Going In Big and Blind!- THE PIX


 
Rusty Breaux

Rusty Breaux

TVWBB Fan
continuation of this thread http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?68095-Going-In-Big-and-Blind!

Well we attacked it full steam ahead. Fired up that big animal of a smoker at 1am. There was a definite learning curve. Its not the best designed smoker. I am pretty sure the box is too big and the exhaust is too small. We had a good bit of backflow out of the smoker box. We ended up propping open the door closest to the exhaust a couple inches that seemed to help the draw a good bit. Realized we werent really going to get the temp much above 230, so we fought though with that.

The judging was done by random people. No actual judges, and the Chicken category was ridiculous. They waned a half of a chicken with the breast cut into 7 pieces (***???).

Anyway, the Ribs came out pretty freaking good if i do sayso myself, the brisket i should have put another 2* on it, but was still pretty close to EXCELLENT, dessert was very good (cast iron smoked chocolate breadpudding), chicken was a damn disaster (planned on cooking it around 275, but smoker was running at 230 and the kettle was inuse (bad planning on my part) so my timing was completely off and the chicken was JUST done, and the skin was a rubbery mess. We did pork tacos for a "other" category that was VERY GOOD, UNTIL my partner went to turn them in, and the woman he handed the box to grabbed it and said "ooo the box is upside down" and promptly flipped it to the correct position.. completely destroying what was inside. (thats how we knew it was going to be a good judging day).

ANYWAY... we got ZERO calls in a 12 team neighborhood competition. That apart we had a GREAT time. It was my first time I was in control of a full cook. Had a timeline printed out which was the BIGGEST help of anything.

So here are some pix.
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THE AFTERMATH....Wornout...
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rb
 
Looks like a good time had by all and certainly looks like a lot of fun. Brisket and ribs look great to me. I don't know squat about competition bbq, but it would seem to me that an event like this would be a great way to break into future and more formal competitions. Thanks for sharing Rusty!
 
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Yup - I read the earlier thread and was excited to find out how things went.

I like your team's "fearlessness" - not too many would go for broke on a setup like that without a good practice run or two.
That Brisket looks REALLY good

Did you find that a BIG smoker like that creates different temperature "zones" that you could use for the different meats?

You KNOW you're using SERIOUS cookers when you need to ditch the car for a TRUCK to pull the unit!
 
Ron G. said:
Yup - I read the earlier thread and was excited to find out how things went.

I like your team's "fearlessness" - not too many would go for broke on a setup like that without a good practice run or two.
That Brisket looks REALLY good

Did you find that a BIG smoker like that creates different temperature "zones" that you could use for the different meats?

You KNOW you're using SERIOUS cookers when you need to ditch the car for a TRUCK to pull the unit!
Click to expand...

Thanks RonG, it was a hell of an experience. The cooker definitely had cooking zones on it. We got up to about 240 near the box, 225ish in the center, and around 215-220 on the far right. I usually cook my brisket closer to 265, and was hoping for 250 but just couldnt get my heat to where i wanted it. Came out pretty good, but the crust wasnt exactly what i am used to. But the ribs cooked VERY nicely around 230 on the center rack.

What fun would it be to start small? Start with a rig so big we could barely back into the parking spot!! :)

rb
 
Actually - now that I see you're from Texas:

Isn't that rig actually the equivalent of a "Jumbo-Joe"?
If it was "TEXAS-Serious" - shouldn't you need a Peterbuilt to pull it, and burn WHOLE TREES instead of just logs?
(Said very tongue-in-cheek, of course...)

Thanks again for sharing with us
 
Hey Rusty,

Thanks for sharing as I was also looking forward to see how your weekend turned out. May not have been as productive in the award department as you may have wanted, but the food looks great and it sounds like you had fun. Thanks again
 
Great first time out, Rusty !!!!
Hopefully you're looking forward to your next comp.
Suggest staying with backyard type events until you are consistently placing well.

Hope to see you on the trail sometime !
 
Calls? We don't need no stinking calls!!

Great job you & the gang did taming that beast of a cooker for the first time. Kudos!! All that grub looks outstanding. Well done mate.
 
It's,not the winning that matters it's the smoke!
I'm not so sure I would have done too well with the unfamiliar set up. You did fine "they" just don't understand!
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
It's,not the winning that matters it's the smoke!
I'm not so sure I would have done too well with the unfamiliar set up. You did fine "they" just don't understand!
Click to expand...

Thanks Tim. I agree, it was more of the 17 hour journey to get to the judging, than the actual judging. One of the local BBQ restaurants came in second in grandchampion. I would think they know what the people in the area like, since they are the best BBQ in the area. HAHA.. NOTHING like what i put out, with my sweet ribs. :)

rb
 
Rusty;
Excellent report and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Excellent photos and the BBQ looked VERY good! Keep up the good work!

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
I think the stack might be to long. If it is then its possible colder air will sit in it forcing the draft to revere or at best hang up a bit.
 
Steve Whiting said:
I think the stack might be to long. If it is then its possible colder air will sit in it forcing the draft to revere or at best hang up a bit.
Click to expand...

that could also be... i am pretty much done worrying about it until next year if im still in the neighborhood. :) ... but HOPEFULLY by next year I will have my own smaller but solid rig pull out there. :cool:

rb
 
Looks good to me Rusty. I'm sure everyone had lots of fun and there is always the next time around. Great job anyway.
 
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