Absarokee is in the books. The competition was a mix of good and bad, but mostly good. It was hot when we arrived. By the time Anabell and I were unloading the trailer - it was already mid 80s. But we did get set up and focused our attention on relaxing. By the time my wife Jackie and son Monty arrived, it was hot. They went back to the hotel to check in and enjoy the AC, while Anabell and I started getting the food prepped.
After a while, we took a break and went and visited our neighbors Owens BBQ and Beer Belly BBQ. After enjoying some light refreshments it was back to the Pop ups to start prepping and getting Anabell ready for her 4 hour nap. Since joining the team, we have played with our timing and decided this was definitely the best route so far. I am usually very confident that my smoker with its new BBQ Guru DigiQ could maintain 3-4 hours without a problem on one basket of charcoal, but this night - something was off. The fan was running continuously and the Smoker temp never got about 230. Around 5 AM I realized that one of the racks in the smoker was not fully pushed in and was pushing the door open slightly - releasing the other 20 degrees of my heat - and eating up a basket of charcoal every hour. We weathered the night - it definitely cooled off. Usually - after a cold spring in Montana, I would welcome 52 degrees, but on this night it was cold.
In the morning - after eating some Huckleberry Sausages (they were pretty good) and my usual Shrimp and Grits, the temperature started to rise quickly again. I could feel my legs cramping from the day before - so I continued by water and electrolyte regiment. By the end of the weekend I had consumed over 4 gallons of water. Probably sweat out 7 gallons.
The food all pretty much came together in perfect harmony. With one exception. I was trying to cook three butts, a 20 lb brisket, three racks of ribs, a dozen chicken thighs and a 4 lb short rib rack in a smoker that can not hold all of it. I usually cook a 15 lb brisket, 2 butts, and 3 racks. This meant I had to light the 2nd smoker. It is an identical smoker, however, I only had one DigiQ installed. I jerry-rigged a fan system for Smoker #2 and put 2 of the mostly cooked Pork Butts (in lasagna pans), all three racks of St Louis Ribs and later the chicken and Short Ribs in Smoker 2.
As the Pork butts finished I released the hot air and then stuffed them into my Cambro. I also pulled the Brisket (around 188) and let it rest in the Cambro. The ribs were on their way and I finished the Chicken Thighs on the weber kettle - with some intense heat to crispen up the skin.
Saucing has been my downfall. For some reason I continue to argue with myself and do not compromise on my regional flavors, and while overall 4-5 judges score my taste as an 8 or 9, there is always 1 or 2 that score it a 7 or even 6 with some comment about weird taste. So I continued my destructive ways with ribs - using my Memphis style BBQ sauce. Its a bit more tangy and thin than KC Style - which I have learned is what the judges expect in Montana. I did use a KC Style sauce on the chicken. On the pork I used a piedmont style of Carolina BBQ. I gave up on Eastern Style, however I still use it as a spritz during the cooking process. I switched to a new Texas style brisket sauce for this competition and used some au jus from the cook. I spent a long time prepping the Burnt ends and unfortunately did not tend properly to my slices and they seized up after I pulled it from the Cambro. This is where I am becoming stumped. My first Wagyu Brisket was over done at 195. My 2nd was perfect at 185. This one was 188 and while my first slice was great - it tightened up. Beer Belly BBQ shared their thoughts on Cooking temps for Wagyu Brisket and said they pull theirs once it is over 210 degrees.
There was a open category - for which I decided to cook my short ribs. Fortunately for me - they were not quite done as it neared turn in time - so I just opted to not turn in the freeby category and I could enjoy the ribs myself. Which I did.
The weather changed quickly and we soon had the BBQ site packed up. Anabell and I waited for the results. It is weird to hear our name being called - as this was our 2nd call ever. This weekend marks the 8th year Big Boyz BBQ has been competing. Eight years ago - my buddy Ryan and I started our BBQ career at the Safeway National Capital BBQ Battle. We did decent enough to inspire us to keep on competing. So we received another call this week in Chicken. The other categories were close, but no calls. The best part is our scores went up in every category - except Chicken - it will be hard to top 175. Overall - we were in the middle of the pack - with some quality teams.
We start the entire process over again tomorrow - when we head east to the Cowtown Cook off in Miles City, MT. It is almost a 6 hour drive, but I will have my trusty shotgun rider - Anabell with me - listening to her head phones as I randomly mumble about this and that. Great times are ahead. Check back tomorrow for another edition of BBQ Bytes - where we will focus on Podcasts about BBQ. See y'all tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment