Two competitions

It's been a while since I posted and two competitions have passed since then. The first competition was in Taylor back in September. We basically got skunked. No awards or final tables with the exception of my wife's beans making final table. My brother had some awesome ribs and it shocked us that he didn't even place. My brisket was very good, but very good is not ever enough. It has to be out of this world, so I thought maybe it will make final table. The chicken was a disappointment. I have made better and we expected no results from it. Of course, it was a fun time and my brother cooked with a barrel while I used the WSMs.

The next cookoff was in Kyle at the Fair and Music Festival (formerly Kyle Fair on the Square). Many teams and we did a lot better. This time the ribs took 4th place and the beans placed 3rd. We all thought that the brisket was awesome but they only called out the top five and didn't let us know the rest of the order. Chicken was once again so-so. I just seem to not be able to produce the awesome chicken I had back in Shiner. It'll come, I know it. We broke out the trailer pit for this competition and my brother is a firm believer that the pit makes a difference in our cooking. Maybe it helps, who knows. Our cook site also took 4th place so we ended up with three new trophies to add to the case. It seems like I may not be able to do another competition until the spring time, but I have some bbq gigs coming up and I que all the time anyway.

Charred beef!

So I tried out my new WSM I got last weekend. My wife wanted me to cook a couple of briskets . No problem. I set the new girl up like usual. Got the minion method going, rubbed down the briskets and threw'em in at 10:40pm. I've been cooking at 275 degrees lately because it seems to still be tender and flavorful in a little less time, around an hour a pound. The briskets were 9 pounders. At 3:45am I switched the bottom brisket with the top. Temp was holding steady at 275 top and 260 bottom. Checked on the water and she had a lot left (I should've filled her up). I then went to bed and set my phone alarm for 6:45am so I can check them out. Didn't hear my phone and WOKE UP AT 9:45!!!!!!!! I ran downsatirs and checked the smoker, still at 275 on top and 277 on bottom, hmm maybe ok. Opened the lid and saw two meteorites in my new WSM (hence the picture of the meteorite). I pulled them out and the bottom one was charred and falling apart. The top one was firmer. Checked the temp of the top one and it was at 212 degrees. The bottom couldn't even be checked since it fell apart. I let the first brisket stand uncovered to firm up and it will be salvageable. The second is burnt ends without the sauce. I checked on the pit and the reason the temp was 275 was because there was hardly any charcoal left and the temp was in the falling stage. I suspect that when the waterpan finally emptied (it's currently full of grease) the temp rose to 350ish or so and that's when it all went south. If I would've just been up I could've taken them out sooner and saved'em. The higher heat didn't destroy'em, it was the amount of time at that heat. Oh well, it looks like a little bit of chopped beef is all I'll get out of'em.

Today is also the last day for me to prepare for the kiddos coming to school. Tomorrow it's go over rules and procedures and getting to know the students. I'm looking forward to another fun-filled year.

Queing and flooring

What a busy day! Today I got up later than I wanted to, around 9:30am. It's Sunday, but I needed to cook seven briskets and freeze them for a bbq benefit that's going to be held the weekend of September 15th. I originally wanted to be up by 6am. The biggest brisket was nearly 14 pounds and I didn't want to be cooking late into the night. Since I got up late, I went ahead and semi-fast-tracked my briskets. I've done it once before with great results and often wonder why I don't do it this way all the time. Got the fire going and rubbed the briskets. At 10:40 I put them into the pit. The two 13+ pounders and two 10+ pounders closer to the firebox entry and the the three smaller ones behind them. The temp was at 225, but I added two extra logs and opened the intake all the way. The temp rose to around 290 degrees and throughout the day I managed the fire and cooked between 275-325 degrees. Not exactly low and slow and not too high either, but I know it works. I foiled the little ones at 3:45pm. At 6pm the little ones came off and I foiled the bigger ones. I let them rest a little bit and then wrapped another layer of foil and threw them in the freezer. At 8:30pm the big ones came off. I let them rest and at 9:15 I sliced the largest one at the point and flat juncture to see if they were truly done (I go by the thermometer and feel, usually temp is between 185-195). It's temperature before pulling off the pit was at 185, and the thermometer went in very easily. It sliced easily and was very tender and juicy. Nice smokering, too. We sliced a few pieces off then double wrapped the two indvidual cuts. Snacked on the pieces and then wrapped the other briskets in another layer of foil and threw them into the freezer. All of the cooking took ten hours. The prep and finish included comes out to nearly 12 hours. Not bad since the cook alone would normally have been about 17-18 hours. I get to do this again next week. I think since it will probably be only 4 briskets, I'll use my Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) and the new WSM I got yesterday (woohoo!). Means less time tending the fire. That's a pic of my WSM.

Now while all this cooking was going on, my wife and I started working on our floor. We bought some peel and stick vinyl tiles to redo our living room and kitchen. We started on the living room since we pulled the carpet a year ago. The concrete floor was becoming an eyesore. We committed the ultimate sin in doing the floor by not starting in the center. I just went ahead and started at one wall. I can cut and trim when we need to to even it out (actually my wife will do that). We still need to lift and scrape the kitchen linoleum before we get to that side. Hopefully it all works out. I've been back at work this past week and school starts next week. So why did I wait till now to do this project? Go figure.

CHL

Well tomorrow I'll be spending 15 hours in a classroom and firing range to get my Texas CHL. Hopefully this will give my family peace of mind when we're out and about. I wanted to do this several years ago, but I never got around to it. Thankfully nothing has come in harms way. I actually hope I'm never in a situation where I'd have to draw. Just a backup for protection. I think that people misunderstand those who carry and own firearms. They think we're a bunch of yahoo cowboys and want to shoot things up. Not the case. Gunowners who are willing to go through training are being responsible and want a safer state. I go to the firing range whenever I get a chance so that way I'm a better shot. Keeping up with your accuracy is important.

Here I go!

Well this is the beginning of a new adventure for me and I hope it will last. I sometimes have many thoughts and ideas that I'd like to get off my chest, so blogging seems fitting. I also like to share my experiences with food, especially barbecue/bbq/bar-b-que or however you want to spell it. In fact, my pride and joy of bbq is pictured. Eventually I will take pictures of bbq'ing adventures and give you updates. I used to cue several times a week, but now only cue once in a while since I'm on a diet. I also still cue for friends and family as a side catering gig. Business is on the slower side for me, but I like it that way since I have a lot to do already. Well that's enough for now.