Ohio Smoked Meat and BBQ Festival 2012: Nelsonville, OH

Last weekend we entered our final competition of 2012: The Ohio Smoked Meat and BBQ Festival in Nelsonville, Ohio.  It gave us one final chance for some fun and to hone our recipes in KCBS competition.

We invited a few good friends to come and join in.  Jack from North Coast BBQ Smokers couldn't make it due to some unfortunate circumstances and our old friend Kelly couldn't make it because his wife said so ;), but Big Bob stepped up to the plate and performed admirably in the role of sous chef for the weekend.  He is hooked and would like to start his own team, but will settle for living vicariously through me and Hope...

Bob really was a big help (even though it doesn't look like it above) since Hope's wrist is hurt and she really can't do a thing in the kitchen right now.

Now, to the review:

Good:  We posted our highest point total ever, 603.999.

Bad:  That was only good enough for 33rd out of 36 teams.  But, the field was stacked with great teams trying to get points in the final event of the Ohio Triple Crown.

Good:  We really improved our brisket score, raising it by 30 points.  We are really headed in the right direction in this category.

Bad:  Ribs were dead last.  Funny, we thought they would be our best score.  We loved them.  But, it just goes to show you, you have to cook for the judges and not for yourself.

Good:  We are even more hooked and determined to improve our scores in 2013.

Here are some pictures from the rest of the weekend:

More to come later!

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

Breaking in my New Toy: Pot Roast Dutch Oven Style

Someone on the Stumps Forum posted a great sounding recipe for pot roast on a Stumps Smoker.  So, I used it as an excuse to buy the 9 quart Lodge Logic Dutch Oven and give it a spin at Nelsonville for dinner on Friday night.

Here is the recipe:

1 Chuck Roast.  This was a 3.5 pounder.
2 ribs of celery, diced.
4 potatoes, diced.
4 large carrots, peeled and diced.
3 cloves of garlic, minced.
1/4 cup of flour.
Enough beef broth to cover everything.  I used 2 quarts.

This is where it gets hard ;)

Throw it all in the dutch oven.

Cover it up.  Put in a 250 F smoker for 6 hours.
Make some biscuits (on the smoker as well)
Pull the dutch oven out of the smoker after 6 hours.  Pull the meat apart.
Serve.

After 4 hours I ramped the heat up to 350 F to speed up the cooking.  We were getting hungry.  After the ramp up, it cooked for 1 hour more, 5 hours total.

It was the perfect cold, rainy night dinner.  Veggies were still tender and the beef was pull apart good.

Some things I will do different:

Use 1/2 cup of flour to thicken a bit more.
Add salt to taste.

I also love the dutch oven.  Lodge Logic makes a great product for sure.

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

The New Rolling BBQ Fortress: The Dog House

Well, I guess you could say we jumped into the deep end late this summer.  We found a BBQ trailer for sale on the Internet and we decided to make the jump and purchase.  A friend of mine and I made the drive down to Alabama over Labor Day to pick it up...

Somewhere in Georgia...

Finally home and set up...

All the accessories...

So we cleaned it out, removed the decals, and put the Three Dogs decals on the side.  Here are some pics after this was done...

Front storage...

Back storage...

Work table...

All of the new decals...

A friend of ours has named the trailer "The Dog House."  I think it is going to stick.

This past weekend we went to the Nelsonville Smoked Meat Festival and competed in the KCBS competition.  Once I get the pics downloaded, we will post results and a review.

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

Just Plain Nuts...

Since my friend Mark showed me his smoked pecan posting, I have been experimenting with different types of smoked nuts.  I have found that smoking a nut is very simple and really makes your garden variety mixed nut something special.

For this day of experimenting, I used:

Raw Pumpkin Seeds
Raw Macadamia Nuts
Already roasted Kirkland Mixed Nuts from Costco

First, the nuts get a light coating of olive oil, thoroughly mixed, then placed into a single layer inside an aluminum foil pan...

Macadamia Nuts, ready for the smoker...

Then, I fire up the smoker and bring to a temperature of 250 F and place hickory wood in the ash pan.
The nuts then go into the smoker on the top rack...

Every 20 minutes I go out and mix the nuts in the pan to make sure they roast evenly and so they can get the maximum amount of smoke.

After one hour, I place salt to taste with sea salt and place hot into canning jars, then seal.  As the nuts cool, the jars will seal, keeping that smoky goodness locked into the nut...

Left to right: Macadamia Nuts, Pumpkin Seeds, and Mixed Nuts.

Quick, simple, and much cheaper than if you by a can of smoked nuts at the store.  Give them a try.  Your friends, family, and co-workers will love you for it...

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill