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My first time attending a BBQ comp!

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    My first time attending a BBQ comp!

    I have always toyed around with the idea of competition BBQ, so I decided to ask a friend of mine to get me on the list as a volunteer in the KCBS judges tent at the Indio California State BBQ Championship & Festival this past weekend.

    Overall, it was a wonderful experience. The California BBQ Association held a trimming class on Friday where four amazingly talented pit masters showed us how they prepare each of the competition meats.

    The pitmasters were:
    Chicken -Jerry Aguilar- Burnin and Lootin - Placed 18th overall at the Jack and multiple CA chicken team of the year
    Pork Butt- Sterling Smith - Loot N booty BBQ - Got 10th at the Jack and 1st in Pork!
    Pork Ribs- Steph Franklin- Simply Marvelous- Makes some dang good rubs that are used quite a bit on the comp circuit and he's always winning here on the west coast!
    Brisket- Darren Warth- Iowa Smoky D's- winner of the American Royal and about a million other competitions

    First and foremost, they were all very very nice guys. Of course, they make competition trimming look like a piece of cake. Some very interesting techniques used - one I liked the most was how Sterling trimmed the pork butt so that the money muscle was exposed on top of the rest of the butt- hard to explain but very cool to watch! Also, it will make you cry when you see how much Darren trims off a brisket then tells you what a good burger it will make! After its all said and done I would say the 15lb brisket was down to 6 or so pounds between the flat and the point. Oh yeah, and if the marbling on the flat doesnt line up how he wants it (which you can't see when it's in the cryovac due to to how he trims it), he just starts over with another one.

    The highlight of the weekend for me (besides getting to snack at the grazing table after turn in) was winning the raffled off SRF Gold Brisket that Darren trimmed! Not often that you get a wagyu brisket trimmed down by the #1 competition Brisket pitmaster. I attached some pictures of the flat that I cooked on the KBQ, man oh man!

    For the day of the competition, I vounteered with a wonderful woman at the "grazing table"- basically clearing the boxes out, saving the shrubbery for the local zoo and rationing off (and snacking on) some of the extra pieces that were put in boxes that the judges didn't eat. Even better was that the lady in charge of the grazing table had been doing it for years (and was also a judge), so she made sure to hook me up with some of the best in show!

    Iowa Smokey D's took the cake with Big Poppa Smokers coming in at #2. No big surprise as these guys are always at the top of the list.

    I am considering getting into competition BBQ next year so this was a great experience to get my feet wet! Of course after seeing some of the turn ins, I think I could do okay!

    Pictures of the flat I cooked up attached. No injection, 1 hour dry brine with a dash of memphis dust and a lot of BBBR.

    I cooked this thing hot and fast and oh man... super tender and juicy I had issues with the smoke ring on the KBQ but that seems to have worked itself out.

    Click image for larger version

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    Attached Files

    #2
    That brisket is insane!!!!!

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      #3
      WOW! That looks absolutely AMAZING! Thanks for sharing your story. I'm hoping to do a competition one day. Wish there were some beginner/ friendly 'so you are think'n about competing" competitions to see what it is like.

      Thanks again, that is one amazing brisket you have there.

      Jim

      Comment


      • CandySueQ
        CandySueQ commented
        Editing a comment
        What fun! What a great score!

        Any Pit Member who's anywhere close wherever I'm cooking is always 100% welcome. I always need a taster.

      • smokinfatties
        smokinfatties commented
        Editing a comment
        CandySueQ Come out to a comp out west and yours truly will be the best dish washer on this side of the Mississippi!

      • Northside Brian
        Northside Brian commented
        Editing a comment
        CandySueQ if you are ever cooking in the DFW area let me know. I would love to be one of your tasters.

      #4
      Wow - what a brikset! And thanx for the report.

      Comment


        #5
        Gorgeous brisket and a great report. Wow!

        Comment


          #6
          Great write up man!!! That sounds like a hell of a time. Maybe I need to pack up the KBQ and head west to the Golden state to join your KBQ team. Dueling KBQs would be unstoppable!

          Its nice to hear that, even thought they are crazy competitive, they are all still nice guys and out there having fun. That would be my only reservation in competing. (okay there a few others)

          I love that you just "grazed" at the judging table. That is exactly what I would be doing!

          Comment


            #7
            smokinfatties Great pics n story, sounds like ya had a great time, ate well, learned a lot, and got a helluva cool brisket outta th' deal!

            Comment


              #8
              Great write-up! Thanks for sharing! That smoke ring looks pretty darn good to me.

              Comment


                #9
                Beautiful

                Comment


                  #10
                  Agree, phenomenal.

                  Comment


                    #11
                    Now I'm looking at it on a laptop instead of my phone.....insane, insane I say!!! (while totally lacking quotation marks)

                    Comment


                      #12
                      Beautiful!

                      Comment


                        #13
                        @smokingfatties, I "WISH" I Could Trim Anything Like That! 👍 Great 👍 Write 👍 Up! 👍 👍 🍻 Great Brisket Smoke! 🍻
                        Eat Well and Prosper! From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo ND, Dan

                        Comment


                          #14
                          Thanks guys!!

                          Comment


                            #15
                            Please tell me that it tasted even better than it looks And it looks incredible I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to smoke a SRF brisket

                            Comment


                            • smokinfatties
                              smokinfatties commented
                              Editing a comment
                              it was excellent! If you ever have spare cash, just buy a SRF packer and cook it up! Tastes like buttah!

                            • Northside Brian
                              Northside Brian commented
                              Editing a comment
                              Spare cash? That mythical creature lives with the unicorns right?

                            • smokinfatties
                              smokinfatties commented
                              Editing a comment
                              Yes and with all the SRF briskets! LOL

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