j biesinger
TVWBB Platinum Member
A word of thanks to everyone who's hit reply to a question I've had or a pic of a frivolous bit of food I've posted.
I've been using my wsm for 2 years and just competed in my second contest. Last year we finished 37th out of 50, and afterward I knew I had a lot to learn. Little did I know how much I could learn, and in a mere 3 months, just by reading everyones posts here.
As a result, I tried some stuff this weekend that I never would have had the confidence to try. With a little luck, we had a flawless night, and the few mistakes we made worked out in our favor, and we finished 6th out of 47. The only category that wasn't in the top 10 was pork, which I figured I didn't need anybody's help on!
Thanks everyone.
Chicken: thanks to Kevin and his insight. I didn't work too much on our thighs, but my partners were sweating at 11:45 making sure every one of them had crispy skin. We were hoping they'd be at least bite through by the time the box was opened, and something must of went right. I also used phosphates in the brine that I purchase from Butcher-Packer (a source offered by Kevin). I can't say definitively whether it helped, but they sure didn't hurt our score.
Brisket: thanks to Kevin and Bryan, and everyone who does high heat brisket. This is the only way I've ever cooked a packer (both times!), so I had to cook this way in the comp. It was scary not starting it until 6:00 am (I did do one 12:00 am to 6:00 am and had it in a cooler as a backup) but the results speak for themselves: a moist, tender, flavorful piece of meat.
Ribs: thanks again to Kevin, I don't recall exactly when it was or what it was, but during my recent dismissal of spares as uncookable and my resulting attachment to back ribs, he said something that made me think I could apply my back cooking knowledge to spares. Not willing to give up on my precious backs, I tried both, and there was no comparison, the spares came out perfect. Ribs are easily my favorite bbq, and it makes me proud to know I can cook both spares and backs with the best of them.
I've been using my wsm for 2 years and just competed in my second contest. Last year we finished 37th out of 50, and afterward I knew I had a lot to learn. Little did I know how much I could learn, and in a mere 3 months, just by reading everyones posts here.
As a result, I tried some stuff this weekend that I never would have had the confidence to try. With a little luck, we had a flawless night, and the few mistakes we made worked out in our favor, and we finished 6th out of 47. The only category that wasn't in the top 10 was pork, which I figured I didn't need anybody's help on!
Thanks everyone.
Chicken: thanks to Kevin and his insight. I didn't work too much on our thighs, but my partners were sweating at 11:45 making sure every one of them had crispy skin. We were hoping they'd be at least bite through by the time the box was opened, and something must of went right. I also used phosphates in the brine that I purchase from Butcher-Packer (a source offered by Kevin). I can't say definitively whether it helped, but they sure didn't hurt our score.
Brisket: thanks to Kevin and Bryan, and everyone who does high heat brisket. This is the only way I've ever cooked a packer (both times!), so I had to cook this way in the comp. It was scary not starting it until 6:00 am (I did do one 12:00 am to 6:00 am and had it in a cooler as a backup) but the results speak for themselves: a moist, tender, flavorful piece of meat.
Ribs: thanks again to Kevin, I don't recall exactly when it was or what it was, but during my recent dismissal of spares as uncookable and my resulting attachment to back ribs, he said something that made me think I could apply my back cooking knowledge to spares. Not willing to give up on my precious backs, I tried both, and there was no comparison, the spares came out perfect. Ribs are easily my favorite bbq, and it makes me proud to know I can cook both spares and backs with the best of them.
