BBQ Competition this weekend.

[sharky]

I've entered my very first BBQ competition!
My good friend Tony Fatso (from On the Grill Radio http://www.onthegrillradio.com) and I are entering an FBA (Florida BBQ Association) Sanctioned event just north of Jacksonville, FL.

Now, let me preface this by saying I don't really know what I am doing. I am a GRILL Guy, not a BBQ guy. I don't know much about smoke or smokers. I DO know how to cook baby back ribs on the grill! I have always prided myself in my good ribs, although my taste is different than others.

Tony bought a HUGE smoker about 2 months ago and we decided to give it a shot. We have practiced 4-5 times. The ribs have turned out pretty good. We think we have it down good enough to give this a shot. We've tried several different homemade rubs and recipes, and have settled on what we refer to as our own SWEET RUB. We didn't look in any books, or online rub recipes. We sat down in my kitchen and pulled all of the spices out of the cabinet. We started to measure what we thought would go good in a rub, and tossed it in. Surprisingly, after several different recipes, we settled on our very first one. It's nice and sweet, with a little kick to it. We're even going to package it and see if we can't sell a few at the competition. Either way, I'll have a few to give away here after the competition.

So, we are entering in 2 categories, Baby Back ribs & Pork Butt. I handle the ribs, and Tony handles the porkbutt. We are still deciding how we should present the meat? Do we use a homemade finishing sauce? Do we leave it plain and let the judges try the real flavor? Should we use garnish with the food when turning it in? We have NO IDEA! This is a BIG LEARNING EXPERIMENT!

There are only about 28-30 teams entered in the competition. So it's pretty small. The way I see it, if we place 27th or higher, we won!

Now, the team name. It's a good one, all Tony's idea.
Pork-Butt Pirates
That's right!

http://www.porkbuttpirates.com

It's real simple now, but I'll be sure to posty pictures from the competition!

Wish us luck! I leave at 10am tomorrow morning. Turn in time is 12PM Saturday!

[TOMP]

Good Luck to you guys! And remember: Win or Lose, Have funnnnnnnn!

I never been in a competitin b/4, but I thought each competiton had rules on garnishes and other things. You should be able to get the rules for this competition.

sounds like fun though!

Tom

[gregtx]

haha excellent.. have fun.. and good luck..

how about making a non traditional type of sauce.. maybe one with mango chutney, apple, cinnamon, cilantro, sweet peppers. avacado, papaya and other tropical fruits??? make it more of a chunky salsa side garnish.. not only will it add some great color for the presentation.. oh and don't forget some nice green leaf lettuce.. but a totally different flair.. should go nice with your sweet/hot rub???

just an idea ;)

[sharky]

After posting this I was sent the rules of the FBA
http://www.flbbq.org/fba_rules.htm

11. JUDGING - FBA sanctioning allows for blind judging only. Entries will be submitted in an approved container, with NO garnish, or decorating of any kind. Only the entry to be judged is allowed in the container. Marking of any kind will disqualify the entry. Each entry will be judged on APPEARANCE, TASTE / FLAVOR, and TENDERNESS / TEXTURE. Meat may be sauced or unsauced. A minimum of 8 separate and identifiable portions must be submitted.


Good Post Greg! I LOVE the idea, and am certainly up for trying that at the house. We did an island style rack of ribs the other day. I finished it off with shredded coconut. It turned out pretty good!

[sharky]

TOMP -

The whole thing is about having fun! I would not go if it was otherwise! I'll be sure to take plenty of pics!

[MattL]

I have seen some competitions on the Food Network and those guys are serious. The smokers they have are usually custom made in the $10-20k range. Major players!

It sounds like a blast though! I have never been to one. the closest was when my Uncle was in a chili cook-off with his buddy. They made venison chili. The only mistake they made was taking a bottle of Tequila with them. They couldn't drive home!

You might want to try to watch some those competitions on TV to get some tips. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_sp/episode/0,,FOOD_9994_32803,00.html

Tell Tony not to handle the butt too much lol!

Good luck!

[MattL]

From what I have seen on TV the judges are purists. They don't want anything that is out there. Keep it classic. I would go with a dry rub, no sauce.

[sharky]

I have seen some competitions on the Food Network and those guys are serious. The smokers they have are usually custom made in the $10-20k range. Major players!

It sounds like a blast though! I have never been to one. the closest was when my Uncle was in a chili cook-off with his buddy. They made venison chili. The only mistake they made was taking a bottle of Tequila with them. They couldn't drive home!

You might want to try to watch some those competitions on TV to get some tips. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_sp/episode/0,,FOOD_9994_32803,00.html

Tell Tony not to handle the butt too much lol!

Good luck!

I Tivo just about every grilling/bbq show there is now. I have seent he show you reference, and have got tons of good tips!

[MattL]

Kinda Off Topic -

I'm shopping for Tivo now. Do you need a phone line available for that? I don't have any phone jacks near my TV setups!

[sharky]

Kinda Off Topic -

I'm shopping for Tivo now. Do you need a phone line available for that? I don't have any phone jacks near my TV setups!

Yes, you do. I have a 50ft telephone line run along my baseboard for it.

[gregtx]

Kinda Off Topic -

I'm shopping for Tivo now. Do you need a phone line available for that? I don't have any phone jacks near my TV setups!

for about $30 you can get a wireless phone jack at best buy.. that you can then connect your cable/satellite box to a phone line.. I dont' think tivo needs a phone jack.. but i know you do to get the NFL package.. or pay per view :)


ah.. bummer.. yeah presentation is always a huge part of any food.. but if they do it blindly.. then yeah.. no sauce IMHO would be key.. show the infused flavors of your selected spices and choice cuts of meat...

oh.. does anyone ever "inject" their meat? I remember reading a thread about beer can chickens... if you try this.. get a schringe and inject your bird up with either your favorite marinade.. homemade or store bought.. and then cook the whole chicken on teh beer can.. will come out much more flavorfull.. :)

[sharky]

I haven't injected food in at least 3-4 years. Not since I really learned how to grill! lol


For presentation, I was thinking of building a small Rib house out of individual pieces. Almost like you would with lincoln logs. stack them up just a bit and them lay 3-4 over the top for a roof.

I haven't tried it yet, but hey, it might work!

[gregtx]

I haven't injected food in at least 3-4 years. Not since I really learned how to grill! lol


For presentation, I was thinking of building a small Rib house out of individual pieces. Almost like you would with lincoln logs. stack them up just a bit and them lay 3-4 over the top for a roof.

I haven't tried it yet, but hey, it might work!

haha.. yeah that was for those wanting to try the "beer can chicken" trick.. as they tend to come out not as wonderful as they hope.. :)

rib log house. interesting.. tell me how it turns out.... better yet take a picture!

[sharky]

I'll be taking plenty of pictures!

[StPeteBBQ]

Good luck and be sure to post them pics! :D

[StPeteBBQ]

I just read you initial post again... must have been asleep first time through...

Are you sure you want to be Butt Pirates???? :confused: :o :rolleyes:

[sharky]

haha. You finally got it! That's what makes the name funny:-)

we're from Tampa.. You gotta be Pirates here!

News from the BBQ front. Black Bart, Tony Fatso's smoker, was in a bit of an accident today. Well, the arm that connects to his trailer hitch is all bent up, so we will be doing the competition without the Big Smoker! We'll have 3 Weber Kettles for the ribs and a Sams Club brand smoker for the pork butts. I think we will make do and be just fine!@

[StPeteBBQ]

It ain't the cooker anyway... it's da cook(s)! :D

butt pirates... never thought I'd see the day... at least you'll get a lot of traffic on that web site! :rolleyes: :o :D

[Deuce]

Butt pirates??? what next colon cowboys??? Good luck with the bbq competition, I am jealous as I would love to do that. The chili cook-off that I entered (and won) was a dropoff so I have yet to enter a true cookoff.
By the way, if you have watched as many bbq shows as I have then you know that the weber kettle grills have taken grand champion at a lot of those competitions. I love to see how pissed the guys with the $20,000 smokers get when they lose. :)

[sharky]

it's about that time! I'm finishing my packing at the moment and will be getting on the road in about 2-3 hours. I will document as much as I can for you guys:-)

[gregtx]

haha. You finally got it! That's what makes the name funny:-)

we're from Tampa.. You gotta be Pirates here!

News from the BBQ front. Black Bart, Tony Fatso's smoker, was in a bit of an accident today. Well, the arm that connects to his trailer hitch is all bent up, so we will be doing the competition without the Big Smoker! We'll have 3 Weber Kettles for the ribs and a Sams Club brand smoker for the pork butts. I think we will make do and be just fine!@

ah that sucks.. that is like showing up at the indy 500 in a dodge neon.. hehe

It ain't the cooker anyway... it's da cook(s)! :D

butt pirates... never thought I'd see the day... at least you'll get a lot of traffic on that web site! :rolleyes: :o :D

not always.. those commercial grade smokers are much more consistant at holding a steady temperature.. which is very very important in smoking..

weber kettles will require quite a bit more monitoring and tweaking to keep the fire/smoke just right... the commercial models also normally have a separte area that you can keep adding in wood and its completely indirect cooking.. :2cents:


BUT... HOPE ALL IS GOING WELL .. IM ANXIOUS TO SEE HOW YA FINISH!!!

[sharky]

OK. we're back, and I'm very tired.

We only entered 2 out of 4 categories, so points wise in overall standings, we finished dead last. However, we placed OK for our first showing in the individual catefories. There were 36 teams. For our pork butt, we finished 26, ranking higher than some of the better known teams there. We even got a 10 from one judge for our presentation!

For the ribs, we placed 32. Out of 5 judges, we had 3 of them rank us 8.5-9.5 (out of 10 for each appearance, tenderness & taste) however 2 of them gave 7.0-7.5s. I'm convinced the reason is I chose the best looking ribs, not the most tender! I had some where the bone fell out, others were a bit tougher. The ribs we got from Sams weren't the best for presentation. 4 out of 6 racks had the double ribs on the end, which wasn't good for presentation. so I was stuck picking from the best of what waqs available.

Either way, it was a success! We overcame the smoker going down, and we didn't place last in our respective categories. All the judges seemed to agree that our rub was pretty good... although we got a few tips on how to improve it!

:-)

I'll post pics when I get them from Tony Fatso!

[sharky]

I forgot to mention that we met some GREAT people.

I would like to thank The BBQ Guy (http://www.thebbqguy.com) - Brian and Linda Pearcy. They helped us out tremendously with their advice and friendliness!

[StPeteBBQ]

Good showing despite your setbacks. Congrats!

Good thing they don't have a category for rump roast. I'd hate to see the rump rangers in a competition... :rolleyes:

[StPeteBBQ]

not always.. those commercial grade smokers are much more consistant at holding a steady temperature.. which is very very important in smoking..



Greg,

What do you consider to be a commercial grade smoker? If holding a steady temp is what you go by, I guess my Weber Smokey Mountain is top of the line, because nothin' holds temps any steadier or longer than a WSM.

It lacks the capacity of larger pits, but I can do 10 racks of baby backs, or 6 pork butts or 3 butts and a full brisket. That's plenty for me. If I need more, I can always get another one.

[sharky]

The Kettles served their purpose. We did pretty good and learned a lot. I think we'll go to another competition for sure, and I will bring the kettles for backup!

[The BBQ Guy]

Hi,

It was good to meet you this weekend.
Boy, it sure was hot.

You guys made a good showing in pork and ribs.
Did you get into any of that rain on the way home?
It was real gully washer between St. Augustine and Daytona on I-95 for us.


I forgot to mention that we met some GREAT people.

I would like to thank The BBQ Guy (http://www.thebbqguy.com) - Brian and Linda Pearcy. They helped us out tremendously with their advice and friendliness!

[sharky]

Hi,

It was good to meet you this weekend.
Boy, it sure was hot.

You guys made a good showing in pork and ribs.
Did you get into any of that rain on the way home?
It was real gully washer between St. Augustine and Daytona on I-95 for us.

Hey! It's good to see you post here! I hope to see you here more often!

We hit rain just about ALL the way home. It stopped just long enough for us to unload the truck!

I really do appreciate all of your help, you certainly made the experience even more enjoyable!

[Deuce]

I'll say it again that I am jealous of the experience that you have gone through this weekend sharky. Cooking for people and getting unbiased feedback will only make you a better chef. I only wish we had something similar close by.
Congrats on you and Tony's success this weekend!!!!

[sharky]

Thanks Deuce -

I agree! The experience was great! We know where we need to improve now, and I think we'll have a much better showing next time!

[gregtx]

Greg,

What do you consider to be a commercial grade smoker? If holding a steady temp is what you go by, I guess my Weber Smokey Mountain is top of the line, because nothin' holds temps any steadier or longer than a WSM.

It lacks the capacity of larger pits, but I can do 10 racks of baby backs, or 6 pork butts or 3 butts and a full brisket. That's plenty for me. If I need more, I can always get another one.


what I mean is a "heavy" cast iron... version with a side burner that can be adjusted with more wood and air to keep the heat consistant.. weber kettles.. would require very careful placement of coals to keep the fire going.. and to slow cook or smoke... adding more coals becomes a bit of a dilemma... weber does make some great small smokers the tall tube types... that work great.. I was just referring to the weber "kettles" ;)

one of the "coolest" smokers I've seen was mounted on a swiveling base.. so that you could turn the smoker to the correct direction for the wind/breeze to pull the air/smoke through the tube... fire went in a separate container.. and was fairly easy to keep at 200 degrees... and if the wind did not cooperate... they had a mount for a small fan...


Hey Sharky...
one trick on your ribs.. be sure to always remove that paper thin membrane on the underside of your ribs... this will allow your rub to penetrate better.. and also eliminates that connective tissue from getting stuck in your teeth... and will make your ribs appear more tender:)

[sharky]

Hey Sharky...
one trick on your ribs.. be sure to always remove that paper thin membrane on the underside of your ribs... this will allow your rub to penetrate better.. and also eliminates that connective tissue from getting stuck in your teeth... and will make your ribs appear more tender:)


I always remove the membrane off the back. I even take it a step further and score the back once the membrane is removed. It seems to make the ribs even more tender!