A barbecue adventure, the saga unfolds.

IMG_5849.jpeg
It actually worked pretty well. I couldn’t even taste the seasoning in the tri tip but moister levels were perfect. The chicken had more of a taste but it turned out great. I deliberately under seasoned them as to not impart a significant taste, which is what I was going for. The Other Person does not like heavy flavoring.
 
K81 has a bbq joint on the field.
We-B-Smokin' is great! Their ribs are especially good. Normally I'm a brisket and pork guy instead of ribs, but their ribs are the best thing there IMO.

I also like the pictures they had up last time I was there - Marine One landed there for President Obama to have a $100,000 hamburger. Regardless of politics, it's cool that a sitting president got the experience of landing at a small GA airport and getting food. I wish they could all have that experience, and hopefully learn a thing or two from it!
 
The pork butt is working, the lunch brats are almost ready, and the two slabs of back ribs will be going on in about an hour and a half.

The two top rounds are already finished, rested, and just went into the fridge. One is for a neighbor. 130F for a solid med-rare, they make outstanding sandwiches.


74680843026__D1028951-4CCE-4499-9C91-210A48C3A143.jpeg
 
That looks good. I have a tri tip and chicken thighs waiting for tonight's grill session.
 
Not smoked, but I made grilled Greek chicken kebabs yesterday, served with rice (cooked with Greek seasoning) pita heated on the grill, a Greek salad, and store-bought hummus.

1725130438594.jpeg

1725130501509.jpeg
 
Nothing wrong with a good kabob. Sometimes I do sticks of beef and chicken. I'm not sure what cuts of lamb would be best, but lamb kabob in souvlaki sauce is bomb. The store carries mostly legs, shanks and chops.
 
Sad panda is camping out here. Went to get ready for NY strips and the fan on the smoker wouldn’t turn on. Controller was operating, but it looks the door closed switch on the charcoal chamber has melted.

Strips got done on a cast iron grill pan; I’ll bypass the switch tomorrow and see if that fixes the problem so we can do a whole turkey breast.
 
I’m still kicking myself for not discovering tri-tip sooner. It just isn’t a thing out here.
There's a guy who is friends with some of my OSH camp-mates who comes in for a day each year and cooks us a fantastic meal in Camp Scholler.

In 2023, it was smoked tri-tip finished with a quick sear in a cast iron pan served with homemade chimichurri and served with ribs and a corn dish on the side, and it was literally the best meal I've had in my life.

IMG_7117.JPG
 
Smoker is fixed. Permanently bypassed the door switch and despite the rain, there’s turkey getting all flavory.
e1ae831d592f9298f7dbbf6d6b6ab234.jpg
 
Smoker is fixed. Permanently bypassed the door switch and despite the rain, there’s turkey getting all flavory.
e1ae831d592f9298f7dbbf6d6b6ab234.jpg
I love that word, “flavory.” Stealing it.
 
IMG_5866.jpeg

This was not my handywork, but this was the labor day bbq at #1 son's house. Smoked tri tip and beef short ribs. Some of the short ribs were grilled, and some were smoked. Both came out decently, mostly because of the marinade and the strip cut. I tried grilling standard bone in short ribs before, and it didn't come out good at all. Also grilled asparagus and broccoli salad.
 
I’m off to judge another contest this weekend. It’s a first time contest and I don’t recognize any of the teams. I know they have a lot of “backyard” teams. I’m hoping it’s all good.

The backyard version only cooks chicken and ribs. That gives new teams a chance to try a competition without too much time and money commitment. You can drive in, set up, cook, and go home all in one day. The master’s contests also include pork butt and brisket so it’s an all night event. There are very few backyard events in the KC area. This one is in OK and will have backyard and master’s. Maybe I’ll judge both, maybe one or the other. Judging criteria and scoring are the same.
 
Judged that contest today. It was a first-time for it and the organizers did a great job of turning it into a community event. They even got the local PD and FD to set up food tents next to each other. They had live music and a beer tent, too. They really worked hard and I hope they can draw more teams next year. They had 8 backyard teams (plus 2 no-shows), and 20 masters teams. I hope word of mouth gets them at least 10 more masters, then it can start to draw enough to keep it going without too much stress of worrying if there will be enough.

The backyard entries were surprisingly good. Normally backyard teams are very new to the game and can be hit or miss. One contest rep said this part of the country gets more backyard teams and contests because the expenses are so much lower. We have very few backyard contests in KC. The KCBS rules say you can only do 12(?) backyards before you have to do masters.

The masters, though, had some pretty rough entries. There might have been some first timers or there might have been some teams that just had a bad day.

Here’s one of the teams:

IMG_7865.jpeg
 
I looked up some of the teams from the contest yesterday. One drove in from CO and another from PA. Both are top 10 in national points.
 
What's the demographic of the competition teams? Is it BBQ featured restaurants who also do or sponsor a competitive team, or retired folks, or something else? Asking because it seems like a heck of a lot of work to put together and drive across the country to do.
 
What's the demographic of the competition teams? Is it BBQ featured restaurants who also do or sponsor a competitive team, or retired folks, or something else? Asking because it seems like a heck of a lot of work to put together and drive across the country to do.
Mostly guys, but there’s at least one all women team. Some are retired and it’s what they do. Some are independently wealthy and self sponsored. Some are caterers that do this on the side. Some guys own or manage bbq stores and use that leverage. Some have been able to win enough contests they can get big name sponsorships. When you win enough contests, sometimes it only costs your time. Some teams teach classes, and charge a lot. Most teams have a head cook who probably owns all the equipment and then one or two assistants, maybe a spouse. A good number are one-person operations.

In my case, there were 4 of us that just decided to jump in. We never did more than a few a year and never spent more than the bare minimum. Sometimes we got a local bar and grill to sponsor the meat purchase through their supplier. But we split expenses 4 ways. We never used an RV of any sort and just used pop-ups and camp cots. If it rained, we got wet. A contest might end up costing us maybe $300-$400 each. We did this over 30 years and got a lot of ribbons.

Compared to flying, it’s similar. You are limited by your budget.
 
Last edited:
To add to my previous post: most of that demographic fits the national points teams. They do 40-ish contests a year. Some contests are double headers. There’s a contest on Saturday (the way it normally works) followed immediately by another on Sunday. This seems like a crazy amount of work, and it is. But in some parts of the country it’s the only way to get a decent number of contests in a season. In a place like KC, you can find multiple contests within a 2 hr drive every weekend during the season. In places farther out, you might have to drive 6-8 hrs to the 3-4 per year in that radius. So doing back to back contests the same weekend works out. The logistics of traveling on the circuit for multiple weeks at a time are pretty tough. You can’t haul 10 briskets, 20 pork butts, and a ton of slabs of ribs and chicken at a time, so you make deals with sponsors to have meat delivered to restaurant supply houses for pickup. Or you get a local BBQ supply store to hold some meat for you. The teams based in KC have an advantage with the central location. They can be home most of the time and pick contests based on if their rivals will be there. During mid summer, contests dry up around here so they may take vacations days and make a road trip and hit a few contests.

I would say the majority of teams are like the one we had, we sort of retired from contests at the end of last year. Friends get together, pitch in with supplies, and do some contests nearby. Those teams, like ours, can beat the top teams in a category. But consistency wins contests. The top teams cook so often they have their process figured out. A “buddy” team might get a top finish in, say, chicken over the pros, but the pros will finish higher in the other three categories and get the big money.

It’s always fun to hear the awards and see the big boys go up to get a ribbon and check, then hear your team called next, or last, because you scored higher. A winning prize in a single category might get you $250-$500. But a top finish overall can be multiple thousands. After a few of those you start seeing their names on sauce and rub labels.

My bug guy even has his own line of rubs and sauces. He used to compete with some buddies, like me. Then he started mixing his own rubs and sauces, entering them in contests, and winning national awards. I use his stuff at home. I finally ran out so I need to call him back for my termite inspection and ant treatment and tell him to bring a couple jars of sauce and more bottles of rub.
 
Last edited:
I have another contest to judge Saturday. I competed in this one about 10 years but first time judging it. This contest last year was my last. I’ve cooked in all sorts of wx, but that was the worst. High winds, heavy rain, hail. And all of it Sat morning about 9-noon right when we’re trying to get the entries ready for turn in. Some teams got no points because their smokers got knocked over from flying or collapsing pop up tents. I talked with a judge a few weeks later at another contest. He was complaining about the poor entries at that contest. I wanted to stab him with a pork rib (the judges were indoors and weren’t aware of the carnage.)
 
I looked at this weekend's BBQ contest website. I was wondering which team got the spot we had for the last 10 or so years. "Jurassic Pork" will be there, they have a sign that says,"Our Pork Will Make Jurassic".

Another team name I like, "Charface".
 
My plan is to do a rack of baby backs pub style.

E.g. set the grill up for indirect, get the coals going, throw the ribs on, then head to the pub.
 
Back
Top