Fire on Ice, my first KCBS comp


 
S

Shawn Gardner

TVWBB Fan
Over the first weekend in March I did my first, and probably only, KCBS comp. I usually do backyard comps and I did this last year but it was on a full KCBS then. It is now a full KCBS which brought out quite a few of the top teams. I decided to do it anyway since it is such a unique and fun comp. Overall there were 59 teams.

The comp is held on Lake Mille Lacs here in Minnesota. Teams cook out on the ice over night and usually stay in a fish house or camper on the ice. The cold and winter winds can make it a bit more challenging than other comps.


Here is my setup. From left to right I cooked brisket, pork, chicken and ribs. Since I don't do KCBS I don't normally cook more than one thing per cooker.


Here is the look down the row I was in. There was about 5 rows all together to give you an idea of the size of the event.


Here is one of my teams and I enjoying the 9:22 shot. I had never heard of the 9:22 shot until a rib comp I was in last year where one of the KCBS teams there had everyone come over for it. A bit early for drinking for me but what a great concept to get everyone together to be friendly.


This is my chicken turn in box and my highest placed item. I ended up 16 with this which was one spot out of getting a call.


Here is my rib turn in which ended up getting 17.


Here are the trophies they handed out. The top 10 teams in each category also get a Fire on Ice stocking cap that they only give to those places.

Overall I had a lot of fun and did ok for my first comp I think. My pork got 23 and brisket was 37. I ended up 22 over all so above the middle of the pack. If you live close to Minnesota I highly recommend checking out trying this comp next year!
 
Shawn... Excellent Job ! You did Very Well !

I personally would like to sample that chicken turn in.

Bob
KCBS MCBJ
 
Congratulations on popping your cherry at the most extreme KCBS contest in the US. I was one down from you. I remember seeing the unknown hinge and being surprised at how HD they are in person.
 
I just put the hinges on a few weeks ago. I was hesitant initially about adding them since you have to drill through the enamel but now that they are on I love them. Great job on your showing by the way! You guys did great!
 
I actually learned from cooking on ice previously that you do have to be careful with a WSM. Just the pressure and heat of the legs sitting still on the ice while cooking helps melt it and then because the weber has those looped metal legs the water gets up over it and starts to freeze. The last time I cooked on ice we had to get out a tire iron to chip the ice away to get the feet back out. This time you will notice I had all the cookers on oil pan sheets and that prevents this issue.
 
Great looking boxes! Glad to see more chicken lollipops getting turned in! I think I'm done w/ thighs and committed to turning in chicken lolli's from now on.
 
Talk about putting one's WSM skills to a test. Thank you so much Shawn for sharing your experience. And yes, the chicken looks like a great entry. Wish I could have tried it. I don't even want to guess how impossible it must be to turn in good tasting brisket in the cold.
 
Thanks everyone. I do really like the chicken lollipops and my taste and texture scores always show they come out well but I get such a big variance on appearance scores from 6 to 9 all the time. It is like people only want to see thighs but once they taste it like the legs too. It is pretty frustrating.

As for cooking a brisket in the cold I find that wind impacts it more than outdoor temps. I cook my briskets hot and fast and between winter and summer I don't find more than about a half hour cooking time change. I see a much larger change on windy days and those with calm air. Wind can add 1 to 2 hours easily to a hot brisket cook in my opinion.
 
I agree with you Shawn. My first contest cook was a very windy day. My WSM dropped way down and I cried for about 5 minutes before I pulled my bootstraps up and got the temperature up. I thought I was going to turn in raw brisket that day but I didn't. Wind is the devil.
 
Shawn awesome job , love the Legs, could you share the teqnique for getting that appearance , I know there must be more than just removing the lower skin and meat
 
I french the bones to start. To do this I run a good sharp knife around the the bone just where the real meat of the leg starts. Once you cut through the skin and any tendons you can pull the meat up over the knuckle and off.

Note that it pulls one way better than the other. After that I start pushing the meat down to plump it out. You will see the little bone next to the leg start peeking out. Now this is where I do something different than most. Many people just slide their fingers in next to the bone and snap it off. I hate that because I worry a fragment will be left behind or sometimes that bone does not like to break. Instead I take a sharp narrow knife and slide it between the little bone and the main bone. Slide it as far as you can go without cutting too much of the meat. Now look at the end of the drumstick and you can see where that little bone sits next to the big one. Take you knife and push it between the two, sliding up as far as you can, then do the same on the outside of the little bone. You may need to try to curve the knife around that little bone a bite. Once you do that you can grab that bone from the bottom and tug it out.

Once that bone is out push the meat again to plump it out and trim anything off where you frenched it that is hanging out. I then season them and cook then 8 to a pan with a tablespoon of margarine under each. I cook for 1 hour at 300, then tightly foil the pan and cook another hour. After that I dip them in thinned sauce and put them back on to set the sauce, about 10 to 15 minutes.

I have started doing this exact same thing with thighs and having good lunch. If you get the foil good and tight on the pan you don't need to scrape the skin. Makes prep much faster and thighs still seem to get better appearance scores.
 
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