

Catching Up

Haven't had a whole lot of time to post, but have had a few BBQ related things going on.

Last Wednesday, I went to the Cookhouse Cafe in East Hartford for a little BBQ with Gary Goldblatt of Pigtrip.net. After hearing a lot of negativity about the cookhouse, I was pleasantly surprised by our meal. They have a new appetizer called "pig wings." They are pork wrapped around a small bone and smoked. They were good, and definitely something different and interesting.

I was also surprised by the brisket. It was extremely moist and flavorful. Their "burnt ends" were nothing more than point meat cut into cubes. They weren't seasoned any further or re-smoked as some people like to cook burnt ends, but they were still pretty good. The ribs were OK, would have been mush if they had removed the membrane.

The one thing that really annoyed me was the service. I do not expect white glove treatment or the table to be crumbed between courses when visiting a BBQ joint, but for Gary to have an empty drink through the entire dinner in a near empty restaurant was unacceptable. And she dropped the check before the table was cleared. We sat there for an hour after we finished, she could have at least refilled our waters instead of taking them away.

But I have learned to get used to bad service. But I am allowed to complain about it....

HERE is the link to the PigTrip.net review of the Cookhouse Cafe, complete with pictures. They have updated the menu since his review, but it still holds up.

Saturday, we hosted a BBQ for around 20 people for the fireworks show in Norwich where we live. Our condo complex overlooks Norwich Harbor where the fireworks show takes place, so we decided to have a little cookout. I cooked 9 racks of ribs, a bunch of beef short ribs, wings, and a fattie. I decided to really stretch the Backwoods' legs, and cooked everything in there. It was a good learning experience.

Since everything in there had different cooking times, I ended up opening the smoker more times than I would have liked. This clearly contributed to the fact that the ribs were not as tender as they should have been. The large scale cook will be extremely helpful in a few weeks, when we will be cooking a ton of food for Harpoon and cannot afford to make any mistakes.