The move to low and slow...

In Sauk Rapids this last week we traveled back in time 4 years and revisited the low and slow. Our 1st brisket turned out awesome, the second even better with our team taking first place honors at the contest. It was nice to have the time during the late hours of the morning to wait and letting the briskets mature without the risk of dried out meat that always comes with the narrow time margins of the hot and the fast technique... Our Pork was a flop, getting 18th out of a field of 21, for different reasons. I suspect the the injection we have been using clashed with the sauce that we made up that morning. We will be working on a new flavor profile that will be less hot, with less acid - a smoother and more gentle flavor. The 12 Ribs were marked down probably because we put too many in the box instead of the 6 we usually concentrate on. There must have been those that were tougher and shouldn't have gotten in. Chicken shined again and will not be changed. Next contest 7/17!

Aftermath; Minnesota in May

Well...not all the way to the top but we made some great discoveries. First we have a great team that enjoys to cook together. I think this was one of our favorite contest cooking - everything seemed to flow, every one contributing, suggesting, helping in our final product that found us developing a new hot and fast chicken recipe, (6th), a new bbq sauce and rib recipe (4th) and a new presentation for our pork (21st) - which we thought was great and unfortunately obviously misinterpreted by the judges. That's right everything was great until we hit an obstruction called...brisket. A greater pile of shoe leather has never been found than the two briskets we met at turn in time that had just a few minutes earlier shown such great promise. We had been practiced all spring hot and fast briskets with great results at home on our stump stretch but with the same technique on our classics they became dried out pure and simple. The hot and fast temps had removed all the fat but obviously had not allowed enough time for the meat to render its connective tissue. The first difficult cut was all it took to reveal our culinary shortcomings. Back to the drawing board. The Dells now cancelled, will have to wait until next year, a practice cook instead is planned this weekend. Back to the drawing board...

Minnesota in May 2010

Well I'm just sitting down while making up sauces, rubs, injections, and glazes that will hopefully carry us to the top in Austin tomorrow. It will be the first outing for our stumps trailer and we'll have Tristan, Rob and Paul and Mikey, and Jamo, Brandon and his friend to help us cook friday. Weather promises to be great - a big change from last year when the geer would not get up to temps in the snow and rain of last years contest. (we later discovered the pecan wood we were smoking was wet)
They'll be big changes in the way we cook this year;
First a new trailer and stumps classic smokers
Second a new style of cooking. To get better bark, no more wrapping, and to get better taste we are adding more heat! Enough of Minnesota's mystique of bland and sweet - we are going to definitely kick it up a notch tomorrow with a little lost word from my carribean past - habenero!
Third we are going back to our old sauce. I don't remember why we changed and after making up a batch tonight, think the decision to change was a very bad idea.
Fourth, we are keeping it simple. No fancy stuff just the meat, rub, and sauce...

Hot and Fast will hopefully rule the day, - updates to follow.