to the Tri State BBQ Festival in Dothan. I've got the bus packed, the smoker hitched-up, and the beer and meats on ice. I'll be leaving here shortly to compete against 65 other BBQ teams cooking chicken, ribs, pork butt and brisket. Why? As the Bandit says "For the good old American lifestyle: For the money, for the glory, and for the fun... mostly for the money." I'll make sure to bring back some leftovers!
Replies
59
SoWal Insider
to the Tri State BBQ Festival in Dothan. I've got the bus packed, the smoker hitched-up, and the beer and meats on ice. I'll be leaving here shortly to compete against 65 other BBQ teams cooking chicken, ribs, pork butt and brisket. Why? As the Bandit says "For the good old American lifestyle: For the money, for the glory, and for the fun... mostly for the money." I'll make sure to bring back some leftovers!
Break a leg or smoke a butt or whatever it is you BBQ Champions do
SoWal Expert
Go Chrisv! Take a laptop and report from the battlelines!
Beach FanaticAuthor
Well, it's midnight and I've got the brisket and butts on the smoker, will have the ribs on by daybreak. 66 teams here. Will update later.
Beach Fanatic
Well, it's midnight and I've got the brisket and butts on the smoker,beer on ice?!!!
uhh nevermind you said that in your first post. first things first!
good luck.
Edited
SoWal Insider
Well, it's midnight and I've got the brisket and butts on the smoker, will have the ribs on by daybreak. 66 teams here. Will update later.
Oh man, after you described how you cook pulled pork, the competition doesn't stand a chance.
Meow
Smoke 'em out, chrisv!
SoWal Expert
Well, it's midnight and I've got the brisket and butts on the smoker, will have the ribs on by daybreak. 66 teams here. Will update later.
Oh man- you ARE reporting from the front lines!!Wish SoWal had a smell and taste feature!
Beach Lover
Wish SoWal had a smell and taste feature!
I'm not sure that would be a wise idea.
I do love the smell of BBQ on the pit. Good luck To the Foggy Bayou Boys.
Skunky
BRING HOME THE BACON!!!
bean
The smell and taste feature....Jen-nay, I think you have to download that...it's part of the new update. Jetson's here we come.
Good luck Chrisv!
Jetson's here we come. Good luck Chrisv!Beach FanaticAuthor
Just turned in ribs (bro in law said beat he ever had) and turned in chiken earlier. Pulled pork and brisket still to go. Great day!
Beach Fanatic
Good Luck!thanks for the updates!
Beach Fanatic
Good luck, next year you need to come on up to Memphis in May BBQ Festival.
Beach FanaticAuthor
Well, I'm back, sorry for the lapse in updating and providing a final accounting. Was posting brief updates on my crackberry from the comp, the battery dies and I couldn't find the charger. Got back late last night and slept for 10 hours (you don't get much sleep at these things) and started the cleanup process when I got up this morning.
Anyway, back to BBQ. I had the VW bus packed and the smoker hitched up ready to go Friday morning and got all the way to Hwy 20 when I realized that I had an mechanical problem that was gonna keep me from getting to Dothan, so I turned back for home. Got the motorhome from my father in law and repacked everything into it, in the driving rain, finally got on the road after 1pm, and got to Dothan around 3pm, some 4 hours later than I had planned.
This seriously affected my timetable, as I was planning on starting the brisket and butts by 5pm and 8pm respectively. I cook low and slow, and like to plan for a full 18 hours for my brisket and between 10 and 12 on butts.
The rain stopped in Dothan around 4, soon only my feet were soaked from the 3 inches of puddles at my cook site. My cook site was not only in a swamp, but right next to the Swamp Boys, who happen to be the number 1 team in Florida for 2008, and the number 2 team nationally for 2008. In fact, 2 of the top 15 teams nationally were onsite, 6 of the top 10 in Florida also. Pressure! I got the fire going in the lang and started working on my meat preps. I brought 3 whole packer briskets to cook so I could have plenty to choose my turn-in pieces from. I was also cooking 4 butts, two for the People's Choice comp and two for turn-in sources. I was somewhat behind on my timeline but was able to prep the meats and get the brisket on the smoker by 6pm, just before the cook's meeting. Not too far off schedule.
My brother in law showed up around 7-ish after getting off work in Destin. I immediately appointed him the CBO (Chief Beer Officer) of the Foggy Bayou Boys BBQ Team, a position he tackled with great enthusiasm. At this point we concentrated on making enough room in the coolers to pack the leftovers in for the trip home. People have asked me what a BBQ comp is like, I always tell them that it is just like an SEC football game tailgate party, without the game to get in the way. It really is the longest, hardest partying, best fed tailgate going. Dothan was no exception. The problem that presents itself in this type of atmosphere is keeping up with what needs to get done.
A printed timeline helps with this. Much like a honey-do list, it's always there to give you grief when you are thinking about grabbing that next beer. We were pretty good about sticking to our honey-do list, however, as it contained nothing along the lines of mowing the lawn or cleaning out the diaper genie. Check smoker temps, throw another split-log in the firebox, adjust firebox vents, repeat. Team Foggy Bayou Boys was rockin' and rollin' at this point.
Sometime during the early morning we got the ribs and chicken trimmed and prepped. Chef's knives, meat shears and domestic lagers all working in synchronized harmony. 6 racks of spare ribs and 24 chicken thighs all rubbed and placed back in the coolers to wait for their time on the lang smoker. The sun was coming up and things were looking good. This was going to be our day.
More to come...
Anyway, back to BBQ. I had the VW bus packed and the smoker hitched up ready to go Friday morning and got all the way to Hwy 20 when I realized that I had an mechanical problem that was gonna keep me from getting to Dothan, so I turned back for home. Got the motorhome from my father in law and repacked everything into it, in the driving rain, finally got on the road after 1pm, and got to Dothan around 3pm, some 4 hours later than I had planned.
This seriously affected my timetable, as I was planning on starting the brisket and butts by 5pm and 8pm respectively. I cook low and slow, and like to plan for a full 18 hours for my brisket and between 10 and 12 on butts.
The rain stopped in Dothan around 4, soon only my feet were soaked from the 3 inches of puddles at my cook site. My cook site was not only in a swamp, but right next to the Swamp Boys, who happen to be the number 1 team in Florida for 2008, and the number 2 team nationally for 2008. In fact, 2 of the top 15 teams nationally were onsite, 6 of the top 10 in Florida also. Pressure! I got the fire going in the lang and started working on my meat preps. I brought 3 whole packer briskets to cook so I could have plenty to choose my turn-in pieces from. I was also cooking 4 butts, two for the People's Choice comp and two for turn-in sources. I was somewhat behind on my timeline but was able to prep the meats and get the brisket on the smoker by 6pm, just before the cook's meeting. Not too far off schedule.
My brother in law showed up around 7-ish after getting off work in Destin. I immediately appointed him the CBO (Chief Beer Officer) of the Foggy Bayou Boys BBQ Team, a position he tackled with great enthusiasm. At this point we concentrated on making enough room in the coolers to pack the leftovers in for the trip home. People have asked me what a BBQ comp is like, I always tell them that it is just like an SEC football game tailgate party, without the game to get in the way. It really is the longest, hardest partying, best fed tailgate going. Dothan was no exception. The problem that presents itself in this type of atmosphere is keeping up with what needs to get done.
A printed timeline helps with this. Much like a honey-do list, it's always there to give you grief when you are thinking about grabbing that next beer. We were pretty good about sticking to our honey-do list, however, as it contained nothing along the lines of mowing the lawn or cleaning out the diaper genie. Check smoker temps, throw another split-log in the firebox, adjust firebox vents, repeat. Team Foggy Bayou Boys was rockin' and rollin' at this point.
Sometime during the early morning we got the ribs and chicken trimmed and prepped. Chef's knives, meat shears and domestic lagers all working in synchronized harmony. 6 racks of spare ribs and 24 chicken thighs all rubbed and placed back in the coolers to wait for their time on the lang smoker. The sun was coming up and things were looking good. This was going to be our day.
More to come...
Edited
Beach Fanatic
and?
come on spill it.
come on spill it.
SoWal Guide
chrisv!!! this is so not fair, and so funny!!! great story telling... really great. can't wait for the rest of the story. and we need you and your grill at the beach real soon.
SoWal Expert
yeah, and where are the dang leftovers? I don't smell anything from my dock. Should I paddle over in the morning for my share? I can meet you on your dock, or at your back door. Just give me the word!
Beach FanaticAuthor
Part Two
The Tri-State BBQ Festival was more than just a BBQ competition. It was a full blown family affair with vendors, bands, inflatable jumpy things and a People's Choice Competition. Folks paid 10 bucks to get in and be able to taste and judge pulled pork cooked by the same folks that were putting their best effort into producing championship BBQ for the judges. The crowd started building early, and the turn-in time for the People?s Choice was at 10 am. Sometime early Saturday morning, I noticed that my internal temps on my pork just weren?t where I thought they should be. No worries, the plateau, or period of time that the collagen renders and the temps are in the 150-170 range can vary greatly, and I was sure that they would soon rise to the magic number of 195. Besides, the People?s Choice competition didn?t pay out any cash, just a new grill, so my efforts were more to the product I was turning in for the judges. And 165 is an acceptable temp food-safety wise, so I knew that nobody would get sick from my less than perfect pork. At 9:30, I made the call to pull the pork and send it along, sticking to my gameplan of winning the big bucks. The handoff was made to the two ?volunteers? charged with picking up all the PC entries.
At the same time I was sending the People?s Choice entry on its way, I was performing my final hour super-secret maneuvers with the chicken, getting it ready to turn in at 11. Chicken has always been my weakness in BBQ, I don?t much care for poultry and the chicken is a downright nasty animal. I had what I considered to be my best effort ever at chicken, and culled the best 9 from the original 24 and prepared a beautiful turn-in box. My BIL nervously took the 9x9 styro box from me and made the 150 second walk to the turn-in table (yes, we did a timed walk-through earlier so we knew just how close we could cut it.)
Things were really heating up, both in the comp and in Dothan. The previous days rain was rising from the ground and creating a real sauna with the hot sun, and with one meat already submitted, I turned my attention to my best talent, ribs. It?s been a long journey for me and my current style of ribs, I?ve gone from my na?ve, KC Masterpiece-slathered, grilled-for-45 minutes on-a-hot-fire ribs to Three Mile Island-Hot ribs to my current, perfectly balanced heat ?n sweet dry rub ?n ever so slightly glazed at-the-last-minute product. Not fall off the bone (as that is overdone) but close with just a little tug. Perfection. And these ribs on this day, this glorious day, were just that. I was giddy. Into the box and to the Rib Hall of Fame they were certainly bound.
By now, the Foggy Bayou Boys Competition BBQ Team had several of its VIP guests milling around at our cook site, watching in awe as the two cooks worked in inebriated concentration. Our folks just knew that our turn-ins thus far would certainly be winners, and kept sampling just to make sure. The remaining 15 chicken thighs and balance of 6 racks of ribs were soon nothing but a culinary memory. 1 o?clock was bearing down on us and my pork was still not at 195 degrees internal. Very, very close, but not there. The brisket on the other hand was and I removed it from the smoker and placed into the holding cooler to rest and baste itself for later. I pulled the pork and picked my best pieces to submit for judging. My confidence was ratcheted back a couple of notches, but brisket is another strong suit for me, so I pushed on.
The Tri-State BBQ Festival was more than just a BBQ competition. It was a full blown family affair with vendors, bands, inflatable jumpy things and a People's Choice Competition. Folks paid 10 bucks to get in and be able to taste and judge pulled pork cooked by the same folks that were putting their best effort into producing championship BBQ for the judges. The crowd started building early, and the turn-in time for the People?s Choice was at 10 am. Sometime early Saturday morning, I noticed that my internal temps on my pork just weren?t where I thought they should be. No worries, the plateau, or period of time that the collagen renders and the temps are in the 150-170 range can vary greatly, and I was sure that they would soon rise to the magic number of 195. Besides, the People?s Choice competition didn?t pay out any cash, just a new grill, so my efforts were more to the product I was turning in for the judges. And 165 is an acceptable temp food-safety wise, so I knew that nobody would get sick from my less than perfect pork. At 9:30, I made the call to pull the pork and send it along, sticking to my gameplan of winning the big bucks. The handoff was made to the two ?volunteers? charged with picking up all the PC entries.
At the same time I was sending the People?s Choice entry on its way, I was performing my final hour super-secret maneuvers with the chicken, getting it ready to turn in at 11. Chicken has always been my weakness in BBQ, I don?t much care for poultry and the chicken is a downright nasty animal. I had what I considered to be my best effort ever at chicken, and culled the best 9 from the original 24 and prepared a beautiful turn-in box. My BIL nervously took the 9x9 styro box from me and made the 150 second walk to the turn-in table (yes, we did a timed walk-through earlier so we knew just how close we could cut it.)
Things were really heating up, both in the comp and in Dothan. The previous days rain was rising from the ground and creating a real sauna with the hot sun, and with one meat already submitted, I turned my attention to my best talent, ribs. It?s been a long journey for me and my current style of ribs, I?ve gone from my na?ve, KC Masterpiece-slathered, grilled-for-45 minutes on-a-hot-fire ribs to Three Mile Island-Hot ribs to my current, perfectly balanced heat ?n sweet dry rub ?n ever so slightly glazed at-the-last-minute product. Not fall off the bone (as that is overdone) but close with just a little tug. Perfection. And these ribs on this day, this glorious day, were just that. I was giddy. Into the box and to the Rib Hall of Fame they were certainly bound.
By now, the Foggy Bayou Boys Competition BBQ Team had several of its VIP guests milling around at our cook site, watching in awe as the two cooks worked in inebriated concentration. Our folks just knew that our turn-ins thus far would certainly be winners, and kept sampling just to make sure. The remaining 15 chicken thighs and balance of 6 racks of ribs were soon nothing but a culinary memory. 1 o?clock was bearing down on us and my pork was still not at 195 degrees internal. Very, very close, but not there. The brisket on the other hand was and I removed it from the smoker and placed into the holding cooler to rest and baste itself for later. I pulled the pork and picked my best pieces to submit for judging. My confidence was ratcheted back a couple of notches, but brisket is another strong suit for me, so I pushed on.
Beach Comber
CP here,(can't remember my password and I'm on Johnny's puter) your killing us with this! I can almost smell the bbq!
do you use thighs because they are juicy? I don't care for them but know some folks do.
how long do you cook ribs. I have a smoker type grill with indirect fire.
no,I don't want to compete or anything,just cook some great ribs!
oh,and if the cooking doesn't work out ,you have a way with words!!
Beach Fanatic
SoWal Expert
now my mouth is watering. Should I paddle over for some leftovers? I hate to barge in unannounced. lol. Seriously, my hunger is now so strong that Saturday's Walton Sun might have a police blotter story on "Salivating Neighbor Breaks in Steeling a piece of Competition BBQ."
Beach Fanatic
How does one become a Foggy Bayou VIP? That's all I really care about!
bean
Grayt story so far....can't wait to hear if you won the big bucks.
SoWal Expert
How does one become a Foggy Bayou VIP? That's all I really care about!I can assure you that it has nothing to do with living in close proximity to the Head Cook of the Foggy Bayou Boys.
Meow
More More!!!
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