We checked in around 9:30 Saturday morning, and had camp set up in an hour... a record for us! After a well-deserved adult beverage or two, I started prepping the meats. I must admit, I have not been the injecting kinda guy, butt that has all changed... what a difference in tenderness and flavor! I made up three different marinade/injection sauces at home for the brisket, chicken, and pork butts. All I can say is, do it if you haven't done it in the past! :thumb:

Evening rolled around, so I fired up one of the Weber kettles to cook up some chicken for supper. I needed to try out the new marinade to see if it was worthy of using for turn-in the next day... it was. :thumb:

I started cooking around 11:30pm, putting the butts in the WSM. God, I love that thing! She just cruised all night long at 236... what a sweet piece of machinery! The only issue I had with it was a spike in the temperature, which ended up being an empty water pan... oops. Gotta remember to keep my eye on that. :eek: I put the briskets on shortly after the butts... they were only around 8 pounds each and not full packers, so they were not going to be marathon cooks. They actually were done before the butts were.

I managed to squeeze in a few hours of sleep... and actually overslept, due to me not correctly setting up the alarm on my cell phone. I overslept by about 45 minutes... shit! I gotta get the ribs on! :eek: I got 'em on, and finally, two of the racks finished in time. :faint:

I started the chicken at 11:00am... I do my chicken on a Weber kettle, using the offset coals method. I cooked the mid-section of some nice wings, they were done in plenty of time to turn in.

We had built all the boxes ahead of time and stored them in a cooler. I was preparing to put the last box together, had something sitting in the lid to weight it down while I reached for the brisket slices, when POOF!... a gust of wind lifted the bottom of the box and all the parsley went flying everywhere. We only had about 3 minutes to repair it. What a friggin' mess! Oh well... :faint:

I didn't do a great job on the boxes... but they were presentable. Here are a few pix of the turn in boxes:

http://www.hhsbbq.com/dsp/comps2010/qbs2010-chicken.jpg

http://www.hhsbbq.com/dsp/comps2010/qbs2010-ribs.jpg

http://www.hhsbbq.com/dsp/comps2010/qbs2010-pork.jpg

http://www.hhsbbq.com/dsp/comps2010/qbs2010-brisket.jpg

Still no walk... disappointing as all hell, but we managed 22nd overall out of 47 teams. I really felt we had a chance of at least one walk... evidently I was wrong. :noidea: Judges scores were inconsistant as hell, such as in pork, I got a 9 9 8 from judge 2, and a 7 5 5 from judge 3... WTF?

Thanks for looking!

Nice work Pop-Pop!..... It all looks really good from here ..... You will be walking soon, I'm sure of it. :thumb:

All looks great to me Pop Pop. Damn fine Q and pics. Judge 3 was on glue. Congrats on a great weekend...:thumb:

I see they haven't released the scores or placement yet online. Looks like they paid real nice to ten places.
I have some advice for you and will send you a PM.

Way to go Pop Pop! The food looks really, really good. Those ribs in fact are trying to climb out of me monitor and jump in me mouth!!:drooling:
Boxes look good from here buddy. With great work like that, you'll be walking in no time. :thumb::thumb:

"Judges scores were inconsistant as hell, such as in pork, I got a 9 9 8 from judge 2, and a 7 5 5 from judge 3... WTF?"

This is was our discovery as well, at our last comp.

Glad the WSM is working Phil...I prolly forgot to mention about the water dropping and temp spikes etc....I pretty much run mine dry these days...

That was a tough field and HawgHeaven is on the way up for sure.:thumb::banana_smiley:..I know we are looking forward to a winter of experimentation after these lasst 3 big comps....I need to refine my whole hog for a comp schedule.and we want to play with making new sauces....

I hear you on scores sometimes...Our last comp was only 50% CBJ.....a 30 minute quick instruction aint much..

I don't care what the judges said, I'd much any of that!:thumb:

Thanks everyone! :thumb: We'll get 'em next year!

Nice looking Q Pop Pop,:thumb: great job on presentation. Sounds like some of the judges where having some adult beverages before the judging.:whistle:

Judges scores were inconsistant as hell, such as in pork, I got a 9 9 8 from judge 2, and a 7 5 5 from judge 3... WTF?


Ain't that just a bitch, Hawg? Drive a cooker nuts, I swear! :frusty:

Ah well... looks good from here, man! :thumb:

I too don't care what the judges said I think that you had some mighty fine looking Q. In my book you have a trophy coming.

Thanks everyone! :thumb: We'll get 'em next year!

I dont do any comps and dont plan too either... but for those that do i would say your quote says it all!!!:thumb:

personally i wouldnt pass up on any of that stuff you showed... great job Phil and thanks for sharing your entries.

Beautiful turn in boxes, Phil! :first: And yes, you will get them next year! :thumb:

Thanks again everyone!

Yes, I hope we have enough ammo to go get 'em next year. :eek: We're making some big changes in the team, by adding another team member... my wife Joni. She has incredible artistic talent and food presentation skills, and I know she can nail those turn in boxes. Up till now, she has not joined us because she is not a camping type person... doesn't like sleeping in a tent (or under a canopy). :noidea: :whistle:

Which brings on the next big change... we're looking for an affordable class C motorhome. Nothing huge, maybe 24 foot or so, used, but in good shape. I've found a few around the area that will fit the bill, so we'll see where that goes. Gotta work some things out first.

We are really excited about next season, especially if we can pull off the changes. We've got the winter to get it together, practice building boxes, and tweak our flavor profiles. Oh, and find a great butcher... :whistle: I feel better about competing now that we're making these changes, and I cannot tell you how happy I am with my wife coming on board. :thumb:

Stay tuned... :nana2:

You are a lucky Man, Phil. I wish my wife would want to join me cooking more often. There are lots of husband wife teams that do a great job.
I am happy for both of you.

Keep going forward!:thumb:

You are a lucky Man, Phil. I wish my wife would want to join me cooking more often. There are lots of husband wife teams that do a great job.
I am happy for both of you.

Keep going forward!:thumb:

Double ditto...The sis,bil really enjoy it more with the big RV they have...Being able to get in early and relax etc..in nice conditions...She sent me an e-mail and they just hit missouri border(american Royal)...

No doubt Joni would be an invaluable asset Phil...I will keep my ears open too on RV's if nothing works your way...With economy there are some deals...

Thanks Dan, thanks ALX!

I know she will be an asset, and I know she will do fine in a motorhome... we used to travel across country with me Mum and Pop in their RV... she loved it! We used to do the car show circuit with them... it was a real hoot!

Glad to hear sis and bil are almost there... dang, The American Royal!!!! :drooling: When you hear from them again, please send them our best, and we hope they kick some serious arse out there!! :thumb:

Congrats on the new addition to the team Pop Pop. All the best in the next season. God Bless...:thumb:

Ya'll will be Rockin Cat Daddy! Damn Louie...that hurt! :noidea: Did not say anything about a motorhome! I'll keep me eye out for a MH deal for ya!

That's all a goooood lookin turn in to me. Don't know what to say bout the judges, hope I don't get that this weekend. Maybe you need to hook that Klose up behind that proposed "new motor home".:lol::lol::thumb: