Here’s our 2010 schedule competition schedule and results:
Pork In The Park, Salisbury MD April 16-17 74th out of 132 Overall Chicken: 49th Ribs: 124th Pork: 21st Brisket: 70th Our first ever KCBS competition and a great learning experience. The biggest thing we learned from PITP was that our RV setup was not the right solution as it caused us much extra effort during setup and breakdown. Also, I now realize the importance of a backup power source. Unfortunately our backup was an inverter running from the RV cigarette lighter plug, which required me to crank the engine at 2:00 AM. Aside from the absolutely horrible ribs we turned in, the other entries were actually OK. We’ll be ready for the next comp with a better setup and plan.
Middletown BBQ Festival, Middletown DE May 21-22 3rd out of 42 Overall Chicken: 3rd Ribs: 21st Pork: 6th Brisket: 3rd What a difference a month makes! Our new travel trailer and pickup were a tremendous improvement when it came to setup, breakdown and comfort during the actual contest. We arrived in Middletown fairly fresh, rested and ready to try the techniques we’d learned three weeks previously in Rod Gray’s class. Saturday morning I felt like we were really clicking, and I was very happy with all of our turn ins. I figured we might have a shot at getting our first call, but I never expected three in our second ever KCBS comp and a third place overall. We were absolutely thrilled with the results, and for sure we will be back in Middletown next year.
It was a very unique experience being able to compete on the streets of DC and literally two blocks from my office. No travel trailer this time, and I really suffered from the heat and humidity on Saturday. I sent Sharon home Friday night to stay cool, get a good night’s rest and pick up our garnishes. By the time the Saturday night turn ins were over, I was really on the verge of heat exhaustion. After some careful thought, we decided to skip the Sunday MIM-style contest because I was concerned I might get really ill. It was a good decision, as Sunday was even hotter. A night in the Marriott, featuring a long shower and room service, made a real difference and we enjoyed being able to walk around the venue. As for the results, we were very happy with the 3rd place call in chicken. And a 10th overall in that field? We’ll take it any day!
Bel Air was a real case of “good news/bad news” results.
The good news (and there was a lot of good news):
We finished in 7th place overall with a 650.8570, our highest total yet, and we were remarkably consistent across the four categories. In fact, from highest category (brisket) to lowest (chicken) the spread was only 2.2854 points, and we were the only team in the field of 59 to score above 160.00 on all four categories. We had two top ten category finishes in brisket (9th) and ribs (9th). And perhaps most significantly, it appears we may have cracked the code on ribs. After struggling to mid-pack category results in Middletown and DC, we decided to cook our ribs on a 22.5” WSM. The temp was spot on, and they came out great. So as of today, we’re an “all WSM Team”.
The bad news:
Category calls were 8th and up, so we didn’t hear our name. Although it would’ve been awesome to get a call, I know we are on the right track. We’re only four competitions into our KCBS competition career, and we’re cooking consistently. There’s always room for improvement, though, so we will keep working hard for the remainder of 2010.
29 teams competed at this event, and Degüello BBQ had our best ever showing. We took 9th in chicken, 2nd in ribs, 1st in brisket and 2nd overall for the Reserve Grand Championship. Hearty congratulation to Lo and Slo for their Grand Championship. Tom and Michelle bring it strong every time they compete, and we’re happy to say we were bested by them today.
We’d like to say thanks to Alicia, Ben, Melvyn and the rest of the Market team for putting on a first class competition. And Joe Oaster, you are a funny dude.
Here’s the contest rundown: Chicken: 9th out of 29 (162.2858) I was very happy with the way the chicken came out. No changes since we had our 3rd place calls in Middletown and DC. Didn’t score as well as we would have liked, but when you are up against a guy like Jon Sibol of Widespread BBQ and his special guest Bob McCoy AKA Ylee Kyoti AKA The BBQ Whisperer, you’re cooking for second place anyway. Ribs: 2nd out of 29 (167.4286) Given the journey we’ve had with ribs, we were probably happier with this result than our 1st place brisket. In six months we’ve gone from 124th out of 132 at Pork In The Park to 2nd overall in this category. Switching to the WSM has allowed us to nail our temp control, and that was what has been killing us. Perfect texture, great taste. I felt we’d cooked a winner and it was great to get the recognition. Special thanks to our friends Leigh, Jorge, Michelle and DJ for doing the taste test two weeks ago. You reinforced my feeling that we had the right flavor profile and just needed to get them cooked properly. Pork: 11th out of 29 (156.0000) Good taste and tenderness, but there were lots of pork cooks that brought it strong. One thing I want to work on is finishing time. I dialed down the smoking temp but still had to pull one of the butts around 9:00 AM. I could put the pork on later, but I have learned that getting adequate rest on Friday translates into better results on Saturday. We may experiment with the pork flavor profile next month at Smoketoberfest. Brisket: 1st out of 29 (171.4286) This was our first ever category win and it was sweet. I was cautiously optimistic about our brisket, but the category win was a nice surprise and a validation of our preparation, cooking and flavor profile. Special thanks to Rich and Central Meats of Chesapeake VA. Rich, you picked me a winner again.
This weekend has validated our approach to our inaugural season of competition BBQ. We’ve put a lot of thought and work into our pre-comp prep, and it’s allowed us to cook consistently competitive entries. We know that there’s an element of luck/chance to winning, but we’re putting ourselves in a position to take advantage of luck when it does break our way. And as Farmer Hoggett said to Babe, “That’ll do Pig. That’ll do.” Smoketoberfest, Chambersburg PA October 15-16 3rd out of 48 Overall Chicken: 23rd Ribs: 5th Pork: 6th Brisket: 7th
The 2nd Annual Smoketoberfest BBQ Challenge At The Grove in Chambersburg PA is a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and was held at the Rhodes Grove Camp and Conference Center. 48 teams competed at this event, and Degüello BBQ had another strong showing to wrap up our inaugural 2010 season. We took 5th in ribs, 6th in pork, 7th in brisket and 3rd overall. Congratulation to PA Midnite Smokers for the Grand Championship and Christmas City BBQ for the Reserve Grand Championship. Eric Forrester of Mason-Dixon BBQ did a first class job with the event, and I understand Make-A-Wish received a very sizable contribution from this event. Here’s the contest rundown:
Chicken: 23rd out of 48 (155.4284) I honestly have no idea what happened in this category. We’ve cooked the exact same recipe and method almost all year and scored 3rds at Middletown and DC and a 9th last month in Shrewsbury. We were very happy with the taste and texture, as was our friend Jeff Burkett of Smokis Porkis. So the mid-pack finish was both puzzling and disappointing. Based on some observations and conversations with other competitors, I am going to try a few tweaks on our cooking method. Nothing drastic, but I have some ideas I’d like to work on over the winter.
Ribs: 5th out of 48 (161.1428) Our second consecutive strong showing in ribs. Given the fact there was less than 0.6000 separating 3rd and 6th, I feel this was an even stronger showing than the place indicates. After struggling with the WSM temp early in the cook, everything settled down. I think our Shrewsbury ribs were a little better, but these were still spot on.
Pork: 6th out of 48 (163.4284) A much better outcome this month. I dialed down the smoking temp and was able to pull the butts from the smoker later. We used larger chunks this time out and put a lot more pulled in the box. I think it looked better, and a better looking box might give the impression that it tastes better. Who knows, but we had our best pork score ever and best placing since Middletown.
Brisket: 7th out of 48 (162.8572) I was optimistic about our brisket, and we were happy with the call. Would’ve been nice to place a little higher, but hey we’ll take it. Thanks again to Rich and Central Meats of Chesapeake VA for the great brisket. The overall 3rd place was a great end to our inaugural season. We’ve made tremendous strides in all facets of our cooking, and I feel like we’re really rounding into form for 2011. Some lessons learned: Simplicity and timing: Keeping our preparations simple reduced pre-cook "burnout". We weren't exhausted before even placing the first piece of meat on the smoker. And with a well thought-out, easy to follow schedule, we were able to deal with issues as they came up. We’re looking at a more ambitious competitive schedule next year, and the winter will allow us to practice, maybe make a tweak or two and come out of the gate strong. Sleep: Getting adequate sleep was key. The BBQ Gurus allowed me to catch at least four hours of uninterrupted sleep, and Sharon didn't have to stay outside with me too late, allowing her to get even more. Using the right smoker: Once we went back to using Weber Smokey Mountains exclusively, everything really fell in place. I "know" the WSM, and using it in conjunction with the BBQ Guru gave us hours of steady, clean burning heat. Plus they're easy to transport, set up and break down.