Getting Ready to Rumble…Silver Lake BBQ 2009. Part #1

Folks, it is almost here.  Silver Lake State of Michigan BBQ Championship.

Team Grilladelic is joining Brazen Que to create a “super team”; Grilladelic Brazen Que..sort of like the Crooked Vultures. Except instead of guitars and drums we have Eggs, Hasty Bakes and Webers!

For those new to KCBS competitions, we cook the four BBQ food groups (categories):

• Chicken (Grilladelic specialty)
• Ribs (Grilladelic specialty)
• Brisket (Brazen Que specialty)
• Pork Butt (Brazen Que specialty)

All meat has to be inspected on Friday night; it must be raw (no pre-seasoning, brining or marinading) and it must be the right cut (don’t even think about beef ribs, turkey or a beef clod).   The meats are typically trimmed and seasoned that night.  Teams cook under their own canopies and must bring their own tables, cutting boards, knives, three-compartment cleaning/disinfecting system, etc.  It’s not unusual to see teams prepping throughout the night.  Some teams even begin cooking on Friday and go through the night..typically big briskets and butts.

Competitors Team

No gas or electric grills or smokers allowed.  However, for the life of me, pellet grills are allowed (strong lobbying group…)

Each category has an assigned time to be turned in.  This begins at 11:00, 11:30, 12:00 and 12:30 (or something close to that).

You are given a styrofoam container to use.  This is numbered.  A double-blind system is used to keep everything even.  The judges do not know which container belongs to which team. Only a number.  You place a minimum of six servings in a container.  You have a 10-minute window; five minutes before and five minutes after the hour

My Family Team

Judges then taste.  Six judges with a head table judge then score it; taste, tenderness and appearance.  Appearance is an art.  You can use lettuce or other greens in your container.  Very subjective.  Always grumbling later.  There is a convoluted scoring system that weights certain categories, drops hi/low, etc.  Don’t ask me.

These are then tallied.  At approximately 3:00 pm, winners are announced.  Typically top ten in each category and then the Grand Champion and runner up. Cash and trophies.  Cheers, tears and beers follow.  I’ve had my share of them all.

Tear down the cook site.  Tired, dirty.

If you do well…you are a happy dude (or dudette).

If you did terrible, you swear never again.  You change your mind a few months later and start practicing again.

Here is the official info:

SILVER LAKE SAND DUNES
APPLE & BBQ COOK-OFF FESTIVAL
Features a Sanctioned Kansas City BBQ Society Cook-Off

KCBS sanctions and judges BBQ competitions across the U.S. and promotes barbeque as America’s cuisine. It is the largest society of barbeque enthusiasts in the world.

By providing the most respected form of judging and scoring in the world of BBQ. KCBS provides a representative for each contest and an appropriate number of certified BBQ judges who have been trained in how to judge world-class barbeque, all while using a blind judging process that is fair and void of personal knowledge of teams being judged.

Outlined below are numerous opportunites for amateurs & professionals to participate in this family friendly event.

• Amateur BBQ Competition
• Grand Championship BBQ Cook-Off Competition
• Rib Eating Contest
• Vendor Space
• KCBS Certified Judges
• 2008 KCBS Cook-Off Winners

Silver Lake BBQ Competition- Green Light!

Providing I am not too late to register, I got the green light to compete- and defend my brisket championship at the Silver Lake BBQ Competition.

Why do I need a “green light”? In the immortal words of a famous political candidate, “it’s the economy stupid”.

There is a website, that tracks the “fan cost index”. Basically this looks at the cost for a family of four attending a major league sporting event- not just tickets but all the other stuff that adds up.

When looking at BBQ competitions, there are similar costs involved that can make competing an investment that needs to be factored in.

So, for novices to the world of competitive BBQ (KCBS Circuit)- here is a BBQ Cost index (based on the Silver Lake Competition)

Registration $225.00

Meat (est) $90 (this is on the very low end. $10- Chicken, $25 Brisket, $30 ribs, $25 pork butt.  This amount really varies,,,some teams are easily spending $200-$300)

Sauces/Spices/Fuels/Ice/Supplies- $50-75

Overnight food/meals/beverages  (team of four)- $100

Gas-travel (varies) $50

Total- $515- 600

This does not include the equipment (grills, canopies, etc….)  And it does not include hotel rooms…real nice when traveling w/spouse and three young kids…but obviously a luxury.

So you can see, this is not a sport to be dabbled in….it can be costly.  Winning a ribbon or prize money is a longshot even for good teams and then, it ranges from $100- $2000 +/- (depends on the competition).

So why do it?  For fans of Kung Fu Panda…“we are barbecue people.  Barbecue sauce runs in our veins”

Baby Back Ribs- Rib Wars Part II

Coming in at $3.99 to 7.99/lb. (I know, Sam’s and Costco have them cheaper sometimes), baby rack ribs can be considered the most “gourmet” barbecue cuisine. Especially when you factor in the origins of barbecue….inexpensive, tough cuts of meat (the leftovers), needing to be tenderized by slow cooking.

Although I don’t have scientific data, I would say the majority of KCBS (Kansas City Barbecue Society) competitors would choose baby backs in the rib category. They are tender and easy to present. Other than pealing the membrane, there is very little trimming to do.

In my rib journey, I have found there to be a wide range in “quality” of baby backs. Some I have bought, are meatier. Others, like the one above are smaller and leaner. (I bought this rack at a farmer’s market..probably not the product of a “hog factory”).

Regardless, I have found that baby back ribs are good eating. They do require a bit more care than the St. Louis cuts. Much easier to dry out- especially the leaner ones.

I typically cook three racks, using a rib rack, at 250-275 degrees for 1.5-2 hours, heavy smoke (pecan/apple/cherry are my favorites) and then I wrap in tin foil and put back on the grill (lower temp…225 degree range) for another 1-2 hours.

Sometimes I add my bbq sauce at that time. Not always. I then have the option of taking them out of the foil and placing back on the grill for “finishing” (adding some grill marks, carmelizing the sugar in the bbq sauce, adding more color, etc.) I don’t have a consistent routine (I probably should) but usually go with the flow.

I have barbecued over 2000 racks of ribs (commercially and recreationally) and have taught over 100 rib classes. I have tried dozens of techniques, brines, seasonings, sauces, and marinades. The only mistake I make is when I get the coals to hot. However if you follow the simple strategy below you can almost guarantee the adulation of family and friends (plus a dang good rack of ribs)

1. Prep the rib. Trim spares or peal membrane from baby backs. That is about it. (I do peal the membrane from a St. Louis too, but sometimes it doesn’t pull off as easy, so I just score it with a knife)

2. Season with dry rub. Use your favorite. I coat with yellow (wet) mustard first to create a tasty bark on the slab.

3. Preheat grill. I bank the coals on a Weber kettle. In a Big Green Egg, I prefer using a plate setter to diffuse the heat. (However, I have successfully barbecued hundreds of racks without a plate setter) I try to maintain a temperature in the 225-275 range. Easy in an Egg. Harder with a kettle.

4. I place the slabs in a rib rack. This gives me more cooking surface.

5. I add my soaked wood chunks to the coals (I only use lump charcoal) and place the ribs on and let it go- full smoke ahead.

6. After about 1 1/2 hours, I check. If they look good, color wise, I then wrap in foil with a little bbq sauce. If they are still a bit pale, I increase the temperature a bit and then check back in about 20 minutes. I want the ribs to look done, but still be tough.

7. Placing the rib foil packets back on the grill…hopefully around 225-250 degrees…I chill. Job well done. About 1-2 hours later, I take them off. Let them rest and then serve.

There are many variables: number of ribs, type of rib, internal temperature, outside temperature (rain/wind play havoc on a kettle, the Egg is very steady). So a great rib is as much art as it is science.

Technique

I didn’t want to get to far away from my brisket posts, so here is an outline of the technique I used. First, I have bbq’d briskets for several years. It certainly is not my specialty. Briskets are not what a native born Michigander typically barbecues. However, as a required category in the KCBS circuit, I will do a half dozen every year.

My preferred piece of equipment for a brisket is a Big Green Egg or Hasty Bake. The Egg is perfect because of it’s ability to maintain a steady temperature “forever”. The Egg is also a high moisture grill, so I don’t worry about drying out the meat.

With that said, I have been focusing on simplifying my bbq style. I wanted to be able compete (and win) with the basics…which led me to adapt all my recipes to a basic Weber kettle.

I have always tried to do my briskets at 2 hours per pound. Grill temp at around 225 degrees +/-. The kettle is an imperfect piece of equipment. Stripped down to fuel, grate and vents. More of an art form. No thermostaticly controlled pellet auger   I also have three young kids at home. Long cooks are almost out of the question. My challenge became, how can I do a brisket in the shortest possible time, but still get it fork tender and moist.

My “aha”moment for brisket came in reading a recipe for beef short ribs. Basically braised in a beef broth, wine and bbq sauce solution. Cooked in the oven at low temps. I tried the recipe and it was great. Now how to adapt for a Weber.

This is what I ended up with. A six pound brisket, seasoned with the rub posted earlier. A Weber kettle, lump charcoal banked on both sides. Four chunks of pecan wood. Once the coals were hot, I placed the brisket in the middle, directly on the grates and added the chunks to the coal. Vents open. Four chunks of pecan create a heavy smudge in a kettle…very heavy. After two hours, I opened the lid. The brisket looked like a meteorite. Burnt in it’s descension to earth. In other words, perfect.

At that point, I layed the brisket out on a piece of heavy duty foil. Big enough to wrap twice. I then poured on a concoction made of beef broth, spicy bbq sauce (Orgasmic Slabs brand) and a bottle of Harp beer. ( I bagged the wine from the original recipe). I crimped the foil lightly, allowing for some steam to escape and placed back on the grill. I did not add any more fuel. Closed the vents slightly and walked away. About 3.5 hours later I returned and closed off the vents. 45 minutes later pulled the brisket and let rest. 30 minutes later, sliced and served.

The words to describe it: moist, flavorful, smokey, and beautiful. A six pound brisket, in just over six hours, that kicked some serious .ss! I have duplicated this several times.  

Award winning brisket

Here is a picture my daughter took of Grilladelic’s winning brisket, trophy and ribbons at the Silver Lake BBQ Competition this September. The Silver Lake competition is a sanctioned BBQ Kansas City Barbecue Society tournament. We ended up 6th place overall. Not bad for my first tournament in a few years! Even more satisfying was using only two Weber kettles.

In future posts I will share my recipes and techniques for not only brisket, but everything I create on the grill.