DUBBAGA
is One Chatty Farker
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2011
- Location
- Beaumont...
The Good = Burnin' and Lootin' (JerryA) for winning back-to-back GC
The Bad = Weather (most of the Country will have no sympathy for me
)
The Ugly = My results
3/1/2014 - Havasu Landing CA BBQ Championship
There were 28 teams from CA, AZ, NV and Iowa who made the trip to Havasu Landing CA (just across the water from Lake Havasu, AZ). We all got to enjoy high winds and rain, but fortunately the temperatures were warm enough that we could still be comfortable.
I drive a Kia Spectra, and loaded everything that I needed into the car (well, at least as much as would fit).
My wife was flying in from Salt Lake City, UT to meet me at the comp, so I was able to load in extra stuff on the passenger side. I was able to fit 2 EZ-UPs, a 55gal UDS, a stainless steel cart, folding table, 2 coolers, boxes with various supplies, folding chairs, etc etc etc. This is clearly not the ideal situation, but it's what I had to work with.
When I finally arrived on site, the organizer/promoter Thom Emery directed me to my spot. I was set between Hog Heaven Sauces (CA) who was runner-up for 2013 CA Rookie of the Year and Dry 2 Tha Bone (IA). As I was starting to unload my car, the rain and wind increased again. I was soaked, but eventually got everything emptied out. If unloading was fun, setting up 2 EZ-UPs by myself in gusting wind was pure ecstasy. At one point I had to hang on to the legs of the EZ-UPs for over 15min just to keep them from blowing into my neighbor's tent and truck. Eventually the wind calmed down enough for me to tie them down to my car and one of the coolers (shortly after I was brought some concrete blocks to weigh down the other legs).
By about 7pm I was pretty much set up, but had to move the table/banner from the right side to the left, as the rain began coming in sideways, and I didn't want it coming on the prep area. The big meats were injected and put back in the cooler. I had my timelines for each of the meats taped to the back of the Brethren banner, and my alarms set for each of the major steps. It was time to finally relax and enjoy the proverbial "calm before the storm".
Around 11pm my wife arrived, and went to sleep in her rented Jeep. I stayed under the tent, as I was going to be firing up the UDS at 11:30pm. Everything went according to schedule, but I was still unable to get much sleep as the winds were gusting and I was still concerned that the EZ-UPs were going to blow away.
The big meats came off the UDS as scheduled (although the brisket needed another 30min - 1hr to get fully probe tender), thereby making room for chicken and ribs. It was at this point that I began losing my mind, and everything started to go downhill.
Due to the wind/rain, it took 15min longer to wrap the skins back on the thighs than when I was practicing at home, so when I had finally finished with them I rushed to put them in their pans and put them on the smoker. It wasn't until I went to pull them from the pan that I realized that I never applied the rub :doh:. I then had to rub them on the UDS, which resulted in an uneven coating, and had the lid off the UDS for too long which caused the temp to drop (had expected a spike, but it went the other way). As I was 15min behind schedule after wrapping the thighs, and as the temp was lower than scheduled, I had to open the vents to get it back to temp. It got to temp, but then shot way past it.
At about 11:50am the chicken was still on the smoker, as there was still noticeable blood at the bone. Not wanting to open up the lid too often, I wasn't able to do my intended double glazing, and had to focus on getting the chicken cooked fully. At 11:57am I pulled the chicken, poured a quick sauce/glaze over the top and selected which pieces were going in the box. The pieces I wanted weren't fitting, as the thighs were too big, but I finally found 6 pieces that looked ok, and packed them up. Never had an opportunity to apply my finishing rub or take a pic - but at least they got in on time. I had been concerned all afternoon long that I was going to be DQ for uncooked chicken, but the DQ never happened... what a relief.
878, 879, 889, 878, 889, 888 (158.8340 = 22 out of 28 )
I was pretty happy with the rib turn in, although they were slightly overdone due to the temp spike while trying to cook the chicken. The cuts didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, and I had tried to fit 6 ribs wide in the box but they were too large. While trying to move the ribs around to get the final presentation, I accidentally damaged the finish on the 2nd/3rd ribs from the left. Didn't want to add additional sauce/glaze as wasn't sure if it would help or hurt things, so I had to spritz and turn-in.
898, 887, 877, 888, 989, 788 (162.2972 = 14 out of 28 )
Pork turn-in was an improvisation. I had cooked 2 butts to different temps, with a plan on using one for MM/burnt ends and the other for chunks. While freaking out earlier I didn't have the opportunity to make the burnt ends, and the butt intended for MM was unusable. The MM was overdone while the rest of it was underdone. Fortunately I was happy with the other butt, and was able to both slice and chunk. I had tried to do the pulling with my insulated gloves, but they proved to be too cumbersome, and resulted in my ruining a lot of good pieces. Eventually I changed to disposable gloves and was able to salvage some decent pieces for turning in (the box was not as full as I would have liked though).
879, 999, 878, 888, 889, 888 (163.9884 = 19 out of 28 )
And finally, brisket. As had been mentioned, it was pulled from the cooker earlier than it needed. I wasn't happy with the burnt ends, so they didn't go in the box. I felt rushed building the brisket box, and wasn't happy that the "sauce" left debris on the slices, and was pooling on the slices. At this point there was nothing left to do, as time had run out, and the clock hit 1:30pm.
977, 866, 877, 978, 877, 988 (149.0628 = 23 out of 28 )
As everything was done, I was able to take a photo of my wife in front of our site, and the R&O smoker belonging to Dry 2 Tha Bone
Our final score was 634.1824, for 22 out of 28.
My goals for this contest were: make all turn-ins, don't get a DQ, don't be DAL, and get in the top 1/2 for at least 1 category. It was close, but I was able to check off all of these as being accomplished.
It has now been a few days since returning home from Havasu Landing, and can truly say that it was an experience. No matter how much practice is put in and how good a schedule has been made, there is nothing to prepare you for how it "feels" to execute everything at a real comp. Hopefully now that the first one has been completed, any future comps will run smoother, as I now have an actual reference point.
Many people have posted that the best part about competing is the interaction with the other competitors, and I can agree. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. Ira (Hog Heaven Sauces), Harlyn (Dry 2 Tha Bone), Kris (Karnivorous ... with a K), Mike (Knife, Pork and Spoon) and Matt (Left Coast Q) were all fantastic, and really made this a memorable experience :clap2:
The Bad = Weather (most of the Country will have no sympathy for me
The Ugly = My results
3/1/2014 - Havasu Landing CA BBQ Championship
There were 28 teams from CA, AZ, NV and Iowa who made the trip to Havasu Landing CA (just across the water from Lake Havasu, AZ). We all got to enjoy high winds and rain, but fortunately the temperatures were warm enough that we could still be comfortable.
I drive a Kia Spectra, and loaded everything that I needed into the car (well, at least as much as would fit).
My wife was flying in from Salt Lake City, UT to meet me at the comp, so I was able to load in extra stuff on the passenger side. I was able to fit 2 EZ-UPs, a 55gal UDS, a stainless steel cart, folding table, 2 coolers, boxes with various supplies, folding chairs, etc etc etc. This is clearly not the ideal situation, but it's what I had to work with.
When I finally arrived on site, the organizer/promoter Thom Emery directed me to my spot. I was set between Hog Heaven Sauces (CA) who was runner-up for 2013 CA Rookie of the Year and Dry 2 Tha Bone (IA). As I was starting to unload my car, the rain and wind increased again. I was soaked, but eventually got everything emptied out. If unloading was fun, setting up 2 EZ-UPs by myself in gusting wind was pure ecstasy. At one point I had to hang on to the legs of the EZ-UPs for over 15min just to keep them from blowing into my neighbor's tent and truck. Eventually the wind calmed down enough for me to tie them down to my car and one of the coolers (shortly after I was brought some concrete blocks to weigh down the other legs).
By about 7pm I was pretty much set up, but had to move the table/banner from the right side to the left, as the rain began coming in sideways, and I didn't want it coming on the prep area. The big meats were injected and put back in the cooler. I had my timelines for each of the meats taped to the back of the Brethren banner, and my alarms set for each of the major steps. It was time to finally relax and enjoy the proverbial "calm before the storm".
Around 11pm my wife arrived, and went to sleep in her rented Jeep. I stayed under the tent, as I was going to be firing up the UDS at 11:30pm. Everything went according to schedule, but I was still unable to get much sleep as the winds were gusting and I was still concerned that the EZ-UPs were going to blow away.
The big meats came off the UDS as scheduled (although the brisket needed another 30min - 1hr to get fully probe tender), thereby making room for chicken and ribs. It was at this point that I began losing my mind, and everything started to go downhill.
Due to the wind/rain, it took 15min longer to wrap the skins back on the thighs than when I was practicing at home, so when I had finally finished with them I rushed to put them in their pans and put them on the smoker. It wasn't until I went to pull them from the pan that I realized that I never applied the rub :doh:. I then had to rub them on the UDS, which resulted in an uneven coating, and had the lid off the UDS for too long which caused the temp to drop (had expected a spike, but it went the other way). As I was 15min behind schedule after wrapping the thighs, and as the temp was lower than scheduled, I had to open the vents to get it back to temp. It got to temp, but then shot way past it.
At about 11:50am the chicken was still on the smoker, as there was still noticeable blood at the bone. Not wanting to open up the lid too often, I wasn't able to do my intended double glazing, and had to focus on getting the chicken cooked fully. At 11:57am I pulled the chicken, poured a quick sauce/glaze over the top and selected which pieces were going in the box. The pieces I wanted weren't fitting, as the thighs were too big, but I finally found 6 pieces that looked ok, and packed them up. Never had an opportunity to apply my finishing rub or take a pic - but at least they got in on time. I had been concerned all afternoon long that I was going to be DQ for uncooked chicken, but the DQ never happened... what a relief.
878, 879, 889, 878, 889, 888 (158.8340 = 22 out of 28 )
I was pretty happy with the rib turn in, although they were slightly overdone due to the temp spike while trying to cook the chicken. The cuts didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, and I had tried to fit 6 ribs wide in the box but they were too large. While trying to move the ribs around to get the final presentation, I accidentally damaged the finish on the 2nd/3rd ribs from the left. Didn't want to add additional sauce/glaze as wasn't sure if it would help or hurt things, so I had to spritz and turn-in.
898, 887, 877, 888, 989, 788 (162.2972 = 14 out of 28 )
Pork turn-in was an improvisation. I had cooked 2 butts to different temps, with a plan on using one for MM/burnt ends and the other for chunks. While freaking out earlier I didn't have the opportunity to make the burnt ends, and the butt intended for MM was unusable. The MM was overdone while the rest of it was underdone. Fortunately I was happy with the other butt, and was able to both slice and chunk. I had tried to do the pulling with my insulated gloves, but they proved to be too cumbersome, and resulted in my ruining a lot of good pieces. Eventually I changed to disposable gloves and was able to salvage some decent pieces for turning in (the box was not as full as I would have liked though).
879, 999, 878, 888, 889, 888 (163.9884 = 19 out of 28 )
And finally, brisket. As had been mentioned, it was pulled from the cooker earlier than it needed. I wasn't happy with the burnt ends, so they didn't go in the box. I felt rushed building the brisket box, and wasn't happy that the "sauce" left debris on the slices, and was pooling on the slices. At this point there was nothing left to do, as time had run out, and the clock hit 1:30pm.
977, 866, 877, 978, 877, 988 (149.0628 = 23 out of 28 )
As everything was done, I was able to take a photo of my wife in front of our site, and the R&O smoker belonging to Dry 2 Tha Bone
Our final score was 634.1824, for 22 out of 28.
My goals for this contest were: make all turn-ins, don't get a DQ, don't be DAL, and get in the top 1/2 for at least 1 category. It was close, but I was able to check off all of these as being accomplished.
It has now been a few days since returning home from Havasu Landing, and can truly say that it was an experience. No matter how much practice is put in and how good a schedule has been made, there is nothing to prepare you for how it "feels" to execute everything at a real comp. Hopefully now that the first one has been completed, any future comps will run smoother, as I now have an actual reference point.
Many people have posted that the best part about competing is the interaction with the other competitors, and I can agree. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. Ira (Hog Heaven Sauces), Harlyn (Dry 2 Tha Bone), Kris (Karnivorous ... with a K), Mike (Knife, Pork and Spoon) and Matt (Left Coast Q) were all fantastic, and really made this a memorable experience :clap2:
..haha great post man
