Leading up to the first competition for Bucky
McOinkum’s Barbecue, we’d planned out as much as we could, practiced a
few times, and we were ready… but nervous a bit! The first
competition was in Carmel, IN… the Bodacious Blues-BQ
Mark and I both got supplies for the competition, and we took off mid
morning on Friday, May 20, 2005. Our wives were following later,
and they both had rooms at a hotel for the night. We were so
unprepared… We showed up, and I have to admit it was pretty cool
seeing all the teams there, some smokers going, but we didn’t have a
clue what to do. Fortunately, it wasn’t too tough, and we got a
great spot next to another team that I’d emailed with, also from the
Dayton, Ohio, area, Jimmy’s Hog Pen.
We had all our stuff loaded onto an old landscape trailer, and we got
help unloading, then set up. We got the meat inspected, then
figured we could relax a little bit. I think one advantage we did
have is that I’m a project manager, and I had things planned out
somewhat, so we didn’t have to panic.
Cook’s Meeting
I had no clue what this was, but I wanted to make sure to make it, and
we did. Mostly, it was a cd of the KCBS rules. We also got
out turn in boxes and instructions about what to do when it came
time. The tape isn’t anything we hadn’t read, but if you’re
thinking of competing, don’t scoff at the cook’s meeting… it’s also a
great time to get your questions answered.
One thing I have to say is that other teams are nothing but helpful and
friendly… I have a feeling other types don’t find themselves
attracted to barbecue competitions.
First Category
Friday nigth was Anything Butt… we didn’t know what types of things
were even allowed for that, or typical at least. I did know we
had a stipulation for our entry to use a Red Gold tomato product.
For a first entry, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money, so I got some
fresno peppers and stuffed them with proscuitto wrapped asiago cheese,
and smoked them. We came in the middle of the pack, but it was
cheap, and we got some compliments on them, so, for under $10, I was
happy. Trust me, though, this year, we’re doing something
MUCH better!
First Night
One thing I think we learned was to not take too much extra
food! We had burgers and brats on a smoker while we got our real
entries ready…
But that’s the next entry!
