Charcoal...part II

I used this lump and I like it. I'll have to be careful though because it does burn hotter than regular charcoal.

The pit did want to run hot at first, until I got use to this, but it didn't take me long and it was my fault, but she calmed down and settled in.



And the price was good too.

12 dollars for a 22 lb bag is not bad at all.



I'll do a few more cooks as soon as work settles down and experiment a little more with lump to see how little is needed and how long it will last to get my firebox timing in order.



Cooking is like therapy, it keeps me from doing dishes...
Big Daddy

Charcoal...

The last cook was done with regular charcoal and it produced a lot of ash to be contended with. The next cook will be done with lump charcoal.



I've read the reviews and this can be purchased here locally with no problem, so I'll give it a try. I can't find Rancher lump around here and I would like to try the Weekend Warrior lump, but I don't think it would be worth the price of shipping it from New England to Tennessee.

So I'll just try the Nature-Glo and see what happens.



Cooking is like therapy, it keeps me from doing dishes...
Big Daddy

Fire in the hole...

I fired up the pit and I was pleased by how she acted.

The only thing I didn't like was... I'm exposed to Mother Nature's misfortune and temperament and she showed me her butt by raining on my parade.

That... put me behind by at least 2 hours on cooking. That will not cut it in a competition.

The pit will be good for bulk cooks in decent weather, but if it rains...I'm screwed.




Some major work will have to be done to the trailer to cover this cooker up, or I might have to go a different route altogether for competition.

Everything turned out great...but by competition standards, I would not have made the turn in times...

And that...is not good.

Cooking is like therapy, it keeps me from doing dishes...
Big Daddy

Test Cook...

The weather has been the holdup for getting the jacks welded on the trailer and also, the hold up for me, on beginning any kind of test cook.



I'm really wanting to get started on that part of the game. Until I find out how this pit is going to cook and the time involved in cooking, I'm just dead in the water right now.

It's said, a good pit master can cook on anything. That I can do, but I don't want to go into any competition with out knowing my pit or without any game plan.

So... I may just run test cooks this year and bring Hillbilly Rib Runners into full competition mode next year. Right now I have my sauce and rub recipes ready.

I'm getting there, slowly but surely.



Cooking is like therapy, it keeps me from doing dishes...
Big Daddy

KCBS...

Julie and myself went to the judging class today in Dickson and we are now official KCBS Judges. This class helped us out tremendously as to learning a vast wealth of knowledge taught by Bobbie & Lee McWright of Music City Pig Pals.

Lee was very helpful and a great man to listen to and his presentation on the facts was very good. We can now do competitions or apply to be a judge at competitions.

This is only one stepping stone on our path, but a well placed one to say the least.

We are now in the game and our quest for winning begins...


Cooking is like therapy, it keeps me from doing dishes...
Big Daddy

KCBS...

The way things are going at work right now, I don't know if I will be able to compete this year or not. But we (myself & Julie) are still going to the KCBS judging class later this month.

It is taught by Music City Pig Pal (tag team duo) Bobbie & Lee McWright.




Dear Friends,
My wife Bobbie and I are known as Music City Pig Pals/Music City Catering*. We work as co-executive chefs of Music City Catering and have been in the food service business for more than twenty years. We are certified KCBS representatives and judges. We have competed in over one hundred barbeque related contests under the name Music City Pig Pals since 1992. In the first six contests of 2004, we competed in twenty-four categories and finished in the top ten fourteen times, as well as finishing in the top ten overall standings four times. In May, we won the prestigious Alabama Triple Crown. From September 2001 thru January 2005, we won 11 Grand Championships, 8 Reserve Grand Championships, 10 Reserve-Reserve Grand Championships, and in 2003, finished numerous times in the top 10. We were KCBS second runner-up for Team Of The Year in 2001 and 6th place in 2003. We also won Top five Chicken Team of The Year 2001, 2002 and 2003. We received 7th place Team of The Year Brisket in 2003. In 2003, I became the Executive Chef and National spokesperson for Fiesta Gas Grill Company.


I have heard, that these two are good folks. So, if it does just so happen out that we can't compete this year, we can still be judges at some contest. I would like to compete in at least one or two this year and try to make a full schedule of it next year. Or I may just become a full time judge.

Again, it depends on the numb nuts at work. Right now, they can't even blow their nose without having to ask 15 people for permission and I can't get a straight answer out of anybody about what's going to happen next and when.


Cooking is like therapy, it keeps me from doing dishes...
Big Daddy

KCBS...

I got my certification for KCBS in the mail yesterday. We are now official.

This will open another door in my quest for blazing my own path into the world of competition.

Now comes the fun part...

Cooking is like therapy, it keeps me from doing dishes...
Big Daddy