Best Lottery there is. The other lotteries tear apart families, this one brings them together. 
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Congrats, I hope to make it there one day too. Seems like a great weekend.Comment
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That’s awesome!Comment
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That's fantastic scottranda ! Look forward to your comments/review when you complete the course.Comment
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Congratulations! Looking forward to your feedback on the class
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Looks like a lot of fun. Enjoy the experienceComment
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Do yourself a favor, don't wear that hat in your avatar to the classes. I know you want to stand out but there are limits to one's sense of decorum
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Here is the itinerary for the BBQ Camp!! I'm excited!!Attached FilesComment
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W T G ! ! ! ! !Comment
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So, I just got back from the NC State BBQ Camp in Raleigh, NC. It was an amazing experience, and I highly recommend anyone here at the Pit going. It was definitely for BBQ enthusiasts (beginner, intermediate, and advanced). It was hosted by Dr. Dana Hanson of NC State who was a dynamic, burly, lovable host. It was very well organized with not just Dana, but a whole support staff. There were about 30 people in attendance with the farthest Camper from Boise, ID. Another guy was from Dallas, one was from Boston, and another from Newark. The rest were from around all corners of North Carolina. No female campers, but I'm 100% sure it would've been highly welcomed!
You can follow the itinerary here:
Next are my observations/experience from the weekend (see next comment)
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DAY 1
History of BBQ -- A really neat history lesson of BBQ, but very focused on North Carolina BBQ. A speech delivered by Dr. Dana.
Rib Rub Class -- We broke up into 6 teams (about 4-5 guys in each). They gave us salt and sugar guidelines and a list of spices typically used in rubs, and they gave us a TON of spices that we would (as a Team) create our own rub. We were free to experiment from there. The guideline was no more than 30-40% salt and no more than 10% sugar (although, we just went for a sweet heat, so we amped up the sugar). Our rub was less-than-scientific but generally it was 30% salt, 15% brown sugar, 15% white sugar, 15% paprika, 15% black pepper, 5% garlic powder, 5% onion powder, trace amounts of nutmeg, chipotle powder, and cayenne. I'm sorry if these weren't exact. We kinda just played with it, and adjusted from there.
Sausage demo -- We went through the lean to fat ratio of 70% lean to 30% fat. I asked him how he knows the ratio based on the meat. Luckily he does the same as I do... eyeball it. We made a german sausage that was cured. So we went into the science of curing. We took brisket trimmings and grinded them up, put it in the mixer, added the spices/cures, then went through the second grind. After that we put it in a sausage stuffer, and we could practice casing sausage. Keep in mind, I do this stuff at home, but this was done at a commercial lab using commercial equipment! The scale of what they can do is waaaay bigger than mine at home. It was fun!
Meat goes in the grinder: https://youtube.com/shorts/pKoCrDAMHTY?feature=share
We mix up the meat: https://youtube.com/shorts/N-0K-7RWQfM?feature=share
We grind the meat one more time: https://youtube.com/shorts/YdkxJQ11q_U?feature=share
We stuff the sausage: https://youtube.com/shorts/zEbiAn05vrE?feature=share
One cool thing I saw was the piece of equipment that injects bacon with the brining solution to make bacon on a commercial scale (don't need to wait 3-5 days for the cure to work). Here's a picture of the needles:
Next we got a breakdown of a brisket and he showed us some of the differences between USDA levels and how the USDA grades meat. He cut up brisket of different calibers and showed us the difference in intramuscular fat. It was fun to watch and learn (especially the process at which they are graded). It was also interesting to learn that the majority of the amount of intramuscular fat was due to the breed of the cow (who is momma and dadda were); not so much the feed. Sure, maybe what you feed the cow plays somewhat of a part, but it is majority breed. Learned something there!
Then he showed us the different cuts of pork ribs (spare vs. STL). He didn't have baby backs, but he described them and the differences. Then sent us on our way to get into our teams and prep the ribs just like he showed us. We started with spare ribs, and took them down to St. Louis cut. Removed the membrane, then applied the rub which we made earlier in the day. Each team made 5 racks of ribs. We labeled our ribs with the rub we made, and put them to rest for the next morning's smoke.
For dinner on Day 1, they did a line-up for us... There were 3 brisket carving stations. One was USDA Prime, the other was Certified Angus Beef, and another was Snake River Farms Brisket. We had to guess which one was which (blind taste test). My only thing was that some of us may have gotten the flat on one brisket and the point on another brisket. Hard to judge different parts of the brisket. I was given the flat for Carving station Number 1 and a point piece for the next two stations. I guessed correctly, but it may have been my cuts that I received. Number 1 was prime, number 2 was CAB, and #3 was SRF. That third cut was off the charts.
The day was done, and I was fat-and-happy. Lots of brisket, NC State Beer (not even sold on the market), and NC State ice cream was provided to us. I drove to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's house in Raleigh to stay the night. They actually already promised their extra bed to a buddy of theirs who was coming into town, so I happily found 2 trees in their backyard and hung a camping hammock and slept outside.
More pictures are attached!Attached FilesLast edited by scottranda; June 6, 2022, 08:25 PM.Comment
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DAY 2
Breakfast started at 6:30am, so I packed up my hammock and walked to my car at 6:15am. A hawk swooped/buzzed my head as it was trying to get a squirrel. THAT got my day started!
I arrived at Camp and had some breakfast sausage provided by Carolina Packers. It was delicious!
Next we got to watch Kevin and Dana Peterson (Showtime's Legit BBQ) prepare two whole hogs (competition style). They answered all our questions and were super down to Earth.
Here's a video of them breaking it down: https://youtu.be/UKn52IH8d_4
Putting the pig on the cooker: https://youtu.be/PNRro9PUwYI
Here is them flipping the pig: https://youtu.be/BA1NiyXE3-k
The whole hog is done (this was later in the day, but I figured I'd include it here along with the other pig videos): https://youtube.com/shorts/P400ETQAQLc?feature=share
Next we went back into group demos. First up was a demonstration on the benefits of vacuum chambering, vacuum sealing, marination, and general business of packaging of meat. The vacuum chambering was super interesting b/c when it's chambering, the pressure it creates... boils the marinade. HUH? Well, water boils at 212 (at sea level), but at a much lower temperature at higher elevation. So, this vacuum chamber does such a good job that when it pressurizes the meat and seals it, the marinade will literally boil. When it's done sealing it, you can touch the marinade in the bag that was just boiling and it's still cold!! So fascinating.
Here is the whole discussion on vacuum chambering: https://youtu.be/miPoFu23jGg
Here is a slow motion of vacuum chamber: https://youtube.com/shorts/vEoEd7HtN5I?feature=share
Here is the vacuum tumbler: https://youtube.com/shorts/mTkMCGka0hk?feature=share
After the chambering demo, he showed us how sous vide worked (not everyone there knew what SV was). We sampled an eye of round (super lean) that had been bathing and it was very tender (which is not typical since it's a chewier cut). I think a lot of people were amazed at how tender SV could make a cut of meat like that taste.
They also told us (this will blow your mind) you can SV drinks... huh? Well, he had prepared some vodka that was soaking in chile peppers and habanero (vacuum sealed and SV at 140 for 2 hours). The vodka had a spicy flare to it, which was super interesting. He had a bloody mary mix there, but I hate bloody marys, so I just sampled a little bit of the vodka. (Later that day, he made us vanilla bean and orange peel infused bourbon to make an old fashioned. Again SV at 140 degrees at 2 hours). So good!
Then we went into a group demo hosted by Jerry Stevenson of Redneck BBQ Lab of how to prep a chicken thigh and pork butt for competition. I thought it was interesting, but certainly not what a backyard cook would do.
Here is a competition chicken prepping breakdown: https://youtu.be/XJK1EXde7G4
Then we had lunch... we each got 1 bone from each of the rack of ribs we prepped the day before and each rib had a different rub on it (from the rub we made the day prior from the 6 different teams). Then we had to vote on our favorite. MY TEAM WON! I will now put "NC State BBQ Camp Rib Rub Champion of 2022" on my resume.
Then we had a demonstration of sauce development and production. We made a mustard-based BBQ sauce. My problem is, I hate mustard. Haha. So, that was really my only disappointment. I wish this part of the Camp was that we developed our own sauce (like we did with the rubs). We talked a little bit about sauce theory, but it was mostly focused on the ingredients used in the mustard sauce. We then got to bottle that sauce that we just made using a commercial bottler. That was pretty neat. Afterwards, we all took home a bottle of the mustard-based sauce and a tomato-based sauce that was developed at NC State. I haven't tasted the sauce yet, but the ingredients for both are here (keep in mind, the amounts are done at a commercial level, so you'd make waaaay too much sauce at home).
Here is us filling the sauce bottles of the sauce we just made: https://youtube.com/shorts/p9aWO47gqng?feature=share
Next was a demo on making side dishes. We didn't get the recipes (I wish they did) but a chef made cole slaw, a german potato salad, bog chicken, and apple fritters. He taught us some knife skills, but it was mostly just watching him make the side dishes and him chatting about food. I enjoyed it!
Then we did a group panel discussion with a guy from Sam Jones BBQ, Hursey's Catering/BBQ, Parker's BBQ, and Redneck BBQ. It was mostly around the business side of BBQ (running a restaurant through pre/post COVID, managing people with the labor shortage, etc.). It was a very interesting discussion.
The pigs were done and we had a pig pickin' along with the sides that were made, beer, ice cream... it was GREAT! They also had a raffle for a bunch of BBQ goodies, which was fun. They even raffled off a really nice drum smoker.
The Camp was over, and we said our thank-yous and good-byes.Attached FilesComment
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RANDOM MUSINGS/COMMENTS
One Camper who lives in Dallas (but from Cary, NC) said he also went to Camp Brisket at Texas A&M a few years ago. At the end of the weekend, I asked him what was different between the two Camps. His comment was the NC State BBQ Camp was better because we got more hands-on experience (making our own ribs, sauces, cased some sausage, etc.). He said Camp Brisket was mostly observational. He also said the content at BBQ Camp was more diverse and better... Camp Brisket was 1.5 days of brisket, and that was it. He said it kind of got old after a while. At NC State BBQ Camp, we covered whole hog, ribs, pork butt, sous vide, vacuum sealing, sausage, etc. Certainly enough to keep our minds engaged!
While at the Camp (on Day 2), there was a photographer who was going to write an article in the NC Field and Family (a publication of Farm Bureau). https://ncfieldfamily.org/ It is aimed to be in the publication next summer. The other media there was Action Faith Media (http://www.actionfaithmedia.com/about/). That was more video-based as they were making a documentary. There is a high chance I will be in both of those because on Day 2, I busted out my flame/fire foam party hat and "I like pig butts and I cannot lie" t-shirt which makes for a good picture and interview. So, perhaps I'll be famous?
I didn't really hear anything at the Camp that contradicted what is discussed on AmazingRibs.com. That is a testament to Meathead and all his staff that put out some amazing, trust-worthy content.
Was it worth it? Absolutely! Definitely worth doing once! They provided all the meals (brisket, ribs, 2 pigs, sausage, sides, beer, ice cream, etc.). Plus all the labor and support staff which was top-notch. They were very generous with all the handouts we received: T-Shirts, RTIC mug, rubs, sauces, and NC sausage to take home. But, it was also all the knowledge, hands-on experience, and fellow Campers that really made the weekend special and worth it!
Shout out to Arick who is a self-proclaimed "lurker" on the Pit who was also a Camper alongside me, who I really enjoyed meeting and talking with!Comment
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I wish I woulda done it, but at the same time the gas prices for commute woulda killed me
Maybe I can talk the local community college to host something like this some day.
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