MoGreen
10-06-2009, 01:13 AM
I attended the Coweta Up In Smoke cookoff this past weekend. Got to meet Redheart and grill him with questions at his first ever competition! Many thanks to Marc for being so accomodating, despite dealing with "the world's toughest brisket". I think he did great, considering it was his first comp and he was a one man team. It can only get better from here... Don't give up, brother! Live and learn!
The highlight for me, though, was the People's Choice event. As a spectator, I paid $5 for an egg crate filled with 11 different pulled pork samples. I have never been able to sample such quantities of BBQ side by side. It was very interesting, indeed.
The differences were astounding. Two entries were obviously undercooked. Very tough. One was over salted. One was too dry. Two others were so smokey, it was as though I had washed my mouth out with a charcoal briquette. Or perhaps gargled with liquid smoke. Two others tasted so doctored with sauce, that you couldn't taste the meat at all. Of the three remaining, number 21 was the clear winner. It was clean... pure. Moist, and tender, and juicy. Not at all over sauced. I could really taste the meat, and it was transcendent. Now I know what to shoot for.
I have no idea which one won. But I know which one I preferred. I am haunted by that flavor still. They had the courage to let the meat speak for itself. To let the natural flavor come out. Some of the other entries were so doctored as to mask the flavor of the meat. But number 21 represented the marriage of pork and smoke 'til death do it part. The apex of low and slow. I wish I knew who made that succulent pig sing to me the way it did. And, so... my journey continues...
The highlight for me, though, was the People's Choice event. As a spectator, I paid $5 for an egg crate filled with 11 different pulled pork samples. I have never been able to sample such quantities of BBQ side by side. It was very interesting, indeed.
The differences were astounding. Two entries were obviously undercooked. Very tough. One was over salted. One was too dry. Two others were so smokey, it was as though I had washed my mouth out with a charcoal briquette. Or perhaps gargled with liquid smoke. Two others tasted so doctored with sauce, that you couldn't taste the meat at all. Of the three remaining, number 21 was the clear winner. It was clean... pure. Moist, and tender, and juicy. Not at all over sauced. I could really taste the meat, and it was transcendent. Now I know what to shoot for.
I have no idea which one won. But I know which one I preferred. I am haunted by that flavor still. They had the courage to let the meat speak for itself. To let the natural flavor come out. Some of the other entries were so doctored as to mask the flavor of the meat. But number 21 represented the marriage of pork and smoke 'til death do it part. The apex of low and slow. I wish I knew who made that succulent pig sing to me the way it did. And, so... my journey continues...