Just got home from first competition...

All I can say is wow! It was ALOT more work than what I was expecting. I prepped in advance pretty much everything I could think of and i was still running around wide open trying to get it all done. I had a blast and can't wait to do the next one. I had a few issues but feel like next time around I can get them straightened out pretty easy.

My chicken turned good. When I was trimming I was having a hard time finding matching sizes and good skin, and only ended up taking 8 thighs with me. I turned in the best 6 and got 2nd in chicken.

Pork I was a little worried about because it wouldn't get through the stall. It was taking forever and I ended up pulling it off the smoker 30 mins before turn in, no rest hardly at all. The pork actually turned out awesome and I got first in pork.

My ribs were horrible. I was fighting rising temps and got the dreaded "jerky" top layer on my ribs, out of 3 racks I couldn't find any with straight bones or similar size, and they were tough. I would have never thought I would have a problem with ribs since I cook them pretty often and they always turn out good.

My brisket turned out awesome, but was done 5 hours early, lol. I cooked the brisket on my akorn and didn't realize it was gonna cook it so fast. I didn't check temps until it probed tender, but a 14 lb brisket in 11 hours seems fast. It probed like butter so i pulled it, temp was 199 in the flat and 206 in the point. Only thing i could think of to do was lower temp in akorn to 200, wrap it and let it sit in akorn til turn in time. Well, it dried out badly and was more or less falling apart. I tried to salvage it but it still tasted more like roast.

It was alot of fun. I met alot of nice people, and i'm ready for the next one!

Heres a couple pics

Teamfour said:

Congrats! Nice boxes. Why didn't you rest the brisket in a cambro or cooler?


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Thanks, any other time i would have stuck it in a cooler but i remembered reading a thread on here about franklin holding his in a 200 degree oven and i was trying to replicate that. This was only the 3rd brisket i ever cooked so i wasn't expecting much but next time if it gets done early i will def just cooler it instead of trying stuff like that.

Ron_L said:

Nice job! Did you do a full test cook? We learn something at just about every competition.

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Thanks guys, yeah i did a test cook. Where I ran into a problem was the brisket i cooked in my test cook was a choice 9 lb'er, but the one i got for the comp was a 14 lb angus. The 9 lb'er took about an hour per pound before it was done, but the 14 lb'er cooked in about 35 mins/lb. Thats what through me off.

Vendinguy said:

Awesome job for first time out. You should be proud. Sounds like you learned a lot and the competition should be looking out for you next time.
BTW What event did you cook?

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I cooked in waxhaw. Already signed up for my next one. Gonna try the hog happening in Shelby next.