Time flies! Wow, although our posts are less frequent we have been active supporting and promoting the local BBQ supply chain, mostly via our Facebook page.
Now for the update:
First, the Taste of Grand Rapids/State of Michigan BBQ Competitionis scheduled for July 22 and 23. If you are planning to attend, Grilladelic will be hosting a small party on the 22nd, from 6:30pm-9:00pm. We will be grilling fresh sausages made by our friends at John Russo’s plus serving some side dishes we are entering into the competition. Of course “the meat” of the competition is Saturday and thanks to Kingmas Butcher Shoppe, we will be barbecuing exclusively with Kingmas meats.
Hoping to repeat this award winning chicken.
Stop on by and say hi!
Now for the new product reviews (really product recommendations)
I was pleasantly surprised when I tried an Empire grill cover. Back in the day, at The Outdoor Cook, my experience with grill covers was underwhelming. Either the covers were inexpensive and “cheap” (barely lasted one season, ripped easily, etc) or very expensive and still did not last as long. The folks from Empire sent me a large cover which I used on my gas grill (an Australian style barbie)
The cover was lightweight, flexible and looked nice! I have used it for several weeks and it seems to do the trick of protecting the grill. Of course the real value for grill covers is best measured over months, not weeks so I will update everyone later in the grill season on how it is holding up…but I can say this, the price point is very nice. Besides grill covers, Empire has hundreds of other products.
I grill early and often. I always clean grates prior to my next cook and folks let me tell you: this is a “professional” grill brush.
Similar to grill covers, the market is inundated with “cheap” grill brushes. Enter the Texas Grill Brush. These custom made brushes are so nice and really perform. Long handled with heavy duty bristles, it really makes cleaning the grates a snap. Good folks too. Bill has been a great guy to connect with. In my book that is important.
The Michigan based sauce makers have a nice thing going on. Just tried both the regular and “kicked up” and both were great. I preferred the “kicked up” because I like the extra spice and heat. Our Grilladelic friend, Dale Barlow is a “buy local/think global” type of guy. Highly recommend these sauces.
The only one that matters is 2nd place chicken. Brisket, ribs and pork butt were average. But, it was a tough competition. 48 teams. Smokin’ Scotsmen, Extreme Roasters, CancerSucksChicago, Great Lakes BBQ and Feed Co., IBQN, Big Moe, Spruce Ridge, Up in Smoke, and many more veterans of the circuit. For crying out loud, there were at least fifteen 30′ foot motorhomes!
(if you want the secret to this award winning chicken, just ask)
Refinements
I need to change things up. My “low and slow” categories need more heat and time. The old Hasty Bake struggled in cold, wet weather. I realize I can start earlier; 2:00 am, 3:00 am, but I prefer medium-hot and medium-fast cooking. I can elevate the temps in my Weber kettle because of the size, but not in the Hasty Bake.
Easy fixes would be to start earlier, but I like my sleep or to bring more kettles, but I like to travel and set up light. I just used a hitch platform to put the Hasty Bake on and loaded everything else in the back of the Tahoe.
The pictures below represent ribs, pork shoulder and beef brisket. All three lacked a little tenderness…just a few more degrees and few more minutes….(well, maybe hours)…
Despite the rain, the work of packing, unpacking, prepping, cooking, cleaning, packing and unpacking…and the disappointing results (overall)…I’m all ready considering a return trip the bloody BBQ fields of Sparta!
(This is my Goddaughter, Josie Martin. That’s right…besides being an elite barbecuer, I am also a Godfather).
Monday. Two days after “the event”. Grills are clean, supplies tucked away. My scores still stunk, but I am over the “post-traumatic stress” of a dry brisket and low scores for ribs.
Time for reflection. What is it about barbecue events?
It’s the next big thing. Professional Barbecue! Well, it might be. With the success of The Food Network, The Discovery Channel and many other cable stations, food competitions are certainly not unknown. In fact there is even a cheesy reality show, The Pitmasters on TV now!
The Grand Rapids Barbecue Competition is a Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned event. These events are held throughout the country every weekend. Some teams compete every weekend, vying for year-end honors. Other teams only do 1-3 competitions a year.
The only common denominators are the meat categories: chicken, pork ribs, pork shoulder and beef brisket. Everything else: seasonings, cookers, techniques are all over the board. Oh, by the way, no gas is allowed. Only charcoal, wood or pellets. (Don’t get me started on pellets)
Winning events like this also make teams eligible to be invited to national competitions like the Jack Daniels Invitational and the American Royal. Money and prestige.
Check out our Flickr page to get a real “feel” for these types of events: http://www.flickr.com/groups/grilladelic/
Saturday, July 24. These updates were blogged live throughout the day by the Team Grilladelic social media staff.
SPOILER ALERT: for those of you who enjoy drama and fierce competition … please drop to the bottom if this post and read back to the top.
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Really, start at the bottom of the post…
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3:23 – Smoked … 2010 at the Taste of GR was not a trophy year for Team Grilladelic as it was in years past. But we will be back. Tenderer, tastier, and better looking.
3:10 – The awards are being handed out… will Team Grilladelic make the cut?
1:25 – We are all in! Time to clean up for the awards at 3pm.
12:56 – 3 down 1 to go. Next up … the all mighty brisket.
12:28 – Ribs are in. Next up …Pork.
11:57 – The chicken is in. Next up … ribs at 12:30.
11:45 – 15 minutes until chicken turn in…
11:30 – The clamshells are prepped and ready.
11:15 – “It’s showtime…”
JR and I will be updating this post throughout the day with live updates, photos and hopefully notes from the award ceremony.
This weekend I cleaned up my old Hasty Bake that was stuck in the back of the garage and fired it up for a barbecue competition. It had not seen the light of day for a couple of years. I touched up the outside with hi-temperature black paint and cleaned and seasoned up the grates.
Dang. I had forgot how great it cooked! Don’t know why I retired it… my Weber kettles are just tad more convenient for an evening grill.
Why do I love thee? Let me count the ways:
Mucho cooking surface. Easily had three large racks on it. Easily could of added more ribs or a large pork butt. Check out the large racks laying on the grates. Still had room at the inn too!
Great temperature control with the firebox that cranks up or down. I adjusted temperatures several times just by turning a handle that easily controls the firebox.
Simple access to the firebox. Open the side door, add coal or wood chunks without peaking under the lid. “if you are looking, you aren’t cooking”.
I have had this unit well over 12 years. It has weathered winters, rain, snow, sleet, grease fires, trailer rides and much more.
Although not the grill for a novice or weekend warrior…to much of an investment, I highly recommend a Hasty Bake to anyone who loves to barbecue and grill.
Although it wasn’t forecasted, we all saw it coming. Dark clouds and little rain to the west of us. Nothing to be that concerned about. As professional athletes we are well trained and highly disciplined. But at 12:25, right when you were supposed to turn in the ribs, a freak storm hit. High winds and heavy rain. Instead of cooking, Jack and I were holding on for dear life! Next to us three EZ-Ups took to the sky. I swear I saw a few pieces of BBQ-Chicken fly past me…wings I think. In the midst of this freak storm tough decisions still had to be made! The ribs needed to be turned in! I stationed Jack in the middle our canopy and had him grab the center frame, anchoring it down (I figured if it blew away, he would at least get a lesson in hang-gliding) Fortunately the ribs were almost plated and relatively safe in the back of my Tahoe, so I finished up the box, wrapped them in my apron and sprinted to the turn-in table.
The storm lasted only about 10-15 minutes but we were drenched! We survived, as did the brisket and pork butt which were foiled and on the Weber kettle.
It was uneventful for the rest of the day…which unfortunately carried over to the award ceremony. Uneventful. Team Grilladelic had only one call out; 4th place for ribs. Everything else was below the Minnie Mimosa line (well below average for non-baseball fans). You can check this link for tournament results. Again, not pretty for Team Grilladelic.
So there you go. The human drama of professional barbecue.
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