Thursday, April 28, 2011
It's been too long!
We've been a way for a while. But now we're back with a vengeance and a new name. We are now Sweet Racks & Smokin' Butts. We really didn't think there was enough double meanings in the original name so we added on! Last year was an interesting year for us. We started out the year strong in Lowell with a 2nd place call for Ribs and 8th in Pork. However it was all down hill from there. We failed to get another call the rest of the year. We did spend competition after competition honing our skill in the pouring rain...yep it rained 9 out of 10 times we fired up our smoker last year. Well we are back on the circuit and looking forward to a great year. We will be in Liberty, IN this weekend for the Smokin' on the Water competition. And I will be updating regularly this year!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Practice Butt this past Saturday
Well I thought I'd try a new pork recipe this past Saturday since this is one of the categories we are struggling with at competition. I got a recipe from Alton Brown. It included a brine mixture of molasses, salt, and water. It sat in that for about 12 hours and then I used my usually rub and smoked for about 2 hours a pound at about 225 degrees. Well it didn't get done as much as it need to but the flavor made it all the way through making it the best tasting pork I've done. Now I just need to figure out the tenderness issues. Next time I am going to try to wrap it much earlier in the process in hopes that it will aid in breaking down some of those connective fibers.
The Taste of Grand Rapids
Well we have successfully completed our second contest. We managed to improve in every category except for brisket which we dropped 10 points. Even with our improved scores we still failed to finish in the top 10. We actually finished 36th out of 43 teams. But considering the level of competition there, we were happy with the improvements in score. We did receive one stage call though and that was for the dessert category. Amazingly we took 2nd place and just missed 1st by .0002 points!
All in all a very good weekend, in which we still learned a lot about our own food and how we are going to proceed in the next one.
All in all a very good weekend, in which we still learned a lot about our own food and how we are going to proceed in the next one.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Pauley's Brew-B-Q Part 2
As the sun begin to rise, everyone was anxiously awaiting some warmth. But we didn't get it. With the sun rise came a heavy fog and we didn't see the sun for another couple of hours. But there was still work to do. Around 8:30, Bob and Mary arrived and I got a little much needed rest. I didn't sleep but it was nice to relax for a couple hours without worrying about the fires in the smokers. By 9, everything was cooking. Jenn got back to the site at shortly after that and started cleaning the greens for the boxes and then started to dress them.
With 15 minutes to go before the chicken turn in we pulled them out of the smoker and started to examine them and pick the best looking ones. This proved much harder than I expected and took a little too much time. But we got it in and up to the judges table with 5 minutes to spare.
Next was the ribs, and these were already out of the smoker and resting. We were overall pleased with they looked and how they pulled apart so we picked the best six ribs from the middle of the racks and handed them over to Jenn where she used a creative touch and turned in our best looking box in my opinion.
Next up was the pork. This was a concern of mine all morning. I didn't feel that I had put in on early enough for it to be truly fall apart tender. When we took it out and started pulling it apart, my greatest fear was realized. It was cooked through all the way but a lot of the fat and connective tissues had not had a chance to melt away. We got the best pieces we could and sent the box up hoping for the best.
Lastly it was time for the brisket to be turned in. This was perhaps the biggest surprise for me. I thought it turned out near perfect. A surprise because this was only the third one I've cooked and the previous too were border line inedible. I got it on the table and started carving. It was like I was cutting butter with a hot knife. The flavor was pretty good and really thought we had a chance with it.
After all the containers got turned in, we took a few minutes to breath and then it was time to start cleaning up and tearing the site down. We had a couple of hours before the awards so we were able to take our time with it, which was a nice change for the weekend.
As we made our way to the stage, exhaustion set in. It seemed like the stage was a good 5 miles away. Then the MC started and suddenly got a shot of adrenaline mixed with a bit of nerves. He rattled off the top ten teams in chicken and no mention of Sweet Racks. Next was ribs and we were thrilled to hear our names in the number 8 spot. Then it was the dreaded pork category and to no ones surprise we were absent from the top 10. Last up was brisket and we didn't have to wait long this time as we took the 10th spot.
We we thrilled that we managed two top tens in our very first competition! We ended up 12th overall out of 21 teams and we couldn't have been happier. Now it was time to work out what went right and wrong so that we could improve when we do it again in two weeks!
With 15 minutes to go before the chicken turn in we pulled them out of the smoker and started to examine them and pick the best looking ones. This proved much harder than I expected and took a little too much time. But we got it in and up to the judges table with 5 minutes to spare.
Next was the ribs, and these were already out of the smoker and resting. We were overall pleased with they looked and how they pulled apart so we picked the best six ribs from the middle of the racks and handed them over to Jenn where she used a creative touch and turned in our best looking box in my opinion.
Next up was the pork. This was a concern of mine all morning. I didn't feel that I had put in on early enough for it to be truly fall apart tender. When we took it out and started pulling it apart, my greatest fear was realized. It was cooked through all the way but a lot of the fat and connective tissues had not had a chance to melt away. We got the best pieces we could and sent the box up hoping for the best.
Lastly it was time for the brisket to be turned in. This was perhaps the biggest surprise for me. I thought it turned out near perfect. A surprise because this was only the third one I've cooked and the previous too were border line inedible. I got it on the table and started carving. It was like I was cutting butter with a hot knife. The flavor was pretty good and really thought we had a chance with it.
After all the containers got turned in, we took a few minutes to breath and then it was time to start cleaning up and tearing the site down. We had a couple of hours before the awards so we were able to take our time with it, which was a nice change for the weekend.
As we made our way to the stage, exhaustion set in. It seemed like the stage was a good 5 miles away. Then the MC started and suddenly got a shot of adrenaline mixed with a bit of nerves. He rattled off the top ten teams in chicken and no mention of Sweet Racks. Next was ribs and we were thrilled to hear our names in the number 8 spot. Then it was the dreaded pork category and to no ones surprise we were absent from the top 10. Last up was brisket and we didn't have to wait long this time as we took the 10th spot.
We we thrilled that we managed two top tens in our very first competition! We ended up 12th overall out of 21 teams and we couldn't have been happier. Now it was time to work out what went right and wrong so that we could improve when we do it again in two weeks!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Pauley's Brew-B-Q Part 1
Well we went, we saw, and we didn't finish last. This may seem odd for me to say but it was our first and foremost goal. The second goal was to have fun. Which we also did.
Setup of the our are started Saturday about 1pm. During the setup period we were approached by many of the other teams asking if it was our first time and that if we had any questions not to hesitate to ask. Of these teams, The Black Pig offered to help us put the canopies up (which we were struggling with and would later return the favor). The Black Pig would quickly become our friends that weekend as they took us well hydrated and entertained.
After we got the are mostly setup, it was time to call over one of the contest reps and have the meat inspected and checked in. This went much better than expected and he was gone within a couple of minutes. This meant we could move on to prepping the meats however we saw fit. We kept it pretty simple using a store bought rub for all four meats and using a marinade for the ribs. We were all done by 4 o'clock and had an hour before the team meeting.
At the meeting, we got our goody bags and a brief overview of the rules, very brief. I had read over the rules numerous times before the contest so I was pretty confident in my understanding of them but some teams looked a little confused and worried.
After the meeting they had a team dinner for us and it was time for the rest of the team to head home as I would do the night shift by myself. After I made sure everything was in place for the fifth time I decided to grab a beer and relax for a bit and way for the festival's fireworks to start. I still had 3 hours before I needed to start cooking anything. Again the Black Pig team showed true hospitality and invited me over and treated me like a member of their team. Drinks, laughing, and some great advice wrapped up the early part of the evening and two members of their team were off to catch some sleep and get ready for their respective shifts of the night.
At 10:30 I started getting the smoker's ready and by 11 the first one was ready and put the brisket on. At this time it had started to grow cool but I was confident that my shorts and t-shirt would keep me warm enough through the night. I spent the next two hours obsessing over the temperature of the smoker checking what seemed like every couple of minutes.
1 am rolled around and it was time to put the Butt on. I was pleased to see at this time that I would have company for the evening. My sister had come to the site after she got done working and was there to keep me company and help with anything I might need. The temperature at this time was now cold and it still felt like it getting colder. The only thing to do until 8am was to watch the fires and make sure the temperature held. I settled into my chair with a blanket and a book and tried to at least relax for a bit. The cold temps actually helped me stay awake which was good as I was adding fuel to the smokers at least once an hour.
Setup of the our are started Saturday about 1pm. During the setup period we were approached by many of the other teams asking if it was our first time and that if we had any questions not to hesitate to ask. Of these teams, The Black Pig offered to help us put the canopies up (which we were struggling with and would later return the favor). The Black Pig would quickly become our friends that weekend as they took us well hydrated and entertained.
After we got the are mostly setup, it was time to call over one of the contest reps and have the meat inspected and checked in. This went much better than expected and he was gone within a couple of minutes. This meant we could move on to prepping the meats however we saw fit. We kept it pretty simple using a store bought rub for all four meats and using a marinade for the ribs. We were all done by 4 o'clock and had an hour before the team meeting.
At the meeting, we got our goody bags and a brief overview of the rules, very brief. I had read over the rules numerous times before the contest so I was pretty confident in my understanding of them but some teams looked a little confused and worried.
After the meeting they had a team dinner for us and it was time for the rest of the team to head home as I would do the night shift by myself. After I made sure everything was in place for the fifth time I decided to grab a beer and relax for a bit and way for the festival's fireworks to start. I still had 3 hours before I needed to start cooking anything. Again the Black Pig team showed true hospitality and invited me over and treated me like a member of their team. Drinks, laughing, and some great advice wrapped up the early part of the evening and two members of their team were off to catch some sleep and get ready for their respective shifts of the night.
At 10:30 I started getting the smoker's ready and by 11 the first one was ready and put the brisket on. At this time it had started to grow cool but I was confident that my shorts and t-shirt would keep me warm enough through the night. I spent the next two hours obsessing over the temperature of the smoker checking what seemed like every couple of minutes.
1 am rolled around and it was time to put the Butt on. I was pleased to see at this time that I would have company for the evening. My sister had come to the site after she got done working and was there to keep me company and help with anything I might need. The temperature at this time was now cold and it still felt like it getting colder. The only thing to do until 8am was to watch the fires and make sure the temperature held. I settled into my chair with a blanket and a book and tried to at least relax for a bit. The cold temps actually helped me stay awake which was good as I was adding fuel to the smokers at least once an hour.
Friday, July 10, 2009
BBQ Eve
It has been a busy day getting things around for tomorrow. Not to mention I had to work. I think I have everything packed. Just need to pick up the meet and some greens tomorrow morning before heading over to the site. Had a taste of the sauce we are going to use and all I can say is WOW. If we can get the meat cooked properly I think we have a shot at a top 10 or two.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Fourth of July and the final practice cook.
We had our final practice cook on Saturday and I would say that overall it was a success. Still had some temp issues but much better than the original smokers we used. The ribs were a little dry, the butt turned fantastic, chicken was good and juicy but lacked some flavor and the brisket was edible. the sauce for the ribs was almost perfect just a little too spicy I think so we will make a slight modification and the sauce for the rest is true Kansas City sauce and think it compliments the meat well and will be what the judges are looking for. Only 5 short days to go!
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