Hello fellow bloggers! I'm so sorry I've been MIA lately - I've been neglectful of my blog and I have to apologize profusely!
Anyway......lots to catch up on!! One thing that has kept me busy is we've signed up as amateur bbq-ers in a year-long BBQ cookoff. It will teach us how to eventually compete in a 'professional' level :) We 'compete' once a month again other BBQ-wanna-be's and get help from judges and BBQ pros. Its a great learning experience, let me tell ya!
Our first attempt was stressful yet fun at the same time. The first meat was chicken thighs which we'd never done before, so needless to say Google was our friend LOL I'm telling ya, if its not on Google it doesn't exist *lol*
Here's some pics from the competition, including our smoker and our tent set up:
Our team name is "The Other BBQ Team" - orginal, I know :-/ LOL Anyway, we had a cooks meeting at 6:30am then it was off to prep and cook the meat! Only problem was that we *just* picked up the smoker that morning and didn't know how to use it!!! Luckily the guy we got it from and our very kind smoker neighbor (thanks Leo!!) were kind enough to help us out. We were *so* busy that - silly me - I didn't think to take pictures of our chicken! DUH!!!
In all, there were a total of 20 BBQ teams. The sponsor, Mack Daddy Smokers, held the competition at their store location. They were raising money for the Walk of Hope Foundation, and the meat we cooked was split between the charity to sell to raise money, for the judging and for People's Choice taste testing.
So for the People's Choice - the public was able to buy wristbands for $10 before the event ($15 day of) and could taste each vendor's food then vote for their favorite. Unfortunately we didn't win but we had a lot of great comments; not bad for first-timers!!
At the end of the day, it was results time. Lo and Behold, we placed 6th!!!!! WOO HOO! We later found out it was a VERY close race, so close that we were only 1 point from 1st place! Talk about stoked!!! :::happy dance:::
Next competition will be held on February 15th - and the meat this time is ribs. My favorite!!! YUM! We practiced last weekend and will be practicing again this weekend. (Oh darn, not ribs again????.......please note the sarcasm......) I will definitely take more pictures next time.
So....I'm going to reach out to my fellow bloggers and followers and ask for help. Can any of you suggest a Team Name for us? We've talked at some point about wanting to do some catering locally so I'm looking for something clever, and right now my creativity is a standstill. Suggestions would be great appreciated :)
I hope you have a wonderful day!!
Vanessa
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