First competition in 3 weeks

[FLBuckeye]

Getting very excited to participate in my first serious BBQ competition. The Plant City Pig Jam is Nov. 21 & 22. Plant City is just east of Tampa.

Link to event: http://www.plantcity.org/Plant%20City%20Pig%20Jam.cfm

My brother is flying from Indy to help. He is from AZ but will be coming from the birth of his first grandchild. He has competed before and also took Harry Soo's class with his wife. He also sprung for a wagyu brisket from Snake River Farms. We are competing in the backyard division.
I plan on doing Last Meal ribs for the rib portion of the comp. Still discussing the other meats with my brother. He just sent me a 18'5" WSM and I am seasoning it now via the Harry Soo way. Going to cook a picnic ham next weekend for family. Will also be using my 22'5" Weber kettle and my trailer cooker. Will be cooking 4 butts; one for the competition and the others to sell.

[Huskee]

Awesome! We look forward to any pics you care to share (including your trophies )

Have you ever cooked a Wagyu brisket before? I don't mean to insult your intelligence, but they cook wayyy differently than typical Choice briskets. In case you aren't familiar with their unique cooking requirements, I'll share an interesting link about cooking them here. Don't take them to the traditional temps, and they wont take as long to get there either.

Believe it or not I had a brisket, wasn't Wagyu but was around the Prime level (highly marbled), that took a mere 5.5 hrs to reach 203 in the flat, 195-197 in the point. 5.5 hrs! My ribs usually take longer than that! And it was smoked at 225-245 measured in two spots by my trusty Maverick ET 732. It was quite remarkable, I updated Pit Boss as I went along and he agreed it was a freak of nature. I tell you all of this to illustrate the fact that more fat & marbling, especially in a Wagyu, will dramatically decrease cook time & IT necessary.

Best wishes on your competition!

[FLBuckeye]

My bro has cooked wagyu several times so he is aware of the cooking differences. Will also be cooking a CAB brisket, just in case...lol
Thanks for the reminder. Will be taking a plethora of pics for sure

[Huskee]

I figured, forgive me for preaching to the choir Will be watching for pics!

[FLBuckeye]

Found a long article from 2005 on wagyu beef. Very interesting

http://www.bbqsuccess.com/wagyu-beef/wagyu.pdf.

[CandySueQ]

What temp were you cooking that wagyu, Huskee? I've found that cooking hot n fast is not for me on SRF brisket. I go low n slow first 6 hours, bump the temp after wrapping. Brisket (from my comp experience) is always just done when it's done! I go for feel more than temp. Sometimes it gets to wabba-wabba early, sometimes late. FLbuckeye - please introduce yourself! I'll be there for my first step in rep training.

[Huskee]

What temp were you cooking that wagyu, Huskee? I've found that cooking hot n fast is not for me on SRF brisket. I go low n slow first 6 hours, bump the temp after wrapping. Brisket (from my comp experience) is always just done when it's done! I go for feel more than temp. Sometimes it gets to wabba-wabba early, sometimes late. FLbuckeye - please introduce yourself! I'll be there for my first step in rep training.

I've never cooked a Wagyu. My brisket was a Double R Ranch upper 1/3 Choice, but I will say it was like a Prime, very marbled. Cooked at 225-245, with 240 average. 5 1/2 hrs to done and cambro. It would have been GREAT had I not woke up at 3am expecting it to take 10-12 hrs. It was combroed by 10:30 am. Not good.

[CandySueQ]

Ouch! I cook about 200 to start, then kick it up to 275 after wrap. Wagyu can still stall getting to no resistance in or out. Most of the time around 8-9 hours. I let it rest a bit, then split the point off the flat and cube it for burnt ends. Season the cubes, wrap in foil then they are back in the cooker for 3-4 more hours. I decide whether to turn them in right before I build the turn in box.

[Huskee]

Thank you for the tips! That makes perfect sense. When I realized my brisket was flying through to the finish line way too quick I lowered the temp to 210 or 220, it didn't matter. I will keep in mind your advice for next time. (Although Double R Ranch just raised their prices from $65 to $99 for their cheapest brisket, so it may be a while until I do one again).

[CandySueQ]

Funny thing about wagyu, it's different from different suppliers. I tried Strube this year, just didn't like the taste. In a conversation with David Bouska, Butchers BBQ, he told me why. It's the percentage Kobe in the breed. Strube is less than SRF and it cooks and tastes different. There's a producer (can't remember the name) that has the highest percentage Kobe -- I suspect that those cattle are the source of SRF Gold. I've cooked both.

[FLBuckeye]

You are exactly right about the percentages. The article I linked to above brought that point up, in detail.
I sent you a PM