Brought a WSM Knife to a Gunfight


 
Rusty Breaux

Rusty Breaux

TVWBB Fan
Well competed in my first Sanctioned event this past weekend. It was the first annual Southern Star Brewery BBQ Cookoff in Conroe, TX sanctioned by Lonestar BBQ Society. It had a field of 27 and I figured it being the first annual at a brewery, I should have a good chance to do pretty well for my first real event.

SO I put together a new team with my own logo and all "Smoke On The Bayou BBQ Team", imported a good friend from Louisiana and grabbed another good friend to round out my team of 3. Using my WSM 18.5, my copper kettle, 2 popup tents and 2 folding tables we hit the road an hour north of Humble Tx and got all setup and went to the Cooks meeting. ALL WAS GOOD and hopes were high.

I had my schedules and recipes ready and we went to work around 11pm trimming, seasoning and lighting fires. Around 2am im locked in at 271* and the WSM is puffing away on the brisket. A fairly drunk leader of another team stumbles his way over to us and starts chatting. WELLLLLLLL somewhere in this conversation I start to pay attention to him when he says he is here for the instant qualification to some big Kansas City event that goes to the winner of this event. I take my jaw off the ground and shake off the shock as i look around and it sinks in WHY I see so many big money rigs and pits around me. YEP, I put myself in the middle of a competition full of REAL pros. I was setup next door to WarPig bbq, who i later found out competes in the HLSR and has MANY trophies to his name.

Even with this realization of what I got us into, I kept on schedule and stayed the plan. It was a great event w/ a pet adoption, bands, beautiful weather once about 10am and I have to admit they make some TASTY beers. I turned in a Half of chicken that was a LITTLE more spicy than i was hoping it would be, but the flavor was AMAZING and we had HIGH hopes for it. NULL ON THE SCOREBOARD. did not make the final table.
Ribs were next and we put out some DECENT bones that looked pretty good. I am STILL looking for another layer flavor as i feel its a little FLAT, but overall i was satisfied with them. NO final table. So we are 0 for 2.
Brisket came out very good. A 16.5lb prime seasoned w/ my usual Breauxly Cow seasoning. It had a good bend, pretty solid bark and the flavor was nice. I had a nice THICK flat which i should have used a little more seasoning on, but once again, VERY satisfied with the brisket.. and what do you know.. MADE THE FINAL TABLE taking 16th. SOO I placed in a ROUGH crowd and we are VERY HAPPY with this.

I want to give a huge shoutout to Dennis of WarPig. I am sure he saw the confusion on my face, the ghetto feel of our setup and gave us LOTS of great advise, thoughts, basically the breakdown of how thejudging is done and what needs to be done to win. He let us taste his turn-ins and even gave me a bottle of his FUBAR sauce. I learned more about competition bbq cooking aside him for a few hours, than i have in the previous 2 years of smoking on my back deck and reading forums and websites.

I learned i have ALOT of work to do to actually compete, BUT the Smoke On The Bayou BBQ Team has decided to keep going and we are going to start working on improving and PROBABLY upgrading my Pit and setup.

Didnt get MANY pix, but here is what i got.
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rb
 
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Strong work Rusty!! I can just see the "whaaaat?"look. I'd have had it too!
I agree, standing next to someone who really knows "how" helps more than all the reading, you tube watching or anything else I can think of.
Good work sir!

Oh btw, nice looking examples, mail me some brisket, and rub!
 
Rusty... Congratulation on making the Final Table in your first, sanctioned Pro Comp !!!

About those other, expensive pits you saw... It is said that... It's Not The Pit, It's The Pitmaster !
 
Bob Bass said:
Rusty... Congratulation on making the Final Table in your first, sanctioned Pro Comp !!!

About those other, expensive pits you saw... It is said that... It's Not The Pit, It's The Pitmaster !
Click to expand...

Thanks Bob. Iv been thinking about upgrading for some time now. Working on one WSM is a bit of a pain when cooking more than one meat, and even at home I usually wish i had more room. So i am trying to find the balance of something that will work well at home as well as can used in competition. I had planned on using this comp to hlep make some decisions on what kind of pit i want next, and it only marginally helped. I am still completely torn. :) I DO love this bbq thing.

rb
 
Great work Rusty and I love your positive outlook. You were in the right place at the wrong time and still did well. It was great you got some tutoring from a pro, that is worth much more than winging it.
I'm a learn by watching type person, so I know how important that was to you.
Best of luck in your future comps.
 
VERY NICE Rusty And Crew!
Congratulations!

BBQing is more fun in the yard than trying to satisfy the already tainted taste buds of BBQ judges. In my opinion.
but i'm sure the joy of placing in comps is just as rewarding as the smiles on friends & family members faces.
 
Impressive work! Taking on the pros at your first comp? Are you nuts? Congrats on the final table, and great looking brisket.
 
Having been accused of being a "professional" at things which I really prefer to be a hobbyiest is all well and got but, I agree with you Jim and I find much more satisfaction making treats for family and friends. When rewarded with a two year olds smiles I could not have been more happy!
 
That is just an awesome post Rusty. You are not only an awesome pitmaster but a very good writer too. I'm so glad you did so well for your first competition. Nothing like laying it all out there on the line. Its gotta be a nervous experience. But now you've got the first one under your belt and each time you will get better and better. Way to go! It takes a lot of guts!
 
Jim Lampe said:
VERY NICE Rusty And Crew!
Congratulations!

BBQing is more fun in the yard than trying to satisfy the already tainted taste buds of BBQ judges. In my opinion.
but i'm sure the joy of placing in comps is just as rewarding as the smiles on friends & family members faces.
Click to expand...

Ain't that the truth. I gave up on competitions. Took the fun out of BBQ'ing for me. The BBQ you put out would slap the public silly, they'd beg you to cater events, sell BBQ, cook for them, etc. But put it in a tainted judges mouth (as Jim said) and you scratch your head why you don't even place. I enjoy cooking for friends and family and seeing their enjoyment of the food then worrying about what presentation looks like, to much greens in the box or whatever the judges have to say.

I'm glad you enjoyed your first event. May just work out for you.
 
THANKS guys, a hell of an experience for sure. It has already become work, the prep time on the smoker the couple months prior to get my timing and recipes right, the week of with the stressing of my packing list and making the sauces and rubs. BUUTTTT i LOVE that prepwork so far. The packing and setup, i have to admit i DONT love, BUT that will get easier with time. The stress and actual work of the cookoff itself I REALLY enjoy doing. Its a competition an almost 40 yr old fatman can compete in.. ;)

BUT i am lookign forward to not having to do any long smokes for a wile. Now i can light the grills and not HAVE to do 5 hour ribs, or a brisket. I am going to be grilling some wings and porkchops, and chicken legs HOT and FAST. :) Back to some afternoon fun in the fire.

ALSO, the day we go to a competition and im not having fun with my team and enjoying being out there, thats probably the day i take a break.

rb
 
There is something about the thinking it all through that is its own reward. By any chance are you a Virgo?
The packing list is what prompted that question, I am one and I am a big pre departure/ pre feast list maker. Consequently I don't either forget a ton of things when going on vacation or missing things planned for big feasts. Designwork is some of the fun for me too Rusty!
 
Im actually a Taurus but i guess its just another piece of the whole bbq comp puzzle. If i spend that much time working on figuring out the actual cooking of the meat, cant see why i wouldnt put the same amount of time into making sure I have everything I will need for an OnSite Cook. Iv got issues :)

rb
 
Congrats Rusty on a great cook and having a great time. That's what bbq is all about.

Don't think you have to get fancy smokers to beat the pros. We get calls consistently in the KCBS circuit with 2 WSMs.

Keep it simple and the rest will work itself out.
 
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