BBQ Confessions

uGo Flame Disk

I'm a believer in barbecuing over pure lump hardwood charcoal or just good 'ol wood.  However, I understand why some people like cooking with gas - it is quick to light, and easy to clean.  However, it isn't really that portable, and the design of a lot of gas grills takes away from the smokey taste that comes from juices falling right on the heat source. 

Interesting compromise: Flame Disk from uGo.  It is an aluminum pan filled with solid ethanol...  if nothing else, I"d be curious to try it for curiosity's sake.

Now We're Cooking

It has been three years since I got certified as a KCBS Barbecue Judge, and I've judged about 15 contests at this point.  It has also been about four or five years since I discovered the world of competitive barbecue and thought about starting up a team.  I started this blog pretty much as a record of my efforts to do that, and while it has been slow going (six months since my last post...), this past weekend was a major milestone for me.

I had the great opportunity to mentor with the iQue barbecue team, which provided me with the final bridge to connecting my home cooking skills with cooking in a competition.  Combined with the knowledge gained from classes given by the Yankee Barbecue and I Smell Smoke teams, I've had the opportunity to learn from some of the best barbecue teams in the Northeast, and from teams that have done well in major national competitions like the American Royal and Jack Daniels Invitational.  The tips and tricks I've learned there - not just for cooking, but for the "process" of competiting, which involves not only cooking, but having all the equipment and tools you need, and making sure entries arrive to the judges as hot and clean as the way you intended them to arrive.

I look forward to assembling my team and equipment in the next year and starting to try to my own hand at competing and maybe helping another established team when they need a helping hand.

Pulled Pork Supreme

Part of the criticism levied against Certified Barbecue Judges who don't cook competitively (as I do) that we don't know what it is like to cook all night, dealing with the elements, and not be sure how things will turn out.   To them I say: "ppppplllllbbbtttt." (that is supposed to be a raspberry noise btw)

Back in mid-November, we had a group of friends over to watch the Patriots game and for the food, I prepared two 7.5 lb pork shoulders.  The process took nearly 24 hours, starting with brining the pork with a basic light brine mixed with Goya Chipotle Mojo that I injected into the meat and let soak for a few hours.  Then I slathered the meat with a mustard sauce slather and covered it with a nice, slightly spicy and very flavorful rub.  That marinated for a few hours, and then about an hour before putting it on the smoker, I took it out of the fridge and let the temp come up a little bit.  The pork went on fairly late at night, and through the night either myself or my girlfriend got up every hour and a half to put more charcoal on the fire, spray the meat with apple juice/cider vinegar/Worcestershire sauce mix, and make sure things were going according to plan.

For the first time, I used sand in the the drip pans of my horizontal smoker, which helped with maintaining the temperature during the cold night. For fuel, I used a combination of Royal Oak chunk charcoal and a mix of large apple, mesquite and hickory wood chunks. 

After about 8 hours on the fire, I wrapped it in foil and kept the temp a little lower.  After a total over 12 hours of cooking, the meat came off and I pulled it apart, which required no effort at all.  The bone came right out, all the fat was completely rendered out, leaving the meat tender and juicy with no large chunks of fat, and a great flavorful crust on the outside.  I served it with some Dreamland BBQ sauce and a mustard sauce I made myself.

The pork got rave reviews at the party, but real compliments came the next day at my office, when I brought the leftovers in for everyone to pick at.  It took about an hour for a foil pan's worth of meat to disappear and I received multiple emails and personal comments from people.  The best one was from a woman who lived in Texas for many years and said it was the best BBQ she had since leaving Texas.

This was the third time doing a pork shoulder and the third time it has come out well, making me feel secure in my abilities to cook it well.  While spending the time doing the shoulder, I decided to try my hand at cooking a small brisket.  Unfortunately, I massively overcooked it, leaving it virtually inedible except for the absolute thickest center part.  However, that part that was edible was quite tasty, tender and surprisingly moist - the rest was just.... well... hard.  LOL

Duraflame Quick Coals Light-A-Bag Charcoal

While attending a recent Patriots pre-season football game, I tailgated for the first time, bringing along a new small charcoal grill and a free bag of Duraflame Quick Coals Light-A-Bag Charcoal that I got through BzzAgent.  As a grilling and barbecue enthusiast, I was looking forward to trying it, though doubtful because of my loyalty to natural chunk charcoal.

The product does what it promises - lights fast and easily... just put the bag on the grill, light the corners and the coals are ready to go after they ash over.  However, I was dissapointed with the charcoal itself, with it not being enough for even a smal square grill (this bag is enough for only a hibachi-sized grill, really, or as a starter for more charcoal), and never getting as hot as it should be for grilling. I piled them up and let them get ashed over and glowing red, but still no "sizzle" for the meat on the grill.

I quickly rectified this by putting on three pieces of Royal Oak chunk hardwood.  Those three pieces gave off more heat than all the charcoal briquettes that came out of the the Duraflame bag, burned at least as long, had better smelling smoke, less ash, and they lit almost instantly with the measly heat coming from the duraflame briquettes.

As usual, briquettes continue to dissapoint me.  If you like using them, then the Duraflame Light-a-Bag might be of interest to you, but for me, I'll stick to my charcoal and chimney starter.

Dry vs. Sauced Ribs

Most "laymen" think of barbecued ribs as being slathered in a sauce of some kind, but for those of us who are die-hard barbecue fans, we know that a truly great barbecued rib doesn't need sauce - nay, it may be BEST when not covered in a sweet and spicy thick red sauce!

Oh the glories of a dry rubbed rib.  When prepared right, it give the meat a chance to be the shining star - the true center of attention, with the spices providing enough support to make it interesting.  The perfect dry rubbed rib (and in my opinion, the perfect rib, period) will be moist and tender, nearly falling off the bone, but not quite, with a good smoky flavor but not overpowering.  The rub should be interesting and noticeable, but not overwhelming. 

My personal preference leans a bit towards the salty side, with savory flavors such as garlic, onion, celery seed, paprika and chili powder making up the flavor base.  It should be spicy, but not hot, savory but not salty.  The rub should be present in sufficient quantities so that it creates an almost crispy crust - a "bark" - on the outside of the ribs, providing a pleasing light crunch when biting into the meat.

I still enjoy trying a variety of sauces, but when presented with a well-prepared dry-rubbed rib, the sauce should be on the side, serving as a dipping sauce, not slathered on the ribs themselves. 

My Favorite BBQ Web Sites

I get a lot of people asking for information and suggestions on doing better barbecue, and I find myself always searching for the right web links to send them, so I'm putting them out there for their reference and mine:

Lump Charcoal Reviews - http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm

BBQ Search - http://www.bbqsearch.com/

BBQ Forum - http://www.rbjb.com/rbjb/rbjbboard/

People's Woods - http://www.peopleswoods.com/

Wicked Good Charcoal - http://www.wickedgoodcharcoal.com/

National Barbecue News - http://www.barbecuenews.com/

Kansas City Barbecue Society - http://www.kcbs.us/

BBQ Galore - http://www.bbqgalore.com/

What is "GOOD" Competition Chicken?

Back in 2004, during my first year of judging the New England Barbecue Competition, I remember having a piece of chicken which was an epiphany.  This was a dry-rubbed chicken thigh perfectly cooked with a great savory spice rub.  The skin was crispy, the meat was tender and juicy, it was cooked perfectly all the way through without falling off the bone or becoming mushy, and it tasted like it had actually been barbecued, not cooked in an oven.  That still stands as the single best piece of chicken I've judged since becoming a barbecue judge.

The topic of what is "good chicken" in competition is hotly debated.  Most teams submit chicken thighs - a few will do legs, and only a rare handful will even attempt chicken breast - it dries out too easily.

Thighs are great for barbecuing since they have a lot of flavor and fat, which keeps them from drying out.  However, this also means that they have a lot of fat under the skin which can become rubbery and soggy if not cooked thoroughly.  The new KCBS judging guidelines say to not judge a piece of chicken up or down depending on whether it has skin or not.  I agree with that.  However, a piece of chicken that has good skin will always get higher points from me, since I think it simply has better taste and texture - two of the three things the entry is being judged on. 

What is "good skin"?  It is skin that has been cooked so that at least most of the fat has been rendered out.  Crispy skin is a plus, but simply cooked to the point of tenderness is fine.  "Bad skin" is anything that is fatty, rubbery, and takes away from the taste and texture experience.

However, in the end, the judging isn't about the skin - its about the meat.  So the biggest complaint I have about many chicken entries is that too many of them taste like they have barely been on a grill or smoker.  I'm not sure how teams manage to cook a piece of chicken over a charcoal or wood flame and not get some smokiness or grill taste in there.  They are juicy, tender and have a nice sauce or rub on them, but they simply don't taste barbecued.  I'm not looking for something with dark black grill marks, but something that shows and tastes like its been in contact with either an open flame or the grill above an open flame would be great.

My Birthday Barbecue

As I have previously said, not only am I a barbecue judge, I am also an avid back-yard barbecue chef.  My first time cooking was back in high school when I tried to slow-cook some ribs.  I didn't understand the whole "smoke ring" thing and couldn't understand why the meat got more pink the more I cooked it.  By the end, I would up with ribs that were kind of like a pork jerky, they were so overcooked.  I've learned a lot since then.

For my birthday on April 30th, I invited friends over for a barbecue.  I did two types of chicken and ribs: dry rubbed and teriyaki style. For the chicken, I did both legs and thighs.

The teriyaki style chicken and ribs were marinated (separately) in one of my favorite marinades from Paul Kirk's Championship Barbecue Sauces, one of my favorite barbecue cookbooks.  The ribs marinated for about three hours, the chicken for about 5.  I wish I had done them for longer, but I was out the night before, also celebrating my birthday.

The dry rubbed ribs were rubbed with a variation on a few different rub recipes I like to blend together and vary each time. I need to get a digital kitchen scale so that I can more accurately record what I put in.

The dry rubbed chicken were brined with a 1/4 cup of salt, 1/8 cup of brown sugar, 3/4 gallon of water and half a bottle of Goya's Mojo Criollo, my new favorite "secret weapon" for chicken.  I let them brine/marinate for about 1 1/2 hours, then rubbed them with a super secret combination of spices and herbs.  So secret, even I don't know what in it - I really need to get that kitchen scale....  But its some sort of combination of Mrs. Dash, McCormick's Salt-Free Garlic & Herb and a bunch of other pre-mixed spices that when blended together work magic on barbecued and grilled chicken.

The ribs went on the grill first - I'm using my Char-Griller Smokin' Pro with the fire in the side fire box.  For fuel, I use Nature's Own charcoal and some apple, mesquite and hickory wood for flavor.

The ribs cooked for about 5 hours total, with about 30 minutes wrapped in foil.  For parties, I like doing this, since most people like their meat a bit more tender.  30 minutes near the end of the cooking was perfect I found - the meat had set, and it tenderized it with the steam, but didn't come out greasy, mushy or falling apart.  I finished the ribs with some final teriyaki glaze (also from Paul Kirk's book) for some and a bit more rub that I sprinkled on and then put directly over the flame for a nice crust.

The chicken was put on about half-way through the ribs cooking time, so they cooked for about 2.5-3 hours total.  Similar to the ribs, the chicken was finished off depending on their initial prep: the teriyaki style got a glaze, and then the dry rubbed got some more rub and grilled.  One of my favorite things to do when cooking thighs is to pull the skin back to expose the meat and the fat lying under the skin.  I then put some rub on and put it over the fire with the skin to one side and the meat exposed to the flame. This allows the rub to char a bit giving it great flavor right on the chicken meat and renders out whatever fat is left under the skin.  It makes for a piece of chicken that is not fatty, tastes nicely barbecued and can be eaten in its entirety.   

I was expecting the teriyaki to be more popular among the general public, but it turns out everyone enjoyed the dry rubbed stuff better.  Dry rubbed ribs and chicken are usually the territory of the most hard-core barbecue fans, so I was a little surprised.  However, even though this is me talking about my own barbecue, I can't blame them - it came out really great.  But I always love good teriyaki style, and this definitely qualified as good!!

Judging vs. Cooking

One of the topics that gets the most heated debate on the NEBS email list is judging, how judges judge, and whether judges should be required to cook with a team in order to be a judge.

I used to be wholeheartedly on the side of requiring a judge to cook, but as I enter my third year of judging and have seen an increasing amount of self-righteousness among the teams towards their entries, I've changed my mind a little bit.  I think that judges should have an understanding of the process of barbecuing - a thorough understanding, in fact.  But the teams who make the strongest and loudest arguments for judges to be cooks are doing themselves a disfavor.  Let me explain...

The arguments which flame up on the mailing list often revolve around relatively nit-picky elements like the temperature of the food the judge eats, garnish and/or presentation, or amount of sauce, rub, and flavor profiles.  One of the arguments that is made for judges being required to cook with at team (they don't have to have a team of their own - just cook with a team) is that doing so would help them understand why the food could be cold by the time it gets judged, or how hard it is to make a turn-in container look good, or how even the flavor profile can change after it comes off the grill and cools off...

The problem with this argument is that often when an entry gets judged down because it was cold, it is because it affected the taste.  And often out of six entries in a category, the one that gets judged down because of temperature is the only one that arrived cold.  So there's the hole in the argument: if 5 teams managed to get a warm sample to the table, why couldn't the 6th.  Wouldn't it be the 6th team - the one with the cold entry - that would be screaming the loudest for the judge to have empathy for the difficulty of competition barbecue?  If that was the case, then we'd be giving good scores for effort, not for success.

Now, I'm sure someone will say "well, that's not fair - what if its cool out!!?!?"  Well.. then probably everyone entry will be kind of cold.  And that's OK.  Or maybe someone will say "you're not supposed to compare entries when judging!" which is true.  And I don't.  However, you can't help but notice that an entry is cold.  If the rest of the entries are cold (and supposed to be warm) and it affects the flavor of each fairly, then its a level playing field.  If only one is cold and the rest are warm, then I'll judge the cold one on its own merit - how does it taste and feel?  Is it appetizing?  I don't compare it to the other entries for those qualities, I simply am using the other entries to gauge whether it is an issue with outside temperature or the entries taking too long to get to the table.

So that is just one example of where I think the "judges must cook" argument falls apart.  However, I think that there is definitely a level of education that should be mandatory for judges.  At one contest last year I was speaking with my fellow judges and I was amazed - absolutely blown away - by how many don't do barbecuing on a regular basis.  I think that if you are an avid backyard BBQ'er, you know how difficult it can be.

I've stayed up until the wee hours of the morning cooking a pork shoulder.  I've had ribs that I thought would come out great be disappointing and chicken I was unsure of be the hit of a party.  I've had side dishes be ready way before the meat (and they think turn-in times are tough!) and vice-versa.  I have a cabinet full of spices and rub mixes that I've concocted through the years, a bookshelf of barbecue cookbooks, and a notebook where I keep track of every time I cook, taking note of weather conditions, where I got the meat, what I did to prep it and how I cooked it.

Anyone who says I don't know barbecue simply because I've never cooked with a team can go stick it.  I appreciate what these guys do and that's a big part of why I haven't made the plunge yet - its an expensive time-consuming hobby and I'm not ready to do that right now.  Probably someday.  But any cook who makes a blanket statement about the ignorance of judges insults me and anyone else like me.

There are also plenty of cooks who judge from time to time to better understand what the judges are looking for or simply because they didn't enter the contest.  I think it is equally important for cooks to judge - no cook should berate a judge without judging several contests themselves.  Even then, cooks can have just as odd tastes as any judge.  At a recent contest, a piece of chicken (thigh) that had the lightest possible grill marks, fatty skin, and wasn't cooked to complete tenderness got rave reviews from two long-time cooks.  I thought it tasted par-boiled, lightly grilled and then heavily sauced.  I had a bigger piece than the other two and there are always differences in each piece in a box, but I found it interesting that two cooks found what i really thought was a sub-par piece of chicken to be extraordinary.  I can't offer a reason why, I just thought it was, and my fellow "only judges" agreed with me.

I don't have a truly solid solution - maybe its an informal gathering of cooks and judges where the judges would have a chance to cook with teams without the pressure of a contest, and the cooks could eat with judges and ask what they would judge a particular piece and why.

The Purpose of this Blog

My primary goal of this blog is to document what will hopefully be my tale of becoming a more experienced KCBS Certified Barbecue Judge and going on to compete in barbecue contests.

I've been judging for three years and been doing backyard barbecueing since I was about 16 or so.  I don't even know when, where, or how I fell in love with barbecue.  I used to love eating ribs in restaurants, and then somewhere along the way I discovered "real" barbecue - cooked for hours with low heat coming from charcoal and/or wood.  Smokey, spicy, salty, and tasty - I love it all.