I know, this should probably go in the Comp forum, but it's more about our weekend and food than the competition itself. Plus, I'm a little scared to go there. Those people are so serious. Mods, move it if you have to...
So, I got invited to help out a friend at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo BBQ Cook Off that was held last weekend. Originally he asked me to help for Wednesday through Sunday, but I couldn't really take that much time off or be away from the family that long. He asked if I would be willing to do Friday and Saturday and I agreed. He'd get free help, and I'd get hands on experience from someone that has a lot of years of doing BBQ and to see what competition cooking is all about.
Along the way I learned that this was also going to be a big party sponsored by a company that the company he works does business with. Big party tent, two live bands, free food and drink for all the attendees. A lot more work / cooking than just doing a couple briskets / racks of ribs / chickens...
So, I got there around 7:30 Friday morning. Unloaded the equipment I brought with me (knives, cutting boards, etc.). I got a tour of the three stick burners we would be using.
Then, I was shown the fridge full of meat. We had 13 prime packers, 15 packages of SLC ribs (3 rack packages), two large bags of half chickens (a lot, I didn't count), another couple bags filled with a bunch of about 3 foot long links of sausage, two bags of beef fajita meat, and a bag of boneless, skinless whole (double) breast for chicken fajitas. He said he spent $1500 at the meat market he went to. Either he got a hell of a deal for buying in bulk, or I misunderstood and that was just for part of the meat.
DISCLAIMOR: I could be off on some of the numbers. A lot of beer was drank, and not much sleep, but it was a ton of meat.
Fridays turn in was beans and Chef's choice. The group that was there Wednesday night did all the prep work to get the beans started early Friday morning. They also peeled and boiled a ton of potatoes for potato salad. We got to work, chopping a lot of the other veggies to be added to the beans and salad. The beans got turned in around 1:30 (I think, time was a blur) and the potato salad mixed, into a 5 gallon bucket, and into the fridge. Sorry, no pictures, I meant to take more, but was either too busy or hands too dirty to grab phone to take one.
The Chef's choice was a Beef Short Rib Plate that my friend had been cooking all morning. Now, I know my plates only take 6 hours, but it wasn't my pit, my competition, and he was cooking slower. But I could tell they were fall apart tender when he pulled them off.
After they rested for a bit, he sliced the meat from the bones and tried cutting it to I think he said 30 bite sized chunks for judging.
He was able to fill the box and then we got to taste the scraps. It was very tender, flavorful, and was not dry which surprised me for cooking it that long. He had made a little Chimichurri sauce that he drizzled on top. Added a nice flavor to it.
After the beef ribs were turned in, it was time to cook for the night's party. All the fajita meat was thrown on, tortillas were wrapped and warmed, and Pico was made. And then the weather changed...
We didn't know how many people were going to show up with this drizzle that lasted until Saturday afternoon. But we had to cook like everyone was going to show.
Once we got the buffet stocked and people fed, it was time to start prepping the meat for Saturday. My friend doesn't trim the briskets. :twitch: I am not sure if that is the way he normally does or just this time. I so wanted to get rid of that hard yellow fat and thin down the cap. But... Briskets were on the pits by 10:30. They all looked good, but I had found this one that looked great (it had a really thick and even flat and great marbling) and he saw another that he liked, so he put those two in the sweet spot and we figured one of those two would be in our turn in box.
Next came the ribs and I got the honor of peeling the membrane cause I said I was experienced at doing it. Forty-five racks. I now hate peeling membranes. :tsk: While I was doing that, the rest were putting the dry rub on the chickens and the ribs as I got them peeled.
Around midnight, crowd and band had left, and all our work is done. Friend needed some rest before the early morning, so me and a buddy said we would watch the pits while he got 4 hours of sleep. We didn't have too many issues with the pits, but they definitely aren't as easy as my WSM. :biggrin1: Let the friend sleep until 5, walked him around to let him know where we were, and then crashed for a couple hours.
Back up at 9, and back at it. Briskets were cooking away, looking like meteors
tsk, time to throw the chickens on for the first turn in of the day and the ribs for the next. Also prepped some creamed corn for the party tonight.
Chickens are done. Well, I think they are over done, but he thinks they look great. A little sauce, a sear to seal, into a box and turned in. Sorry, no picture of the chicken.
Ribs were next. He sauced them with a little Stubb's, thinned with some beer and other spices. They looked pretty, and tasted good, but were a little over cooked. They were a little too fall off the bone and some of the outside was hard to cut through.
Finally, it was brisket time. Those two great briskets we had singled out? Over cooked and falling apart. We went through about eight of them trying to find turn in material. This was the best we ended up with:
After all that, you'd think it was time to relax. Nope, time to feed the party again. For the next several hours we were slicing. Out of ribs. Slice another three racks. Need more brisket. Slice another packer. Fill the pan with half chickens. It was a lot of work, but all the invitees were happy. And they should be. The music was great, the drinks were flowing, the food was delicious and the rain finally quit.
It may seem like I am complaining a lot throughout this post about the food. I did have to keep comments to myself at first. But after a while I realized that was his BBQ. Mine is a little different. Not meaning better, just different. It all tasted good, and everyone loved it, so I let it go. The company that sponsored him said they already wanted to do it again next year, but they would have to increase the budget next time. :twitch:
Yeah, if he invites me, I'd probably do it again... :biggrin1:
So, I got invited to help out a friend at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo BBQ Cook Off that was held last weekend. Originally he asked me to help for Wednesday through Sunday, but I couldn't really take that much time off or be away from the family that long. He asked if I would be willing to do Friday and Saturday and I agreed. He'd get free help, and I'd get hands on experience from someone that has a lot of years of doing BBQ and to see what competition cooking is all about.
Along the way I learned that this was also going to be a big party sponsored by a company that the company he works does business with. Big party tent, two live bands, free food and drink for all the attendees. A lot more work / cooking than just doing a couple briskets / racks of ribs / chickens...
So, I got there around 7:30 Friday morning. Unloaded the equipment I brought with me (knives, cutting boards, etc.). I got a tour of the three stick burners we would be using.
Then, I was shown the fridge full of meat. We had 13 prime packers, 15 packages of SLC ribs (3 rack packages), two large bags of half chickens (a lot, I didn't count), another couple bags filled with a bunch of about 3 foot long links of sausage, two bags of beef fajita meat, and a bag of boneless, skinless whole (double) breast for chicken fajitas. He said he spent $1500 at the meat market he went to. Either he got a hell of a deal for buying in bulk, or I misunderstood and that was just for part of the meat.
DISCLAIMOR: I could be off on some of the numbers. A lot of beer was drank, and not much sleep, but it was a ton of meat.
Fridays turn in was beans and Chef's choice. The group that was there Wednesday night did all the prep work to get the beans started early Friday morning. They also peeled and boiled a ton of potatoes for potato salad. We got to work, chopping a lot of the other veggies to be added to the beans and salad. The beans got turned in around 1:30 (I think, time was a blur) and the potato salad mixed, into a 5 gallon bucket, and into the fridge. Sorry, no pictures, I meant to take more, but was either too busy or hands too dirty to grab phone to take one.
The Chef's choice was a Beef Short Rib Plate that my friend had been cooking all morning. Now, I know my plates only take 6 hours, but it wasn't my pit, my competition, and he was cooking slower. But I could tell they were fall apart tender when he pulled them off.
After they rested for a bit, he sliced the meat from the bones and tried cutting it to I think he said 30 bite sized chunks for judging.
He was able to fill the box and then we got to taste the scraps. It was very tender, flavorful, and was not dry which surprised me for cooking it that long. He had made a little Chimichurri sauce that he drizzled on top. Added a nice flavor to it.
After the beef ribs were turned in, it was time to cook for the night's party. All the fajita meat was thrown on, tortillas were wrapped and warmed, and Pico was made. And then the weather changed...
We didn't know how many people were going to show up with this drizzle that lasted until Saturday afternoon. But we had to cook like everyone was going to show.
Once we got the buffet stocked and people fed, it was time to start prepping the meat for Saturday. My friend doesn't trim the briskets. :twitch: I am not sure if that is the way he normally does or just this time. I so wanted to get rid of that hard yellow fat and thin down the cap. But... Briskets were on the pits by 10:30. They all looked good, but I had found this one that looked great (it had a really thick and even flat and great marbling) and he saw another that he liked, so he put those two in the sweet spot and we figured one of those two would be in our turn in box.
Next came the ribs and I got the honor of peeling the membrane cause I said I was experienced at doing it. Forty-five racks. I now hate peeling membranes. :tsk: While I was doing that, the rest were putting the dry rub on the chickens and the ribs as I got them peeled.
Around midnight, crowd and band had left, and all our work is done. Friend needed some rest before the early morning, so me and a buddy said we would watch the pits while he got 4 hours of sleep. We didn't have too many issues with the pits, but they definitely aren't as easy as my WSM. :biggrin1: Let the friend sleep until 5, walked him around to let him know where we were, and then crashed for a couple hours.
Back up at 9, and back at it. Briskets were cooking away, looking like meteors
tsk, time to throw the chickens on for the first turn in of the day and the ribs for the next. Also prepped some creamed corn for the party tonight.Chickens are done. Well, I think they are over done, but he thinks they look great. A little sauce, a sear to seal, into a box and turned in. Sorry, no picture of the chicken.
Ribs were next. He sauced them with a little Stubb's, thinned with some beer and other spices. They looked pretty, and tasted good, but were a little over cooked. They were a little too fall off the bone and some of the outside was hard to cut through.
Finally, it was brisket time. Those two great briskets we had singled out? Over cooked and falling apart. We went through about eight of them trying to find turn in material. This was the best we ended up with:
After all that, you'd think it was time to relax. Nope, time to feed the party again. For the next several hours we were slicing. Out of ribs. Slice another three racks. Need more brisket. Slice another packer. Fill the pan with half chickens. It was a lot of work, but all the invitees were happy. And they should be. The music was great, the drinks were flowing, the food was delicious and the rain finally quit.
It may seem like I am complaining a lot throughout this post about the food. I did have to keep comments to myself at first. But after a while I realized that was his BBQ. Mine is a little different. Not meaning better, just different. It all tasted good, and everyone loved it, so I let it go. The company that sponsored him said they already wanted to do it again next year, but they would have to increase the budget next time. :twitch:
Yeah, if he invites me, I'd probably do it again... :biggrin1:
