popped my cherry (long)

[motley que]

it lasted more than 28 hours 42 minutes and 12 seconds longer than the first time i popped my cherry....no farkin jokes please.....here we go

This was a cool event of primarily back yard type of cookers. Of 57 teams, at least 35 were first timers. It was neat to see what people cooked on. Saw lots of eggs, wsm's and various bandera's. also since propane was allowed, there were many GOSM. Saw plenty of Chargrillers also.

Met plenty of people from various boards includins Stlouque. Saturday was set up and vending. I didnt bring much but sold out of everything. The big hit was my Pineapple Habenero Jelly. I only had 11 jars and they went, many people were walking by and asking about it, plus I heard people walk by and say "thats the dude with the jelly" was very surprised by the reaction it got, next year i will definatly make more, especially when i sold 1/2 pints for $5. The weather was nice and so were all the people until......

Darkness came as did the wind AND rain. rained for 5 hours or so with windchill dropping to mid 20's during the night. FUN STUFF. luckily we had a tarp to attach to our canopy to help block the wind. my Father in law slept in the car while i fended off the frost with 4 layers of clothes and a blanket and heater. the temps definately messed with my cooker and cooking times, even when i took my hot box towels and tried to use it as insulation on top of my rig.

I wasnt happy with any of my product. the 7 categories were Ribs, Chicken, Pork, Brisket, Chili, Anything goes and desert. I did all of them but chicken which the FIL did. I found most teams had each person do 1 or 2, and thats something I will build on. My plating sucked, thats harder then i thought, to get uniform slices of brisket, or ribs within the tight time schedule.

Ribs, I thought were tender but they were to the point that when I cut them, the bark would slide off as i cut them. I also wanted the pepper jelly to leave more of a flavor

Brisket. I knew it sucked and it showed. Dead ASS LAST. it took alot longer than it should of and when I cut it i didnt have a good feeling about it. so be it, however had it been better, my overall would have moved me up a number of slots

Pork - good but maybe a little mushy, always a strong point of mine but not my strongest product

Chicken - it looked and tasted good (mango chicken) but i did nothing so i am not writing about it

Chili - i thought it looked good and had a nice color with some good heat but not too much

Anything goes - smoked salmon. A favorite of the wife, she talked me out of the reuben meatloaf. tasted good, but hard to present. next time i think i will section it off into 6 servings and then smoke

desert - JD bread pudding with a JD sauce, served in a mason jar. People liked that presentation in line until one of the teams who obviously did alot of competitions (BBQ ASAP) showed up with a replication of a back yard bbq with souffle's in the the back yard..

so here we go 1st score is appearance, 2nd is taste, 3rd texture/tenderness 4th overall

Ribs 25.9 24.8 25.6 121.6
Pork 24.5 25 26.5 151.9
chili 27.1 23.2 25 146.7
Brisket 21.7 20.9 20.4 124.6
salmon 26.9 26 27.3 159.5
desert 25.3 26.3 27.5 159.2

overall

177 171 177 1044

Salmon placed 15th, and Desert 19th. everything else was 21st-25th My goal was to be in the top half. So out of 57 teams I finished 27th. I point behind 26th. With a mid range score on brisket I would have hit top 20 and maybe top 15.

here are all sorts of pics. critique on the boxes are appreciated.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLan...1_223422292206




Ribs

[lunchlady]

Excellent write-up and really good pics! I applaud you for getting out there and competing! The first time is always the hardest, especially if the weather doesn't cooperate. Next time you will have a better idea of what to expect. Also, maybe you wanna cut down (slightly) on the categories until you get the timing down. Seven categories is a LOT of work, especially your first time out of the gate. Just a suggestion.

You asked for critique-ing of your boxes, so here goes... judges don't like sauce smears. They aren't supposed to 'notice' them, but they do. Also, you should try for a more aesthetically pleasing placement of meat....the boxes look a little like the meat was thrown in quickly, doesn't time fly when you think you have plenty of it? I totally understand it though, we just got DQ'd in pork tenderloin at the MA state - we were about three seconds too late. DOH!

I don't want you to think I am ragging on ya, I think you did great! I guess the main thing questions are... did you have fun?, was it everything you thought it would be?, and did you come close to the goals that you had set for yourself before you went? We tried for the top half of the teams we competed against for the first year or so. One point away from that is fantastic!

Great job! and I hope to see you out there on the trail sometime...

lunchlady

p.s. if it gets too chilly, I always get in my sleeping bag, and then sit in the chair. Wrap a baby fleece blanket around those toes, it keeps them warmer, and definitely keep that Jack close by! ciao fer now....

[beerguy]

Wow, looks great for a virgin voyage. The brisket looked incredible, as did the chili. Hey, if the next comp doesn't have rain, wind, or COLD temps, look how far ahead you will be. YOU GIVE ME HOPE. I haven't competed yet, but Brauma is really pushing me to join him in May at Va Backyard BBQ festival. I think you done great, and cudos for your family hanging with you!

[jpw23]

Great story, great pics......wish I could have been there!!!!!

[Dustaway]

Hey Motley dido what lunchlady said sucks when it farking cold.

keep trying it will get their the BBQ gods will bless you some day

Hey Motley, at least the Cardinals gave you more reasons to keep hopping around Saturday night...that should've warmed you up somewhat, eh? Seriously though, I applaud you, man. For doing it at all. For being well-prepared. For braving that nasty weather. (That poor Bandera guy with no cover...I was thinking about him too, that night.) For the fine-looking eats. For placing so well for a first time. For those tasty riblets and chuck roast. And for being a damn decent fellow to hang out with for a while. No wonder your father-in-law stuck it out with you; he's a class act too. If I come out there next year, I'll know to look to this seasoned, competition cook for tips.

Edit: Oh yeah, thanks for the jelly too. I'm about to try it on the vanilla ice cream, as you suggested.

[Solidkick]

I couldn't get the pics to load, but that is prolly my POS desktop PC and not your file.

I give you an "A" for hanging in there with the weather.....I prolly would have packed up and gone home, it was miserable here this weekend, so I can only imagine what it was like for you.

Presentation takes time and practice, and you'll get the knack for it, just keep doing what you're doing and you'll get there! Best of luck in your future cooks! Remember, we're here for you if and when you have questions!

[Nitrofly]

Great story remember getting your cherry popped should always be wet
and messy.. This has been the year of the rain. At least you were on
pavement Add a field of mud into the mix and things get real fun then.
I agree with lunchlady you need to clean up your boxes.. Look around
people have posted pictures of there boxes. Rich Decker/ Lost Nation has
a lot of great pictures of his boxes.. I have studied his boxes to see what
I can see. You want to WOW the judges with your appearance. the more
you do the more you learn. But you look like you had a good time so
that's good.. you got everything in on time and thats Great. Be careful
now you have been bite by this little bug called BBQ and the bug feeds
on more BBQ and more contests. BBQ is the one of hardest things I have
ever done. We used to drag race I was younger then. Both are a labor of
love. Now if I can just find a way to mix Nitro with BBQ and I will have died
and gone to heaven. That BBQ bug will have you searching the web for
more things feed to BBQ bug. I love little bug most days.. Even as I
standing at Awards at Harpoon soaked to the skin I was just loving BBQ.
As my pit master says BBQ teams are just a notch above Carnies but
with way better food. Keep having fun and hope to see you down the
BBQ road sometime and we'll feed that little bug togther..

[Brauma]

Originally Posted by motley que

it lasted more than 28 hours 42 minutes and 12 seconds longer than the first time i popped my cherry....

Im offended!! Just kidding. (See Offensive thread in D&R)

Well done Mr Motley. Congrats!!