On 5/31, Pigheaded headed out to Levittown, PA to participate in the Que for the Troops BBQ competition. This is the first year we competed here. We had a choice of two different competitions this weekend, but the fact that the proceeds from this one would benefit the Liberty USO, hence the troops was the deciding factor.
The venue for this event was the Falls Township Park, which was very nice. Large level grass sites made the hot weather tolerable and we would definitely do this event again.
We decided to leave very early Friday morning to get through Philly before the rush hour traffic. We actually made very good time and it only took an hour and a half to get there. After getting our site, the game plan was to set up as early as possible to avoid the heat of the afternoon. We had a set of extra hands in the guise of Linda Lucas helping us at this event. Linda is a CBJ and wanted to experience what the competition teams did to see how the product is produced that ends up on the judges table. We benefited greatly from her enthusiasm as she totally immersed herself in every aspect of the weekend from setting up and prepping, to cleaning up and taking down the site after all the categories were turned in. We sincerely hope she isn’t permanently scarred from the exposure to our family’s antics, as we put the Fun in dysfunctional.
One thing that was different about this competition was the fact that due to the hot weather, we decided to forego the Chef’s Choice and Dessert categories and take Friday afternoon as easy as possible. While we didn’t know what to do with ourselves during this normally busy time, we believe we made the right decision. The normal prep work went pretty smoothly and we settled into our normal routine as Friday evening wore on. After the prep work and the butts and briskets were put in the pits, we sat back and enjoyed a very pleasant evening and even had to pull up a light blanket as the weather cooled for the night.
Saturday morning brought about the usual activity and after the provided breakfast we went about the business of trying to wow the judges with our offerings. Well, almost!!! Just about the time that chicken was due to be turned in, Trina made a dramatic exit from the trailer. She stepped onto the step wrong and took a header onto the ground. Lucky for her that the lush grass field softened the blow somewhat. After scaring the hell out of us and cleaning up her cuts, scrapes and icing her neck and hand we found that no major damage was done, except for her pride. It’s a good thing we had 2 nurses onsite. Some people will do anything to get out of clean up. Just kidding Trina, see I told you we’re a dysfunctional family.
Despite the drama, turn ins took place as normal and we were pretty happy with our cook. It was now time to clean up, feed friends and some of our country’s finest Marines and wait for the judges’ verdict. We decided to carry a canopy to the awards ceremony to escape the hot rays and settled in to hopefully hear our name called. After the two ancillary categories called, chicken was next and 1st place went to…..Pigheaded BBQ. Wow, what a way to start the awards and the trophies were huge. Alas, we didn’t hear our names again and eagerly poured over the score sheets to see how we fared. Well, we didn’t fare too well. After the 1st place Chicken, we placed:
17th in Ribs, 30th in Pork and 31st in Brisket for a 17th overall finish out of 46 teams. Not the way we had hoped, but at least we did get 1 call. Congrats to Wilbur's Revenge for their GC and Fire & Spice for RGC. We would like to thank our brave service men and women whom we were here to support and wish them all the best of fortune and the safe return to their families. God bless all of America’s service members, as they are our true heroes. Thank you also to the friends and family who continue to support our crazy passion that is competition BBQ. Our next scheduled competition is on July 12-14 in Wildwood, NJ. Pigheaded BBQ is also cooking a pop up “ABC Dinner” at Cantwell Tavern in Odessa, DE on June 17. Cantwell Tavern will supply the sides, beer and cigars and we will cook the brisket.
On 5/31, Pigheaded headed out to Levittown, PA to participate in the Que for the Troops BBQ competition. This is the first year we competed here. We had a choice of two different competitions this weekend, but the fact that the proceeds from this one would benefit the Liberty USO, hence the troops was the deciding factor.
The venue for this event was the Falls Township Park, which was very nice. Large level grass sites made the hot weather tolerable and we would definitely do this event again.
We decided to leave very early Friday morning to get through Philly before the rush hour traffic. We actually made very good time and it only took an hour and a half to get there. After getting our site, the game plan was to set up as early as possible to avoid the heat of the afternoon. We had a set of extra hands in the guise of Linda Lucas helping us at this event. Linda is a CBJ and wanted to experience what the competition teams did to see how the product is produced that ends up on the judges table. We benefited greatly from her enthusiasm as she totally immersed herself in every aspect of the weekend from setting up and prepping, to cleaning up and taking down the site after all the categories were turned in. We sincerely hope she isn’t permanently scarred from the exposure to our family’s antics, as we put the Fun in dysfunctional.
One thing that was different about this competition was the fact that due to the hot weather, we decided to forego the Chef’s Choice and Dessert categories and take Friday afternoon as easy as possible. While we didn’t know what to do with ourselves during this normally busy time, we believe we made the right decision. The normal prep work went pretty smoothly and we settled into our normal routine as Friday evening wore on. After the prep work and the butts and briskets were put in the pits, we sat back and enjoyed a very pleasant evening and even had to pull up a light blanket as the weather cooled for the night.
Saturday morning brought about the usual activity and after the provided breakfast we went about the business of trying to wow the judges with our offerings. Well, almost!!! Just about the time that chicken was due to be turned in, Trina made a dramatic exit from the trailer. She stepped onto the step wrong and took a header onto the ground. Lucky for her that the lush grass field softened the blow somewhat. After scaring the hell out of us and cleaning up her cuts, scrapes and icing her neck and hand we found that no major damage was done, except for her pride. It’s a good thing we had 2 nurses onsite. Some people will do anything to get out of clean up. Just kidding Trina, see I told you we’re a dysfunctional family.
Despite the drama, turn ins took place as normal and we were pretty happy with our cook. It was now time to clean up, feed friends and some of our country’s finest Marines and wait for the judges’ verdict. We decided to carry a canopy to the awards ceremony to escape the hot rays and settled in to hopefully hear our name called. After the two ancillary categories called, chicken was next and 1st place went to…..Pigheaded BBQ. Wow, what a way to start the awards and the trophies were huge. Alas, we didn’t hear our names again and eagerly poured over the score sheets to see how we fared. Well, we didn’t fare too well. After the 1st place Chicken, we placed:
17th in Ribs, 30th in Pork and 31st in Brisket for a 17th overall finish out of 46 teams. Not the way we had hoped, but at least we did get 1 call. Congrats to Wilbur's Revenge for their GC and Fire & Spice for RGC. We would like to thank our brave service men and women whom we were here to support and wish them all the best of fortune and the safe return to their families. God bless all of America’s service members, as they are our true heroes. Thank you also to the friends and family who continue to support our crazy passion that is competition BBQ. Our next scheduled competition is on July 12-14 in Wildwood, NJ. Pigheaded BBQ is also cooking a pop up “ABC Dinner” at Cantwell Tavern in Odessa, DE on June 17. Cantwell Tavern will supply the sides, beer and cigars and we will cook the brisket.
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