Redheart
is one Smokin' Farker
Well I made it through. Barely. Sorry I didn't post these Saturday evening or on Sunday but truth be told I just slept! I watched my 'Skins on Sunday and then went back to sleep. I was exhausted.
After arriving on Thursday afternoon the first thing I did was set up camp.
Here is my version of the Hillbilly Hilton.
I spent an hour or so under the glow of an electric light and put together a quick banner. You all have my permission to laugh.
My lil EBC's are fine for the backyard or for camping but I had trouble with these at the comp partly due I believe to the amount of meat in each one.
Also Friday night was very cool and damp. I managed to keep the temperature in the 205-225 range through out the night but it seemed to be slow cooking even for low and slow. Here is what I am talking about.
I was worried that practicing only one meat at a time would come back to haunt me, and it did. I was just not practiced enough in monitoring that much meat even with electronic probes. I also went without the Texas Crutch, something I will not do again. I did manage to turn in everything on time in all for categories. No small feat since the turn in had to be at least 1/4 mile away and I had no runner. I did manage to snag a golf cart lift for pork turn in and although it took just as long to get to the turn in area it save my legs for the brisket.
Chix: I was not happy with this. It is what I consider my strongest meat and things just did not come together for me. It was pretty tender and flavourful, but the skin was very rubbery. Place 11th in this category.
Ribs: I did not foil them and it showed in the tenderness and the taste. Also had a little problem getting good enough good looking cuts to fill the box. I placed 13th in ribs.
Pork: I couldn't slice the money muscle the bark was so hard. I mixed the pulled pork in a East Carolina sauce I make, that most everyone I know raves about but the judges only gave me 8's on. Guess my friends were only being polite. Came in 16th on this one.
Brisket: You know that old saying ... Don't change what work, especially at comp time. Well I did. I trimmed all the fat away and did a bacon grease slather. Next time I slather the grease on top of some fat. The point was like butter about 5 hours before turn in. The flat never hit the 'budda' stage. I wrapped the point in craft paper instead of foil to keep the bark crisp. and left it on the smoker in a pan. Big mistake for me. Should have wrapped it in foil and put it into the warm cooler. By the time I pulled the flat the whole thing was a burnt end. It looked like a meteorite on the outside and the inside as well. I had to dress it with sauce in the box to try and gain a few more points with presentation, because I knew I was gonna get slammed in tenderness and taste. I was given a very generous 14th place on this one.
As you can see by the scores I did not do as well as I had hoped. I placed 13th overall, out of 18. I did have a good time at the comp, and am looking into doing more. I had a chance to meet Rub from Swampboys, but did not get out much past the guys to my immediate left and right. I admit I was a pit hugger but without another team member and my true backyard equipment, I think you can understand why.
MoGreen stopped by with his wife and lovely kids just as I was slicing the brisket. Thanks for the visit.
To all of you that wished me well, I thank you very much. Next time we will get better scores and hopefully a walk or two. I have till the end of the week to sign up for Talledaga which I want to do but I gotta see if I can wrangle a better quality smoker or what further mods I can make on the EBC's to get a better result.
Sorry for the small scale pics. I will see waht I can do to resize for your viewing pleasure.
After arriving on Thursday afternoon the first thing I did was set up camp.
Here is my version of the Hillbilly Hilton.
I spent an hour or so under the glow of an electric light and put together a quick banner. You all have my permission to laugh.
My lil EBC's are fine for the backyard or for camping but I had trouble with these at the comp partly due I believe to the amount of meat in each one.
Also Friday night was very cool and damp. I managed to keep the temperature in the 205-225 range through out the night but it seemed to be slow cooking even for low and slow. Here is what I am talking about.
I was worried that practicing only one meat at a time would come back to haunt me, and it did. I was just not practiced enough in monitoring that much meat even with electronic probes. I also went without the Texas Crutch, something I will not do again. I did manage to turn in everything on time in all for categories. No small feat since the turn in had to be at least 1/4 mile away and I had no runner. I did manage to snag a golf cart lift for pork turn in and although it took just as long to get to the turn in area it save my legs for the brisket.
Chix: I was not happy with this. It is what I consider my strongest meat and things just did not come together for me. It was pretty tender and flavourful, but the skin was very rubbery. Place 11th in this category.
Ribs: I did not foil them and it showed in the tenderness and the taste. Also had a little problem getting good enough good looking cuts to fill the box. I placed 13th in ribs.
Pork: I couldn't slice the money muscle the bark was so hard. I mixed the pulled pork in a East Carolina sauce I make, that most everyone I know raves about but the judges only gave me 8's on. Guess my friends were only being polite. Came in 16th on this one.
Brisket: You know that old saying ... Don't change what work, especially at comp time. Well I did. I trimmed all the fat away and did a bacon grease slather. Next time I slather the grease on top of some fat. The point was like butter about 5 hours before turn in. The flat never hit the 'budda' stage. I wrapped the point in craft paper instead of foil to keep the bark crisp. and left it on the smoker in a pan. Big mistake for me. Should have wrapped it in foil and put it into the warm cooler. By the time I pulled the flat the whole thing was a burnt end. It looked like a meteorite on the outside and the inside as well. I had to dress it with sauce in the box to try and gain a few more points with presentation, because I knew I was gonna get slammed in tenderness and taste. I was given a very generous 14th place on this one.
As you can see by the scores I did not do as well as I had hoped. I placed 13th overall, out of 18. I did have a good time at the comp, and am looking into doing more. I had a chance to meet Rub from Swampboys, but did not get out much past the guys to my immediate left and right. I admit I was a pit hugger but without another team member and my true backyard equipment, I think you can understand why.
MoGreen stopped by with his wife and lovely kids just as I was slicing the brisket. Thanks for the visit.
To all of you that wished me well, I thank you very much. Next time we will get better scores and hopefully a walk or two. I have till the end of the week to sign up for Talledaga which I want to do but I gotta see if I can wrangle a better quality smoker or what further mods I can make on the EBC's to get a better result.
Sorry for the small scale pics. I will see waht I can do to resize for your viewing pleasure.
Was 10 the highest? That's not bad.
