I'll be competing August 27-28 in Nevada, Iowa. Bought a 22" this spring and been practicing timing with one WSM. Looking forward to the experience. Thanks to everyone for sharing their talents in the forum. I've learned a lot and hope to start contributing.

Good luck with the comp. For years I have wanted to save up and buy a Lang reverse flow pull behind smoaker , but now that I have had and tried the WSM, I think I will stick to that saves alot of room packing up and way easy to use. Let us know how ya do out there!!!!! We use a outdoor backyard set uop for our comps.

Yea good luck Tom.

Report back with resaults and a pic of that trophy

Thanks for the well-wishes. It will be fun. Love my WSM. Will share my experience afterwards.

Look forward to hearing about it
Harry Soo used to do it on one cooker

Well, I know everybody hates the show, but on BBQ Pitmaster the other night, the team that finished 2nd last week used WSM's, and they gave Yazoo's a run for the money in the pork competition. I think they tied them. So, it can be done, go get 'em.. It looked like they had several WSM's though.

TB

Lots of great teams use water smokers
RnQ is riding high on a couple of em right now

quote:

Originally posted by TomB:
Well, I know everybody hates the show, but on BBQ Pitmaster the other night, the team that finished 2nd last week used WSM's, and they gave Yazoo's a run for the money in the pork competition. I think they tied them. So, it can be done, go get 'em.. It looked like they had several WSM's though.

Not everybody hates the show LOL
We will be on Sept 16 had a great time

I like last year's show format better but am enjoying watching the competition. Not sure about the challenges and side dishes. I'm rooting for Moe - a fellow Iowan from Des Moines. Last year, I enjoyed following Harry Soo and his WSMs. Learned a lot from his Q&A here on this forum.

Hey Tom, how did the contest go for you this weekend? Did you timings work out well?

Oh, and for the record, my team (Rhythm 'n QUE) has always used 4 WSMs in competition. No less, no more.

My first comp was a blast! They put on a great event in Nevada. There were 28 teams. Here's how I placed: ribs - 14, chicken - 17, pork - 26, brisket - 26. I was satisfied with the ribs and chicken (know I can improved) but disappointed in pork and brisket. Pork scores were 8/7/7, 9/8/7, 8/8/8, 7/7/8, 8/7/7, 8/7/7. Brisket scores were 7/6/6, 7/7/8,7/7/7, 6/6/5,7/7/6, 8/7/6. Am thinking I may have overcooked them. Pulled the pork and brisket from the WSM about 6 a.m. at about 190 and they sat in the cooler double-wrapped in foil and towels to stay warm until turn-in. Thoughts/suggestions. Know a second smoker would be beneficial!

I uploaded pics of my turn-in boxes. Any suggestions?

http://i911.photobucket.com/al...evada2010Brisket.jpg

http://i911.photobucket.com/al...evada2010Chicken.jpg

http://i911.photobucket.com/al...0/Nevada2010Pork.jpg

http://i911.photobucket.com/al...0/Nevada2010Ribs.jpg

Well speaking as a master Judge and only having pictures to go by , the plating looks good. Looks a little dry to me , but since I cant go by taste , its the best I can offer up. Pulled pork were there any decent sized pcs , judges like to get those to test how jucy and well it seperates. As for the ribs and pulled pork load them plates , I like to see a full box of each , shows a cooker has pride in his tuen in and wants to make sure the judges have a lot to choose from. Pulled pork add some good size pce of bark in with the pulled part. Other wise nice turn in plates as is.

My first comp I cooked everything on one 18" wsm and a kettle grill. Talk about juggling some meat...

I now have added a 22" wsm and it's much better. And comps can definitely be done on WSMs. I've seen a lot of people do very well with them.

Here's my 2 cents brother smoker...

Ribs look a bit dry...try touching them up with a little sauce or a spritz of apple juice for shine. Add more parsley to raise the level of your box...it's sitting a bit low.

Pork butt looks good...perhaps a bit more sauce/shine and raise the presentation bed. Good color and mix of textures.

Chicken looks a bit splotchy...(can't tell from pic)...nice uniformity (size)...just raise the bed more.

Brisket slices look a bit thick...try 1/4 - 3/8 slices and fan them out flatter to show off the smoke ring. Raise the presentation bed as well.

Congrats on making it through your first comp...you did very well!

JD

This message has been edited. Last edited by: J D McGee,

I would shoot for a later "done time' than 6AM for pork and brisket....that's a long time to sit coolered. Brisket slices look way to thick. go for about pencil thick slices, and lay them out so you can see the meet. Give it a spritz or brush of something to keep it shiny and juicy looking. ribs and pork need the same shine.

Chicken looks ok but photo is kind of out of focus so hard to tell.

Congrats on getting everything turned in!

Thanks for the great suggestions. The brisket was overcooked. I had to cut thick to do slices.