To all the Masters of the Grill, Chiefs of the Charcoal, King of the Pit, Boss of the BBQ - also known as the dude in the apron.
My apologies to all readers. Things got away from me after that August competition. I am a full time teacher and the Monday after the Pit master Classic - Teachers reported to the schools for training. The next thing I knew it was November. Clearly - for now - one post every other week seems doable - we can expand to more if I find the time.
So how was the Competition? It went great. Organized by a great group of people, visited by thousands of BBQ Enthusiasts, and the competition was great. The only thing I was really disappointed by was my brisket. Otherwise - a wonderful event. The SWAG Package from the hosts was great too - check out this nice apron.
We started out with a People's Choice Food Competition on Friday night. We changed our menu last minute (to avoid duplication of another vendors goods - but can there really be too many tacos?) Instead of Argentinian Chimichurri Street Tacos - we went with steak on a stick with a side of Cowboy Beans. We had no idea what to expect - so we sold out in the first hour. Next year we know how many people will be there and will plan accordingly. The food truck across from us won the People's Choice - they had 30 people in line at all times and offered 6 items on their menu. They had 6 people working and easily raised the most money.
Afterwards - we sat back and relaxed. Then I realized I had neglected all of my Friday prep rituals - and would need to start trimming, injecting and prepping the meats for that night. It was still fairly early (8 PM). The kids were busy in the RV. As the evening grew later, the temperature started dropping. It was August and we were in the Mountains - so 40 degree nights were not unheard of, but I was ill prepared and a chill had set in that Jim Beam slowly warmed.
Around midnight I started my fire and got the smokers up and running. I finally got my big meats in the smokers and I realized that the temperature was hovering just under 200. I realized my meats were going to need some babysitting. While the metal it was produced with was thin and not well insulated - it had been very good during the previous winter after my purchase of a Water Heater Insulation pad. This was a problem today, however, because I was not prepared and had not brought it with me. So I spent the first hour trying to get the heat maintained.
Around 3 AM I decided to wrap the entire smoker in foil. It made mopping the meat a bit tough, but it was worth the effort as the temperature settled in at 240 degrees. So now I had some time on my hands, and a bit of Kentucky antifreeze in my tummy - I got a bit creative. Something about the cold evening struck me similar to the HBO Series Game of Thrones - not so much White Walkers or Social Political make up of the 7 Kingdoms, but more so that I felt "winter is coming." That made me think of the Night's Watch oath they take when they join and I quickly edited it to be used for BBQ:
"Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my brisket is done (or at least 202 degrees). I shall take no wife on these competitions - (unless she is really cool and likes BBQ), hold no lands (my family is sleeping in my parent's RV), father no children - (while grilling - but that would be pretty kick ass). I shall wear no crowns and win no glory (unless called last - fingers crossed) I shall live and die at my post next to the smoker (or be killed by my teammates for letting the fire go out) I am the head band flash light in the darkness. I am the watcher in the pop up with his warm drink. I light the fire that smokes the meat, the light that brings the dawn (when someone else can feed the coals) , the horn that wakes the sleepers (thank you horn that woke me), the smoker that feeds the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the BBQ Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come."
By 5 AM - the meat was wrapped, I packed the hot box and headed to the RV for an hour nap. Bless my wife - who somehow got me up and going around 630 AM. The Temp was still over 200 after my absence - so I quickly stoked the heat and readied the ribs. Everything went well. The chicken was neglected as usual. My pork looked great and the money muscle had a wonderful smoke ring. The ribs were wonderful (other than my slicing - need to work on that.)
The Brisket seemed a little over - which really disappointed me. I had spent so much time watching the pork and ribs I had pulled the Brisket a bit later than I should have. The chicken, well was chicken.
We waited around until the afternoon - and they announced the scores. We earned 18th Place overall - our 2nd highest point score in our short career. Ribs and Chicken set new highs, while Pork and Brisket were close to our second highest scores. I was slightly annoyed with one judge who scored me as a 3 on my Pork because [their comment] "it tasted like you put apple cider vinegar and red pepper flakes on my pork - it was horrible." Guess they are not a Carolina sauce fan. Oh well - sure that score didn't drop me too many places to 12th. I walked away satisfied, a little disappointed, and looking forward to next year.
Congratulations to Montana Outlaw BBQ for their win and Camp House BBQ for their reserve.
There was a nice newspaper article about the event: Barbecue pitmasters compete in annual state competition
https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/barbecue-pitmasters-compete-in-annual-state-competition/article_5ca67bf8-4b6e-55b3-9730-63a58fe4d311.html via @bozchron
Originally posted 1/5/20 - resubmitted 1/11/20
So today I am cooking up our first Bengal BBQ Meeting Meal - Short ribs from my favorite meat market - Tizer Meats. They have such great cuts of meat and while the price is higher than your local super market, the quality is much higher. I will also be issuing the club members a challenge - to create their own rub. We have talked about rubs in the past, but I think showing them how I make my beef rub, what it tastes like before cooking and then with the smoked meat will help them appreciate the process.
The short ribs turned out well. They probably could have used a bit more time (30 minutes?) in the smoker, but overall the taste and tenderness were mostly there (a little chew to it.) The other big reason for smoking this weekend in 29 Degree temperature is the eventual cold spell forecasted for Montana. Last year the late January cold spell lasted 34 days - all of which were below 0 degrees - most of which were double digit negative and one cold morning at -31 degrees. So, if I am gonna get one January cook in - better now than never. Well hope you all enjoyed this Bar Blog Que - and we will talk soon.
