Last weekend, the Three Dogs BBQ Roadshow packed up the trailer and headed to Syracuse to compete in the Salt City BBQ Festival. We were looking forward to this competition as this was our first New York competition of the year. Since we mostly compete in New York, it was a chance to catch up with old friends after the long winter layover.
We were also looking forward to this weekend for a few other reasons as well.
First, it was mine and Hope's fifth wedding anniversary. I had some friends order a surprise cake on the sly to surprise Hope. We loved the design! To top it off, the cake even had cannoli filling.
Second, we added a new member this year for some of our competitions. Our friend Dennis was a man without a team this year. So, when his schedule permits, he is cooking with the team. Dennis, you were a big help this weekend and we are looking forward to the rest of the year.
Finally, if you read this blog, you know that we lost two of our furry kids this past year. When looking for a new rescue, we decided that we wanted a younger dog that would be trainable so that we could bring them to a competition. Well, we found that dog in George. He is a Lab Pointer (?) mix that is almost five months old. He was great over the weekend. Well behaved, polite, and a heart breaker. A Rock Star was born this past weekend.
So, after dinner and some social time, it was time to get down to the business of cooking the standard KCBS meats consisting of chicken, pork ribs, pork butt, and brisket. Here were our boxes.
We were happy with everything we cooked. The chicken flavor was outstanding if not a little ratty looking. We moved to thighs this year and my trimming is a bit rusty. I promise they will look better as the season moves on. The ribs were confusing. Once comment card said it was the best rib they had ever had. But, another said they were undercooked with a strange flavor. We were not happy with the pork. These butts took forever to cook for some reason and did not have the proper amount of time to rest. We had to hunt for acceptable pieces to place in our boxes. Finally, the brisket. this was our best category of the weekend from a scoring standpoint. I also think that is the best looking brisket box we have ever built.
Overall, we finished 18th out of 32 teams. Not our best showing, but not our worst either. Time to tweak some things and get ready for this week at the Roc City Rib Fest in Rochester, NY.
We would be remiss if we did not thank the owner of the building where our trailer was parked. Let's just say that while Salt City is a good competition, they are logistically challenged at times. We were 400 feet from the nearest water with 100 feet of hose. The gracious building owner allowed us to run a hose through his building so that we could find a water source that worked so we could fill out tanks. Thank you very much!
Finally, congrats to The Basic BBQ Team, our Grand Champion and to Good Smoke, our Reserve Grand Champion. Also, a shout out to Holy Smokes for the strong showing!
We will see everyone this weekend at Roc City. Stop by and say hi to George.
Thanks for stopping by,
Bill
We were also looking forward to this weekend for a few other reasons as well.
First, it was mine and Hope's fifth wedding anniversary. I had some friends order a surprise cake on the sly to surprise Hope. We loved the design! To top it off, the cake even had cannoli filling.
Second, we added a new member this year for some of our competitions. Our friend Dennis was a man without a team this year. So, when his schedule permits, he is cooking with the team. Dennis, you were a big help this weekend and we are looking forward to the rest of the year.
Finally, if you read this blog, you know that we lost two of our furry kids this past year. When looking for a new rescue, we decided that we wanted a younger dog that would be trainable so that we could bring them to a competition. Well, we found that dog in George. He is a Lab Pointer (?) mix that is almost five months old. He was great over the weekend. Well behaved, polite, and a heart breaker. A Rock Star was born this past weekend.
So, after dinner and some social time, it was time to get down to the business of cooking the standard KCBS meats consisting of chicken, pork ribs, pork butt, and brisket. Here were our boxes.
We were happy with everything we cooked. The chicken flavor was outstanding if not a little ratty looking. We moved to thighs this year and my trimming is a bit rusty. I promise they will look better as the season moves on. The ribs were confusing. Once comment card said it was the best rib they had ever had. But, another said they were undercooked with a strange flavor. We were not happy with the pork. These butts took forever to cook for some reason and did not have the proper amount of time to rest. We had to hunt for acceptable pieces to place in our boxes. Finally, the brisket. this was our best category of the weekend from a scoring standpoint. I also think that is the best looking brisket box we have ever built.
Overall, we finished 18th out of 32 teams. Not our best showing, but not our worst either. Time to tweak some things and get ready for this week at the Roc City Rib Fest in Rochester, NY.
We would be remiss if we did not thank the owner of the building where our trailer was parked. Let's just say that while Salt City is a good competition, they are logistically challenged at times. We were 400 feet from the nearest water with 100 feet of hose. The gracious building owner allowed us to run a hose through his building so that we could find a water source that worked so we could fill out tanks. Thank you very much!
Finally, congrats to The Basic BBQ Team, our Grand Champion and to Good Smoke, our Reserve Grand Champion. Also, a shout out to Holy Smokes for the strong showing!
We will see everyone this weekend at Roc City. Stop by and say hi to George.
Thanks for stopping by,
Bill
