2011 NJBBQ Championship (Wildwood)

Pigheaded BBQ competed at the New Jersey BBQ Championship this past weekend, July 8-10.
This is always a family favorite because it’s a three day competition and we generally get a couple of hotel rooms and stay an extra night, giving everyone a little holiday. Friday was a nice sunny day and Norma started on her dessert category but as night fell so did the rain. It was a heavy drenching rain and I saw at least 2 canopies end up in the dumpster. That’s never a good thing and thankfully our new 10x20 canopy survived and held up very well giving not only our team some shelter, but a few neighboring team members as well. During the rain, the cook’s meeting was held and the Iron Chef ingredient was divulged and passed out. This year’s ingredient was a whole frozen turkey in the 11-12 pound range. I called for some helping hands and a family friend, Bill Kerns arrived to carry back the turkey while I brought back the turn in boxes, containers, cups and ID necklaces. As I stepped out of the firehouse, I saw a river flowing in the street that ran the whole 4 blocks back to the competition site. There was no getting around the deep puddles, so we just muddled through them. There was no keeping the boxes or anything else dry, so I had to wipe them all off once I got back to our site. The rain only lasted a couple of hours and the rest of the night was very nice weather wise. We tossed around a few ideas for the Iron Chef category, some of them being Thanksgiving fatties, turkey poppers, turkey tacos and a few others. Ron v2.0 & Brian who would be cooking the category promised to kick around more ideas during the night. We settled in for the night, knowing the next two days would be long ones.

Saturday was a gorgeous weather day and we were ready to get cooking. Norma finished her dessert, Mike and I experimented with a new sauce and v2.0 and Brian started on their turkey & sausage sliders with cranberry BBQ sauce. They trimmed the turkey, and used some of my rib trimmings and some breakfast sausage and ground the turkey meat. The cook and the turn ins went smoothly and prep work for Sunday’s cook got underway. After the prep work, a little socializing and resting was called for and we wiled away the rest of Saturday. As midnight approached, we shifted into gear and started putting on the big meats. Everything went according to plan and we settled in for another night at the site.

Sunday was another beautiful day and we went about the usual chores of getting ribs and chicken ready to go on the smoker. We were pleased with the results of the cook and our turn in boxes and could only wait ‘till the awards ceremony to find out who we did. We started cleaning up and did some packing up then headed down to the stage to hear the results. We didn’t hear our name in the ancillary categories (Iron Chef, Dessert & Sauce) and hoped the rest of the awards wouldn’t follow suit. Chicken was the first of the BBQ meats and Pigheaded BBQ was called for 2nd place. That was very nice and we received a nice plaque for that. Ribs, Pork and Brisket came and went and we didn’t hear our name called for any of them. We were a little disappointed and they only called the top two for overall. When we got our score sheet we saw that Pigheaded BBQ finished 7th overall out of 66 teams. That was an improvement over our 10th place finish last year and we were happy with that. Our finishes are as follows:

Iron Chef -32nd, Dessert – 18th, Sauce-44th, Chicken-2nd, Ribs-11th, Pork- 42nd, Brisket-21st. 7th Overall.

2011 BBQ season underway

First order of business is to apologize for the lapse of posts. OK, enough of that, now onto the current BBQ season. This past weekend, Pigheaded BBQ competed in our second competition of the season.


On April 15-16th we were in Salisbury, MD for Pork in the Park. This contest traditionally kicks off the season for many in the Mid Atlantic area and despite the gloomy weather forecast 116 teams signed up to compete here. I would like to say that we started off with a bang, but alas it was not to be. While we certainly did better than last year, we still finished a lowly 62nd out of 116 teams. We did have a strong showing in Dessert (11th) and Chicken (18th), we weren't so strong in Ribs (79th), Pork (60th) or Brisket (75th). We certainly hoped it was the long hiatus over winter. While not happy with the results, we weren't totally discouraged like we were last year. One good thing that happened, or rather didn't happen was the horrific rain and winds that were predicted. While we did have some sprinkles and some wind, Mother Nature was kind enough to hold off the main event 'till after the awards ceremony , giving us a chance to get out of Dodge while the getting was good.

Next on the calendar was Middletown, DE which most of you know is our hometown. On Thursday, May 19th we found out that the Dover, DE competition had been canceled making Middletown the only Delaware State Championship this year. So what's the big deal you may be wondering, well that makes Middletown an automatic qualifier for the Jack Daniels World Championship for the winner. This is a big deal in the BBQ world and the stakes were just raised.

We were psyched, not only because this was our home turf but also the added incentive of the possibility of qualifying for The Jack. The weather forecast was also spotty for the two days and we hoped for the best. We did get rain on Friday, but Saturday turned out to be a great weather day.
Our cook started off on Friday with the Chef’s Choice category which my son Ron v2.0 prepared. It was a mini tower of goodness featuring tomato, onion, avocado and lump crab meat. It was a work of art and tasted just as good as it looked. Next was the dessert category, which my wife Norma cooked. This was a little stressful for her as it was open to anyone, not just the BBQ competitors. Bakers, culinary students or anyone who like to do desserts were allowed to enter, cooked on or offsite including professional kitchens.

Saturday was all about the meat with the four usual categories: Chicken, ribs, pork and brisket. We felt the chicken was on point, the ribs we turned in were the first baby back we ever submitted in a competition, the pork turned out very good and the brisket was not up to our standards. Now we had to wait to see if the judges agreed. We arrived at the awards ceremony and had just settled in when we were informed that there had been an incident at our site. I went back and found out that some trash bags at the site next to ours had caught fire and were very close to our truck. Some fast acting neighbors sprang into action and using our fire extinguisher and water buckets put out the fire with the help of my son-in-laws mother who had stayed back at the site. No damage was done and I went back to the awards ceremony.

The first category called was Chef’s Choice and we didn’t hear our name called but found out we placed 7th. Next up was Dessert and the 1st place winner was Pigheaded BBQ. Norma was so excited I had to help her up to accept the award. I got the trophy and she got the check. Oh well, she’s not the CFO for nothing. Next category was chicken and 1st place winner was……Pigheaded BBQ. What a great start, another trophy and another check for the CFO. Ribs were called next and we didn’t hear our name called. Oh well, we were still off to a great start. The pork category was next and Pigheaded BBQ was called again, this time for 4th place. Great job Mike, you nailed it. The last category was brisket and we were pretty nervous because we felt if we didn’t tank ribs and we got a call in brisket, we had a chance for the Best of Delaware award. We didn’t hear our name called in brisket and found out that we finished a lowly 38th in brisket. While we didn’t get Best of Delaware, our good friends Slower Lower did and we were very happy for them. All in all it was a very good weekend for Pigheaded BBQ. Another great event organized by Mose Zook, Ben Riehl and crew and another chance to work as a family unit and see our BBQ friends. Next stop, Wildwood, NJ July 8-10. Hope to see you there.

Uh... OK?

2010 Southern York County BBQ (Shrewsbury)

Pigheaded BBQ finished their 2010 season at the Markets of Shrewsbury, for the 2nd annual Southern York County BBQ Cook off. This was our second visit to this competition and the organizers, Ben Kauffman, Alicia Herbst and staff did another great job. The field of competitors just about doubled over last year to 29 teams. The best news was NO RAIN this year. Last year's competition was held in a steady downpour and this year, the weather was great. The trip down was fairly smooth despite the fact that the adaptor on our trailer harness was faulty and we didn't have brake lights or turn signals on the way down.

Though the sites were a little tight, but we didn't have any trouble getting in and set up. This was due to our early arrival and my wife Norma and son Ron v 2.0 who made the chore pretty easy. We were a bit lucky in the fact that the team on one side of us wasn't there yet and we could pull the trailer in pretty straight through their site. Once the major chores were done, Norma and I went to find an automotive store to get a new adaptor and a grocery store for some garnish while v 2.0 stayed back and all but completed setup of the site.

Mike and Trina along with grandchildren Michael & Maddie joined us later and the usual chores of meat prep was completed and finishing touches of the site was done. Dinner was a combination of fare from the farmers market and angus burgers cooked onsite by v2.0. Norma, Trina and the kids went to the hotel for the night and we set up the cookers readying them for the big meats which were to go on late night/early morning. Brian arrived later and started on his chef's choice entry so that it would be ready for tomorrow. A chill was in the air as we put the big meats on and I tried to get some rest. Mike, Ron and Brian stayed up as usual keeping an eye on the pits and grabbing some sleep as well.

It was a very cool morning and ribs and chicken and sausage were the next meats to go on. Sausage was due at 11:30, chicken noon, ribs 12:30, pork at 1, brisket at 1:30 and chef's choice at 2. No rest for the weary now, as crunch time was here as well as Norma, Trina and the kids. Everyone pitched in and the final preparations were done smoothly and efficiently. Everything was turned in on time with very little rushing and we settled back and started cleaning up, breaking down the site and waiting for the awards ceremony at 4:00PM. Our fate was in the judges and all we could do was speculate on how we might have done. Hopes were high and we felt that we had done pretty good, but would the judges agree.

We shleped our chairs to the awards site and waited for the results. First up was sausage. At the cook's meeting last night, some new interpretations on what would be accepted almost caused us to not enter this category. We decided to change our original thinking and changed our entry. v2.0 and Brian were glad we entered, because we placed 7th in sausage and a new ribbon added. Next up was chef's choice and again we heard Pigheaded BBQ's name called, this time for 2nd place. A trophy and check were the reward for this entry. Chicken and ribs were next and our name was not called for these categories. Pork did bring us another ribbon and a 10th place finish. Brisket, which we had high hopes for was a letdown as we didn't hear our name for this category either. Altogether we finished:
7th in sausage, 2nd in chef's choice, 14th in chicken, 27th in ribs, 10th in pork and 11th in brisket and 18th overall. Not a great finish, but not dismal either.

Pigheaded BBQ had a good 2010 season and we improved in pork and chicken over previous years. We have some work to do on ribs and brisket, but we have all winter to practice and we have high hopes for next year. Thanks to all of the crew for their hard work this year and thank you to all the friends and family who have showed up to support us over the season. We look forward to seeing you and all our bbq friends on the BBQ circuit next year.

Snausage!

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The meat is on!

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New Holland Summerfest & BBQ

Pigheaded BBQ competed at the 2010 New Holland Summerfest on 8/27-28. This venue and the organizers continue to make New Holland, one of our favorite competitions. Unlike last year, this years weather was just about perfect. Not too hot, no rain and just a hint of a chill in the air at night. Some of the categories changed for this year one of which got us a little excited. The organizers switched from sausage to a chili category and we were happy to try that out. More on that later.
I think we set a record in attendance by friends and family at one of our comps. We were supported by many of each and they made us feel special. Thank you for your support. Of course we did feed them, so I wonder which they were really here for?

Norma and I were met early Friday morning by Brian who helped us set up our site. We actually brought an extra canopy in anticipation of the expected throng of visitors. This gave us some extra room and enabled us to do our work and still have room for most if not all who showed up. Mike, Trina, Michael and Maddie arrived around noon and Stephanie and Bertie and Pat arrived around the same time. Some fine tuning to the site was done and prep work begun for the 6 categories we were entering. The only category we didn't enter was whole hog. We just don't have the equipment to do that yet.

After set up and initial prep work was done, I like to walk around and visit some of the other teams that are there. Most of them we know and I try to meet as many new teams as possible, but that doesn't always work out. I did manage to visit a couple of the food vendors though, as it's most important to keep up my energy levels for the chores ahead. At least, that's what I tell everyone.

Norma started working on the chili, assisted by Trina and Brian started on his Chef's Choice category. This was a prelude to the final prep work being done on the four meats that make up the core of all of our competitions. Chicken, Ribs, Pork and Brisket would be turned in in 1/2 hour increments starting at noon on Saturday. By late evening, Norma, the grandchildren and Bertie and Pat were safely ensconced at the hotel for the night while we set about putting the big meats on the smokers starting at 11:00PM. After the Brisket was put on at 1:00AM, I retired for the night while Mike & Brian stayed up watching the fires and whatever else they does in the middle of the night.

I got up at 4:45AM and gave Mike a break, then started final prep for the ribs. By 6:00AM we were ready for the coffee and breakfast supplied by the organizers. Big Mike was really eying up those "Long Johns" that were from Achenbach's Pastries I believe, but much to his credit, only one was consumed. Well by him at least, I won't say how many I ate. After breakfast, it was back to work and the pace picks up a bit. The cook went reasonably well and by 11:30, Chef's Choice was turned in. After the Chili was turned in at 2:00PM, the left over food was put out for our guests and family and I don't think anyone went home hungry. After that was awards time at 4:30PM

We all gathered by the stage and found some empty ground and set our chairs up waiting to hear our name called. The first name called was Pigheaded BBQ for 10th place in Chef's Choice. Brian did us proud and he,Michael and Maddie went up on stage to receive our ribbon for 10th place. The next category was Chili and Pigheaded BBQ was again called. This time for 9th place and Norma, our new "Chili Queen" went up with her entourage and accepted the 9th place ribbon. The next category we were entered in was Chicken. We again heard Pigheaded BBQ, this time for 7th place. Ribs brought us another ribbon, this time for 12th place and an honorable mention. We didn't hear our name called for pork or brisket, but overall were were thrilled to have won 4 ribbon's and a check for our efforts. I think we did ourselves proud. While there's definitely room for improvement, we were happy with the food we turned in, the good time we had with friends and family and after all, that's what this endeavor is all about.

Next up is the 2nd Annual Southern York County BBQ in Shrewsbury, PA on Sept 10-11. Hope to see you there.