Well, now on to day three of our Roc City Ribfest adventure. After the soggy and muddy start, the final two days were full of sunshine. The mud puddles even started to recede a bit.
One of the best aspects in the competition world are the friendships that you make over the years. We primarily compete in New York, and this was the first competition of the year in the Empire State. So, it was great catching up over the weekend on everyones lives.
Mitch is exactly where I left him last year, taking a nap.
Hollywood Butt Doubles working on their ribs.
Lets get down to business. Scores and turn in boxes.
At first glance, it was not a good day for us. But our overall score, 628.5828, was 20 points higher than last year and good for 42 out of 86 teams, two spots higher than last year.
Our grand champion ribs from Saturday were not so grand champion on Sunday. 146.2628 and 73 out of 86, plus a comment card saying they were over done. I tend to agree. Some days you are the windshield and some days you are the bug. We were the bug.
Our pork scored a 155.4744, 55th out of 86.
Our brisket rebounded a bit from Annapolis, 162.8572, 28th out of 86.
Overall, we were happy with our cook. But, after scanning the scores, we lost at table roulette. We were on three of the toughest scoring tables of the competition. Not much you can do there. It is just luck of the draw. Judging was tough this weekend. Some very good teams had some very tough weekends.
Congrats to Priorville, our Grand Champions and to Aporkalypse Now, our Reserve Grand Champions. We had a side bet this weekend as well. One six pack of craft beer to the overall chicken winner. Our contribution was Dogfish 90 Minute IPA. Keith with KC and the Smokeshack Band was the winner and walked home with 91 bottles of fine brew. Will you be bringing some of your hoppy bounty to Cross Boarder?
Would also like to send congrats to our good friends at Locked and Loaded BBQ.
They had a very good weekend with a sixth place chicken entry. Also, Caleb entered the Kids Q competition on Saturday. This years entry was steak. Caleb cooked a beautiful looking strip steak to perfection and a second place. Good job Caleb.
Finally, huge kudos go out to Brian, Jon, Kelly, and the rest of the Roc City crew. You always run a first rate competition and this year, you did so in fire fighting mode. Finding places for everyone in soft and muddy conditions and providing them with electric and water was a miracle. We will see you next year.
Next up, Cross Boarder Blues, Brews, and Ques.
Thanks for stopping by,
Bill
I am not sure if I like this new scoring system. It is giving the competitors more reasons to dislike judges.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very informational knowing why you did not score well. For instance, our easiest table was brisket. That table put 5 in the top 29. Our toughest table, ribs, placed no one higher than 36th. It helps us to understand a little bit of the why. You have to admit, when you look at the distribution, getting on the right table is key. But, I don't dislike judges.
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