BBQ team

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MO_cows

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Some folks seemed genuinely interested so I thought I would post an update on my BIL's barbecue team, Smoke Me Tender. www.smokemetenderbbq.com They have been in several contests since my post about the Great American BBQ in May. The Kansas City BBQ Society tracks the results/rankings for over 3,700 member teams, and they are in the top 10% of those rankings for 2009. But they haven't pulled off a championship this year - yet.

This past weekend, only 2 of the team members could make it to the event, but they still pulled out a first place for chicken; top ten placement for both ribs and pork; and 4th place overall out of about 40 teams. This was the Cross Points Barbecue Cookoff in Shawnee, KS.

Next weekend, they defend their Grand Championship from 2008 at the Jesse James Festival in Kearney, MO. Then, the big one, the American Royal is Oct. 3-5. They are in both the Invitational and the Open divisions. But I won't be able to be there, I have to go to Wyoming for my job. :cry2:
 
That is fantastic! Looks like they are in the top 10% on everything and in the top 4% on chicken and that is up against some tough competition. :tiphat:

Need to keep us updated on the details and more pics. :banana: Like to see the chicken.

BBQ'ing is great fun. Lots of work but very enjoyable. Never competed but some folks are pushing me to do so but I'm a hermit and think I'll keep to my hermit ways.
 
Here is the winning box. These are not the "prettiest" pieces they have ever turned in but the taste must have been there. They use thighs for consistency, there is too much variation when you do a whole bird. There is a "roll" technique that gives them that shape; they hold it once cooked.
crosspoints_chicken.jpg


Jo, I would encourage you to go for it and enter a local contest! Find out who the sanctioning body is and study up on the rules. There have been people who worked all weekend only to have their entry disqualified for "illegal" garnish. Find out when the turn-in times are and do a reverse timeline to plan your cooking. You may decide it's for the birds or you may love it, but if you don't try it once you might always regret it. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.......

The real secret to good bbq is just slow, steady cooking. If you can hold your temp steady for hour after hour, you can compete.
 
Congrats Mo ,,to you and your family..The pic looks good enough to eat,, that looks and sounds absolutely delicious. :clap:
 
Those are beautiful. Makes my mouth water just looking at them. The glazed sauce has a good eye appeal. What type sauce is that? KC style, sweet or both?

MO_cows":36lw733t said:
The real secret to good bbq is just slow, steady cooking. If you can hold your temp steady for hour after hour, you can compete.

I agree 100% about the method. I have several cooking systems but thus far - Wilbur - my homemade inventoration has all others beat hands down. Wilbur resists change consideralbly. Once you get her to where you want her she don't budge. All you gotta do is keep her fed with a few sticks of wood every hour and you can enjoy your drink.

I'll be near Orlando Florida this weekend cooking for a college soccer team this weekend. They are wanting chicken and ribs but I think I'm going to whoop up a couple of extra experiments just to see how they like them.
 
Jogeephus":x0xqxxb8 said:
Those are beautiful. Makes my mouth water just looking at them. The glazed sauce has a good eye appeal. What type sauce is that? KC style, sweet or both?

MO_cows":x0xqxxb8 said:
The real secret to good bbq is just slow, steady cooking. If you can hold your temp steady for hour after hour, you can compete.

I agree 100% about the method. I have several cooking systems but thus far - Wilbur - my homemade inventoration has all others beat hands down. Wilbur resists change consideralbly. Once you get her to where you want her she don't budge. All you gotta do is keep her fed with a few sticks of wood every hour and you can enjoy your drink.

I'll be near Orlando Florida this weekend cooking for a college soccer team this weekend. They are wanting chicken and ribs but I think I'm going to whoop up a couple of extra experiments just to see how they like them.
Somebody on here was asking about what to do with pork shanks last week. Jo- you may have already done this- put a few fresh shanks or hocks as I call them, they won't take up much room, on and slow roast them with the other stuff. Incredibly good.
 
Best of luck to your team. I'm sure that they're up against some tough competition, but seem to be doing very well.

Great looking chicken too!
 
Thanks, everyone. We are proud of them. They have come a looong ways since their little electric smoker and "Dr. Pepper ribs".

That sauce is sweet tasting at first with a little heat and some vinegar in the background. It is clearer than most and gives that nice glazed appearance along with the good flavor.
 
MO_cows":1gcf9wfk said:
sweet tasting at first with a little heat and some vinegar in the background

That's my favorite type.

Do you ever find yourself with too much extra smoked chicken and a need to eat something other than BBQ but don't want to let it go to waste? If so, I might just have a healthy recipe you might enjoy.
 
MO_cows":ltpy31fv said:
Thanks, everyone. We are proud of them. They have come a looong ways since their little electric smoker and "Dr. Pepper ribs".

That sauce is sweet tasting at first with a little heat and some vinegar in the background. It is clearer than most and gives that nice glazed appearance along with the good flavor.

Can't take that sweet sticky BBQ. Just want mine smoked over low heat til done with a little rub on it. Everybody does it differently I know.
 
TexasBred":clvsyrbw said:
MO_cows":clvsyrbw said:
Thanks, everyone. We are proud of them. They have come a looong ways since their little electric smoker and "Dr. Pepper ribs".

That sauce is sweet tasting at first with a little heat and some vinegar in the background. It is clearer than most and gives that nice glazed appearance along with the good flavor.

Can't take that sweet sticky BBQ. Just want mine smoked over low heat til done with a little rub on it. Everybody does it differently I know.

Texasbred, I've heard most Texans share your sentiments. With chicken I don't care cause I like it all. Ribs are different. With ribs, I prefer the sauce on the side. The biggest compliment to me on ribs would be someone not using any sauce at all. Feel the same way about steaks.
 
TexasBred":145pmx2p said:
MO_cows":145pmx2p said:
Thanks, everyone. We are proud of them. They have come a looong ways since their little electric smoker and "Dr. Pepper ribs".

That sauce is sweet tasting at first with a little heat and some vinegar in the background. It is clearer than most and gives that nice glazed appearance along with the good flavor.

Can't take that sweet sticky BBQ. Just want mine smoked over low heat til done with a little rub on it. Everybody does it differently I know.

I like the sweet and spicy together. I guess that's the Kansas City style. The sauce is more for presentation than flavor, there's a good rub used and plenty of smoke flavor. Sauce gives that nice glazed appearance for the judges and adds a little more flavor. When we eat the leftovers that didn't get turned in, it's about 50/50 of those who put sauce on it and those who don't. Myself, I like sauce on the chicken but not on the pulled pork or brisket. (I never get any ribs. The guys "hog" them.) I agree that the meat, it's fat and the smoke have a good flavor all their own but when you are trying to wow the judges and rise above many other entries, you do everything you can to add flavor and eye appeal.
 
MO_cows":1k8h8zof said:
Jogeephus, I would love that recipe. We buy meat chickens from a friend, he lets them get big and there's always meat left over.

Here it is.

After we cook BBQ we find ourselves wanting something lite the next few days and quite frankly I'm burnt out on cooking so this is quick and easy and makes for some easy meals. This is one of my favorite dishes cause it uses what you have and is still lite.

Leftover Recipe

Sauce

1 cup Hellman's Mayo
1 cup sour cream
2 tbs Milk
1 package of Italian Dressing Mix

Mix these together and wisk until well mixed

Chicken

Bone chicken and cut up into chunks until you have about a cup or so. Amount really doesn't really matter but I use a heaping cup or so.

Base

16 ounces of Rotoni noodles cooked till they are al dente.(any noodle will do I just like rotoni) Pull from heat, drain and cool with water to keep them dente

to this add

4-6 ounces of sliced black olives
1 cup of frozen english peas
1 cup of cherry tomatoes halved
3/4 cup of chopped scallions
3/4 cup of chopped celery
1/2 cup of chopped parsley or chopped fresh spinach

Mix the noodles and the base together well then pour the sauce over this mixture and reserve 1/2 cup of the sauce on the side just in case. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Depending on your tastes you may find you don't need the extra sauce and its pretty good on other things.
 
Jogeephus":325e5cj9 said:
TexasBred":325e5cj9 said:
MO_cows":325e5cj9 said:
Thanks, everyone. We are proud of them. They have come a looong ways since their little electric smoker and "Dr. Pepper ribs".

That sauce is sweet tasting at first with a little heat and some vinegar in the background. It is clearer than most and gives that nice glazed appearance along with the good flavor.

Can't take that sweet sticky BBQ. Just want mine smoked over low heat til done with a little rub on it. Everybody does it differently I know.

Texasbred, I've heard most Texans share your sentiments. With chicken I don't care cause I like it all. Ribs are different. With ribs, I prefer the sauce on the side. The biggest compliment to me on ribs would be someone not using any sauce at all. Feel the same way about steaks.

10-4 on the steaks.....and I don't know anyway you can cook chicken that I can't eat it and love it.
 
Thanks for the recipe, Jo. I will definitely try that. Sounds like a great cold supper for a hot summer day.

The team was in another contest this weekend. Last year, they won Grand Champion at this one. This year they were humbled. Chicken placed 5th, brisket 13th. Pulled pork was down in the middle of the pack and the ribs absolutely tanked. Not the most inspiring prelude to the American Royal. But at least they got their mojo workin' on their chicken.
 
Sounds like they had some judges with different ideas on taste to me. I've thought about this a lot and in my opinion I think everyone has a different idea of what is the best tasting BBQ. There are just so many directions you can go with it that I think maybe sometimes it just comes down to luck on cooking the right combination for the right judges. Its gotta be hard. Heck, its gotta be hard to be a judge. Don't know if I could do either.

I just got in from cooking just outside Orlando and I got lucky. Over half the people I cooked for weren't from the USA - Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, Great Britain and Columbia just to name a few. Lot of these folks had never tasted pit BBQ and they were in heaven. Some even said it was the best thing they ever tasted. (I didn't bother mentioning to them that there are people out there that would make my Q look like dog bisquits :lol2: )
 
That's cool! See, your BBQ is now the definition of BBQ for all those people because it's the first they ever tasted. Any other that they might taste for the rest of their life will be compared to yours. And probably found lacking. Just like how your momma's potato salad is what potato salad is supposed to taste like. That's the taste locked into your brain from the first time you made the association.
 
BTW, I had about 2 quarts of that pasta recipe left over (used it as an easy side dish) and a fella with a funny accent asked if he could habe the leftovers. I thought he was going to hug me when I agreed.
 
A quick update while I'm in between road trips. The team did good at the American Royal. :banana:
They got 4th place for ribs in the Invitational, which was comprised of 150 Grand Championship teams, some real tough competition there. They got a ribbon and cash prize. They also placed in three side dishes and got 3rd place overall for sides, which earned them a trophy and another cash prize. Woo hoo!
 

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