All posts tagged barbecued chicken

Silver Lake 2010 Results, Refinements, and Reflections

By JR | September 14, 2010 | certified grilladelic, competition, stories | No comments
Certified Grilladelic

Results

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!

From silver lake 2010

(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)…

From silver lake 2010
From silver lake 2010
From silver lake 2010

Reflections

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).

From silver lake 2010

Silver Lake + Grilladelic = Titanic

By JR | September 14, 2008 | competition | 1 Comment

This was basically the only highlight, in a long, wet weekend.  Grilling with the kids….

But first things first.   This was, without a doubt, an almost fatal blow to my competitive BBQ aspirations.  I don’t know if it was the Gaelic Storm t-shirts my wife and I wore on Saturday, but Team Grilladelic resembled the USS Titanic.  The only difference being instead of an iceberg, we ran into tough ribs, dry brisket and baffling pork (baffling because it tasted terrific…)

I am not going into any detail on how bad we did in three of the four categories (and overall).  A third place in chicken was the only bright spot on Saturday.

Besides having my family with me, I did get a chance to see many old friends…most from The Outdoor Cook days; the Applegates, Eric and his wife,  Harlan, Chuckie, Ford, Ted, Hot Smoky and Righteous, Big Moe, and several other folks so it wasn’t a total disaster.

I did make it to a life boat and worked my way home  (in pouring rain), unloaded the trailer, (in pouring rain) and spent a couple of hours of cleaning before I was able to enjoy a cold one and hit the hay.


Here are the top 10 results (out of 38 teams)

Chicken:
1- Quau
2- Extreme Roasters
3- Grilladelic (the only bright spot in a dismal display of BBQ)
4- Red Wagon BBQ
5- Brazen Q (good going Harlan…)
6- Coyote Cafe
7- M22 BBQ (the return of Steve and Julie Applegate to the BBQ elite)
8- Donnies BBQ
9- Hot Smokey And Righteous (customer from The Outdoor Cook)
10- Pork of the North

Ribs:
1-Motley Que Crew
2-All Day Smoke
3-Extreme Roasters
4-Red Wagon BBQ
5-Bavarian Smoke
6-Cancer Sucks
7-M22 BBQ (the Applegates again…is this a trend?)
8-Home Smokin
9-Straight Meat (Dr. Chuckie was a guest this weekend, helping out another customer from The Outdoor Cook)
10-Aww Hell

Pork :
1-All Day Smoke
2-Big Moe’s (Paul is one of the areas best barbecuers—hardest working too)
3-Great Lakes BBQ/Feed (Ford is a classic BBQ technician…good guy and serious Q’er)
4-Smokin Scottsmen
5-Cancer Sucks
6-Hickory Bbq and Grill
7-Quau
8-Red Wagon Bbq
9-Roadmaster Bbq
10-Motley Que Crew

Brisket:
1-Extreme Roasters
2-Quau
3-Pork of the North
4-All Day Smoke
5-Rubbed Smoked Sauced
6-Straight Meat Bbq (very good day Ted)
7-Smokin Scottsmen
8-M22 Bbq (Hmmm…Eric and is wife helped too!)
9-Red Wagon Bbq
10-Down Home Bbq

Top Ten
Grand-All Day Smoke (652.5714)
Reserve-Extreme Roasters
3-Quau
4-Red Wagon Bbq
5-Smokin Scottsmen
6-Cancer Sucks
7-M22 Bbq  (aka Mrs. Dog)
8-Great Lakes Bbq/Feed (Ford- great seeing you again)
9-Pork of the North
10-Straight Meat Bbq

Where did Grilladelic end overall? Let me put it this way, we added another “B” (Brutal) to BBQ.

Here some pics:

M-22. (The Applegates) Pouring rain. Perfect Egg weather.  The best foul weather grill/bbq made.

Third place chicken. I do admit, this was good chicken.

Last place ribs.  Looked great, tasted good, tough as leather.  They needed another 30-45 minutes in foil to really get tender.  And to think, I was worried they were going to be overcooked!

Perfect BBQ Chicken – Technique

By JR | August 6, 2008 | certified grilladelic, tips | 1 Comment
IPerfect BBQ Chicken

The following is a simple technique for the best bbq chicken ever. (Chicken remains my best, most consistent, category on the KCBS circuit)

1. For barbecue, I use thighs and legs.  Wings are acceptable for this technique too. One dozen legs and one dozen thighs is a good number for a kettle.

2. Anywhere from 2-18 hours prior to grilling, I coat the chicken in yellow mustard and season with a dry rub. I prefer Rockford Rib, Butt and Bird, available at Herman’s Boy, in Rockford, MI.  Use what you want.  It works best to put the seasoned chicken in a large plastic bag and let it set.

3. Prepare grill by stacking coals on half of the grill- basically creating a hot zone (direct) and a safe zone (in direct heat)

4. I use lump charcoal, so the coals are typically medium-hot to hot, when I begin.  I lay the chicken out in a tray and apply extra seasoning to any pieces that need it (visual inspection).

5. Once the coals are ready, I begin laying the chicken over the hot coals.  With 24 pieces, I typically work in two batches (12 and 12).  I begin grilling the chicken, turning very frequently—sometimes every 60-90 seconds.  Remember, these are hot coals.  Chicken burns easily.  Chicken flares easily.  You have to work it.

6. The goal is to crisp the skin and get some good marks on the bird.  You are not trying to cook the chicken.

7. At this point, I have an aluminum pan placed in the safe zone, with a small layer of BBQ sauce.  My favorite is Big Ricks.  When I get the chicken looking sweet, like they are ready for a date, I place in the pan.  Stack them when you need too.   I then begin with the second batch of chicken, do the same thing.  After about 15-20 minutes, I have beautiful looking (but undercooked) chicken pieces stacked up in the aluminum pan.  I add more BBQ sauce and then put the lid back on the grill, vents open.

8. Approximately 45 minutes later I check on the chicken.  The fire has mellowed a bit, because the lid was on the grill.  I begin laying out few pieces back on the grill, crisping them up, watching them like a chicken-hawk…making sure nothing burns.  I am trying for the perfect tan. Crispy with grill marks.

9. I use more sauce as needed.  Not wanting to be sloppy, only a nice coat, that has been grilled some.

10. I place back in pan and remove from heat. Ready to serve.  The entire grilling/BBQ process; 60-70 minutes.  Perfect BBQ chicken.

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