A Day at the Asylum: Almost Heaven BBQ Bash

Last weekend, the Three Dogs BBQ road show packed up and headed off to the asylum.  BBQ'er's are a little crazy to be in the world of competition BBQ.  So, it was fitting that the 3rd annual Almost Heaven BBQ Bash was held on the grounds of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, WV.

This building is the largest hand cut sandstone building in North America and the second largest in the world.  I did not take any of the tours offered but from what I hear the history of this building, which dates back to the 1850's, is quite chilling.  Bulk lobotomies, torture rooms, holding boxes.  You get the picture.

The facility was finally shut its doors in 1994.  Since then, the building has been purchased by a local businessman who is restoring the inside to its original state.  Various historical and haunted tours are run and from what I hear, the former asylum is a must see on the list of haunted places to visit in the United States.  Definitely a unique place to hold a BBQ competition.

So, with one eye on our smokers and one eye looking over our back for ghosts, we fired up our smokers and got down to the business of smoking meat.

To add to the craziness, this competition was an auto qualifier to the Jack Daniels BBQ Championship as this is the only sanctioned BBQ contest held in West Virginia.  Win and you are in.  No sweating out the Jack Draw in August.  Consequently, this contest drew 57 of the best teams from east of the Mississippi.  The field was the toughest we have ever competed against.  How would we fare?

Well, the results were mixed.  Overall, we were very happy with our results, but we did leave some points on the table.  29th place chicken, 3rd place ribs, 37th place pork, and 19th place brisket added up to an 18th overall.  Our pork box was mixed.  "Great pulled, rubbery slices" were the comments.  We agree.  We should have left the money muscle out of the box.  The ribs were spot on, falling one taste and one tenderness point away from a 180.

But the brisket box is the story of the day...

The temperature was rising slowly on this brisket.  I could not figure out why.  When we pulled our brisket out of the foil, the flat split right down the middle.  There was a time I would have panicked.  But, we refoiled and let the brisket rest until turn in time.  I started to formulate Plan B.  Later, when we were building our brisket box, I did try to get some slices.  No luck.  Completely overdone.  I believe that my temperature probe was right in the middle of a vein of fat.  So, Plan B went into action.  I pulled the flat, chopped it up, lightly sauced, and dusted a bit with rub.  We threw it into the box with the burnt ends and crossed our fingers.  I was betting on a lower 10% finish.  You can't imagine our surprise when we came in 19th place.  We were dinged a bit on appearance scores, but the taste and tenderness saved us for sure.  We really appreciate that the judges scored what was presented to them and not what they expected to see.

Congratulations go out to Rocky Top BBQ, our GC and Wolf's Revenge, our RGC.  We would also like to thank Royal Oak Charcoal for keeping the 270 Smokers rolling smoke.  Next up is the Adirondack BBQ Festival in July.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Catching Up

It has been a busy few months around Three Dogs Headquarters.  While I would like to be able to pay the bills by making BBQ, the reality of life is that I need a real job to pay the bills and fund this addiction, um I mean hobby.  With new owners at work I have been firmly planted in front of a computer helping to carve out a small company from a huge multi-national conglomerate.  So, sitting in front of a computer is not something I feel like doing in the evenings.  But, it is time to get back in the swing of things and make this blog semi regular again.  That being said, lets catch up.  Shall we?

We have been competing.  BBQ is my escape from work.  I am happy to report, the results have been positive.  The third weekend in May found Three Dogs BBQ at the 3rd annual Salt City BBQ Festival in Syracuse, NY.

While we like to take part in competitions in downtown urban settings, the old Clinton Square location for Salt City was lacking in space and had very questionable infrastructure.  This competition was in danger of not having enough teams to be a qualifier in 2017. But, a move to the New York State Fairgrounds solved the space problem and improved the water and electric issues.  With 44 teams participating this year, I think that Salt City may have a bright future.  Toss in some very uncharacteristic Upstate New York weather for May and the weekend was shaping up nicely.  Even George was enjoying the warm weather.

As for our cook, I was not happy with how our turn ins came out.  I am happy to report the judges disagreed with my assessment.  A 9th in chicken, an 8th in ribs, a 4th in pork and a 12th in brisket added up to a 4th place overall.  A very pleasant surprise.  What hurt the brisket was a lack of burnt ends in the box.  They were mushy and just not good at all.  But, we were very happy with the 4th place overall and the chance to walk a few times.  Congrats go out to Good Smoke, our GC and to The Basic BBQ Team, our RGC.

Two weeks later we loaded up the trailer and headed up to the headwaters of the Allegheny River to Coudersport, PA to participate in the 2nd annual Conquer the Grill.  This competition is held in conjunction the Gods Country Marathon.  Why is it called the Gods Country marathon?  A few reasons I suppose.  One, it really is beautiful country up in the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania.

Two, Coudersport is 50 miles from the middle of nowhere.  It should be noted that I am told the Gods Country Marathon is ranked as one of the ten hardest in the world.  That might have something to do with the four mile mountain right at the mid point of the run.  But I could be wrong.

The BBQ competition is held by the finish line of the marathon.  Last year that was in the town square.  But, PennDOT decided that they had to rip Main Street, so the marathon finish and the BBQ was moved to the high school, just outside of town.

I started a rumor that if a member of a BBQ team finished the marathon and won the BBQ competition, there would be a $1000 bonus added to the prize money.  Strangely enough, I could not get any of the teams to bite on that proposition.  Instead, we tried to pass out 9:22 MABA shots at the water stations for the runners.  Again, no takers.  Such dedication.

As for our cook, I felt it was fair to midland.  When all was said and done, we ended up with a 2nd in chicken, a 3rd in ribs, a 6th in pork, and a 3rd in brisket.  That added up to a second place overall and our first Reserve Grand ever!  Needless to say, the four hour drive home was much easier to take.  Congrats goes out to Peace, Love, and Smokiness, our GC and their first as well.

We have been quite happy with our results this year.  Hopefully we can keep the train on the tracks.  Next up, Three Dogs heads down to the Almost Heaven BBQ Bash in Weston, WV.  70 of the best teams in the East will be headed to Weston with one goal in mind: winning the auto entry to the Jack. This will be a true test of our BBQ skills.  Hope to see you there.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill