Common Interest

Smoke at the Lodge/Pickin' in the Orchard

2009-09-15T05:22:00.003-04:00

It’s been quite a summer. I took a well need respite from the blog scene. Now that I’ve caught up on some sleep and reset the brain, it’s time to get back to the labor of love.

We cooked a couple of SCBA contests. One was called Smoke at the lodge, the other Pickin’ in The Orchard. Both were Summerville cooks, and we can’t resist the opportunity to compete in our hometown. Both cooks were whole hog and the big cooker, “Lucifer”, was the choice. She had been tested but results continued to be mixed.

Smoke at the Lodge was a great effort. Rain soaked the grounds Thursday and it looked like it would be a wet experience. Wind took over after the rains moved on. Good thing we were prepared with early site selection and good equipment. The Easy Up’s would be the biggest concern. Anytime you get big wind and portable tents together, results can be disastrous. We pulled in equipment Thursday night choosing to set up behind a garage type structure to help shield the cooker from strong currents.

The competition line up was very good. Most of the top cookers in the state were in attendance. The team line up was set. Mary, Kait, Gary Brown, and Tommy Borders would help keep the cook rolling forward. Garland and Rebecca Hudgins had family obligations, Bob Brown was working an outage in the northeast. Common Interest was in good shape.

Set up was completed, and it was time to procure the guest of honor. Careful inspection and some sorting brought out the 128 pound animal du jour. She got put up on the table about 2pm and the preparations began. The hog was trimmed, injected and rubbed in about an hour and a half

Past whole hog cooks were pushed at the end. This hog would have plenty of time to bathe in the smoke. Turn in time was scheduled for 10am Saturday morning. The hog was set in the cooker at 6pm, hoping for an 8am done time.

The Anything But Pork contest was required. I’ve been wrestling with mandatory Anything Butts and how to approach them. I understand the concept, but don’t like to be required to cook for 200. We decided to invest in Chili Dogs. They were affordable, easy, fun and delicious. They didn’t come in last place.

After ATB and a great band, it was time to settle down for the cook. Temperatures unexpectedly dropped overnight but the cooker ran like a champ. The task was to keep the temperature up. Past cooks ran long and we were aiming to meet the deadlines without raising cooker temperatures at the end.

The cooker performed beautifully. The whole hog turned out great. It was moist, tender and picture perfect. Unfortunately, the judges were not as impressed with the efforts. There were some conflicting flavors in the finished product, resulting in a 16th place finish. Better luck might come at the next contest.

Pickin’ in the Orchard followed in June. This whole hog cook was put on to raise money for the Summerville Miracle League. Miracle league is a fantastic organization and cooking to raise money for this charity tops the list at Common Interest.

The team was set: Mary, Kait and myself, Bob and Gary Brown, and Thommy Borders. Our SCBA judge, working on advancement, was Judy Haenni. Garland and Rebecca Hudgins volunteered to be Marshals for the event.

Responsibility with work reared its ugly head Friday morning and trucks didn’t get loaded until early afternoon. Naturally, the rain started right after the truck and cooker were loaded and hooked up. The short ride to the site was difficult and wet. Sites were designated, and the trailer was pulled up as close as possible and offloaded. The tent was immediately put together, and the cooker was put into place. The rain cleared as soon as the cooker was set, and only returned for a short sprinkle late in the night.

The hogs were available early afternoon. A good working weight for the cooker is about 125 pounds. A quick scan of the toe tags, a choice, and the beast was delivered to the site. The Common Interest “juju” was injected. She was slathered and rubbed, a reasonable rest period followed to allow the spices to rehydrate, and on to cooking grate she went. Our Anything Butt was red beans and rice. They were easy and flavorful. Once again, not a great show, but not last place either. We squeaked this one by.

This was not our best effort. The hog stalled on the flip, and never reached temperature. The meat was underdone and tough. The hog was at the correct temperature when we flipped. Unfortunately, it never picked up steam again and didn’t get to the temperature required for great barbecue.

I learned a valuable lesson years ago about managing a cooker. It goes something like this: Never let a cooker loose forward momentum during a cook. Never ever let the meat loose forward momentum. Both scenarios will take mega-energy to correct and the cooked meat quality will suffer tremendously. The only explanation I can come up with was that somehow during the flip, the cooker fell off and the dynamics of the meat changed and never recovered. Lessons well served and reminded frequently.

All in all both cooks were great times. I will repeat the call of the losers once again. “We had a great time, met lots of really nice people and raised money for good causes.” We will return with better plans in the future.

Barbecue 101 - A Guide to Ultra Barbecue - Part IV Meat, Section 2

2009-07-27T05:18:00.003-04:00

The science of cooking meat is interesting reading but, like most science, can be difficult to understand. Put as plainly as possible, meat is 70 percent water. Even though it is mostly water it is not “juicy”. As meat cooks, cells rupture and release their water. Once the meat reaches about 130 degrees the proteins break down into savory amino acids and start to help out flavor. At this temperature the internal water has started to migrate to the surface and slow the cooking process.

At about 140 degrees collagen will start to shrink, squeezing out water and making the meat firmer. The aging enzymes have all but been destroyed and the myoglobin has been denatured producing a brown color. By the time the meat temperature reaches 150 degrees the cooking process will stop as most of the energy is being used to evaporate water. This is commonly known as the first stall. Just about all meats at this stage are considered inedible. Tender cuts have been deprived of moisture and the tough cuts are dry and very tough. These moisture losses are certain, no matter the cooking technique.

At higher internal temperatures, water continues to evaporate from the surface faster than it can migrate out. This evaporation is what contributes to the browning and bark formation known as “milliard browning reactions.” Good manipulations of this process will produce intense flavors.

Tough cuts are coached through the first stall and continued to be heated until collagen and connective tissues start to break down and fat is rendered. This point is usually referred to as the second stall. Once the second stall is reached most of the energy in the cooking process is being used to drive this reaction. This point is where the Pit Masters are separated from the Pit Cooks. Moisture management is critical at this step. Many cooks will employ foil or raise the temperature of their pit to bring them through the plateau at the expense of the final product. Foil might as well be kin to boiling, and raising temperatures will speed the drying process leaving behind a bitter burnt flavor as a result. True Pit Masters will use this time as an opportunity to develop the deep flavors inherent in great barbecue. Pits are left alone or sometimes even left to fall off a little while collagen breaks down and fat is rendered. Some Masters will employ basting techniques to layer flavors and slow the drying process to prevent burning.

While we are discussing some science, let’s look at “smoke ring” formation. Myoglobin is the protein that makes meat red. Myoglobin denatures over time with heat and turns brown, indicating doneness. In a pit, nitrogen compounds found in the smoke will react with the myoglobin to form a stable pink zone around the outside of the meat. This pink ring is known as the “smoke ring”, and is an indication of proper barbecuing techniques. Some deceitful characters will add nitrogen rich curing salts to the outside of the meat and create and artificial smoke ring; Judges beware.

Once the meat exits the second stall, we are making true barbecue. Connective tissue and fat will continue to render until the meat is very tender and succulent. The point where a piece of meat is done to perfection now becomes a personal decision. The internal temperatures can range from 185 to 210 degrees. The barbecue will have different characteristics depending on the final temperature you choose. Lower temperatures will tend to have a little more “chew”, while higher temperatures will yield a more tender product. Pit Masters must use care when judging when a product is done. If the meat is left on the pit too long it will become mushy and dry start to dry out. Take time to practice cooking meats to different temperatures to find the temperature that satisfies your personal preferences.

Understanding the science of cooking different meats can be a cumbersome task. Patience and understanding of the different processes that meat goes through to make great barbecue is essential. The stalls are a very important part of the process. Managing them correctly is the trick. Patience is the key, enjoy your experience and don’t try to rush a great day.

Barbecue 101 - A guide to Ultra Barbecue - Part IV Meat, Section 1

2009-06-30T05:28:00.007-04:00

Now that we have chosen a vessel and some fuel, it’s high time to consider cooking some meat. This article will focus on the selection of readily available red meats. High end meats, poultry and fish will be dealt with another time. For now, let’s discuss meats that can be obtained easily at the grocery store.

Meat is muscle fibers that are organized and bundled together with connective tissue, with a sprinkling of fatty deposits. How these muscles develop and are used by the animal usually determine how they should be cooked.

When you are selecting meat for your pit, fat is important. Surface fat prevents meat from drying out in later stages of cooking, and contributes to “bark” formation. Internal fat adds the rich flavor and keeps the interior strands from drying out, offering the sensation of juiciness; a highly desired trait. When buying package meats from the grocery store take a careful look at the label to be sure that there is not water added. Major retailers have started engaging in the dreadful practice of adding a saline solution to meat. Meat should not need an ingredient label. If your grocer carries such products, shop elsewhere.

In the south pork is the King of barbecue. There are very few differences in commercial pork. It is all uniformly ordinary. Hogs are bred and fed to be lean. They are raised in confinement and fed controlled diets to make them more appealing to the consumer. Look for enough surface fat to keep the exterior from drying out and cook properly.

Buying beef is more entertaining. There are clearly better choices. Buy USDA Choice Beef and look for good marbling. Surface fat is good but should be kept thin. Unless you have honed your skills in choosing beef, it pays to buy Certified Angus meats. The Certified Angus program offers a minimum quality guarantee. When selecting ribs and briskets, look for packages that are uniform in thickness and choose packages that are more pliable.

Basically, there are two kinds of meats to choose from: tough or tender. Tender cuts like loins help hold the skeleton together and get very little use for work. There is not very much connective tissue and the texture is fine. Tender cuts are generally smoke roasted or grilled at higher temperatures and cooked to a desired doneness. Tough cuts come from the working muscles like brisket or shoulders, are chock full of connective tissue, and are generally suited for “barbecuing”. Remember our definition of barbecue: meat that is slow cooked over a long period of time to melt collagen and connective tissue making the meat tender and succulent.

Raw meat contains aging enzymes which continue to affect flavor, tenderness, and appearance until they are destroyed by heat. These enzymes continue to break down connective tissue and muscle fibers over time. These enzymes do their best work on whole beef carcasses that are hung in coolers for weeks at a time. This is called “dry aging.” The industrialization of meat packing plants has brought the demise of the practice of dry aging. There is some done at the local level and in high end supermarkets. Wet aging, a process where you leave a primal cut in the cryovac in a refrigerator for a week or two before using it, will help develop flavors. Sometimes, these bags will have a strong odor when opened. A quick rinse and a sniff test will tell whether you have been successful at aging or the meat is spoiled and should be disposed of. Aging enzymes are most active in meat warms. Many cooks will allow meat to come to room temperature before cooking. Slow cooking also takes full advantage of the aging process.

Careful planning and choosing meat is critical to the process of successful barbecuing. Whether choosing to cook tender or tough cuts, be discerning in your pick. Choose good quality unenhanced meats from a reputable source. This will provide a solid foundation to the cooking processes and allow the science to better work in your favor.

The Palmetto Barbecue and Brew Festival

2009-05-19T05:35:00.005-04:00

I got the bug to cook competition barbecue about 15 years ago. I got invited to attend a local contest held in Marion Square in downtown Charleston, SC. I was running restaurants at the time and my HVAC guy was going to be cooking with a team on Friday night. What I didn’t know was I had been invited to one of the premier contest fundraisers in South Carolina.

The event was called the Prestigious Palmetto Pig Pickin’ or PPPP for short. In those days it was held in February, usually on Presidents Day weekend. It was a Memphis in May sanctioned event and featured some of the best cookers on the circuit at that time. We had a blast at that contest, talking with cooking teams, eating food and enjoying some really good music. I was awed by the equipment and enamored by the tasks at hand. Teams were cooking whole hogs, whole shoulders and ribs for the contest. We were being treated to a wide variety of foods at the Friday night Anything Butt Pork contest. I had no idea what was involved, but we were having a “large time”. I caught the bug right then and there. I could do this. I could cook whole hogs and win prizes.

A couple of years later, after some cooking lessons, we sent in our first application and” Pigs on the Wing” was born. The contest had moved off of the square and was relocated to Brittle Bank Park. The new venue was bigger and easier to access. A few years later the location changed again to the Ladson Fairgrounds. The Fairgrounds would provide much better infrastructure for the cooking teams and plenty of facilities for the Sertoma Club. The contest continued to be the South Carolina State Championship for barbecue and is recognized as the biggest and best contest in the state.

We stayed involved with this contest for 10 years. We considered it our home event. Every year we would throw a big party and invite all of our friends to the Pig Pickin’. Over the years the Sertoma Club changed the dates to the first weekend in March. This was a welcome change. Foul weather had been a trademark of this contest. Weather patterns in the South East are volatile during the early spring. We were fortunate enough to win the contest in 2006, our 9th year. We defended our title in ’07 and retired the date from our schedule, and changed our team name. It had been a great run.

In 2008 we made a commitment to try to qualify for the Kansas City Royal, and gain an invite to the Jack Daniels Invitational. To do this teams have to cook in Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned events. The Sertoma Club was bringing a qualifying event to the Ladson Fairgrounds. So, even though we had retired the date, we found ourselves at the Fairgrounds cooking the KCBS contest. Once again the weather was a factor, but we did well in the contest.
In 2009 the Club decided to move the contest to Edisto Island, SC. We were unquestionably retired. The KCBS contest was not going to be associated this year. We were considering judging the event. Jim Tolley and Thommy Brush had been very good to us over the years and we wanted to be involved at some level.

Mike Fields from the Mikes Catering Team approached me about cooking a category with his team. After some arm twisting and a bit of a service trade with the Carolina Pit Masters, Mary and I decided to join the crew at Mike’s for another run. Mike would cook the whole hog, I would do the shoulders and we would pull together as a crew and cook ribs. So on March 20, 2009 we packed up the truck with the necessary gear and headed for Edisto Island.
Mike’s Catering is a great team. The team is a melding of talents. Mike’s son James and wife Cindy join Tanya and Donnie Clayton to make one of the best crews on the circuit. The contest is a challenge with three categories and on site judging. The teams Any Thing Goes entry for Friday night was a Seafood Bisque that was being carefully tended by a fellow I know only as Kenny. Kenny is a staple with the Mike’s Catering Crew. He is a well seasoned cook and he knows how to make a mean Bisque.

Friday night was a good time. Meats were prepped and the cooking started. I would be using a small Alveron cooker for the shoulders. All of the cookers settled nicely and the meats were on time. I made several walks around the field visiting old friends. The night was uneventful, we flipped the hog at the appointed time and settled in for some sleep.

Saturday morning is always busy at this event. Turn in times start at 9am and there are on site judges to contend with. We started building boxes about 8am and continued to prepare for onsite judging until around 1pm when the last of the rib judges left our area. It was fast and furious for a while but we managed to put great boxes together and Mike did an outstanding job with the on site judges. The afternoon was spent enjoying the contest.

At 4:30pm it was time to go to awards. Mikes Catering won a 2nd place Anything Butt Pork for the Seafood Bisque and 1st place whole hog. Fatback and the flying pigs won the contest. Congratulations to all who entered and placed.

After an afternoon of celebrating a huge win in the whole hog event, we decided not to operate vehicles so Mary and I made arrangements to say in Edisto for the night. The post contest party with the Alveron Crew was hilarious. Alveron had done very well too. We are all great friends, so John Haney bought pizza and we proceeded to celebrate multiple victories.

Sunday was breakdown and load out. All tasks went smoothly. Mary and I said our good byes and headed for Summerville around noon. This contest continues to be a well run, well organized event. Although we have retired our team, we always look forward to helping out wherever we can. It’s already on the calendar for next year.
For information on this contest to to: http://www.pigpickn.com/

Macon and the Superior Smoker

2009-03-28T15:22:00.000-04:00

Enjoying the many different cultures of the world through food is one of life’s simple pleasures. Cooking is a passion. Cooking vessels are an obsession.

My good friend, Chris Finney, is a design engineer. He makes cool stuff for a living. He and I share the obsession with cooking vessels, although on different levels. Finney designs them. I like to collect them. Chris has been working on a plan for a new kind of cooker for some time now. He has teamed up with Joby Stanaland at Superior Smokers and produced a cooker that handles heat distribution in a different manner. How it works is not our subject. Quite frankly, I haven’t seen the cooker in action, so it wouldn’t be prudent to write about it.

Chris’ cooker was sitting in Macon, GA. The fabrication crew had finished the cooker and trailer and Chris was trying everything he could to get the cooker to Salisbury, NC where he resides, at least on the weekends. He was covered up with work and family obligations so we worked out a deal where Garland and I would make a road trip to Macon and get his cooker as far as Columbia, SC, Garland’s home turf. Chris would let me use his Superior Smoker, SS1 in exchange for the delivery service.

I decided to travel to Columbia on Friday night. I would hold up at Garland and Rebecca’s. This would give us the opportunity to get an early start on Saturday morning. I would meet the Hudgins’ at their favorite sushi restaurant in town. Garland is a sushi junkie. It’s that plain and simple. Garland can eat his weight in all types of sashimi and sushi rolls. He has been kind enough to share his knowledge with me and my family. It has been a rewarding experience. The man knows what’s good in bait.

Dinner was great, as usual, and after a couple of bottles of Saki we decided we needed more entertainment. Next door to the restaurant was an authentic Japanese Karaoke Bar. This was a road trip. Road trips shouldn’t have rules, only guidelines, so we went in. We took our seat at a table and had a great time watching the patrons try their voices at different songs. Garland even gave Steve Miller’s, The Joker, a spin. The big G is quite a clown. It was midnight Friday and the laughs were in full blaze.

We had to leave the bar a little early. We were going to continue the road trip in the morning. When we got back to the Hudgins house, we took a good look at a new cooker that Garland had just received. Garland is a BBQ Guru Representative. He had received a new Caldera Tall Boy from the Guru Company to use on the trail. Interesting BBQ machine, I’ll be interested in how it performs.

It was a short night. Rebecca awakened us early so we could get an early start. We cleaned up and got started about 6:30am. The trip down I-20 was uneventful until we reached a little town called Eatonton, GA. My phone rang just as we were about to cross the railroad tracks into Eatonton. It was my buddy Bob Brown. Bob told me that Eatonton was the home of Joel Chandler Harris, writer of the book Song of the South. Bob informed me that there was a monument of Br’er Rabbit in the center of town, and it was a “don’t miss” attraction. We looked for the center of town on the way through but didn’t see it. We were going to make it a point to find the statute on the way home.

We got into Macon about 11:00am. We arrived at C&C manufacturing and Jeff Conley the President of C&C greeted us with a smile. The Finney UFH was parked in the garage opening of the shop. It looked great. We got a short look at the cooker and proceeded to tour the shop. The crew of C&C Manufacturing builds Superior Smokers. We were treated to a complete tour of the facility and saw cookers in all phases of the build. Garland and I were fascinated by the quality and care these people put into their builds. They were as interested in what we do as we were in their product. We stayed and talked about cookers for about 3 hours. What a treat!! I could have stayed all day, but it was time to head home if we were going to be able to make the trip around. We inquired about Dwayne Allman's grave and the soul food restaurant that they made famous in Macon. We got directions to the restaurant, took a bunch of pictures and headed for home.
Garland was hesitant about pulling the trailer into downtown Macon, so we decided to leave H&H restaurant for another trip and set the GPS for the return trip to Columbia, SC. We were both hungry and decided to make a BBQ lunch stop. We passed a couple of roadside joints and decided to eat in Eatonton. We were determined to stop there anyway.

We saw a sign for a place called Kinorhook Bar-B-Que. A short trip off of our main road and we had arrived at what looked like a private residence. There were bikes and other items about the yard. A sign in the window said “Open” so we turned the knob on the front door and walked in. A window opened and a gentleman asked if he could help us. We ordered a little taste of the menu and were directed to have a seat in the dinning room. The gentleman told us there was a remote in there somewhere and advised us to turn on the basketball game. We did as instructed and waited for our food to arrive. We had ordered brisket sandwiches, a pound of pork-hot, and some fresh pork skins. When lunch arrived our host introduced himself as Fred Ward, owner of Kinorhook Bar-B-Que. Mr. Fred was a General Motors employee that had retired to this small community. He was having trouble keeping busy. The poor economy was slowing businesses in the area. Fred told us he was going to keep servicing this community as best he could. We ate well and ordered some ribs. Mr. Fred told us they were his specialty. We continued to talk and relate stories and Fred wanted a tour of the Finney Machine. After a short look around the cooker we were towing Fred told us about how he got his business name. He told us that Kinorhook was a small community. It seemed everyone around those parts was related either by blood or by marriage. “Kin or Hook”, Mr. Fred stated. We were rightly amused!

The time had come to continue our journey, we snapped a couple of pictures of the restaurant and Mr. Fred and loaded to go to Eatonton. It was time to find the rabbit. We saw a sign for the Uncle Remus Museum and I figured that would be a good place to start hunting rabbit. Low and behold, standing right out front of the museum was the monument we were searching for. We stopped, visited the museum and took pictures, if only to verify we had stopped at this historic venue. Again, we were righteously amused!

The rest of the trip down I-20 was uneventful. Garland and I passed the time talking about our impressions of the fabrication shop and discussing everything barbecue. Garland is a wealth of opinion. We pulled into Columbia about 7:30pm, unhooked Finney’s cooker, shook hands and by 8:00pm I started my rainy trip back to Charleston, to arrive home by 10:00pm.
Road trips are as much fun as they are interesting. Helping out my BBQ friends is very important. Finney was able to get a much anticipated cooker into his hands without too much effort. I can’t wait to get the Superior SS1 and start testing. I got to spend a couple of days with my good friends Garland & Rebecca Hudgins. The tour of the fabrication shop was worth the time spent, and the visit to the Rabbit…Priceless!

Time to get up for School

2009-03-18T05:22:00.000-04:00

The start of the 2009 season has arrived. Thursday evening, March 5th, I started loading the first truck of the year. We were heading to the Dorchester Shrine Club to be a part of the Carolina Pit Masters Barbecue Cooking School.

4 years ago, I got the idea that South Carolina needed a barbecue cooking class. I wanted to make it competition oriented but be appealing to anyone who wanted to cook better BBQ. This year, Russ Cornette and I gathered with some of the greatest barbecue minds in South Carolina. Russ Cornette from Smokin’ Coles, John Haney from Alveron Cookers, Tim Pattan from Swamp Sauce cookers, Charles Fretwell of BS Pitmeisters, Garland Hudgins from the Big GQ, and myself would be this years self-proclaimed barbecue Professors. We would gather on the grounds of the Dorchester Shrine Club in Summerville, to preach the gospel of cooking barbecue to 22 information hungry students.

Our mission is simple: to teach and promote the art of quality barbecue while benefiting charitable organizations. Students would be arriving at 8am, Friday, March 6th from all parts of the Country. We placed an ad in the National Barbecue News and attracted a writer from Alberta, Canada and another from Chicago. This class wouldn’t only give us some national exposure, we had gone beyond the borders and reached into Canada. There would also be a pair from Tennessee and many from around the Palmetto State. It would be a great cross-section of personalities.

Last year the weather was a total disaster. It started raining at 9am on Friday morning and we got heavy rains for 2 straight days. This year was quite contrary. We moved the date forward one week hoping to get some better, more stable weather. The gamble worked. The weatherman was predicting sunny skies with highs near 80, clear and cool overnight. Perfect Barbecue weather!

The content of the class is pretty easy to manage. All of the categories that are cooked in a South Carolina Barbecue Association judged contest are taught. The common categories are whole hog, Boston butts, ribs and chicken. South Carolina contests are starting to become multi-category events. A trait I am happy to see.

Friday started at noon with a great lesson by Russ Cornette on rib preparation. Students were taught the art of cutting St. Louis spares out of a 3 down spare rack. Russ compared the advantages of membrane removal and discussed rub and sauce choices. Each student then prepared their own rack of ribs and on to the FE they went.

Right after ribs, John Haney and Tim Pattan did an excellent piece on chicken thighs. John discussed the differences in brines vs. marinades and Tim showed his award winning technique on trimming for success. The segment was a demo, and all of the chicken was dunked into respective containers to be used for a comparative dinner. Each student would get the opportunity to taste the difference in a brined vs. marinated product.

The next segment was whole hog. It was my turn to show how to prepare the whole beast. Whole hog cooking is becoming a lost art form and I am determined to keep the traditional methods alive. Ample time is spent showing students how to trim, wash and inject to get the best appearance and flavors available from the finished product. Hogs were brought to the prep tables, injected rubbed and put back on refrigeration. We would load the pits later.

The last preparation segment was Boston Butts. Russ took on the task of showing his trimming, rubbing and injection methods for making the highest quality Boston butt for perfect barbecue. He uses time and contest tested techniques that produce a great final product. Students then all got to prepare their own Boston butts following the steps outlined earlier. The pork roasts were put back on refrigeration for later as well.

It was now time for a great dinner. Mike Fields from Mike’s Catering provided some great sides to go with the chicken that John and Tim had cooked. Dinner featured a Carolina Pileau, coleslaw, beans, and banana pudding. We had worked up quite an appetite and Mike filled the void with a delicious meal.

After the great dinner, the South Carolina Barbecue Association judges took the limelight. There was a short demonstration from Russ and Tim on building a rib box and another from John and Tim on building a chicken box. Boxes were built and the judging began. The open format judging is a one of the things that makes this school a unique experience. A student can watch an actual judging and ask any question about the process that he wants. SCBA Judges look forward to this opportunity to interact with the cookers. It is truly a great opportunity to learn what goes on under the judge’s tent.

After the judging, it was time to load the pits. Hogs and butts were loaded into respective cookers and the night began to take shape. Carolina Pit Masters staff would watch to make sure cookers performed well and that the meats would be done. Some of the students were cooking whole hogs for the first time. We do everything we can to ensure a successful cook.

Once the pits were loaded, it was time to relax, visit, and enjoy the night. Some students went home, some to nearby hotels, and some camped out right on site. The night weather was beautiful. Clear and cool, perfect weather for cooking championship barbecue. Garland was running a couple of WSMs while I ran Lucifer, my new hog cooker. Russ was running his Hunley, and Matt was looking after a hog cook going on at Uncle Jed’s. Tony McKee was cooking his first whole hog on his new pit. John Haney had a hog on his cooker, and the last one was on Doug Quinn’s. Boston butts were on Charles Fretwell’s Backwoods, Eric McPeak and Joe Justice’s BWS Competitor and Ed Looney’s Carolina Grill. There was a wide range of cookers being used. All would produce a great product.

The night cook went on without incident and Mike cooked us a fantastic breakfast. Judging would be at noon. Russ and I did a demo on building a pork box, while the large cuts finished in the cookers. At noon the SCBA took the stage again, boxes were built team style, and the open judging took place again. The SCBA provided another great look at the judge’s area. Tom Corwin, the SCBA’s Chief Marshall, presides over this and does a fantastic job. His judges did him proud today.

We are very proud that the South Carolina Barbecue Association supports this event. One of the greatest assets to the class is the open judging segment. After barbecued meats are cooked, boxes are assembled and presented just like in a typical contest. The students are allowed to watch the judging process, and there is an open question and answer period where all samples and scoring categories can be discussed. This is invaluable information for the contest cook. This segment is unique to the Carolina Pit Masters Barbecue Cooking School.

When the judging was complete, it was time to gather and wrap up the class. Questions were answered and awards were presented. Cooking Staff took an opportunity to take a little breather while Mary and her crew helped cooking crews load out. Cooking Staff trucks and trailers were loaded and the class officially concluded. It was another successful gathering of great BBQ folks in Summerville.

Thanks to everyone involved. Many thanks to our sponsors: The Dorchester Shrine Club, Piggly Wiggly, Smokin’ Coles, Swamp Sauce, Po Boys BBQ Sauce, Alveron Cookers, Mike’s Catering, Butcher Barbecue Injections and Marinades, BBQ Guru, Cook-n-Out, and Wrights BBQ Grills.
We hope to continue to provide training in many areas for outdoor cooking. Russ and I are planning future classes and packages. We hope to have a grilling series out soon. Keep an eye out for the Carolina Pit Masters Barbecue Cooking School. Graduates will be contenders and it will make you a better cook.

Barbecue 101 - A guide to Ultra Barbecue - Part III Fuel, Section 2

2009-01-30T05:41:00.000-05:00

Proper preparation of high quality barbecue takes time, effort, a good sense of flavor, a good cooking vessel, and fuel. Gas, propane, electricity and pellets are good sources for heat but in my humble opinion the best barbecue is prepared over wood or charcoal.

American barbecue draws it roots from a process where meat was cooked over a fire on a structure of sorts. This was called barbacoa. This is not a bad method of creating good barbecue, if you have the time to spend with an open pit. The lean meats from wild game, fish and fowl didn’t cause problems with fire management. Flare ups were kept to a minimum. However, the introduction of the fatty pig caused fires to become unmanageable, and the early settlers learned to burn wood to coals to keep from burning meats. They also started to dig trenches to better focus the heat. These trenches were generally two or three feet deep and as the “pits” evolved, covers made of wood then cardboard to enclose the vessel for a more efficient burn. Traditional barbecue was then made by burning wood to coals in a separate area and then sprinkling the “live” coals under the meat. This method started the “thin blue smoke” that creates the subtle flavor that barbecue cooks desire.

Modern wood burning pits are designed to keep grease drippings from directly falling on the fire. Raw wood must be burned carefully on a hot bed of coals to keep the wood from smoldering and the smoke sweet. Most cooks use charcoal for heat and add a few chunks of seasoned hardwood for smoke flavor.

If you prefer to burn wood, it should be dry and well seasoned. Green wood produces bitter smoke. Fires should be built to be hot enough to keep wood from smoldering. Smoldering creates creosote which is not very tasty on the meats. Most hardwoods are good for smoking. Enthusiasts prefer wood from fruit or nut trees. Hickory, pecan, apple and cherry are the most popular. Softwoods and pines contain too many resins and tars that produce bitter smoke and should be avoided.

Charcoal is wood burned to coals then deprived of oxygen. It burns hot and clean leaving very little ash. Once the coals are fired up they act just like live coals and are a good fuel choice for pits.

Charcoal is available in different forms.
· The best is natural lump. It is the purest form of charcoal and burns hot and very clean. Most of the residuals have been burned off so it imparts very little smoke flavor.
· Natural charcoal briquettes are a good product. Wood char is made into a paste, a vegetable binder such as cornstarch is added and the resulting mix is formed into pillow shapes. They are uniform in shape, easy to handle and burn at a fairly predictable rate. They are becoming easier to find but are still a bit pricey.
· The most recognized charcoal is the formulated charcoal briquette. This is the product that you purchase at the grocery store or at discount stores. They are made from a mixture of carbonized sawdust, clay, limestone, sodium nitrate, anthracite coal and soft coal. They contain some raw sawdust for smoke flavor and paraffin to aid in quick lighting. Clay and limestone leave a lot of ash which will block air flow and interfere with heat transfer. Coal has a characteristic odor when burned which can be detected in barbecue, particularly when unlit coals are added during the cooking process. In some contest cases this can work to your advantage. Inexperienced judges are reminded of backyard barbecues; an experienced taster will object. Briquettes are good for open grilling, but when the environment is enclosed and meat is exposed to charcoal for a long period of time, caution should be exercised.

Taking the time to learn how to build and maintain a good clean fire will result great tasting, traditional style, barbecue. If burning sticks is not something that is viable for you, then charcoal is a great alternative. Using good charcoal mixed with some high quality wood chunks will produce a barbecue product that you will be proud of. Propane may become traditional in the future, but for now, I like my fire and live coals.

Hoofin' for Heros

2008-12-14T05:31:00.000-05:00

Back in mid October a lady named Diane Dillon posted on the SCBA message board that she needed some help. Diane was planning a fundraiser called Hoofin’ for Heroes. Her group is horse enthusiasts, and they were planning a trail ride to benefit the Wounded Warriors. I saw the post early in the morning and had a feeling I would be talking to Bob about this before the day was done. Sure enough, late in the afternoon I received a call from Bob and he had already decided to champion the cause.

Carolina Pit Masters is always ready to help out a great cause. Diane had two hogs donated to her and she wanted to serve a barbecue dinner to the riders after the trail ride. Unfortunately, Diane couldn’t find anyone locally to donate time and resources to her cause. It was Bob to the rescue. Terry Thrasher and Seth Watari had answered Diane’s post too. Bob is a natural organizer. He stepped up and took control of the planning and organizing of the dinner and started to do what Bob does. After some networking and phone work, Bob had managed to get enough resources focused to provide Diane with a full catered dinner for the end of her trail ride at no cost to her. There was going to be a conglomeration of personalities together for this event and I was looking forward to the opportunity to work with great people for a great cause.

The crew was set. Carolina Pit Masters with Bob at the helm, Mike Fields from Mikes Catering, Terry Thrasher at Primal Q, Mike Meadows and his crew with Beer, Bean & BBQ, Billy Montana and Jack’s Place, Big Hat Al and Debbie Werts, Seth and Nona Watari, Charlie Dickens, Garland and Rebecca Hudgins with Big GQ, and Mike and Vicky Adams from Po Boys BBQ Sauce would all band together and produce a dinner that would make a soldier proud. These people deserve great recognition for the work they produced. Everyone had a ball and dinner was well received.

Mike Fields had arranged to have a large tent donated, but couldn’t attend the cook. Mike had a previous commitment. Bob, Mike and Al were going to go to Whitmire and set up the tent Thursday afternoon. I was committed to work Thursday, Mary and I would go Friday as would most of the rest of the crew. Billy Montana, Garland & Rebecca, and Mike & Vicky would come up Saturday.

Thankfully, the trip was uneventful and Mary and I arrived before Noon on Friday. Bob had the campsite set up and was wrapping up a few odd jobs. We didn’t need to pull a cooker for this event. Terry Thrasher and Mike Meadows would be providing the heat for the hogs and butts. Seth Watari was donating 10 Boston Butts and wanted to cook. Mike was going to fire a cooker for him. My job was to provide entertainment and supervision, and make sure the dinner cater went as planned. Since entertainment is my specialty and catering is a timing issue, I wasn’t worried. As the day progressed, the crews arrived. Al first, then Terry and Mike with their cookers, Charlie was the last of the cook team, Debbie and Tanner Werts would arrive later in the evening.

The night’s festivities went as usual. The temperature was supposed to get into the low twenties so Charlie built us a nice fire. The music filled the winter night and adult beverages were consumed for warmth. The hogs went on the pits about 4am and Mike and Terry tended the fires though out the day. Mike was going to cook his hog using what is known as the Myron method. Filled with injection, and wrapped in foil for the entire cook. I was looking forward to tasting the results first hand. Terry was using his Carolina Grill. His hog was parted out by the butcher and would be cooked in four pieces. I knew Terry was up to the task.

The cook went along pretty much as planned. We mingled with the horse riders and met many of the fine young people who were there with the military to volunteer their time to support Diane’s cause. Lunch was provided and the fire burned all day to take the edge off of the chill. Around 4pm it was time to get ready for dinner. We let the pits fall back so the meat would be cool enough to handle and started to make BBQ. Seasonings, spices and sauces were added while the Billy Montana crew worked up the beans and slaw. Everyone enjoyed the dinner. Hash was provided by the butcher of Terry’s hog and Diane had purchased some cookies that topped off the dinner nicely.

Awards, and thank yous followed dinner and the night time party kicked off. There were two fires going. Whenever you have two things going at the same time, there’s going to be a contest on which fire is better. “Competitive Bob” wouldn’t be out done and soon there were two roaring fires blazing, music was blaring and the beverages flowed freely. It was a great time. The party lasted into the early morning hours. The temperature dipped a bit to low for my tired bones and I turned in. I knew we would have a job the next day, cleaning and packing up to leave. Mary and I slept well.

We rose early and went to a local truck stop for breakfast. We joked and laughed our way through a country breakfast. Garland always says “it good to be among friends” and I couldn’t agree more.

We arrived back at the campgrounds, cleaned up and broke down all of the equipment we toted out. It only took up a couple of hours to get it all put away. Garland volunteered to tow Mikes grill back to Newberry, we all said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.

I’m blessed to be able to work with the crew of people I call friends. This event represented a cause that we feel strongly about. I only hope that we could help raise enough money to help the heroes out in some way. We’ll keep you posted on the success.

Barbecue 101 - A guide to Ultra Barbecue - Part III: Fuel, Section 1

2008-12-04T05:53:00.000-05:00

Making barbecue properly is an art. This is the continuation of a series of articles that will discuss creating the culinary delight known as barbecue. I have defined it to state: Barbecuing is a process of exposing meats to heat at low temperatures, in the presence of hardwood smoke, for an extended period of time to break down the connective tissues and relinquish a succulent product.

Following up the articles on vessels, fuel should be the next consideration. Choosing your heat source and more importantly, deciding how much attention you want to pay to that source, will indicate which fuel to use. Fuel will vary as to the cooker. Propane, natural gas, electricity, pellets, wood, and charcoal are all fuel sources that can provide the heat needed to make proper barbecue.

Propane, natural gas, and electricity are the easiest fuel sources to manage. A quick adjustment to a dial or valve will keep heat consistent over a long cook. The systems may be controlled with thermostats or thermocouples and will provide many hours of consistent heat with minimum work. Many commercial barbecue operators will use these sources.
Propane is popular for mobile cookers. Portability and availability are the key factors. All these sources need to have a method or system to provide hardwood smoke. Chip and chunks pans are often placed on top of the fuel source burners to satisfy the requirement.

Pellets provide ease of operation too. An electric auger system will automatically feed a small fire in a pan. The system is usually controlled with an electric thermostat. Pellets are produced in a wide variety of flavors and can be mixed in the hoppers to produce a customized smoke flavor. Insulation is effective in most of these style cookers and a large fire is not necessary to keep the units up to temperature. Many cooks and judges agree that pellets may not be providing the smoke flavor that is becoming more popular in contest que. However the set it and forget it feature makes this source very popular.

Propane, natural gas, electricity and pellets are by far the easiest sources of heat to manage over the long hours it takes to produce great barbecue. A turn of a dial and a thermostat will provide an operator with time to sleep or work around the house while the barbecue is cooking. Chips or chunks or pellets will provide some smoke flavor. Team it up with a great rub and sauce and you will be able to make a special product for both the contest and the kitchen.

The Best of the Best of SC

2008-12-04T05:30:00.000-05:00

The Best of the Best of SC is scheduled as the last contest of the SCBA season. The format is pretty simple. All of the teams that win a contest using the SCBA judging format, and all of the teams that enter into the SCBA Master Barbecuer race are invited to participate in the Best of the Best of SC. It is held at the Dorchester Shrine Club on the outskirts of town in Summerville, SC. This year teams were asked to cook whole hogs, pork butts and ribs. Best two out of three score would be combined to decide a winner.

The venue is perfect for a contest. The contest site sits out on a point between two lakes. There are plenty of camper hookups with water and power, a nice pavilion and a stage for entertainment. The club F&B Manager sets up a cash bar under the pavilion and entertainment is always top notch featuring local bands and big bonfire.
Bob and I pulled the camper, trailer and cooker trailer out to the site on Thursday night. A few of the cookers were planning an early arrival and we had plans to spend the evening with the Mike’s Catering Crew. Mike was planning to smoke a whole bologna and Tonya had made her soon to be famous hash brown casserole as a side. The weather was just starting to cool down, and the casserole made for a great warmer for a cool night. The bologna made a fantastic sandwich with cheese, a couple of mustards, mayo, and lettuce & tomato to serve as condiments. Attending the impromptu party was the Alveron Crew, Southern Q & Stew, Pioneer Smokers, Dennis Weaver and others from around the state.

We got the area loosely set up around the camper. Ate some great food, and imbibed in adult beverages until it was way too late. I had to work the next morning. Mary and I left Bob in charge of the good will and headed for some well deserved sleep.
I don’t usually work on the Friday of Comps. Since the contest was in our hometown I figured it would be OK to catch a ½ days work. Mary had arranged to take a few days off and would do the last minute shopping and load the truck for a 2pm departure. I would work until noon. Mary did a great job with the shopping, picked up some new CPM banners, and had the truck pretty well loaded when I arrived at home. I needed to change into my cooking clothes, and pack my personal articles. We departed right on time.

The crew was in place. Mary and Kait, Bob and Gary Brown, and our guest judges from the SCBA would be Rachel Lindsay and Danny Hyslop. Thommy Borders was to join us on Saturday. Garland and Rebecca Hudgins had family commitments.

Shrine events are always unique. In this area they require “Anything Goes” on Friday night. I’ve never been a huge fan of mandatory anything. It “rubs me the wrong way”, but that’s another article for another time. I had some ingredients for a cream soup on hand and decided to make some corn chowder. We used bacon, onion, celery, cream and corn. At the last minute I though the dish might sound better as Lobster Corn Chowder and Mary picked up some lobster surimi. The chowder turned out great. After Bob and I assembled it, it was a little bland. We spiced it up with salt, black and white pepper and some chipotle Tabasco sauce. The Tabasco really put a new dimension into the soup. I doubted it would beat the bruscetta that Tonya at Mike’s Catering was preparing, but it was very good none the less.

Barbecue prep was a little special for this weekend. I bought a new brine pump and was eager to try it out. Many of the better hog cooking teams use one, and I found a great deal and bought one. What a difference. We got a full 2 gallons of injection into the hog. The most we have ever pumped into a whole animal. We rubbed the hog with our garlic pepper blend and proceeded to work the Boston Butts. The butts got the usual injection mix and were rubbed with the same garlic pepper blend that we used on the hog. Ribs would wait until morning.
We were going to change up the cooking strategy for this cook. Luci would hold the hog and the Stumps would house the butts and ribs. We have successfully cooked butts in the Stumps cooker before, but this would be a first for me with ribs. I was pretty comfortable with the process, but the time lines and need for foil etc. were going to be decisions we would have to make on the fly. I was confident we could make good decisions.

Friday went well. The soup didn’t win, but it seemed like everyone enjoyed it. We got many return visitors to the area. We put the hog on the cooker and the butts in the Stumps and got to work on having some fun with our guests and neighbors. My good friend John Haney with the Alveron Team was on one side, and CPM Partner and good friend Russ Cornette’s Smokin’ Coles Team on the other.

The fun went well into the night. We are still trying to figure out the best way to recharge the fuel system for Luci. We were going to try swapping out fire rings on this cook. We didn’t really know the timing for the change. Unfortunately, the cooker kept us waiting through the first shift of sleep. It looked like it was going to be a long day ahead. About 2am we got the charcoal ring changed out. Ribs were scheduled to be worked at 4am. I dropped into the rack for a nap, Bob “watched” the Stumps. The last butt would be off at just about the same time as the ribs would be going on. It was a very short night.

Rising early in the morning is never really a problem. I’m always “nerved up” anyway. I rose on time and the last butt was done. I wrapped it and got it into the cambro and started dealing with the ribs. They needed about 2 hours of prep time. I seasoned them with Smokin’ Coles rub and let them sit to get “tacky” until 6am. This was the first time using the Stumps for ribs, and I really didn’t know what to expect. I decided to put them on at the usual time. I could deal with it if they got done early, it’s never a great idea to have to push ribs to get done.
We decided to do the hog “old style”. I was taught a technique many years ago where you start adding sauce to the large parts of the hog when it starts to get done. Adding a vinegar solution to the meat will float most of the residual fat to the top and it can be skimmed off and tossed. Then you make a skin bowl, debone the animal and cook hot sauce into the meat to make your barbecue. You cull off your money meat into a separate pan and cook the rest. The heat, smoke, and sauce relationship is very important during this part of the process.
Bob had done a couple of modifications to the cooker during the prior week. He had added a water drain and clean out hole in the fire box. He also modified the grate system so the cooking grate could be pulled out. This would make it much easier to flip, baste, and generally work on the animal. All of the modifications were great.

About 6am the hog was at the point where I wanted to start to debone and add sauce. I pulled the grate out of the cooker and started to work the bones free. My friend Ronnie Bishop was on the trailer too. Mary had just got up from her nap and was coming up on the trailer to say good morning and see what I was up to. With the hog grate out, and three people on the trailer, the balance gave way and the tongue suddenly started to rise up. The back of the trailer hit the ground, Mary and Ronnie jumped off of the trailer and the trailer righted itself with a very loud bang. Everyone around us came running. I was pretty shaken, but I persevered and continued to work on what I was doing. My mind was racing a mile a minute but I outwardly stayed calm and pressed on.

By 7am the crew was awake , ate some breakfast that Rachel had prepared, and were working on the tasks at hand. The ribs went on the Stumps around 6am. I was paying a lot of attention to the hog and the ribs were pretty much on their own. I was having problems keeping the temperature spikes down in the Stumps and I was happy to see Bob. The ribs were moving very fast.

Turn in times were standard. 9am for the hog, 10am for butts, and noon for the ribs. At 8am I had the money meat in the pan and was working the whole hog barbecue. We started culling the money meat, adding sauce and rub and preparing for the box build. Our process is pretty simple. We choose the best meat from all parts of the hog. Classically, ham meat is chopped, loin meat is sliced, and shoulders are pulled. Not many cookers include ribs with the package. We were working on getting ribs into the box. We had a trick up our sleeve and were going to employ it. We cull the meat, add a sauce, and put it into the cooker to stay hot. We cull the meat a second time, being sure of the quality of the meat, and making sure there is no fat or gristle, add some more sauce and put it back into the cooker to stay hot. The third time we cull the meat and put it into the sample container add a finishing sauce and turn it in. The box looked great. In my not so humble opinion the best whole hog box we had ever put together.

I was taking a break from the hog box preparation, and noticed that the Marshall for the event, Tom Corwin, was walking with a turn in box. From my experiences, this wouldn’t be good for someone on the field. That usually meant someone was facing disqualification. I peaked out the front of the site and Tom was talking with Dennis Weaver, the event coordinator, and turned and walked away. My tension eased a bit and I turned my attention to making a pork box with the Boston butts. Just as we were about to put the meat in the box, I heard Dennis call my name. He needed to speak to me. A sinking feeling was in my stomach. This meeting couldn’t be good. When I got to the front of the site, Tom was standing with a box. My box contents were being questioned. Apparently some questionable meat had made it through multiple culls and Tom had to disqualify my box because of “raw meat” in the box. Naturally, I was upset, but there was nothing I could do. The sample didn’t get judged. I had to accept my consequences. The contest was best 2 out of three events and I would have to rely on butts and ribs. While I was talking to Dennis and Tom, the crew had built the pork box and Bob and Gary were going to turn in. I sat down, I needed to collect my thoughts and get my self back on track. I had two hours until the ribs were to go in.

After some collecting I got my self back into tasks at hand. The Boston Butts were just about perfect. The meat was tender and very flavorful. Ribs would be our last chance. Unfortunately, the temperature spikes and lack of attention had played havoc on our product. Of the four racks we had, most of the ribs were over done, dry, and scorched black. My heart was sinking. We were having a bad cooking day. This contest was invitation only, the best of the best. Today was not the day to make mistakes. We pressed on. We glazed with Smokin’ Coles sauce and cut and culled ribs, hoping to find 6 or 7 bones that we could box up. We chose the best and went with it. Our chances were slim, but we still had a chance.

Awards were at 4pm. We would spend the next four hours relaxing. I spent those four hours second guessing my choices and being disappointed in my focus. I had spent too much time on the trick and forgot to make absolutely sure that nothing questionable made it into the box. There was no raw product in that box, I knew it, but I still have to take responsibility that something questionable made it through three culls. That wouldn’t have happened if I was paying attention to the tasks at hand instead of focusing my attention on a new twist. Incidentally, the twist got mixed reactions. Many of our SCBA judge friends stopped by for visit. Good to see them all.

4pm came in due time and it was off to the main stage to pay the price. I say pay the price because I wasn’t all that comfortable with the product we presented. The hog wasn’t even considered, the pork box was top notch and the ribs would be hit or miss. I was hoping for category calls, but the event would only call the top 5 winners of combined scores. I listened intently for our name, knowing in my heart the expectation was too high… fifth, fourth, third…no call for Common Interest. Suddenly, out of the sound system came the words we love to hear, “Common Interest”. With all of our problems, and pitfalls, we had somehow managed to pull a second overall. What a great finish for a difficult weekend. Our good friends at Smokin’ Coles won the contest for the second year in a row. We were all elated.

I learned a valuable lesson that weekend. Barbecue is like most sports, you have to play the whole game and execute well in every situation to be a champion. Practice makes you better, and if all else fails…punt!

Piedmont Blues and Hash Bash

2008-10-27T06:01:00.000-04:00

The Piedmont Blues and Hash Bash is held each year in Abbeville, SC. It is one of the contests that we really enjoy competing in. Last year we were Reserve Grand Champions. The prize is one of the coolest on the SCBA Circuit. The trophy is the state of SC in the shape of a guitar. I attended last year with the goal of adding a guitar to the collection. We accomplished that goal. This year, the goal was to win the Grand Championship.

We were running off of a great high from Laurens. Back to back contests can be rough, and I was afraid we might bounce at Abbeville. The week between was busy. Bob and I took some time on Wednesday to cook a hog for a couple of caters we had to do in the near future. We were still testing the “dumpster”. She was still acting up, but we got the cook done. More testing will follow. I’ll post progress as time permits.

We wanted to run up to Abbeville on Thursday. That would get us into town with plenty of time to set up and choose the best spot for our needs. Bob had some business to tend to, and I needed to pack up. It was raining, and I hate to load wet so I put off packing until the last minute. The rain finally cleared out and I got the truck and pit loaded to go. We would plan on leaving at 2pm. That would give us plenty of daylight and get us into town around supper time.

We were on time for departure. Driving up I26 was supposed to be uneventful. We were traveling into Columbia at a pretty good clip, when I lost power in my truck. Luckily, I was right in front of a rest stop and I pulled in to try and diagnose my problems. The motor hadn’t shut down, but it was running very rough and my “service engine soon” light was glowing. Bob had passed the stop and had to double back. When he arrived he was already making arrangements to service the truck and get a replacement vehicle so we could continue. I had left the truck running. I didn’t want to shut it off for fear it wouldn’t start again. With rescue arrangements made, we figured it couldn’t hurt to shut it down, Bob turned the key off, shut down the engine, and cranked it back up again. She started without incident and sounded great. Maybe the problem had reset itself. We discussed the situation and decided to move forward and take our chances. We had to stop once more and reset, but the rest of the trip up and back was uneventful. Further testing suggests an injector problem.

I knew we were going to need a place to stay on Thursday night. I got a tip from some friends on a BBQ email list I am on that the Abbevilla Hotel was a descent place, so I booked a reservation. We arrived in good time, and checked into a room. The Abbevilla was a challenge. It was a room, but not what I expected. We had a very nice dinner in Abbeville, returned to the hotel and crashed for the night. In the morning, I was out icing down coolers and talking to the guests of the hotel. The Mary J always attracts a crowd. She’s a beautiful cooker and always gets looks from passers by. Bob had taken a picture of our overnight guest. There was a very large spider living in our room. No more Abbevillas for me.

We arrived on the cook site about 8:30am. The contest organizers were busy trying to get the vendors arranged. We were there to cook only. We scoped out the area and made a decision as to where we wanted to be, parked the trucks in the vicinity, and waited to be assigned. We were waiting for the Swig and Pig crew to show. Andrew and V.V. Massey with their daughter Kayla were heading into Abbeville and we wanted to set up next to each other. Kait would be with us on this trip and Kayla and Kait like to “hang out.”

While we waited, the rain drizzled on and off a little bit. We had parked the trucks across the street from the local radio station, and had gotten the attention of the morning personality. By 9am we had some radio time for Common Interest and were patiently waiting for utilities to be run down the street and our spot to be assigned. Andrew and V.V. had arrived by 9:30 and we sat and waited for the event personnel to decide our fate. About 11 o’clock or so we were assigned our area and we started to set up. This set up would be much different from the previous week. We had a much better handle on our situation. Bob spent some time in the trailer organizing the contents. I concentrated on the pit and cooking area.
After a nice lunch in a quaint Mennonite restaurant, the meats arrived. The contest categories were Boston Butts and ribs. We prepped the meats in our standard way, put the prepared meats in the cooler and waited for the right time to fire the pit, and start the cook.

We were running the Oklahoma Joe this weekend. Bob had hooked up the Stoker but the wireless router was broken. We would operate the system without use of the laptop computer. It wouldn’t matter, the laptop is a nice feature and a great conversation piece, but it’s not necessary. The forced air convection system would run fine without it. I’m still getting to know the nuances of this system. The cooker “acts” different when it’s being driven by the Stoker.
Meats started on schedule and it was time to party. Dennis and David from Devine Smoke paid us a visit, as did Brian from BareBonz. Terry Thrasher from Primal Que set up next to us on the street, and with Andrew and V.V. on the other side, the party got a little crazy. We made it a point to visit with the band. Mac Arnold would be playing for the second week in a row, and Bob and I wanted to get a picture with him. We made some arrangements and the results can be seen in the picture section of the blog. We would have a full crew for the weekend but Mary, Kait and Gary had obligations in Charleston, and Bob and I were waiting on them to show. Rebecca and Garland had obligations in Columbia, and were going to arrive later as well.

By 11pm everyone had made the cook site, and the street party had slowed down. Unfortunately, the rain started to fall. It was not too heavy, but a slow soaking rain. The cookers were fine under their covers, and it was about time to shift out for some sleep. Bob took first sleep shift for this cook so Garland and I would stay awake, brave the elements, and discuss all things BBQ. The wives retired to the warm and dry hotel. Bob would be up by 4am. Ribs would go on at 3.

It rained most of the night. By morning Bob had pulled off the butts and we were cooking ribs. Everything except the rain was on schedule. The weather was supposed to clear by late evening Friday. It wouldn’t be good to get the electronics wet. We had to be careful.

By 9am judges were arriving and saying hello. Good to see everyone again. Tom Corwin stopped by for a visit as did Mike and Vickey Adams. Turn in time was 10 o’clock and we were making ourselves ready. Pork was being pulled and sauced, and ribs were being glazed in anticipation. We made great looking boxes, turned them in. Now it was time to rest until awards. We had planned to stay the night, so breakdown was not all that urgent.

Awards finally arrived. We were 2nd runner up for the contest. Andrew and V.V. at Swig and Pig had taken 1st in pork and Reserve Grand Champion. Ronnie Bishop from On the Spot took home 1st in ribs and the Grand Championship Guitar. We won our second guitar, but the Abbeville Championship had eluded us. Maybe next year!!

Squealin' on the Square - Laurens, SC

2008-10-22T07:28:00.000-04:00

The summer break went by quickly. Too quickly in fact, and before I knew it Garland was asking me what the fall schedule looked like. He was trying to make plans at work. Bob and I had discussed a few options, but I wasn’t in much of a hurry. I figured we had plenty of time to make some decisions. I knew we were planning on going to Abbeville; Union and Laurens were in the mix as well.

The economy was in the process of taking its nasty turn. Fuel prices were on the rise and prices of food were climbing weekly. The fifth place ribs in Tryon had left us with a very small budget, but not one that could cover three contests, 2 of which were in the KCBS format, where we would have to supply our own meat.

Before I knew it, Union entry fees were due, and we had a conflict on the schedule. We just had too many things going on and something had to go to the wayside. I put my eye on Laurens’ Squealin’ on the Square and The Hash Bash in Abbeville. They were back to back weekends, and if I could schedule a vacation at work correctly, it could be done. I put the idea out to Garland and Bob, they were up for it, Wal-Mart approved, and fees were sent for both contests.
The wives had other ideas. My wife Mary and Bobs wife Gary had made plans to visit a pottery Expo in Gainesville, GA on the same weekend as Squealin’ on the Square in Laurens. With those plans solid, it only made sense to ask Garland’s wife Rebecca to the expo, and it would be “guys weekend in Laurens”. So it was!!

My brother Tom lives in Greenville, which is a pea shoot away from Laurens. My original plan was to pack up and leave on Thursday evening, take my Mom to Greenville, visit with family and be on site in Laurens early Friday morning to get our area staked out. Unfortunately, Tom had a health issue, and my Mom would have to cancel her visit. We changed plans quickly and would leave early Friday morning. Laurens is about a 3 hour drive from Charleston, and I wanted to leave as early as possible. It’s always nice to get into an assigned spot and get set up. Then we can get meat inspected and prepped as early as possible. The longer the meats can sit and marinate, the better. Bob had business to tend to, we would shoot for a noon arrival. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be a cluster of madness when we arrived.

Hope is a nice thing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it don’t. This time it didn’t. Laurens was a festival in progress when we arrived. The streets were already filling up with festival goers and many of the teams had already arrived and were set up. We waited a bit, Bob found a red shirted organizer, we got our spot and pulled in.

It was a very tight squeeze. He had about 30 linear feet to drop the pit and the trailer. We managed it but the trailer would open on to the sidewalk, which was going to be busy with the public for the rest of the day Friday and all day Saturday. We would have to make due. Most of the events we attend, we can have support vehicles near by. We were notified my event personnel that we would have to park in the public out lots. The nearest of which was about 3 blocks away. We had to completely unload the trucks, which left us to manage a situation that we were unfamiliar with. Where would we put all the stuff. We had traveled too heavy.
We got as organized as we could. Thank goodness the weather was going to be good. Bad weather would have drowned us. We got meat inspected, prepped it and got it into the cooler. We would run our usual timelines and fire the cooker about 6pm.

Garland had volunteered to handle the Anything But Pork contest on Friday night. He was going to make Apple Enchiladas. They are apple pie filling rolled into a flour tortilla, cooked in a very rich butter sauce, topped with caramel sauce and pecans. The dish was very flavorful, sweet as your Grandma, and rich as your Uncle. We spent some time with the prep work, made the dish and dropped it into a box.

The afternoon was spent visiting. Terry Thrasher from Primal Que stopped by and our old friend Big Al Werts spent some time in our area. Dennis Dill from Devine Smoke and Bryan Lions from BareBonz also stopped by for a visit. Terry is working on a new logo for Carolina Pit Masters and he brought us by a few designs from the portfolio. The designs look great. Look for a new logo soon!

We were running the Oklahoma Joe and the Stumps cooker for the weekend. This is not the first rodeo for either cooker, but it is the first time we have hooked up the Joe to a forced air convection system. Bob did some research and found out that there was a bigger fan available for big offsets so we ran both cookers off of one CPU. It took a bit of getting used to but the cookers ran without incident for the entire weekend. It was really interesting to mix an old style Texas offset with new technology for controlling draft. Honestly, it as a pleasure. There wasn’t much fuel saving, but the luxury of a constant heat flow made the addition very welcome.

Bob had prepared dinner. We had a very good version of Triple Chili. Big Al stayed for a while and we all drank a few adult beverages and shot the bull. The music was great, the company was welcome, and we enjoyed a cool evening of cooking on the square in Laurens.
I volunteered for the first shift of sleep. Bob and Garland watched the fires and stayed busy listening to music and talking about the day. First shift sleep is sometimes difficult for me. I usually have a million thoughts about the cook running through my head. This cook was no different. I did manage to nap for a couple of hours and relieved Bob at 4am. Garland had decided to nap as well and he woke up with me and we got ribs rubbed and on the cooker.

Remember, the wives were in Georgia looking at pottery. I was sure they were having a good time, but we needed to get the garnish for the boxes done. Garland and I iced the parsley for a bit, and started to build our “putting greens” in the boxes. Garnish can be done ahead of time, and we didn’t want to have to build on the fly. Garland and I sat for about an hour and a half and built 4 very nice foundations for our sample boxes.

The cook went well and all of the large cuts were on time. We acquired a Cambro catering box a couple of months ago, and this would be the first time we would use it. It too was a welcome addition to the collection of tools that we need to do well. The Cambro boxes are well insulated and can keep hot food hot for many hours.

By 9:00am, briskets and butts were in the box, ribs were on the cooker, the garnish for the boxes was done, and it was time to turn our attention to chicken. We had dropped the chicken into a brine during prep and had taken it out to dry a little bit when we rubbed ribs at 4am. Bob had rejoined the group after his rest and had the Stumps running nicely and getting ready to take on some chicken. Finney had sent us a new cooking process and we were eager to try it out. The chicken was seasoned and we dropped it on the grates to cook at 10am. I was starting to get the usual butterflies in my stomach and the excitement of the day was starting to build. The first turn in, chicken, was due at Noon.

A KCBS contest is fast paced and exciting. Turn in times arrive every half hour starting at Noon. The Chicken comes first, ribs, pork, and finally brisket. Preparing the meat for turn in has to be well thought out and a cook will stay busy for a solid 2 hours with very little time to rest. Chicken has be glazed, ribs are being glazed at the same time, pork has to be prepared and the brisket points need to be separated from the flat as quickly as possible. It’s fast paced but a lot of fun. It’s like playing Beat the Clock in the kitchen!

We hit all of our times with time to spare. All four categories went in without incident. We rested a bit and enjoyed the festival. Bob had made some friends who were watching us work though out the morning and we shared some of our competition meat with them. They were delighted. Bob has never met a stranger. It’s one of the qualities that will make him Mayor some day.

The festival was packed. We are all involved with judging and are certified in multiple organizations. Many of our KCBS judge friends stopped by for a chat. We were waiting on 4 o’clock for awards. Overall, we had cooked well. The cookers ran without incident and all of the flavor profiles had been executed well. All of the plans had worked out. We experienced a little glitch with some chicken skin sticking to the grate, but we had managed to cover it well. I thought our food was fantastic. My bias is obvious.

4 o’clock finally arrived. It was awards time. We carried some chairs to the Court House steps and sat down in eager anticipation. Mary was calling my phone. The wives wanted to stay on the line and be part of the awards. I was too excited to oblige. This was our final shot for the year. Our food was good, and it was time to see just how good it was. The talent around us was well above average. The awards started with the Anything But Pork category. We were not called, and Garland had a bit of a disappointed look. Chicken was next. They were calling 8 places for ribbons and trophies, the top 5 would get checks. We placed 3rd in Chicken!! This was our best effort to date. Bob and Garland had done the cooking and were very happy with the outcome. Ribs were next and we were blanked. I thought the ribs were outstanding. We must have made an error somewhere. Pork followed and we listened intently for our name. The calls were made, third, second, and no Common Interest. Our name was called for a 1st place in the pork category!! We were as happy as we could be. Brisket immediately followed and we got an 8th place call.

We knew we were one of the top finishers in the contest, but would it be good enough to win. The Grand Champion would get an invitation and paid entry into the American Royal in Kansas City, and an entry into the lottery draw for the Jack Daniels invitational. These are two of the three major goals I have set for Common Interest. The announcer made a huge build up. We waited and listened intently for our name to be called. Butts and Breasts got the call for Reserve Grand Champion. We were still in the race, but with all the great teams around us, I began to get a sinking feeling. The announcer continued to build the excitement and paused for what seemed like an eternity and called Common Interest as Grand Champions. It was celebration time. Hands were in the air, hugs were had, and a very happy Common Interest team walked to the stage to accept the award of our first Grand Championship in the KCBS format.

We celebrated throughout the rest of the afternoon, and enjoyed the evening in Laurens. We would wait until the morning to pack the site and head for home. We enjoyed a nice dinner with the Pickin’ Porkers Crew and Big Mo and the Aho gang. We celebrated our victory until we were just too tired to stay with it anymore. We traveled home happy.

Congratulations to all of the cookers who got calls in Laurens. It was a cook I will remember.

A New Addition To The Family

2008-10-07T00:55:00.000-04:00

I made a promise a couple of years ago that I would not enter another barbecue cooking contest featuring hog cooking until I acquired a cooker that could deliver the product that I desired. Selecting that cooker would take time, patience and a list of qualifications. The first time I saw The Big Red Cooker in Ridgeway, South Carolina, I knew I would have to keep an eye on its success, and get to know the fabricator to see if a duplicate could be made.

What were the qualifications I was looking for in a whole hog pit? Capacity, water, fuel, ease of handling, portability, and insulation are all factors I like to weigh when choosing a cooker. The whole hog cooker would be no different.

The first consideration is capacity. A whole hog cooker should be large enough to comfortably fit any size whole hog on its grill grate. Nothing would be more frustrating than to enter a contest and the hogs provided would be too big to fit on the grate. If there is a multi category contest that went with a contest featuring whole hogs, a cooker that could handle the extra capacity would be a bonus. Only having to roll one pit into a multi category contest would be very nice.
How the cooker handles water is also important. A whole hog cooker should have plenty of moisture in the environment to keep the entire animal moist for the whole process. Moisture helps even out the heat and helps keep hams and loins from evaporating their water into the cooking chamber too fast.

Fuel is an important concern. A cooker that used wood and charcoal would be the only fuel sources considered. Many of the better contests in the US are wood burning only. All contests will take a wood and charcoal cooker. Eliminating the chances of being able to use the pit because of fuel restrictions wouldn’t be a very smart choice.

A pit should be easy to use. A set of dampers, and a fuel burning area that is easy to access. There should be water fills at a convenient spot, and grate that is accessible at an easy to work on height. Grease drains and ease of cleaning are all on the list of qualifications.

Barbecue contests don’t happen in North Charleston, South Carolina. We are going to have to take the cooker to where the contests are. How will the cooker travel and how easy it will be to set up are all questions that need answers before we make a decision on our whole hog unit.

Finally a bonus feature would be double wall insulation. Many of the good cooking units today feature double wall construction with rock wool insulation between the walls. This makes sense in a cooker. Nature has its way with a piece of metal. In the summer fuel consumption is not a problem. The outside ambient air is not stealing your BTU’s. When the weather turns bad insulation is a life saver. Cold weather will work on your all metal tube from the outside, and rain will cool a pipe making your fuel inefficient. IF you insulate your cooker, Mother Nature can’t reach through the walls to get to your cooking chamber. The fuel efficiency jumps astronomically and makes your cook and burn easy to control and keeps fuel costs to a minimum.

Russell Wright made the Big Red Cooker a few years ago. I first saw it while judging for the SCBA in Ridgeway, SC. It immediately caught my eye and I spent a couple of hours talking to Russell about the cooker and its features. I even took Mary by and introduced her to Russell. Basically, the Big Red Cooker is very similar to a Spice Wine. It is heavy and well made, although I got the impression from Russell that he was rushed to finish the job. An un-insulated door and many welds that deserved grinding were evidence of that. She was supposed to make her debut at that contest, and Russell did everything he could to make that happen. Really, this cooker was a super –insulated Weber Smokey Mountain on super steroids. The principles of water and heat were the same. A fire would be built under a water pan. Heat would travel up he sides of the cooker around the water pan and out through stacks on either side of the top of the cooker. The water pan would provide plenty of moisture in the environment and keep the heat spikes under control. It was big enough to handle multiple categories, and featured two extra grates, one that slid in for another shelf, and one that was the same size as the water pan to make access to the hog easier. Wood and charcoal were the only fuel source she was outfitted for. The grate was at a good height for me to work on, about 3 1/2 to 4ft. off of the ground. There would be no constant bending over to work on the hog.

Portability would be a problem. We would have to find a trailer that would handle its size and weight.

Russell used the cooker successfully for a few years. Every time we crossed paths I asked about it. He assured me she was in good shape and we talked about a selling price. I’ve talked to many fabricators about making cookers for me. There are some great people making very good cookers. I liked what Russell had done with some of the vessels and projects he had put together so I started to inquire about him building me a cooker that would be similar to the Big Red Cooker with improvements he would recommend. As luck would have it, the actual owner of the Big Red Cooker had decided he wanted to part with it. Russell and his partner wanted to make a smaller version of the cooker and put it on the back of a trailer featuring a kitchen and a deck.

I had to weigh out many factors. Russell admitted that the Big Red Cooker had some flaws, but technically she was a very well made and sound cooker. She is big enough, insulated, uses water and wood, easy to use, and with some easy modifications will be easy to clean. I’m very happy we could make a deal. Now I can start to travel a bit closer to home and hone my whole hog cooking skills on a cooker that I can produce a great quality product on.

We named her “Lucifer-The Wicked One”, "Luci" for short. I’ll nick name her “The Dumpster”. She’ll be on display at contests in the Southeast very soon.

Russell Wrights work can be accessed at: http://wrightsbbqgrills.com/

Barbecue; It can't just taste good anymore

2008-10-06T10:01:00.001-04:00

Judges are a dedicated bunch. They take pride in getting involved on Saturday mornings with the business of competition barbecue. The most asked question a judge gets on Friday night is: What are the judges looking for? The answer might be: judges are looking for “sensational” barbecue.

Now, there is a different term for the old timers and the new. Many times judges answer the question with a canned kind of tone: “We want the best barbecue you can give us”. To win a contest in today’s highly competitive environment, cookers and judges have to be better than the best. They have to be “Sensational”.

Let’s take a look at the word sensational. The first definition literally says: “of or relating to sensation”. We don’t get to “Outstanding; spectacular” until the third line!
How does this relate to what judges should be doing and cooks preparing? To do well in a contest these days, cooks have to be willing to give a judge a sensational experience. A judge has to be willing to decide whether his experience with a sample was more than good tasting.

Championship barbecue can’t just taste good anymore. Taste is only one criterion on the judge’s score sheet. Appearance, aroma, tenderness and overall impression are all included and are all sensations. You can’t taste an appearance, nor can you taste tenderness. You observe (see) appearance, receive (smell) an aroma, feel (touch) tenderness, and then decide on an overall impression. If you are wondering where heat gets included, that’s in another article.

Taste away judges, but don’t forget to take a ride on the sensation roller coaster. The cookers are preparing their best representation of a traditional icon. It should be a sensational experience.

Barbecue 101 - A guide to Ultra Barbecue - Part II: The vessel, Section 2

2008-09-04T10:59:00.000-04:00

Making barbecue properly is an art. The series of discussing the pros and cons of vessels and techniques to create the best barbecued meats continues here with a discussion of more efficient and of course more expensive barbecue cookers. In our last article we discussed popular, readily available cookers. Exposing meat to low temperatures in the presence of hardwood smoke for an extended period of time so as to break down connective tissue and relinquish a succulent product does not have to have many of the challenges associated with less expensive pits.

Home enthusiasts still have choices. Adding insulation, and self feeding fuel systems are all available today for the backyard barbecue chef. These cookers come in a variety of sizes to accommodate your BBQ needs.

Our first venture into marrying technology with tradition will be the double wall insulated cookers or cabinet smokers. These pits are a little on the expensive side, but will reward the user in fuel efficiency. The most popular brands are the Backwoods Smokers, and Stumps. The Backwoods is a water smoker much like the WSM. The firebox is on the bottom of the cabinet, a water pan is set over the firebox and the cooking chamber is on top. The Backwoods smoker has a unique feature where the heat travels up around the cooking chamber through a space in the walls of the cooker and enters the cooking chamber from the top, and exits out through an outlet set at the bottom of the side wall of the cooking chamber. The water provides a very moist environment for cooking.

The Stumps is a classic offset smoker with a gravity feed fuel system. Charcoal is loaded into a chute over a firebox and the fire feeds itself as it burns. Burn times of 12 hours on 20 pounds of charcoal are not unheard of from these units.

Double wall insulated cookers do have an inherent weakness; they all have a difficult time recovering when the door from the cooking chamber is opened. A forced air convection system like a BBQ Guru or a Stoker will easily solve the problem . I’ve been known to use what I call the Red Neck Guru. After I open and close the door to the cooker to mop, baste or glaze, I’ll use an old hairdryer to stoke my fire and get my cooker temperature back to target in a short time.

Pellet feed cookers are becoming popular. The cooking chambers are very similar to most cookers. In pellet burners, wood pellets are fed into the firebox by an electric auger system. A thermostat controls the speed and frequency that the auger turns. One of the largest advantages to the system is it truly is a “set it and forget it” type of cooker. Pellets come in many different wood types and it is very easy to mix “flavors” of woods to get your desired flavor profile. The Traeger and the Cookshack are the most widely known. Cookshack has the advantage of NSF approvals for commercial cooking.

Ceramic cookers are gaining market share. Primo and Big Green Eggs are the brand names that lead the market. With these types of cookers the firebox and cooking chamber are jacketed with thick ceramic. They provide very efficient fuel use and a very moist envoirnment for cooking. These cookers are versatile too. They can grill a steak or cook a pizza at very high temperatures, or cook low and slow for perfect barbecue. The trade is the cash outlay for the amount of usable cooking space. These cookers are also very heavy and transportation is awkward.

When you are buying your cooking vessel take some time to consider exactly what you want to do with your pit. Weigh the advantages of moisture, available cooking space, difficulty of operation, and how much time you actually want to spend tending to your cooker. Once you make the choice, season it properly and get to cookin’.

The Blue Ridge Barbecue Festival

2008-06-21T10:04:00.003-04:00

Early June always brings excitement to the team. It’s time for Tryon and the North Carolina State Barbecue Championships. This is a bit of a different KCBS contest. The four main categories; chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket are cooked, but this contest also has a whole hog category.

The who’s who of competition barbecue teams always attends. It was a collection of the finest teams in the east. The organizers are top notch. The cookers are important at this event and it shows. Tryon has also been going green the last couple of years. It’s a refreshing change for the better.

I usually put work on the back burner for this event. I like to plan a vacation around the trip. Tryon is a beautiful little town nestled into the Blue Ridge Mountains, just southeast of Ashville, NC. With some extra time on our hands, we left Thursday afternoon and arrived before sunset at Harmon Field. It didn’t take long to settle in, and by night fall we were happily sitting in chairs, enjoying a cold adult beverage and making plans in anticipation of the next day’s priorities. The team was set. Attending would be Mary and Kait of course, Bob and Gary Brown, Chris and Tricia Finney, and Garland and Rebecca Hudgins. Edward Mills would be our SCBA judge who was cooking with the team to advance to his Senior Judge status.
After breakfast Friday morning Mary and Gary took off to Hendersonville to get garnish and procure chicken. We used a special organic chicken that would be available in Hendersonville. They had a fairly long list of items to purchase, so Bob and I patiently waited for Finney and Tricia and Garland and Rebecca to arrive. Meat inspection would have to wait until Mary and Gary returned from the store with the chicken. Nerves were starting to settle in a bit. The temperature started to climb.

Chicken arrived and our meat was inspected, it was prep time. We trimmed, injected, rubbed and bagged everything we could by 3 O’clock and it was off to the cooks meeting. I like cooks meetings; they are always fun. It’s a good chance to see old friends, shake hands and wish each other good luck.
When I returned from the meeting Finney was getting busy with the Anything Butt entry. He was preparing Coc Au Vin. As he browned the meat and created the roux, the dish smelled fantastic. It was hard to keep a dipping finger out of the sauce. Chris had bought some white bowls that would fit well into a half pan. Once the dish was finished, we plated and garnished and headed for the turn in. The dish was another great creation by Chris Finney.

I fired up the OK Joe right at 6pm. My time line for the big cuts for this cook would be 8pm to 8am. It takes about 2 hours to warm up the pit and get it to settle down. She was right on time. At 8pm we loaded the butts and brisket and commenced to enjoying the evening. Mike and Vicky Adams came by for an evening visit. We told stories, chatted about everything we could think of and took numerous walk abouts to visit friends at the event. We were keeping the pit steady and waiting on Midnight. Chicken would go into the brine at midnight and it would be time to shift out for some sleep.

Chris, Bob and I took early sleep shifts, and Garland and Ed stayed up and fed the pit. Finney and I were set to meet at 4am for rib rubbing. Everything went off without incident and Garland retired for a well deserved nap. First fire shift is always a long day. We introduced the ribs to the pit at 6am. So far everything was on time, and progressing very well.

The large cuts were on time. They started to finish up at 8am and the last brisket was wrapped in redneck chrome to rest right at 9am. Ribs were being worked with layers of flavors and at 10am it was time to put the chicken on Bob’s new Stumps cooker. We had been doing a lot of work on Bob’s new stumps. It was equipped with a new Stoker forced air convection system. He had been running the cooker since noon on Friday. He made some pig candy and put on a practice Boston butt. The cooker was running very smoothly, and we didn’t anticipate any problems. None were experienced.

12:30 was the first turn in. Chicken would be first followed every ½ hour by ribs, pork and brisket. All of the boxes were done with ease and all turn ins were on time and looked great. We were all feeling very good about our products. The food was good, the boxes looked great. It was in the hands of the judges now. We had done our best.

We spent a little time cleaning up the cook site and rehydrated from a very hot day. 5pm was the awards ceremony. The results were good. We walked to the stage with a 5th in ribs. We finished 26th overall on a field of 80 very talented cooks.
After awards it was time for dinner. Kait made a very good Shrimp Scampi and Garland and Rebecca made Rib eye steaks with corn on the cob and baked potatoes. It was a great day capped by a great meal. We enjoyed a little of the evening, but an early bed time was in order. The heat of the day and hard work had taken its toll on everyone.

We got up reasonably early on Sunday, packed the trailer, camper and trucks and headed home. We had had a great experience in Tryon. It’s a great contest, put on by dedicated volunteers, and features the best cookers on the circuit. I'm already looking forward to next June.

2008-06-21T10:04:00.001-04:00

Barbecue 101 - A Guide to Ultra Barbecue - Part II, The Vessel, Section 1

2008-06-16T21:38:00.000-04:00

Making barbecue properly is an art. This is the continuation of a series of articles that will discuss the many ins and outs of creating the culinary delight known as barbecue.

In the next few articles we will discuss cooking vessels. In the barbecue world most of the cooking vessels are referred to as “Pits”. A pit can be as simple as a hole in the ground, or as complicated as a double wall insulated box, complete with self feeding fuel, self regulating damper systems, and complete video and sound systems built in. Grills can be a suitable heat source, but generally run too hot and cause meats to cook too quickly and dry out before they get tender.

This section will be for home enthusiasts. There are basically two inexpensive, readily available choices; the bullet and the offset. Both styles are available at your discount supercenter, home building center, or online. Keep this adage in mind: “It’s not the cooker, it’s the cook”. This saying has been stated so many times on the circuits it’s almost cliché. It is one of the truths of barbecue. A true Pit Master can make good barbecue on any kind Pit.

That said, what makes a good pit? It is critical that the beginner choose a good vessel. A positive experience is crucial to keeping interest in the hobby. Look for a well made, well behaved pit. The technique is to be able to control the convection in the cooking chamber. Heat and smoke should spend quality time with the meats, not run by it and wave on their way out. Think carefully about what you want or need to cook and buy the vessel that fits those wants and needs. The rule of thumb is to buy one size bigger than you think you need. You won’t regret it. This article will get you started, after that you’re on your own.

The offsets have a history in the oil fields of Texas and Oklahoma. Originally made from leftover large oil pipe, these pits are two cylinders welded together horizontally. One chamber serves as the cooking chamber and one as the firebox. A stack is generally located at the opposite end from the firebox. Offsets have the advantage of being able to burn logs, but they require constant attention to control the fire. Since the fire is on one end of the cylinder, temperatures vary significantly firebox to stack end, and top to bottom.

Bullet pits or “water smokers” are vertical cylinders with a grate on the bottom for fire, a water pan over the fire to help regulate pit temperature and humidity, a center chamber with racks for meats, and a cylindrical lid. Cheap models are hard to regulate and are difficult to control. Better models have vents on the bottom to control air intake and a vent in the lid to help control convection. By far the best pit for beginners is the Weber Smokey Mountain, or “WSM”. It is a bullet style pit that is very popular both in the backyard and competition circuits. Once it’s adjusted, it can hold a constant temperature for a long period of time on one charge of charcoal. The WSM is ceramic coated and used correctly will outlast all of the cheaper models like it, hands down. The pit is used successfully in competitions up against pits that cost a small fortune to own. It can be bought at any True Value or online. Weber sets a price minimum so prices are fairly consistent dealer to dealer.

Homemade pits are very popular. Some are made out of drums; 35 or 55 gallon drums are cut in half and grates are added to hold meat. Coals are either banked on the sides or spread out under the meat. Stacks or vents are added on top to provide an outlet and aid convection.

Choosing a good pit can be a challenge. There are many factors to consider. Size, style of convection, fuel use, and length of time on a charge all need equal consideration. The most important factor is your budget. Making your own cooker is a great way to spend a few Saturdays with a cooking buddy or teaching a youngster how to weld. Once you choose your pit, season it well and get cooking.

Barbecue 101 - A guide to Ultra Barbecue Part I - The Partnership of Heat and Meat

2008-05-15T16:34:00.000-04:00

Making good barbecue is an art. This is the first in a series of articles that will discuss the many ins and outs of creating the culinary delight known as barbecue. We will define it, deal with the science, and discuss cooking equipment, fuel, seasonings, and techniques. The goal is simple; to guide both the novice and experienced cook toward barbecue utopia.

Let’s take a look at the words: Barbecue, barbeque and BBQ. Does each spelling describe the same thing? Possibly, but not necessarily. Are the various spellings confusing? The answer is - yes. Are the definitions conflicting? The answer is - always. Barbecue is said to be a noun describing cooked tender, well seasoned and sometimes sauced meat. Barbeque often refers to the gathering that takes place in your back yard when you are cooking for the 4th of July party; it is often mistaken for grilling. BBQ is generally a meat and sauce mixture that is bought at a joint on the side of the road. Without the different spellings and nuance of meanings I doubt it would be quite as much fun being a part of researching, preparing and cooking great barbecued meats.

Dan Gill who writes for Pleasant Living Magazine in Virginia writes: “Making barbecue is the art of cooking tough cuts of seasoned meat slowly in the presence of wood smoke until they are tender and flavorful and can be easily pulled apart. “
The USDA gives us a working definition: “Barbecued meats, such as product labeled "Beef Barbecue" or "Barbecued Pork," shall be cooked by the direct action of dry heat resulting from the burning of hard wood or the hot coals therefrom for a sufficient period to assume the usual characteristics of a barbecued article, which include the formation of a brown crust on the surface and the rendering of surface fat. The product may be basted with a sauce during the cooking process. The weight of barbecued meat shall not exceed 70 percent of the weight of the fresh uncooked meat.”

The two definitions are very similar, the major difference being the stated source of heat. Heat sources will stir up controversy in just about any barbecue aficionado conversation, especially on the competition circuits. I am a purist at heart. That said, we will keep our focus on wood burning and coals, and give all fuel sources their due when the need arises. Purists demand hardwood coals to make real barbecue, and refer to other processes as “smoke roasted”. Where you stand on the issue is your choice. Meat is mandatory, smoke is essential, seasoning is necessary, and technique is critical.

Meat is the most important part of barbecue. All meats are fair game. In fact most game is great barbecued. Dan Gill writes, “Working muscles, such as pork shoulders and beef brisket, are held together by collagen, a tough connective tissue. When heated to 160 degrees or more for a long period of time, collagen breaks down to gelatin and water, which accounts for the tenderness and moistness of properly cooked barbecue.”

Barbecuing is a process of exposing meats to heat at low temperatures for an extended period of time to break down the connective tissues and relinquishing a succulent product. This process is usually reserved for large cuts of meat. Pork is the choice in the south. Whole hogs, shoulders and ribs rise to the top of the Pit Masters list. In the Mid West and South West especially Texas, beef is king. Brisket is the top choice, with shoulders (Chucks) being used commercially too. Smoke cooking is cooking meats on a pit until done. This process is great for any mammal, fowl or fish. Sausages are great in the pit too. Chicken is very popular with backyard enthusiasts, and fish is wonderful when exposed to proper smoke cooking techniques.

Here is one of my best recipes: Wake up early in the morning about 2 or 3 hours before sunrise. Make a pot of good coffee that is made from beans that you have roasted the day prior and ground that morning. Start a fire in a cooker and watch the cooker come alive. The fire dances in the night. Just before the sun rises the meat that was meticulously prepared the evening before gets introduced to the cooker, make sure to add some sausage, breakfast time is near. Sit on a stump light a cigarette, sip the coffee and enjoy the sounds of quite and mother nature coming alive as the sun begins to light the sky. Once the earth has warmed a bit, cook a breakfast fit for a king. Add chunk of baloney to the pit. Lunch plans are eminent. Make a Bloody Mary from a recipe found in a food magazine that came in the mail this week. Enjoy the morning, do a little work around the house, enjoy your children and your spouse. Make another Bloody Mary and slice some fresh sourdough bread that was made yesterday in anticipation for this event. Smoked baloney and cheese with homemade mustard on fresh grilled sourdough is lunch. Tend the fire and find the bottle of Bookers that was set aside for this special occasion. Make some beans, a salad, a sauce, and a cream pie. Enjoy more bourbon. Stuff some jalapenos with cheese and meat, wrap them in bacon and put them on the cooker. These will make the resting period tolerable. Keep sipping the bourbon; it’s turning into a quality day. When the proper time arrives, rest the barbecued meats for a couple of minutes. Get a shower and clean up. The meal will taste much better if you can get some of your olfactory senses back. Enjoy the appetizers with a quality micro brew that was just introduced at the grocery store. When the proper resting period has passed slice, pull or chop the meat, serve it with the beans and salad and enjoy a meal second to none. Bed time will come early; it’s been a day to write about. Repeat as often as possible. Serves many.

Making good barbecue sounds fairly simple until you give it a go yourself. Whether you are creating traditional barbecue or smoke roasting you will have many factors to consider. Learning to use a quality cooking vessel and taking part in the ritual known as barbecuing is great fun. Choosing meats, cooking vessels, fuel, seasonings, and using sound techniques, will bring you many great meals with the results you crave.

Jack Waiboer is the Pit Master and Chief cook for Common Interest. He is also an instructor for the Carolina Pit Masters Barbecue Cooking School and a SCBA Master Judge. His blog can be accessed at www.commoninterestbbq@blogspot.com. Information for Carolina Pit Masters can be found at http://www.carolinapitmasters.com/.

Dan Gill is the Pit Master at Something Different Country store and his articles are published by Pleasant Living Magazine. Dan’s articles can be found at http://www.pine3.info/

Heath Springs Rodeo Q

2008-03-31T09:48:00.000-04:00

2007 was an interesting year for us at Common Interest. We made changes. Some were planned – some not. Mary and I wanted to start keeping things much more simple. We started 2007 out with a budget and hoped we could stay self sufficient with good finishes. If the money ran out, we would discontinue the process. With rising costs and shrinking paychecks we could no longer afford to dip into the operating accounts to sustain the hobby. With that in mind we also wanted to focus on helping events raise money for a worthy cause. We would no longer attend an event on the South Carolina circuit, unless we supported the cause. Private promoters would not be able to reach into our pockets, no matter what was offered as the prize. We want our reputation to be charitable, not profit driven.

We made it a good year, but there was something missing. I had lost my focus. I maintained an eye on keeping the hobby solvent. As the 3rd, 4th and 5th place finishes continued, I started to loose enthusiasm. Mary and I travel many miles together for the fun of Barbecue. The traveling makes up a good bit of our one on one time together. We discussed my concentration problems and decided that barbecue for money was not ever in the plans. Yes, we wanted to stay self sufficient, but we were focusing too much on doing well, not just having fun.

It was at that point we decided to forget the prize money, and go for the prize. The trophy case is full of well deserved hardware. The problem is it all looks the same. Big, bigger, biggest is the format, and most of the contests were offering either a standard looking trophy or a plaque of some kind. I wanted something different. That was the pivot point of change for me. I told Mary, I wanted a guitar from Abbeville, a Pig from Heath Springs, and a piece of pottery from Edgefield or Kershaw. I wanted to focus on making the hardware collection unique. That was the decision that put the attention back to barbecue.

SCBA events are going to be few and far between as our focus turns to reaching the national level with the KCBS. We want to go to Kansas City and Lynchburg. The SCBA events will not afford us that opportunity, so we will not be spending a lot of money going to those venues.

We were successful in Abbeville. The next prize would be Heath Springs Rodeo Q. Getting to attend was difficult. Mom is recovering from hip replacement surgery as this is written. One of us would have to stay home. We are partners, and doing this together matters to me a great deal. Other members of the team were experiencing problems as well. For a while it looked like the timing would not be right, and the Heath Springs Pigs would have to wait another year. Fortunately, we worked out some time and Bob Brown and I pulled out the Mary J and headed to the small town of Heath Springs on March 28, 2008 with an eye on the prize.

Heath Springs Rodeo Q exemplifies everything we want in a contest. The entry fees are reasonable, the cause is just, and the prize is worth the trip. The art students at Heath Springs Elementary School hand make each of the four trophies available. They are, IMHO very cool.

The Friday night Anything Butt was to be judged by the children who attend the school. We had to switch gears a moment and make sure we had a dish that could be appreciated from a child’s point of view. We decided on Peanut and Jelly Pizza with a honey banana topping. It was really good. We did find it interesting just how many kids really don’t like peanut butter and jelly. Our tasting booth was slow.

I chose the Mary J for a good reason. She had had some difficulty at the Ladson cook and I wanted to be sure everything was in good order, looking forward to a trip to Tryon in June. The weather was supposed to be good, and a canopy would not be necessary. Set up was smooth with the exception of the wind causing some problems with the operation of the new hot water heater. A wind break fixed the problem. We obtained our quota of meat, injected and rubbed as usual and put the meat on a settled cooker at 8pm. Turn in would be at 10am on Saturday. Good music from Bob’s collection, and visits from the Carolina Pit Masters crew filled the evening hours. We banked the coals and settled down for some sleep somewhere between midnight and 2am.

The morning came without problems. We were up, cleaned up and eating a great breakfast of toast and sausage gravy by 7am. The pork was on time and in the coolers to rest. One would hold out, but that’s the norm. There is always one in the crowd that wants to be difficult.

At 9am we made competition barbecue. We made several versions and settled in on one profile. I did something that I never do; changed my plan at the last minute. We were set to run a mustard sauce. I didn’t bring my tried and true sauce that I have always used. We couldn’t quite get the mustard to taste right, and in the heat of the competition, we went with a naked version of our competition pork. We turned it in and waited.

Fortunately, everything worked out for the best. Bob and I had made decisions that landed us a Grand Championship at Heath Springs. We would get first choice of the available trophies and chose Buddy Van Halen. Buddy is the feature picture at the top of the article. We enjoyed our stay in Heath Springs; the trophy case now has an addition of a great new look. Thanks to David Kellin for the opportunity, and Thank you to the children of Heath Springs Elementary for a great new look to the case.

The Prestigeous Palmetto - March 2008

2008-03-14T13:29:00.000-04:00

The CPM class in February was a lesson in foul weather cooking. The Prestigious Palmetto in Ladson far exceeded the education taught a few weeks ago. The weather was checked all week. It was partly cloudy, chance of rain, moving to some rain, settling on a bunch of rain and high winds in the forecast for the weekend of March 7, 2008.

I had practiced like I preached. Doing a few cooks before the event and tweaking recipes a little here and there. I was going back to my roots, cooking the food that had gotten me a state championship two years ago. Help was needed with the chicken; quite frankly the chicken is good but never great. Great ribs have also eluded me over the past few years. The ribs of the past were good, but lacked the “pop” that make a judge pay attention. My last attempt was in Abbeville and that was mediocre at best.

Armed with some new techniques and flavor profiles we pulled into the fairgrounds on Thursday afternoon to get the big canopy set up, and Brown’s Folly into place. The camper would be placed across the back of the site to provide a wind break for a westerly flow. It wasn’t going to blow that direction on Friday, but Saturday’s forecast was worrisome. Bob and I got the canopy up, consumed an adult beverage or two, shook hands and parted ways until Friday.

Our normal start time for a competition is 6am Friday morning. Mary shuttled Kaitlyn to school and picked up a biscuit breakfast. The rain had already started. We were going to load in wet for the second time in 3 weeks. Upon or arrival, we checked in with the Sertoma gang, got to site 65 and started unloading. We were traveling light, and we were very early, so the unload went quick and easy.

We had pared our participation back this year to only include the main Kansas City Barbecue Society event. We were going to cook chicken, ribs, pork butts, and beef brisket. No sauce, any thing but pork, and no chili. I was focused on doing well. My last Pig Pickin’ was a retirement party, and my heart was elsewhere. The format change to KCBS brought me out of retirement and back into the game. I was intent on doing well. There would be some very good cooks on the field.

We tried to stay dry through the afternoon, even though the rain fell heavily at times. We watched as many of our friends started to arrive and get their area’s set up. Shaking hands, dishing out hugs, and finding out about winter breaks were enjoyable.

We were waiting on our crew to assemble. This crew was going to be interesting. Mary and I had assembled a wide variety of talent spanning the experience graph low to high. The team had a sponsor this year. Coastal Construction Solutions owned by Bob and Gary Brown were joining us for this years comp. Bob and Gary have been great supporters of the team in the past and we looked forward to working with them on this project. Joining us this year were Chris Finney, who made the trip from his home in Salisbury, NC, Michael Peavey & Jeff, all from the Pigs on the Wing team. We were adding Garland and Rebecca Hudgins, who are planning on forming their own team and want to “bitch” a few contests to get some experience. Thomas Borders, Kristina, and Kaitlyn rounded out the Common Interest crew. Our guest cook was Derrick Russ. He was the fortunate one who had won a trip to a contest with Common Interest as a door prize at the Carolina Pit Masters BBQ Cooking School. http://www.carolinapitmasters.com/
At around 2pm we started prepping meats. A lesson in trimming and injecting was at hand. Starting with the brisket, we cut a off a bit of fat and squared up the flats. Injected with tasty liquids and rubbed with a flavorful rub. We repeated the process with the butts, St. Louis cut the spares and trimmed and dropped the chicken into marinade. The whole process took about 2 hours and everyone present got a chance to participate.

Everyone but Finney had arrived by the cooks meeting at 5pm. Finney was stuck in traffic on 95 and would be a late. His 4 hour trip was going to be extended a great deal. The cooks meeting was the usual fare. We got a plaque for being involved with the contest for 10 years. It was due us last year. It was time again to shake hands and renew old friendships and make some new. I am involved with many internet boards and lists, and it’s nice to put a face to the names of contributors. The rain continued.

Garland needed directions to the sauce judging, so we meandered by the turn in site. We made our way back to the site via a bit of visiting. It was time to fire the cooker. I wanted to be settled and ready for meat at 8pm. The Mary J takes about 2 hours to settle down. The rain continued.

7pm was dinner time. Garland and Rebecca had made a couple of pans of Ham and Scalloped potato casserole. It was very enjoyable comfort food that really hit the spot. Everybody was getting cold and hungry and this dish was just the solution to a cold evening.

8pm was the designated time to apply meat to the cooker. The Boston butts and briskets were placed on the top cooker racks. Temperature probes were placed in their strategic positions and alarms were set. A piece of pecan was added to the fire and the lids were closed. No one would be allowed access for at least 3 hours. The target temp was 250*. The cooker wanted to hover at about 240*. We let it ride. The rain continued.

Now was the best time of the cook for me. We were in maintenance mode. The idea is to keep the fire constant, keep the cook moving forward, and get some sleep. We would need to mop at 4 hours, so I prepared the sprayer and we sat and watched the show across the street for a couple of hours. The crew was shifting sleep. 1am was mopping time. The cooker was opened and the meats were mopped. We decided to shift and rotate a bit. This changed the dynamics of the cooker enough that it had a hard time recovering. Somewhere between 2 and 2:30 Finney strongly suggested some sleep. I would get about 2 hours. The rain continued.

I was awakened at my 4:30 time and after a cup of coffee, we decided to get a rub on the ribs. Finney and I applied the spices and let them set up for about an hour and put the ribs on the bottom rack in the cooker. The brisket and butts were already in foil, so there wasn’t much of a chance of cross flavoring the racks. The cook was now ¾ underway. We went ahead and applied the rub to the chicken. Letting it sit a while with the rub might do it some good. The WSM was fired and in about an hour we applied the chicken to the grates. We were now in full swing. My nerves were settling in but the rain had stopped, thank goodness.

The crew started to awaken and come together over the coffee pot. Sertoma was generous enough to bring in chicken biscuits for breakfast. The talk of the morning was the show we got from across the street. I hope to never be "treated” to that particular team again. The wind started.

We calculated the cooking times and agreed that we were on time. I was hoping for an early time off for the briskets, but it looked like the butts would come off first. They did and were resting nicely in the cooler box waiting to become competition barbecue. A loose 3-2-1 process was going along well for the ribs and the chicken was cooking nicely. The wind was picking up.

The morning was chock full of visits from friends, both cookers and judges. 10 years in the contest had established many friendships in both ranks. It was good to see them all. We watched the surrounding teams get their on site judging done, and relished the thought that we were not in those categories.

11 o’clock was fast approaching and it was time to prepare for our turn ins. We readied the garage in the camper and began putting the last touches on our products. The chicken looked great as did the ribs. These were our first entries. We would start at 12:30 and turn in an entry every 30 minutes until 2pm. We were ready. The winds were blowing with 30 to 40mph gusts. The camper was rockin’ and the tent strained against the tie downs. We were fortunate. Our site had built in windbreaks. Equipment was crumbling at the sites around us.

Box building is fast paced and thorough. This wasn’t our first time and we were ready to go. Mary had decided on all parsley boxes. They had done well for us in past contests and she wanted to give them another try. That is her area of expertise. They all looked great. Chicken first, then ribs, followed by pork, and brisket would be last. All went off without a hitch.

It was now time to relax and wait for results. That was scheduled for 6pm. We had a few hours to rest. I did a bit of visiting, but ended up settled in the camper for a rest. It was needed. The temperature started dropping, now it was cold and windy. It was time to break out the winter gear. I’m glad I packed it.

The results were fantastic. We got 4th place calls in ribs and brisket getting us a trophy and a check. We ended up 6th overall and the best finish for local and SC teams. I am very proud of our work and my teammates. It seems we assembled quite a bunch.

We celebrated for a bit and began to pack up the equipment. Bob and Gary started to prepare a nice dinner, and we watched the fireworks show. I must admit, we had a great day and evening. The wind had finally settled down but the cold remained. The 2008 Prestigious Palmetto Pig Pickin’ at Ladson Fairgrounds would be one to remember.

Go to the Head of the Class

2008-03-11T16:33:00.000-04:00

When 6am Friday morning arrived the rain hadn’t started yet. There were 25 people coming together at the Shrine Club in Summerville to hear the gospel of barbecue preached by a few self proclaimed professors of Whole Hog, Boston Butts and Ribs. It would turn out to be quite a weekend. The agenda was full and the expectations were high.

At 9am the truck needed to be loaded. That was the cue for the heavens to open and the rain to start to fall. The chances were 100% for the day. For once, the forecasters didn’t lie. Everything including the kitchen sink was loaded into the truck and a large propane tank cooker. The rain started as a light haze and continued to gain momentum as the ride to the venue started just before noon. The rain became a full down pour as the tents were assembled and lashed together to make the canopy necessary to hold numerous cookers. The ground couldn’t hold anymore water. The site was on a beautiful peninsula of land that stretched out into a lake. We were in the middle of a well formed mud puddle, and the show had to go on.

The guests started to arrive. One by one they parked their cars and campers, intent on forgetting unfortunate weather and learning how to Q. At 3 o’clock the time had come. All but 2 had made the pilgrimage, and it was time to start.

Whole hog was first. A lesson in trimming, injecting, and cooking a whole animal was relayed to a very attentive group. They were all listening and writing as the information they came to gather was conveyed. Time lines, recipes, and process were all explained in as much detail as needed to make the point. The first hog was done to satisfaction by the professor, it was time for the pupils to put their hands on the animals and apply their knowledge. The deed was done, and the hogs were loaded on the pits to begin their transformation to barbecue.

Boston Butts were next. The top part of the whole pork shoulder was displayed, injected, and rubbed to the maximum. Participants were enlightened on the science of cooking a primal cut. Explanations of cell structures, osmosis, evaporation, and the effects of low and slow techniques were explained well by the professor. It was time for the students to get busy again. The “butts” were loaded on to the pits and dinner was served.

Ribs were taught after the social dinner hour. Ripping, rubbing, marinating, injecting, brining, and trimming were handled with ease. The instructors had made their impression, a job well done.

The rain continued into the night, heavy at times. The thermometer dipped into a chilly region, and the wind picked up as the pork simmered in the pits. All six hogs cooked differently. Some cooked straight through and some stalled for hours before temperature adjustments were made to help the cook along. Nobody wanted to miss the turn in time. The show had to go on.

The rain had cleared by morning, leaving soggy ground in its wake. Ribs were introduced to the pits at 6am to be ready for a 12pm turn in. A meager breakfast was served and a preparation for on site demo was conducted. Now it was time to go to work on the elusive box. All of the competitors who were there were there to watch the box. It’s the most sought after treasure in barbecue. It’s the first impression. Psychologically, if it looks great, surely it must taste great.

When the “turn ins” were done, students got to witness a live judging done by the South Carolina Barbecue Association. They were encouraged to ask questions, and dig for answers. Everything went off without a hitch. All three events were successfully judged.

The Carolina Pit Masters are a group of cookers dedicated to preserving southern barbecue and its traditions, while giving back to the community through various charities. The class was deemed a success by the participants. We donated 6 whole hogs to the Shrine Club who sold over 600 dinners to raise money for donation to the Shriner’s Hospital for Children. Mary and I thank Russ Cornette, Rusty Painter, and Garland and Rebecca Hudgins for their work. None of it could have been done without the hard work of a great team.

Be Prepared

2008-02-18T16:36:00.000-05:00

I remember our first contest. We rented the largest moving truck we could afford and packed it full of everything we thought we needed to cook a hog, some shoulders and ribs. The truck was full to the door. We had cookers, burners, and pots & pans of all sizes and shapes. I am an Eagle Scout, and I will “Be Prepared”. I needed to define prepared.

That was the start of a process that is still evolving every time we travel to a contest venue. What exactly do you need to bring to a barbecue event? The answer is not as easy as you would expect. It sounds like this: Bring everything you need to be self contained, but no more.

The decisions on what to bring and what to leave home are based on need. You will need food, equipment to cook the food, and comfortable shelter. Those are the necessities. If a hotel bill is not in your budget, you will need a place to sleep. Everything else will take up space and might need to be eliminated.

We track every recipe with a computerized recipe program. Everything we need to cook a category in an event is put into the Recipe for “Whole Hog”. The program prints us a shopping list that acts as a check list for all of the food we will need to successfully participate.

Equipment and incidentals are handled with a seperate check list. This list is commonly called a "kill list". The kill list is an ever evolving document. A basic list needs to be started on a spread sheet with plenty of lines to manually write things that might be needed. When an event concludes make sure to refer back to the kill list and make additions and deletions to the printed copy. After a few events a good basic equipment list will be ready at the push of the print key.

Being prepared is the key to success on the barbecue trail. Honing a list down to take care of the needs of the cook is most important. The lighter one can fly the better. The top priority is to be self contained.

Judging, The Associations, and Cookers

2008-02-11T14:17:00.000-05:00

Mary and I judge barbecue contests. We enjoy it almost as much as cooking. We are involved in a couple of different judging organizations. We are Certified Barbecue Judges in the Kansas City Barbecue Society, and Senior Judges with the South Carolina Barbecue Association. I like the KCBS format best, Mary on the other hand prefers the SCBA. Chicken is the pivot for her. She knows how to judge good chicken, but if she never had to judge another piece of chicken in her life, it wouldn't effect her one way or another.

We have worked hard over the last couple of years to become good judges. Mary has taken an interest in being a Marshal for the SCBA. A Marshal is the liaison between the Event coordinator the SCBA Judges and Big Wheels. Marshaling is quite a task. Marshals are "worker bees". They shoulder the bulk of the work load that needs to be done and there is much to do. Meetings with Event Coordinators, collecting and organizing Judges, Table Captains, Tabulators, Runners and of course making the difficult decisions that need to be made at every event. I choose not to get involved. It's just not my cup of tea, Mary really relishes the opportunity.

Last weekend featured a trip to Columbia, SC for a meeting of the Marshals. The last meeting was a fiery upset with disgruntled members. This one was much more docile. Much was discussed, but not much was actually accomplished. This is not uncommon in big meeting situations. It is difficult to keep stay on task with all of the stories and points that many members of the group need to relate.

The party lines are classic. There are liberals, and conservatives, with all bands of IQ represented. The most interesting aspect is how the "government" is being decided at this point of the SCBA evolution. On one side you have the Confederacy on the other you have the Union. The Confederates believe that the government should powered by the states. The Union people are federalists and believe that the power is best shared between the central government and the states. I haven't observed out right socialism or communism where the power is strictly in the hands of the government. However, it is possible with the amount of people involved there would be that type of thinking going on. States are events and their Coordinators, Government is the SCBA.

The "big wheels" of the SCBA seem to be strictly confederates. They are staunchly opposed to allowing the voting body to create any legislation that would limit the rights of the event coordinators to run their events. The Marshal group seems to be more Federal. They want to standardize the events, creating laws that will standardize the events from town to town and make it easier for everyone to know what to expect. The upper level has been very tolerant of the voting body, but are still confederates at heart.

Notice the most important aspect of a Barbecue Competition has yet to be discussed. Where in all of this stretching and bending, is the interest of the cookers. Before "guidelines" are addressed, the best interest of the cookers should be properly considered. Without the cookers, and their desire to participate the associations and events would have to look elsewhere for notoriety and charity contributions.

Cookers are tops!

Practice man, Practice

2008-02-05T14:20:00.000-05:00

A fella stops a cop in Pittsburg and says, "excuse me sir, could you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall". The cop replies "Practice man, practice". This is an old and crusty joke but a great adage on how we can attain our creative goals. Many years ago, I asked a good cooking friend and champion, the "secret" to BBQ success. He was very honest and candid and told me that to get really good at anything you had to do it more than a couple of times a year. In other words, practice man, practice. I took his advice to heart and started cooking competition barbecue every chance I got. That doesn’t mean that I entered a competition every weekend, but I cooked time lines and tested recipes at least once a month, outside of a busy competition schedule.

The first hurdle to overcome was cooking consistently. To get consistent I needed to know where I started and where I wanted to go. The only way to achieve this was to write down everything I did from one cook to the next. I needed to develop a log and it would have to contain three kinds of information, Cooking mechanics, Flavor profiles, and results. Armed with this kind of information, I could make changes from cook to cook and keep moving forward. I now have a handy Excel spread sheet that has all of the information I need to keep track of every cook I do.

Practice is the key to competition success. Keeping track of your cooking practice allows you to experiment with your cooker and your flavors, analyze your results and make the changes needed to be a top cooker on any circuit.

A recent practice session!

Common Interest

2008-02-01T08:24:00.000-05:00

I'm into competition cooking. I've been in the "game" now for over 10 years and it's been quite a ride. My wife Mary, daughters Kaitlyn and Kristina and I make up what I call the core of the team. We have others that contribute regularly and those that contribute when they can.

For the first 10 years we used the name Pigs on the Wing. Many people thought it was all about flying pigs. True "Floyd" fans will know it as side 2 song 1 on the Animals album. I'm a Pink Floyd fan and thought it would be "really cool man".

Through the years Pigs on the Wing cooked in many contests through out South Carolina and a bit in North Carolina. The highlight of our tenure was the SC State Championship in 2006. We retired Pigs on the Wing after that year. There were several reasons. It made a stir with the rest of the crew, but we thought it best.

Mary and I are a team. We do everything together and have since we got together some 20 odd years ago. We wanted to set ourselves up for a move into commercial seasonings and sauces. We kind of figured that the name Pigs on the Wing would not lend itself well to a label, and the phrase is owned by a rather large and wealthy rock band. I wanted to create a name that reflected our existance. That's were we came up with the name Common Interest. We are a bunch of semi normal people from all walks of life, with one "common interest". In fact, the whole lot of barbecue crazies fits this description. With a name like Common Interest, we could cook with anyone in just about any situation and still be true to our name.

I think it's a bridge name. I'm still not convinced it lends itself to a label. We are a few years away from commercial seasonings and sauces anyway, so it will be fun until we can find the name we want to market.

BSI and Common Interest

2008-02-01T00:03:00.000-05:00

I'm making a concerted effort to start writing on a regular basis. I want these blogs to reflect what we are doing on a consistent basis to attain some goals.

BSI is an idea that Mary and I had to call an article that I want to write for the SCBA news letter. BSI stands for Barbecue Scene Investigation. I'm not sure I will keep the title, but I'm still going to write the articles. I'm hoping to redevelop some lost writing skills, and make life a little more interesting. I'm also hoping Mary, Kristina and Kaitlyn will contribute when they can.