This past weekend Big T'z decided it would be best to get back in to the swing of things and attended the Ak Sar Ben's River City Roundup competition held at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska. This was also the maiden voyage of the Hobbi Toy Hauler we bought off of our friend Ray Ringgenberg, aka BBQ Mayor. Given that Sonya or I have never towed anything and know absolutely nothing about campers, this was the beginning of a new adventure for us one that we have met with both excitement and trepidation.
This event is organized by fellow BBQ Brethren Tom and Char Manhart, and boy did they roll out the red carpet for the cooks! Knowing myself well enough to know that there was no way I could back in a huge camper in to a 20'x30' spot, I left home early hoping to get there before any of my neighbors. Unfortunately I did not take in to account how much longer it would take me to get there due to the huge chunk of fiberglass and metal I was hauling so I got there an hour later than normal and most of my neighbors had already arrived. Within seconds Tom was there in his golf cart to help me in to my spot. Even with the help though I quickly had messed things up so bad I needed an extra hand. Fortunately Mike from Spank and the Meat Mafia was close by to take over. Seeing the look of complete fear and embarrassment on my face with barely a word he hopped in my Suburban and whipped it in to what at the time seemed like a cigar box of a spot. Thanks Mike!! In addition to helping me to my spot, Tom and Char were by my spot what seemed like every twenty minutes. I felt bad I wasn't making trash fast enough for them to haul away.
I signed up to do the People's Choice because 1) It was for charity and 2) I like getting the public more involved in the cooking process, by serving them tasty morsels of my wares in my mind competition bbq becomes more of a spectator sport. That started at 6 pm on Friday. Since the rest of the Cru wasn't going to be there until 9, I was all by myself serving up samples to a hungry crowd. It was a lot of work, but I really enjoyed it. It is always fun to hear "Daaaayyumm that is some good bbq!" from a complete stranger!
It rained Friday night, so it was a blessing to have the camper to stay warm and dry. We definitely got the best night's sleep of any competition I have been to, so whatever worries I or Cru may had about getting camper were completely thrown out the window that night.
I also thought it would be a good idea to cook sausage for this competition. The turn-in for sausage was at 11, while everything else started at noon, so I had to quickly draw up a whole new game plan to make sure everything went according to plan.
Even though things were tight due to the sausage competition we still found time to do not one, but two good luck shots. The first was an "Iowa teams only" shot hosted by Buster Dog BBQ (who just so happened to get their first GC the weekend before in Marshall, MN)at 9:30, and the second was hosted by Four Legs Up BBQ (who just so happens to be the reigning Jack Daniels World Champion) at 11:30. Thanks to both teams for their hospitality.
Whatever good luck we earned from doing those shots did something to help as Big T'z Q Cru walked away on Saturday with their second Reserve Grand Championship of the year. Additionally, we placed 9th in Chicken, 4th in Pork and 1st in Brisket out of 46 teams.
The great part about doing so well was that whenever our name was called we got to go up and get a picture taken with the Rodeo Queens. They also gave great trophies! For reserve grand we received a real-life branding iron. I am still trying to figure out if there is a way I can put it to good use, but for some reason whever I pick it up my cat runs and hides.
It was also great because of how they called the top ten overall team and the result of that. First they randomly called all ten to come up in front. They then started at ten and each team was called until there were just the top two--Big T'z Q Cru and Iowa Outlaws BBQ. The Outlaws and captain Kyle have had their camp by us a couple of times this season, so we have got to know them fairly well. Most people might know them because they have the cleanest and classiest trailer/set up of perhaps any team on the circuit. I have also got to know Kyle well enough to know that he is a great guy and loves bbq and competing. In addition they are a fellow Iowa team and us Iowans stick together! Anyway, we got a front row seat to watch Kyle and his priceless reaction when he realized his team had just won their first Grand Championship! It was a moment Sonya and I will never forget. Congratulations to Iowa Outlaws BBQ for their great win!
This next weekend we head down to the "World Series of BBQ"--the American Royal for the biggest BBQ bash this team has ever experienced. There will be over 120 teams cooking in the Invitational(teams that have won a Gran Championship) and over 500 teams competing in the Open competition. Hope to see any and all of you down south!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
The Newest Additions to the Cru
Last week I drove 7 hours to Kenosha, Wisconsin and 7 hours back in one day. I was able to watch the sunrise and sunset on the same trip. I was not traveling to a BBQ competition as one would expect, but to pick up the newest additions to the Cru, two new cookers. For those not familiar they are called Fast Eddy's Cookshack 100's (FEC100 for short). These two beauties will allow us to cook 200 lbs. of pork shoulder in one sitting, allowing us to do some small-scale vending and catering.
In addition to increasing our cooking capacity, these cookers are perhaps the most reputed on the competition bbq circuit, helping cooks to win countless awards. I believe this is due to two reasons:
One is their ease of use. Fast Eddy's Cookshacks are wood pellet fueled, using tiny woodpellets fed via hopper in to a firebox at a rate that carefully controls the cooking temperature. The rate at which the pellets are fed in to the firebox is controlled by a computer attached to the front of the hopper. This allows the cook to essentially plug in the unit, turn it on, fill it with meat and walk away.
Second is that they make a great product. In the bbq world you hear all the time "it is the cook not the cooker", and I fully agree with this statement. However, the level at which these cookers hold their temperatures thanks to the brains of the operation--the IQ4 controller, allows a cooker to achieve a level of consistency in their product that is second to none. In other words, it removes one variable from the cooking process allowing extra attention to be paid to all the other variables.
Additionally, compared to the other allowable forms of heat available to the contest cook, wood pellets offer a more efficient burn and produce less ash than charcoal or wood. This will not only save us money on fuel, but is a more "green" option of barbequeing.
Now don't expect to see Big T'z roll in to the American Royal in two weeks with these babies in tow. Even though they are incredibly easy to use, it will take time to fine tune and them to fine tune me before they are ready for competition. The plan is to practice with them over the offseason and see how I can fit them in to the process. I love my Weber Smokey Mountains and wont give them up easily, so as of right now I envision using both--exactly how is what needs to be figured out.
In the short term and no matter how they will fit in to our competition strategy we plan to use them for some small scale vending and catering. So if you are one of the people that has been waiting to get your hands on some of our barbeque, stay tuned in the coming weeks as we iron out the details on that.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
The Blessed Tradition
Well today is the drawing for the Jack Daniels World BBQ Championship. It is the championship that all competition bbq cooks dream about when they begin this adventure. We are lucky enough to be in the draw and thus I am busy today sitting anxiously around my computer today to get any update of our fate.
Because of the brevity of the championship Jack Daniels has become closely intertwined with the culture of every bbq competition in the country. I know we for one ALWAYS have a spare bottle of it handy when we head out for a competition and many of year have participated in celebratory swigs with us this year.
This culture culminates in the ritual known as the 9:22 am shot. At every competition throughout the country while teams are hustling about trying to get their meats cooked in time for turn-ins, most everything stops for a few brief moments at 9:22 am and huddles around a designated team's spot for a shot of ice-cold Gentleman Jack. There is always a toast wishing everyone there good luck in the final crucial few hours of the competition. I do not know how this started, or who started it, but there is one man that is carrying the torch of this tradition more than anyone else in the bbq world—Randy Twyford, also known as “The Reverend”. I have personally been there for one of his toasts and it is quite a treat. In honor of this solemn day I thought I would share with everyone of video of this great tradition.
If you would like to get an idea of all the teams in the draw this year you can go here:
http://pelletenvy.blogspot.com/2009/08/are-you-in-draw-do-you-want-to-be.html
I will re-post on here the results of the draw when I know them. Good luck to all!
Because of the brevity of the championship Jack Daniels has become closely intertwined with the culture of every bbq competition in the country. I know we for one ALWAYS have a spare bottle of it handy when we head out for a competition and many of year have participated in celebratory swigs with us this year.
This culture culminates in the ritual known as the 9:22 am shot. At every competition throughout the country while teams are hustling about trying to get their meats cooked in time for turn-ins, most everything stops for a few brief moments at 9:22 am and huddles around a designated team's spot for a shot of ice-cold Gentleman Jack. There is always a toast wishing everyone there good luck in the final crucial few hours of the competition. I do not know how this started, or who started it, but there is one man that is carrying the torch of this tradition more than anyone else in the bbq world—Randy Twyford, also known as “The Reverend”. I have personally been there for one of his toasts and it is quite a treat. In honor of this solemn day I thought I would share with everyone of video of this great tradition.
If you would like to get an idea of all the teams in the draw this year you can go here:
http://pelletenvy.blogspot.com/2009/08/are-you-in-draw-do-you-want-to-be.html
I will re-post on here the results of the draw when I know them. Good luck to all!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Life happens. I guess that is all I can say about being lax in updating this blog. If there are people out there that really look forward to reading this blog, I apologize.
The Up in Smoke BBQ Bash in Mason City Iowa was just that, a huge bash. The crowds were perhaps the biggest we have experienced to this date and we had a ton of fun. Ruth Miller really knows how to roll out the red carpet for the cooks, and she knows the art of Nordic Cheerleading. Thanks goes out to her for putting together such a well-run and fun contest.
For some reason there are a lot of competition cooking teams from Ames, Iowa. Almost all of the them were there, and even more interestingly we were all placed next to each other for the weekend. One of those teams is Meadow Valley. It was great to get to know them and banter back and forth the whole weekend.
Once again, everything we turned in was solid. Solid enough in fact for a 5th place finish overall in what was probably the toughest field we have faced yet. We were very happy with the finish. Congrats goes out to Bare Bones BBQ, another Weber Smokey Mountain team who took home the Grand Champion. Also congrats to Darren and Sherry Warth of Iowa Smokey D's for the Reserve Call.
The best part of the weekend was after the wards ceremony we decided to stick around for a little bit and meet some of the other stragglers. We happened upon the Twyfords BBQ camp to find a crowd of people haning out. We decide to join them spending the next few hours having the most fun I have ever had at a bbq competition.
One of the reasons for this was the I was taught a new game by Randy Twyford. It is called "Here's To". Essentially, a bottle of Gentleman Jack is passed around to everyone participating and each person takes a turn going "Here's to (insert comment regarding your experience that weekend)". For instance one person, from what I can remember said "Here's to beating The Heat is On and winning my bet with him" The Heat is On is a one man team consisting of Mark Born who just happened to be there playing the game as well. This game went on for at least 2 bottles of GJ, and stopeed pretty much when everyone had their fill. You know, come to think of it it really isn't a game at all, but an excuse to drink a lot of whiskey. Fortunately, I was able to keep my wits about me to remember most of it. Once again it was an example of the wonderful comraderie that exists between all of the great people in the bbq world. "Here's To Randy and Marla Twyford for all the great advice they gave me that evening!" and "Here's To Darren and Shery Warth for the delicious pizza!"
The Up in Smoke BBQ Bash in Mason City Iowa was just that, a huge bash. The crowds were perhaps the biggest we have experienced to this date and we had a ton of fun. Ruth Miller really knows how to roll out the red carpet for the cooks, and she knows the art of Nordic Cheerleading. Thanks goes out to her for putting together such a well-run and fun contest.
For some reason there are a lot of competition cooking teams from Ames, Iowa. Almost all of the them were there, and even more interestingly we were all placed next to each other for the weekend. One of those teams is Meadow Valley. It was great to get to know them and banter back and forth the whole weekend.
Once again, everything we turned in was solid. Solid enough in fact for a 5th place finish overall in what was probably the toughest field we have faced yet. We were very happy with the finish. Congrats goes out to Bare Bones BBQ, another Weber Smokey Mountain team who took home the Grand Champion. Also congrats to Darren and Sherry Warth of Iowa Smokey D's for the Reserve Call.
The best part of the weekend was after the wards ceremony we decided to stick around for a little bit and meet some of the other stragglers. We happened upon the Twyfords BBQ camp to find a crowd of people haning out. We decide to join them spending the next few hours having the most fun I have ever had at a bbq competition.
One of the reasons for this was the I was taught a new game by Randy Twyford. It is called "Here's To". Essentially, a bottle of Gentleman Jack is passed around to everyone participating and each person takes a turn going "Here's to (insert comment regarding your experience that weekend)". For instance one person, from what I can remember said "Here's to beating The Heat is On and winning my bet with him" The Heat is On is a one man team consisting of Mark Born who just happened to be there playing the game as well. This game went on for at least 2 bottles of GJ, and stopeed pretty much when everyone had their fill. You know, come to think of it it really isn't a game at all, but an excuse to drink a lot of whiskey. Fortunately, I was able to keep my wits about me to remember most of it. Once again it was an example of the wonderful comraderie that exists between all of the great people in the bbq world. "Here's To Randy and Marla Twyford for all the great advice they gave me that evening!" and "Here's To Darren and Shery Warth for the delicious pizza!"
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Double the Stakes, Double the Fun
This past weekend Big T'z Q Cru was once again on the barbeque trail, this time engaging in our biggest challenge yet--two competitions in one weekend. All season I went back and forth as to whether or not to do this, simply questioning if we had the stamina for it. After hearing from fellow competitors that it was not as bad as it seems, and actually quite fun we decided to do it.
The dual competition scheme brings in a lot of competition. I can only guess that this gives the teams in the running for KCBS team of the year an opportunity to double-down on the points they may receive from doing well at either or both events. That, and it gives you the opportunity to do two competitions while only rolling out for one-saving both time and gas. Last year, one of my mentors, Rod Gray from Pellet Envy took Grand Champion in both events! As far as I know, that had never happened before in the history of KCBS. And yes, he was going to be there this year to defend his back-to-back wins.
Because of the dual competitions as well, for my preparations, I was desperately trying to think of ways to get some sleep. I can handle staying up most the night one night for a competition, but two--I was afraid I might go Comatose in the middle of turn-ins. The strategy was to get a Stoker temperature control system. This heralded machine automatically controls the temperature of most any cooker by blowing on the coals with a fan if the cooker is too cold, or shutting off if it gets too hot.
Due to problems sourcing some of the parts of the Stoker, John Jackson, the inventor, proprietor of the Stoker system was unable to get me the Stoker right away. At one point I thought it would not arrive in time so I had set a sleeping schedule for me and my buddies to tend to the cookers so we could get some sleep. A day before i headed out for the competition, I received a call telling me it would get here on Friday. "Perfect! you just made my day!" I yelled over the phone--the lady on the other end probably thought I was crazy.
I was still afraid I would get there on Friday get everything set up and it wouldn't work as well as a thought or at all. Much to my utter joy the Stoker worked flawlessly the whole weekend, right out of the box! The only reason I didn't get some sleep on Friday was that my buddies kept me up partying and carrying on. Saturday, everyone was a little more tired so I managed to get a whole 6 hours of good sleep, probably twice as much as I normally get.
The first competition was held in downtown Waterloo. We were fortunate enough to be placed right next to some of our best friends on the circuit, Smokehouse 72 and Tippy Canoe BBQ Crew. Being nearby them made for an awesome evening.
Once again friends and family alike were able to make the geographically proximate location, it is always great for me when this happens as it relaxes me and puts everything in perspective.
Friday was a great night with a lot of fun had by all. Late that night everyone got hungry, so I cooked up what I coined a "midnight loin" which, even though a good seven pounds was quickly devoured by everyone within earshot of the Weber Kettle it was cooking on.
The morning quickly came and it was time to put everything together. Even though staying up most of a night tending the big meats is the most tiresome part of a contest, from about 8 am on Saturday morning to 1:30 pm is easily the most physically taxing.
Everything came off and on the cookers as planned, and although the rib cooker had some problems keeping temp everything we cooked that day was solid, but once again it was up to the judges.
Before awards we had enough time to head down to the location of our next contest, LaPorte City, Iowa and set up camp, so that it what we did. Our camp this time was precisely the opposite of the comfortable location we had before. Instead of being placed by all our friends, we were put right next to and were indeed surrounded by a veritable hall of fame of championship BBQ teams. I found this to be equally exciting and downright scary. Thankfully two of these teams were my mentors, so that helped, but I could do a whole blog post on the achievements of the teams that surrounded us that evening.
We quickly set up camp and went back to Waterloo for the awards ceremony. Our friends Smokehouse 72 got the first call of the day for 2nd place on their side dish--a skillet full of delicious baked beans.
Then came the main four meats. We were fortunate enough to get a 6th place call in Chicken, 3rd place in Pork, and 2nd place brisket. Once again we went without a top ten call in ribs so we had no idea where we were in the overall rankings. However all was well as we heard our name called for Reserve Grand Champion! Congratulations goes out to a fellow Ames, Iowa team, Meadow Valley BBQ for getting the call for Grand Champion!
There was little time to waste to celebrate the victory as we needed to get back to LaPorte to get set up and prep the overnight meats. We were all settled in a pretty park in the middle of town. It was a pleasant evening with live music and hanging out with friends enjoying our success in Waterloo.
Unlike Waterloo, in which people partied well into the night, because almost all the teams in LaPorte also cooked Waterloo, things got really quiet around 11 o'clock--everyone was dead tired.
After cooking in Waterloo the day before things went really smoothly in LaPorte--I felt everything we turned in was solid, but now once again our fate was to be determined by the judges. I even got a few extra minutes to talk with and snap a picture of Rod and Johnny as they were discussing how things went that day.
The dual competition scheme brings in a lot of competition. I can only guess that this gives the teams in the running for KCBS team of the year an opportunity to double-down on the points they may receive from doing well at either or both events. That, and it gives you the opportunity to do two competitions while only rolling out for one-saving both time and gas. Last year, one of my mentors, Rod Gray from Pellet Envy took Grand Champion in both events! As far as I know, that had never happened before in the history of KCBS. And yes, he was going to be there this year to defend his back-to-back wins.
Because of the dual competitions as well, for my preparations, I was desperately trying to think of ways to get some sleep. I can handle staying up most the night one night for a competition, but two--I was afraid I might go Comatose in the middle of turn-ins. The strategy was to get a Stoker temperature control system. This heralded machine automatically controls the temperature of most any cooker by blowing on the coals with a fan if the cooker is too cold, or shutting off if it gets too hot.
Due to problems sourcing some of the parts of the Stoker, John Jackson, the inventor, proprietor of the Stoker system was unable to get me the Stoker right away. At one point I thought it would not arrive in time so I had set a sleeping schedule for me and my buddies to tend to the cookers so we could get some sleep. A day before i headed out for the competition, I received a call telling me it would get here on Friday. "Perfect! you just made my day!" I yelled over the phone--the lady on the other end probably thought I was crazy.
I was still afraid I would get there on Friday get everything set up and it wouldn't work as well as a thought or at all. Much to my utter joy the Stoker worked flawlessly the whole weekend, right out of the box! The only reason I didn't get some sleep on Friday was that my buddies kept me up partying and carrying on. Saturday, everyone was a little more tired so I managed to get a whole 6 hours of good sleep, probably twice as much as I normally get.
The first competition was held in downtown Waterloo. We were fortunate enough to be placed right next to some of our best friends on the circuit, Smokehouse 72 and Tippy Canoe BBQ Crew. Being nearby them made for an awesome evening.
Once again friends and family alike were able to make the geographically proximate location, it is always great for me when this happens as it relaxes me and puts everything in perspective.
Friday was a great night with a lot of fun had by all. Late that night everyone got hungry, so I cooked up what I coined a "midnight loin" which, even though a good seven pounds was quickly devoured by everyone within earshot of the Weber Kettle it was cooking on.
The morning quickly came and it was time to put everything together. Even though staying up most of a night tending the big meats is the most tiresome part of a contest, from about 8 am on Saturday morning to 1:30 pm is easily the most physically taxing.
Everything came off and on the cookers as planned, and although the rib cooker had some problems keeping temp everything we cooked that day was solid, but once again it was up to the judges.
Before awards we had enough time to head down to the location of our next contest, LaPorte City, Iowa and set up camp, so that it what we did. Our camp this time was precisely the opposite of the comfortable location we had before. Instead of being placed by all our friends, we were put right next to and were indeed surrounded by a veritable hall of fame of championship BBQ teams. I found this to be equally exciting and downright scary. Thankfully two of these teams were my mentors, so that helped, but I could do a whole blog post on the achievements of the teams that surrounded us that evening.
We quickly set up camp and went back to Waterloo for the awards ceremony. Our friends Smokehouse 72 got the first call of the day for 2nd place on their side dish--a skillet full of delicious baked beans.
Then came the main four meats. We were fortunate enough to get a 6th place call in Chicken, 3rd place in Pork, and 2nd place brisket. Once again we went without a top ten call in ribs so we had no idea where we were in the overall rankings. However all was well as we heard our name called for Reserve Grand Champion! Congratulations goes out to a fellow Ames, Iowa team, Meadow Valley BBQ for getting the call for Grand Champion!
There was little time to waste to celebrate the victory as we needed to get back to LaPorte to get set up and prep the overnight meats. We were all settled in a pretty park in the middle of town. It was a pleasant evening with live music and hanging out with friends enjoying our success in Waterloo.
Unlike Waterloo, in which people partied well into the night, because almost all the teams in LaPorte also cooked Waterloo, things got really quiet around 11 o'clock--everyone was dead tired.
After cooking in Waterloo the day before things went really smoothly in LaPorte--I felt everything we turned in was solid, but now once again our fate was to be determined by the judges. I even got a few extra minutes to talk with and snap a picture of Rod and Johnny as they were discussing how things went that day.
The streak continued in LaPorte as well, as it turned out to be our best event to date. We even got a call for fourth place in ribs! I was about as happy about that as getting our 3rd Grand Championship of the year! Here is how we ended up:
1st Place Chicken
4th Place Ribs
5th Place Pork
1st Place Brisket
GRAND CHAMPION!
We were also fortunate enough to see the Boondoggle Boys get a call for chicken, which up to that point had been their Achilles heal. We also were happy to get our butts kicked in ribs by our friends Smokehouse 72 who placed first in the categoy after bombing on them in Waterloo. Way to go guys!
Now it is back home for the short week, before heading out to Mason City of the Up in Smoke BBQ Bash. I have heard it is a great contest, and we are looking forward to it. Hope to see you all there!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
The Iowa State BBQ Championship
This past weekend Big T'z Q Cru had the opportunity to participate in the Iowa State Barbecue Championship held in Marshalltown, Iowa. Leading up to it there was all sorts of talk of no electricity, the park being a big mud pit, gale-force winds, and thunderstorms. None of the doom talk came to fruition and it ended up being a beautiful weekend at one of the best championships in the Midwest.
We haven't had a calm, non-windy competition this year, so leading up to the weekend I was resolved to do something to get us out of the wind. Fortunately my mother was gracious enough to bring her pop-up camper with AC, so that fixed that issue.
Once again, many of my family and friends were able to attend this contest, due to its proximity to Des Moines and Ames. My Aunt Lisa even came all the way from Peoria, Illinois, to get a glimpse of what all this barbecue stuff was all about--that was pretty awesome. She works as a dental hygienist at the Federal Prison in Pekin, IL, so she brought with her a camo hat with the seal of the prison on it for me. I proudly wore it all weekend. Mom brought her famous nine-layer bean dip, which was good, but I didn't eat much of it as before they arrived I enjoyed one of the best Philly Cheese steak sandwiches of my life made by Moe from Ponderosa BBQ. Man that was one good sandwich!
For once we had an evening in which we weren't worried about rain or wind, so I could relax a little and enjoy the evening. Once again our friends from Smokehouse 72 stopped by our site several times. Later in the evening they were nice enough to take us around and introduce us to some other teams. People who know me well know that I am a somewhat shy person, especially when it comes to meeting people, so I really appreciated them doing that.
Around midnight we arrived back to our site to find both of our cookers well above our desired temperature range. That was the beginning of a looong night as I fought to keep them steady all night. Finally around 3 am I was comfortable enough to set up a cot right next to them and fall asleep for a few hours. All night I couldn't for the life of me figure out why both were so erratic and hot, as that had never happened to me before. Once it was light out the next morning I had enough light to see why--both of the access doors had not been closed properly and air was flooding in. In the dark, because the cookers are black, I could not see it. I'll never make that mistake again.
Another moment of "fun" came when I got the ribs going in the morning and had the opposite problem--I couldn't get it hot enough. I added more hot coals I opened up all the dampers and access door, but it wouldn't get hot. Finally I found the culprit; the thermometer was bad. It was the brand new one I had just bought a week earlier and I had used it the weekend earlier with no problems, but it was reading 35 degrees colder than the actual temp. I replaced the probe with a backup I had and it still did not fix it. Luckily after I found that was the problem the reality was the cooker was a the proper temp and all was well.
Other than that everything went well. Visitors began showing up as we got closer to turn-in time, and by 11:45 I'd say there were almost 20 people in Big T'z camp--what a treat! Since wind was forecast right around turn-in time, I didn't bother to put up the walls on the EZ-Up, so everyone had a great view to watch Sonya and I do our magic. The chicken came off and was just beautiful. People watched as I picked out the best six pieces and carefully placed them in the box while Sonya fixed the greens around them and our spotter found places to spruce up. After a quick picture the box was closed and Sonya was off to the turn-in site. All our visitors were so excited watching us that they cheered as Sonya walked away and I began cleaning up and making samples for our fans--that was a lot of fun, although I am sure all the teams around us were wondering what was going on.
Then came the "fun" turn-in--ribs. I took them off the cooker and they were also very good-looking. Everyone sat there and watched me as I sampled a bone from each of the four slabs to pick out the best two. I found the best two and cut them up and began placing them in the box. We like to present ribs by creating two stacks of four or five ribs. Unfortunately after spending a lot of time making everything look pretty in the box we attempted to close it and it wouldn't close!! We have done this presentation now four times, but this time the ribs I wanted to use were just too darn big. Frantically we began trying to push the ribs down in to the box and still could not close it and in fact at one point one of the holes where the tab goes in to close it broke. I began cutting up a smaller rack of ribs to put in the box, but we were running out of time. Finally, Sonya got the thing to close, but instead of it looking like a Styrofoam rectangular cube, it looked more like a football as the ribs made the top of the box swell. Sonya carefully placed the box on the turn-in table and once again we lucked out as the box did not open (For those of you who do not know, they would not have taken the box if it did not close, and it would have meant a disqualification). The entire time I kept thinking about the wisdom imparted to me by my mentor--have a plan, but be adaptable. We had a plan that didn't quite work out, but we found a way to make it work. That and we had a little luck.
The rest of the turn-ins went smoothly and then it was time to cool off (it was wicked hot), enjoy a nice cold bottle of my favorite brew (Sierra Nevada Pale Ale), and enjoy all our fans enjoying some delicious BBQ. While things didn't go very smoothly I felt everything was solid, but it was up to the judges now.
We have not had a dry contest yet, and mother nature reminded us once again that it was not yet time to break that streak. For about three minutes a light rain broke, just long enough for everyone to freak out and start scrambling to pack up.
The rain stopped and before we knew it, it was time for the awards ceremony. All the cru headed to the bandstand to get a view of the action. Our first call of the day was for 6th place chicken. That was awesome because we placed 5th in Austin, then it derailed in Owatonna, and now it was back on track. Fred Horstman of 4-Mile Smokin' Crew took home first place, which was cool as I had just met him the previous evening and enjoyed listening to his stories about his awesome experience at the Jack last year.
Then came ribs and once again we did not receive a call. Oh well. I was still happy at that point to get a call for chicken, and I was just happy that they didn't get DQ'd. Pork was next. We got the call for 4th place. It was nice to know that we picked up right where we left off in Des Moines. Then came the highlight of the weekend. Our friends Smokehouse 72 got the call for 1st Place!!! They had struggled with the category since they had started seven years earlier. Just the week before Ray was complaining that he hated the category and couldn't figure it our. Well it seems they did figure it out, and as he said they monkey is off their backs now! Congratulations guys!
Then came brisket. Our friend Joe Beland of TippyCanoe BBQ Crew got the call for 9th place, we got the call for 8th place, and our friends the Don and Bob Denner of the Boondoggle Boys got the call for 7th Place--that was way cool.
Finally the overall calls. Once again the wheels were turning in my head as I realized that we were the only team to get three calls. On the other hand, once again we had no idea how we had done on ribs. Captain Ron had got calls for 2nd place pork and 1st place brisket, so I thought he had a good chance. When they called his name for 5th place overall, my heart was pounding loudly in my chest as I realized we were in the top three. When he called Ribs-4-U for Reserve Grand Champion, it seemed everyone in there began staring at us as the group of teams to our right started saying "It's going to the left". I just stared straight ahead and tried to calm down my heart rate as at this point is was coming out of my chest. Then they called our name and I couldn't believe it. On our way up it was awesome to get a congratulatory hugs and high fives from Darren and Sherry Warth of Iowa Smokey D's, the Twyfords, and Mark Born from The Heat Is On. These are three great teams and it felt great to receive their praise.
Overall it was a fantastic weekend to spend with family and friends. The cherry on top was winning our 2nd Grand Championship and 2nd in a row. Hopefully we can keep the streak going in Waterloo and LaPorte the weekend of the 17th. Hope to see you all there!
Once again, many of my family and friends were able to attend this contest, due to its proximity to Des Moines and Ames. My Aunt Lisa even came all the way from Peoria, Illinois, to get a glimpse of what all this barbecue stuff was all about--that was pretty awesome. She works as a dental hygienist at the Federal Prison in Pekin, IL, so she brought with her a camo hat with the seal of the prison on it for me. I proudly wore it all weekend. Mom brought her famous nine-layer bean dip, which was good, but I didn't eat much of it as before they arrived I enjoyed one of the best Philly Cheese steak sandwiches of my life made by Moe from Ponderosa BBQ. Man that was one good sandwich!
For once we had an evening in which we weren't worried about rain or wind, so I could relax a little and enjoy the evening. Once again our friends from Smokehouse 72 stopped by our site several times. Later in the evening they were nice enough to take us around and introduce us to some other teams. People who know me well know that I am a somewhat shy person, especially when it comes to meeting people, so I really appreciated them doing that.
Around midnight we arrived back to our site to find both of our cookers well above our desired temperature range. That was the beginning of a looong night as I fought to keep them steady all night. Finally around 3 am I was comfortable enough to set up a cot right next to them and fall asleep for a few hours. All night I couldn't for the life of me figure out why both were so erratic and hot, as that had never happened to me before. Once it was light out the next morning I had enough light to see why--both of the access doors had not been closed properly and air was flooding in. In the dark, because the cookers are black, I could not see it. I'll never make that mistake again.
Another moment of "fun" came when I got the ribs going in the morning and had the opposite problem--I couldn't get it hot enough. I added more hot coals I opened up all the dampers and access door, but it wouldn't get hot. Finally I found the culprit; the thermometer was bad. It was the brand new one I had just bought a week earlier and I had used it the weekend earlier with no problems, but it was reading 35 degrees colder than the actual temp. I replaced the probe with a backup I had and it still did not fix it. Luckily after I found that was the problem the reality was the cooker was a the proper temp and all was well.
Other than that everything went well. Visitors began showing up as we got closer to turn-in time, and by 11:45 I'd say there were almost 20 people in Big T'z camp--what a treat! Since wind was forecast right around turn-in time, I didn't bother to put up the walls on the EZ-Up, so everyone had a great view to watch Sonya and I do our magic. The chicken came off and was just beautiful. People watched as I picked out the best six pieces and carefully placed them in the box while Sonya fixed the greens around them and our spotter found places to spruce up. After a quick picture the box was closed and Sonya was off to the turn-in site. All our visitors were so excited watching us that they cheered as Sonya walked away and I began cleaning up and making samples for our fans--that was a lot of fun, although I am sure all the teams around us were wondering what was going on.
Then came the "fun" turn-in--ribs. I took them off the cooker and they were also very good-looking. Everyone sat there and watched me as I sampled a bone from each of the four slabs to pick out the best two. I found the best two and cut them up and began placing them in the box. We like to present ribs by creating two stacks of four or five ribs. Unfortunately after spending a lot of time making everything look pretty in the box we attempted to close it and it wouldn't close!! We have done this presentation now four times, but this time the ribs I wanted to use were just too darn big. Frantically we began trying to push the ribs down in to the box and still could not close it and in fact at one point one of the holes where the tab goes in to close it broke. I began cutting up a smaller rack of ribs to put in the box, but we were running out of time. Finally, Sonya got the thing to close, but instead of it looking like a Styrofoam rectangular cube, it looked more like a football as the ribs made the top of the box swell. Sonya carefully placed the box on the turn-in table and once again we lucked out as the box did not open (For those of you who do not know, they would not have taken the box if it did not close, and it would have meant a disqualification). The entire time I kept thinking about the wisdom imparted to me by my mentor--have a plan, but be adaptable. We had a plan that didn't quite work out, but we found a way to make it work. That and we had a little luck.
The rest of the turn-ins went smoothly and then it was time to cool off (it was wicked hot), enjoy a nice cold bottle of my favorite brew (Sierra Nevada Pale Ale), and enjoy all our fans enjoying some delicious BBQ. While things didn't go very smoothly I felt everything was solid, but it was up to the judges now.
We have not had a dry contest yet, and mother nature reminded us once again that it was not yet time to break that streak. For about three minutes a light rain broke, just long enough for everyone to freak out and start scrambling to pack up.
The rain stopped and before we knew it, it was time for the awards ceremony. All the cru headed to the bandstand to get a view of the action. Our first call of the day was for 6th place chicken. That was awesome because we placed 5th in Austin, then it derailed in Owatonna, and now it was back on track. Fred Horstman of 4-Mile Smokin' Crew took home first place, which was cool as I had just met him the previous evening and enjoyed listening to his stories about his awesome experience at the Jack last year.
Then came ribs and once again we did not receive a call. Oh well. I was still happy at that point to get a call for chicken, and I was just happy that they didn't get DQ'd. Pork was next. We got the call for 4th place. It was nice to know that we picked up right where we left off in Des Moines. Then came the highlight of the weekend. Our friends Smokehouse 72 got the call for 1st Place!!! They had struggled with the category since they had started seven years earlier. Just the week before Ray was complaining that he hated the category and couldn't figure it our. Well it seems they did figure it out, and as he said they monkey is off their backs now! Congratulations guys!
Then came brisket. Our friend Joe Beland of TippyCanoe BBQ Crew got the call for 9th place, we got the call for 8th place, and our friends the Don and Bob Denner of the Boondoggle Boys got the call for 7th Place--that was way cool.
Finally the overall calls. Once again the wheels were turning in my head as I realized that we were the only team to get three calls. On the other hand, once again we had no idea how we had done on ribs. Captain Ron had got calls for 2nd place pork and 1st place brisket, so I thought he had a good chance. When they called his name for 5th place overall, my heart was pounding loudly in my chest as I realized we were in the top three. When he called Ribs-4-U for Reserve Grand Champion, it seemed everyone in there began staring at us as the group of teams to our right started saying "It's going to the left". I just stared straight ahead and tried to calm down my heart rate as at this point is was coming out of my chest. Then they called our name and I couldn't believe it. On our way up it was awesome to get a congratulatory hugs and high fives from Darren and Sherry Warth of Iowa Smokey D's, the Twyfords, and Mark Born from The Heat Is On. These are three great teams and it felt great to receive their praise.
Overall it was a fantastic weekend to spend with family and friends. The cherry on top was winning our 2nd Grand Championship and 2nd in a row. Hopefully we can keep the streak going in Waterloo and LaPorte the weekend of the 17th. Hope to see you all there!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
What a Qlossal Weekend!
I should probably make my first blog post introducing myself, why I am here, or why I think people would listen to me, but the way things have worked out I cannot do that. You see, this past weekend something completely and utterly unexpected and amazing happened that I must share with anyone who wants to hear. Big T'z Q Cru won the Great Pork BarbeQlossal!
There are about a hundred people I would like to thank for all their help and support, but first a re-cap of the experience. The Qlossal is an all pork barbeque competition held every year for the past 22 years along with the World Pork Expo at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. With a generous purse, the competition brings in some of the biggest competition from all over the country. Since it is my hometown we thought it would be great to compete so close to family and friends whom could easily join us for the festivities. With several "big leaguers" there to vie for the $8000 Grand Champion prize, we also thought it would be fun to meet some of these pros and have a front row seat to watch them take home the trophy.
The night before Big T'z was one of five teams selected out of the field to compete in the Big Green Egg Scramble. It is a ironchef-esque competition, where the cut of pork is revealed at the beginning of the competition and teams have an hour and a half to create an entree for judges. The winner takes home the Big Green Egg that everything must be cooked on. We put together a delectable plate for the judges of sweet and sour pork with fresh strawberries, pineapple, and pears, on a bed of rice with sauteed peppers, alongside pork satay with a Thai peanut sauce. However it wasn't enough to beat Todd Johns of Pork Pullin' Plowboys who put together what looked like a fantastic pizza with a bottle of Corona to wash it all down. What a great way to spend an evening!
Our pork butts went on the cooker shortly thereafter and it was time to relax and enjoy the beautiful evening with all our family and friends that showed up. It was definitely the most fun we have had on a Friday of a competition.
The morning quickly came and brought with it rain, which was anticipated. We tended the cookers and followed our game plan. As stated earlier, this was an all pork competition with all competitors cooking ribs, pork shoulder (butt), and pork loin to be eligible for the Grand Championship. Competitors could also compete in a whole hog category, but we did not cook it as I could not figure out how to fit it in to my Weber Smokey Mountains. Turn-ins for ribs went very well. I watched the cooker like a hawk this time around after pulling out undercooked ribs in Owatonna. The diligence paid off--they came out great and went in to the box and off to the judges by 12:05. Pork was next and also came off well and off to the judges at 12:30. Pork loin on the other hand had some problems. I cut into the first half and it was undercooked (medium rare is only good with beef and lamb). With a quick prayer I cut in to the second one, which was smaller and it looked great--Phew. All three categories were in by 1:00. At that point I thought things went very well, but it was up to the judges.
By about 12:30 things started to get pretty windy and like our previous two competitions this year, became unmanageable. While we would have liked to rest and enjoy the afternoon while we waited for awards, we had to get the canopies down before the wind blew them away. The whole cru pitched in and before we knew it we were all packed up and it was time to go to the awards ceremony.
We stood in the back to get a good view of all the competitors as they walked up to get their awards. Our friends Ray and Jay Ringgenberg got one of the first calls of the day for their 8th place whole hog. It was great to see them walk up to get their trophy. 1st place whole hog went to the Twyford's. Their reaction was priceless--lots of ear-to-ear smiling and jumping up and down and hugging.
Then came the ribs and while our name wasn't called, it was great to see one of my mentors Rod Gray, from Pellet Envy, walk up to take 4th Place. While I have not had the opportunity to talk with Grumpy Old Farts, even though they have been to almost every contest we have been to so far, I have to admit I got a little teary-eyed when their name was called for 1st Place Ribs. You could just tell that it was an incredible achievement for them, and when their daughter Sherry Warth, from Iowa Smokey D's met them to give them huge hugs--that was a very special moment of the whole weekend.
After ribs were called, I got very comfortable at that point, because I knew those were the best ribs we have made to this point and if we didn't get a call on those, we probably wouldn't hear our names after that point. Much was my surprise when they called our name for 3rd place in pork. I had to have floated up to the front of the room to take the trophy because I have no recollection of how I got up there. We had struggled with pork all season up to that point, so I was elated with that call and award.
Another moment of hilarity ensued as while on our way back we shook hands with Mike and Theresa Lake of Rock River BBQ, and as they we're saying congratulations to us, they almost didn't hear their name called for 2nd place! Another shoutout to Farmboy BBQ who was stationed right next to us the past two competitions and got the call for 1st place!
Then came the pork loin category. Again we were very happy to hear our name called for 5th place on the loin category, and even happier when another of my mentor's Johnny Trigg of Smokin' Triggers got the call for 2nd Place.
At that point the wheels started turning in my head as I thought, "well maybe that was enough for a 4th Place Overall call." Again I relaxed when Shad Kirton of A Boy and His BBQ got the call for 4th Place Overall, and "Paola Greg" from Ribs 4 U got the call for Reserve Champion. Finally Todd Johns and Randy Hinck from Pork Pullin' Plowboys got the call for Reserve Grand Champion--what a great weekend for them!
Because we had no idea how we did on ribs, and because we bombed our ribs the week before, I was stunned when our name was called for our first Grand Championship. All of the cru was equally surprised and overjoyed as all of us walked up to the front of the room to take the trophy. My knees were shaking and my jaw dropped as I walked up slowly realizing what just happened. Not only was it our first Grand Championship, not only was it the Great Pork BarbeQlossal, this was the town in which I had grown up and as a result a good portion of my family and friends were able to make it out and share the moment. It was a day we will never forget.
Thank you to all my friends and family who through their help and support have helped to make this happen. Thank you to Anne Rehnstrom in putting together an amazing competition and thank you to Mike Tucker and John Church of Hawgeye's BBQ for being there for a late-night bbq sauce pick-up on Friday night. I have heard dry bbq used in competitions doesn't do very well.
Finally, I would be remise if I did not talk about how humbling it was for me to hear our team's name called and look over to see the first people to their feet to cheer us on were my mentors Rod Gray and Johnny Trigg. My only regret of the weekend is being such a worry-wort fussing over my cookers and entertaining visitors, I didn't find enough time to get over and chat with them. In my mind these two people are my BBQ heroes, and if I can achieve an iota of the success in this sport as these two have managed, I will consider myself very blessed. I have a difficult time finding the words to express how thankful I am that they care enough about this sport to share with eagar fledgling bbq teams how they have mastered their art. Through their efforts and others like them they are helping to take this sport to a new level. All I can say is that this experience I have just shared would not have happened without their assistance. Perhaps one day I will find a way to say thank you the way I really feel.
There are about a hundred people I would like to thank for all their help and support, but first a re-cap of the experience. The Qlossal is an all pork barbeque competition held every year for the past 22 years along with the World Pork Expo at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. With a generous purse, the competition brings in some of the biggest competition from all over the country. Since it is my hometown we thought it would be great to compete so close to family and friends whom could easily join us for the festivities. With several "big leaguers" there to vie for the $8000 Grand Champion prize, we also thought it would be fun to meet some of these pros and have a front row seat to watch them take home the trophy.
The night before Big T'z was one of five teams selected out of the field to compete in the Big Green Egg Scramble. It is a ironchef-esque competition, where the cut of pork is revealed at the beginning of the competition and teams have an hour and a half to create an entree for judges. The winner takes home the Big Green Egg that everything must be cooked on. We put together a delectable plate for the judges of sweet and sour pork with fresh strawberries, pineapple, and pears, on a bed of rice with sauteed peppers, alongside pork satay with a Thai peanut sauce. However it wasn't enough to beat Todd Johns of Pork Pullin' Plowboys who put together what looked like a fantastic pizza with a bottle of Corona to wash it all down. What a great way to spend an evening!
Our pork butts went on the cooker shortly thereafter and it was time to relax and enjoy the beautiful evening with all our family and friends that showed up. It was definitely the most fun we have had on a Friday of a competition.
The morning quickly came and brought with it rain, which was anticipated. We tended the cookers and followed our game plan. As stated earlier, this was an all pork competition with all competitors cooking ribs, pork shoulder (butt), and pork loin to be eligible for the Grand Championship. Competitors could also compete in a whole hog category, but we did not cook it as I could not figure out how to fit it in to my Weber Smokey Mountains. Turn-ins for ribs went very well. I watched the cooker like a hawk this time around after pulling out undercooked ribs in Owatonna. The diligence paid off--they came out great and went in to the box and off to the judges by 12:05. Pork was next and also came off well and off to the judges at 12:30. Pork loin on the other hand had some problems. I cut into the first half and it was undercooked (medium rare is only good with beef and lamb). With a quick prayer I cut in to the second one, which was smaller and it looked great--Phew. All three categories were in by 1:00. At that point I thought things went very well, but it was up to the judges.
By about 12:30 things started to get pretty windy and like our previous two competitions this year, became unmanageable. While we would have liked to rest and enjoy the afternoon while we waited for awards, we had to get the canopies down before the wind blew them away. The whole cru pitched in and before we knew it we were all packed up and it was time to go to the awards ceremony.
We stood in the back to get a good view of all the competitors as they walked up to get their awards. Our friends Ray and Jay Ringgenberg got one of the first calls of the day for their 8th place whole hog. It was great to see them walk up to get their trophy. 1st place whole hog went to the Twyford's. Their reaction was priceless--lots of ear-to-ear smiling and jumping up and down and hugging.
Then came the ribs and while our name wasn't called, it was great to see one of my mentors Rod Gray, from Pellet Envy, walk up to take 4th Place. While I have not had the opportunity to talk with Grumpy Old Farts, even though they have been to almost every contest we have been to so far, I have to admit I got a little teary-eyed when their name was called for 1st Place Ribs. You could just tell that it was an incredible achievement for them, and when their daughter Sherry Warth, from Iowa Smokey D's met them to give them huge hugs--that was a very special moment of the whole weekend.
After ribs were called, I got very comfortable at that point, because I knew those were the best ribs we have made to this point and if we didn't get a call on those, we probably wouldn't hear our names after that point. Much was my surprise when they called our name for 3rd place in pork. I had to have floated up to the front of the room to take the trophy because I have no recollection of how I got up there. We had struggled with pork all season up to that point, so I was elated with that call and award.
Another moment of hilarity ensued as while on our way back we shook hands with Mike and Theresa Lake of Rock River BBQ, and as they we're saying congratulations to us, they almost didn't hear their name called for 2nd place! Another shoutout to Farmboy BBQ who was stationed right next to us the past two competitions and got the call for 1st place!
Then came the pork loin category. Again we were very happy to hear our name called for 5th place on the loin category, and even happier when another of my mentor's Johnny Trigg of Smokin' Triggers got the call for 2nd Place.
At that point the wheels started turning in my head as I thought, "well maybe that was enough for a 4th Place Overall call." Again I relaxed when Shad Kirton of A Boy and His BBQ got the call for 4th Place Overall, and "Paola Greg" from Ribs 4 U got the call for Reserve Champion. Finally Todd Johns and Randy Hinck from Pork Pullin' Plowboys got the call for Reserve Grand Champion--what a great weekend for them!
Because we had no idea how we did on ribs, and because we bombed our ribs the week before, I was stunned when our name was called for our first Grand Championship. All of the cru was equally surprised and overjoyed as all of us walked up to the front of the room to take the trophy. My knees were shaking and my jaw dropped as I walked up slowly realizing what just happened. Not only was it our first Grand Championship, not only was it the Great Pork BarbeQlossal, this was the town in which I had grown up and as a result a good portion of my family and friends were able to make it out and share the moment. It was a day we will never forget.
Thank you to all my friends and family who through their help and support have helped to make this happen. Thank you to Anne Rehnstrom in putting together an amazing competition and thank you to Mike Tucker and John Church of Hawgeye's BBQ for being there for a late-night bbq sauce pick-up on Friday night. I have heard dry bbq used in competitions doesn't do very well.
Finally, I would be remise if I did not talk about how humbling it was for me to hear our team's name called and look over to see the first people to their feet to cheer us on were my mentors Rod Gray and Johnny Trigg. My only regret of the weekend is being such a worry-wort fussing over my cookers and entertaining visitors, I didn't find enough time to get over and chat with them. In my mind these two people are my BBQ heroes, and if I can achieve an iota of the success in this sport as these two have managed, I will consider myself very blessed. I have a difficult time finding the words to express how thankful I am that they care enough about this sport to share with eagar fledgling bbq teams how they have mastered their art. Through their efforts and others like them they are helping to take this sport to a new level. All I can say is that this experience I have just shared would not have happened without their assistance. Perhaps one day I will find a way to say thank you the way I really feel.
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