Mid-Summer Review

July and August saw our usual competition slowdown.  July saw Three Dogs head up to Old Forge, New York  to compete in The Great Adirondack BBQ Festival.  In August, we made our yearly trek to the Hudson Valley area for the Hudson Valley Ribfest.

The Great Adirondack BBQ Festival, Old Forge, NY

This was an addition to the schedule for 2017.  We usually have a two month lay off between our last June contest and Hudson Valley.  But, we wanted to stay sharp and started to look for a July comp to do so.  This competition fit the description.  Old Forge is a great mountain town about halfway between Utica and Lake Placid.  It is a great place for a competition, other than keeping on the lookout for the occasional bear.  Martie, our at the time 7 week old Springador puppy, made her debut there.

We had the typical Three Dogs, Three Meat Cook.  8th in chicken, 7th in ribs, 11th in brisket, and a deserved 27th in pork (ouch), added up to a 13th overall.  I tell you, if competitions were three meats we would be rivaling Myron Mixon  for most GC ever.  Just kidding, but we would have at least one. But, champions seal the deal and we just haven't been able to put great product out for all four categories yet.  No excuses.

Overall, Old Forge is a great contest.  Beautiful scenery, cool weather in July, big payouts if you are lucky enough to walk top five, and the area is littered with lots of great little pubs.

I believe that Old Forge will be a regular in the Three Dogs rotation for years to come.

Hudson Valley Ribfest, New Paltz, New York.

Hudson Valley is an odd duck of a contest.  Generally, you stay in your extended area for BBQ competitions.  You know what judges like, why tempt fate?  Hudson Valley, due to its proximity, pulls teams from New England, Western NY, and the Mid-Atlantic.  It also pulls judges from all three areas.  Good teams always rise to the top, but this convergence of different regions does add an X factor to the competition.  Results are always interesting.  

It all started here for Three Dogs back in 2011.  At our first contest here, we got a walk and a check for the pizza turn in.  Hope fell in love with BBQ at that point and the rest is history.  We followed that up with a chicken wing walk the next year and our first KCBS call in 2013.  This is the only contest we have attended every year since we started competing and we always will.  The ribfest has grown a lot over the years, adding country concerts and lots of vendors.  We have fun, but this contest has never been kind to us.  Perhaps this would be the year.

Friday was load in day and we were one of the first to arrive.  That gave us the opportunity to enjoy the oppressive humidity, constant rain, and the black flies and mosquitoes.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  Mental note, five tiki torches do keep the flies and bugs away.  They also stay lit in driving rain.  Bonus...

Saturday dawned and we sauntered over the Mort's Meat Mafia to assist with the NEBS grilling.  I made our pulled pork pizza for Mort and Jeff.  Yes, this was the pizza that gave us our first walk in competitive BBQ and has yet to disappoint.  Mort took a 6th with this pizza, along with a 10th in steak, and a 9th in apple dessert for 19th overall.  We won't talk about the wrapped in bacon turn in...

Afterward, we strolled back over to our site and prepped for the KCBS cook.  Still oppressively humid, but there was a slight breeze and a front was moving in later that night.  Perhaps it would cool off a bit.

When Sunday dawned, it was noticeably cooler and less humid, good cooking weather.  Everything made it in on time and all we could do was wait for what I fondly call The Reckoning.  Now, I thought we had a good cook.  I didn't say that out loud because generally that means the judges will tear you apart.  Yes, I am superstitious like that.  Well, for once my hunch was right.  4th in ribs and our first category win with a 1st in pork added up to a 5th place overall out of 59 tough teams from all along the East Coast.

Next up, our final competition of the year, Oinktoberfest in Clarence, NY.  Stop by and say hi.  Hope to see you there.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

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

End of the Summer Season

It has been too long since our last post.  You know how it can be.  Life gets in the way, interests and hobbies suffer.  Rest assured though, we have been hitting the competition trail this summer.  Let's look back and see what has gone on since Roc City.

First after Roc City was a trip to Covington, Va for the Covington Cork and Pork Festival.

The competition was held the same weekend that the flooding was taking place just 20 miles away in southern West Virginia.  As a result, all of the teams donated their leftover food to Operation BBQ Relief to feed first responders and those in shelters in the White Sulphur Springs area of West Virginia, one of the hardest hit areas. I've always known that BBQ people have the biggest hearts. This just confirms what I already knew.  As for our results, we came in 17th overall, including a fourth place rib entry.  We have always wanted to win one of the cutting board trophies.  Mission accomplished.

Next up was the first annual Salamanca Rock'in Ribfest in Salamanca, NY.  The hot, humid, and rainy theme for summer 2016 continued.  Even George was looking for some high ground.

Results for this competition were mixed with an 8th in pork and a 7th in brisket.

We had some issues with the other categories, leading to a 21st place overall finish.

Next up was one of our favorite competitions, the Hudson Valley Ribfest in New Paltz, NY.  Again, it was hot and humid, with a 100% chance of flies.  Lots of them.

Chicken has historically been one of our best categories.  So, our low scores this year were a bit of a head scratcher.  But, after Salamanca, I sat down and thought through what we were doing.  I realized that I had left out a few small, but important details.  As a result, we scored an 8th place chicken call with a 28th place finish overall.

So, since reexamining the process worked with the chicken, I reexamined our process with our other meats before competing at the Finger Lakes Fire and Smoke Festival in Geneva, NY over Labor Day weekend.

Our first competition of the year with cool and dry conditions.  Very refreshing after the hot and sticky summer.  The attention to detail paid off with chicken placing just out of the top 10 with an 11th place finish, 5th place ribs, and 5th place brisket adding up to an 8th place finish overall.

So, that sums up the summer season.  I've taken some more notes to capture the little things and we are ready for our last competition of the year in three weeks at the Keystone Classic BBQ Competition in Harrisburg, PA.  Hopefully the upward trend will continue.

Finally, I have been cooking and have some new recipes to share.  I promise in the next few weeks to post more regularly.  Life has just gotten in the way.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Paella on the Grill

Part of the festivities last weekend at The Ironman BBQ competition was a friendly, informal Paella cooking throw down between a few of the teams.  No cash or trophies were on the line.  Just bragging rights.  Sometimes, bragging rights are enough.  The only problem, I have made Paella exactly twice before in my life.  Once on the stove and once a month or so ago on the grill to prove to myself that it could be done.  My grill experiment was a partial success.  Based upon those results, I dove into the competition headfirst.  What else is there to do the night before a BBQ competition, right?

I decided on a seafood Paella.  Scallop to be precise.  Here is the ingredient list:

Three Dogs BBQ Grilled Scallop Paella

1 lb. Frozen Dried Bay Scallops
1 16 oz. can of Clam Stock
1 16 oz. can of Chicken Stock
1 lb of bulk Chorizo sausage
2 cups of Arborio or other short grain rice
1/4 cup of minced Sun Dried Tomatoes packed in oil
1/2 Tablespoon of oil from the Sundried Tomatoes for sautéing
1 Small to Medium Sweet Onion, roughly diced
4 Cloves of Garlic, minced
2 Pinches of Saffron Threads
2 Tablespoons of quality Spanish paprika.  I used the smoked variety
2 Teaspoons of Garlic Powder
2 Teaspoons of Onion Powder
1 Teaspoon ground black pepper
1 Teaspoon of Sea Salt
1/4 Teaspoon of Cumin
A couple dashes of Thyme and Oregano
One Jalapeño and about 1/2 cup of thawed Peas for garnish
Garlic Parmesean Aioli for garnish

To start, I lit one chimney full of charcoal and placed about 1/2 a chimneys worth of charcoal off to one side of my Weber kettle.  Once the coals were ready, I spread them off to one side, put the grill rack in place, and heated up my nine quart cast iron dutch oven with 1/2 tbsp of the tomato oil.  Once the oil was hot, I added my chorizo.  I stirred the sausage until it was starting to turn brown and crumbly. At this point, I added the minced garlic, onion, and sun dried tomato and sautéed this mixture, stirring fairly constantly, until the onions were getting translucent.

Next, I added the rice and allowed the mixture to cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally.  Finally,  I added the dry spice mixture and sautéed this mixture for five more minutes.

Next, I added the clam and chicken stock along with my scallops, stirred the mixture thoroughly, placed the cover on the Dutch Oven and the grill, and walked away for 30 minutes.  While waiting on the rice to absorb the liquid, I thinly sliced my jalapeño and prepared my aioli.

Garlic Parmesean Aioli

1/4 cup of mayonnaise
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp of grated parmesan cheese
Juice of one lemon
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp of ground black pepper
Enough olive oil to make the mixture mobile

After 30 minutes of simmer time on the grill, the rice mixture was almost done.  At this point I added my sliced jalapeño and peas and replaced the cover on the Dutch Oven for 10 more minutes.  Then, I removed the Dutch Oven from the grill and let sit for 10 more minutes.  Then, I drizzled my aioli over the top of the Paella.  Wallah, done!

The other two entries for the evening were a Chicken Wing Chorizo Paella prepared by Terry West with 270 Smokers:

And a Shrimp and Rabbit Paella from the guys at Plum Crazy BBQ:

The judges, assembled from the ranks of our hosts at Mason Dixon BBQ Supply, sampled and deliberated for an eternity.  At least 15 minutes...

The results were:

1. 270 Smokers
2. Three Dogs BBQ
3. Plum Crazy BBQ

It was going to be hard to beat the Paella King, Terry West.  As the judging was open, comments were offered to the three chefs.  Our comment was that Three Dogs would have won had we had some crust, or Socarrat, on the bottom of the pan.  Close, but no cigar.  Terry may have won this time, but we will meet again.  Well done.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Covington Cork and Pork Festival - Covington, VA

Two weeks ago, when we were at the Wilson competition, we were contacted by fellow NY competitors Red Valley BBQ.  The Covington BBQ competition was short a few teams to be a Royal and Jack qualifier.  If we arranged for loaned cookers and helped you out with equipment, would we consider entering.  In a strange turn of events, Hope and to convince me to go.  But, after some discussion, we decided "Why not.  What is the worst we can do?  Finish last?"  So, after dropping the trailer off at Shortsville BBQ World Headquarters in anticipation of the upcoming Lake Placid event, we put what we could in the truck and set our sights on the Covington Cork and Pork Festival in Covington, VA.

After driving through the wilds of West Virginia (I do believe I saw Ned Beatty running into the woods), we set up cam in downtown Covington.  Old school, complete with EZ Up, bus pans, and the old Three Dogs banner.  Borrowed smokers that we had never used before from 270 Smokers, loaned knives other assorted pieces of equipment.  What could go wrong?  

It was a bit on the hot and humid side.  But that was taken care of by thunderstorms in the middle of the night, right in the middle of our cook.  This bucket was about empty the night before.  Do you think we got a little rain?

But, we weathered the storm and the morning dawned cooler, if not a bit misty.  Time to get ready for turn ins.  

After tuning the the brisket box, I had time to snap a picture of the BBQ Rich and Famous.  Not everyone has to deal with the heat.  But, lets move on to the scores, shall we?  

Not our best showing, but very good considering that we were using smokers that we had never cooked on before.  The boxes above were good for an 18th in chicken, 14th in ribs, 12th in pork, and 15th in brisket.  This was good for an overall 17th place, out of 25 total teams.  

I have to say the the 270 Smokers were very easy to get the hang of in short order.  They hold their temperature steady and recover fairly fast after opening and closing the door.  A big thanks go out to Terry and Stephanie for loaning us the cookers!  We would also like to thank Sean and Adriane for helping us out with whatever equipment we have have forgotten.  

Finally, we would like to congratulate our Grand Champion, Smoke-aholics and our Reserve Grand Champion, Checkered Pig.  

In closing, for those of you who hit the Table of Death (7 out of the bottom 9 pork scores), some of you twice, we feel your pain.  We are fortunate to have escaped with a decent chicken score.  

Next up, the I Love BBQ Festival in Lake Placid, NY.  See you there.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill