Getting Ready for the 2012 Season

The gang from Smoke Dreams BBQ is in prep mode for a competition season that will start in July and wrap up in October.

Events. Would you believe that there are nearly 30 KCBS events within a 220-mile radius of Ashburn? With so many competitions to choose from, we have the luxury of being selective based on event size, proximity, cook site dimensions, and a variety of other factors. Check out our upcoming events page for complete details.

Equipment. Our site plan calls for using a pair of 22½" WSMs and one 18½" WSM as our primary cookers. One of the big WSMs will handle our pork butts and spare ribs while the other will take care of a couple of briskets. We're going to use the smaller WSM for chicken thighs. An old 18½" Weber One-Touch will be on hand just to provide some higher heat for us to set our sauces on the ribs and chicken.

Cook Site. With another WSM 22.5 in the mix, we are able to go to an all-Weber line-up in 2012. This will streamline our cooking process and also make it easier for us to transport our gear. The overall configuration of the cook site feature improved traffic flow and better protection from the rain. There will be dedicated workstations for preparing food and assembling boxes, and washing our many utensils.

Recipes. This is where the magic is happening. We are completely overhauling our method for chicken, and our approach for ribs has undergone a slight modification. Our team uses three rubs in competition; the two that we use on pork and chicken will not be changing at all this year, but brisket rub is undergoing a little bit of an overhaul right now, primarily to refine the balance of the seasonings.


We hope to see you on the BBQ trail!!

Welcoming Another WSM to the Family

Hey y'all. I am pleased to report that I finally acquired one of my dream smokers. No, I'm not talking about the totally amazing Pit-Boss from American Barbecue Systems. That bad boy would set me back at least $4K (but one of these days I'm gonna own one). What I'm referring to is the monstrous but affordable 22.5" Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker that I picked up from Amazon for less than $350.  (see assembly photos)

This big beast is truly impressive. I like not only its gargantuan capacity – it can hold a couple of full-size packer cut briskets without any difficulty – but also its temperature control and fuel efficiency. The jumbo WSM will run rock steady at 225-250°F for 13-14 hours (or longer) on just one load of charcoal (using the Minion Method) and with minimal vent adjustment.

My new smoker is actually the second 22.5" WSM that we've brought into the team. Some of you regular readers may recall that Luke bought one in May 2011, and we used it on the competition circuit this past year. Having had previous experience with the unit, the first cook with my own unit was flawless.

I broke in this enormous beauty with 2 racks of spare ribs (cut St. Louis style), 1 whole chicken, 10 chicken thighs, and 1 eye of round roast. That's a lot of meat to cook at once, but it's no big deal with the 22.5" WSM. This unit can accommodate a couple of  racks of ribs without any difficulty. I could have gotten 3 on the top rack if I curled them a little.

     

The thing about ribs is that they are delicious but they take up a lot of space in an inefficient manner. Some people use rib racks, but I prefer to cook ribs flat rather than at an angle. In the months ahead I'm going to maximize vertical space by using an additional grate that I either buy or build. But none of this really mattered at the time of the inaugural run, because the bottom line is that these were the best ribs I ever cooked. Seriously... they were that good.

The whole chicken was done in the beer can style, and the thighs were prepared just like we do for competitions. The resulting product was flavorful and juicy, just like one would expect from a WSM running at the perfect temperature.

     

So, what's next for the team now that we have another WSM? For the upcoming competition season we will run with my 22.5" WSM, Luke's 22.5" WSM, and Eric's 18.5" WSM. We'll also bring along a 22.5" Weber One-Touch for keeping food warm and/or setting sauces.

Our all-Weber line-up is poised for success in 2012!!

COFaQue 2011

The team recently participated in its 4th consecutive COFaQue event in Aldie, Virginia. One part BBQ competition, one part music fest, and one part bacchanalia, COFaQue is fun on a stick, and we do whatever we can to engineer our summer schedules around this incredible event.

Although we didn't pick up any hardware this time around (slight disappointment), this year's competition was very special because it marked the first time that all six members of the team were together at the same time. This was made possible because Tim arrived home from Afghanistan the morning of the event so that he could begin a three-week break stateside.

It was a delight having Tim back in the mix, especially given that it was the first time in months that he was able to prep some killer 'que.  We screwed up, however, by being so busy within our cook site as to forget that we should have taken a picture of us all together (bummer).

Speaking of busy, we had some turn-ins that were absolutely insane. Although COFaQue has 60 minutes between turn-ins vs. the 30 minutes between categories at at KCBS event, we competed in eight categories spread across three turn-in times, which meant that there were some simultaneous turn-ins:

• Appetizers – Mini Donut Bacon Burger Bites (3:00pm)
• Other Grilled (non-meat) – Roasted Veggie Mélange (3:00pm)
• Non-Grilled Sides – Sweet and Tangy Red Slaw (3:00pm)
• Chicken – Amazin' Chicken (3:00pm)
• Beef (except brisket) – Cosmic Flank Steak (4:00pm)
• Beef Brisket – All-American Brisket (5:00pm)
• Pork (except ribs) – Bitchin' Pork Butt (5:00pm)
• Dessert – Cantaloupe Pie (5:00pm)

Mise en place for the Roasted Veggie Mélange

The most hectic turn-in was the one at 3:00pm because we had four separate things going on. Luke was in charge of a very colorful veggie dish, Eric stepped in to help dish up the cole slaw, and Dwayne assisted Kirk with the final saucing of the chicken. Michael took on his usual assignment of prepping some gorgeous boxes, and just about everybody helped get the appetizers ready.

The Mini Bacon Donut Burger Bites were decadently delicious. They were a lot of work, but well worth the effort as the fourth item for the 3pm turn-in. We started by making little bacon weaves which we fried up on the camp stove griddle. The Krispy Kreme donuts (which took the place of the buns) were then sliced, and the original idea was to butter them before toasting them on the grill, but we decided to use bacon grease instead (yum!).

Bacon Donut Burger - The 8th Deadly Sin

We hand-formed some 7-oz. patties of 85/15 ground beef, grilled them to perfection, and then melted on some high-quality American cheese. We turned these burgers into appetizers by inserting skewers and dividing them into quarters.

After being toasted the donuts took on a cotton candy-like flavor, which when paired with the bacon, cheese, and chargrilled burger created a sumptuous mouthfeel and a glorious taste. They were outrageous!

The team would like to give a special shout out to Leigh Anne, a good friend of Smoke Dreams BBQ. Not only did she bring the cantaloupe pie for the dessert entry, but also she fetched us ice and expertly filled in with some impromptu sous chef duties when the rest of us had our hands full. What's more, she didn't mind one bit when the ol' Goofus barked orders like a drill sergeant as we all scrambled to get everything finished up to meet our 3:00pm turn-in time. Thanks a ton, Leigh Anne... you are a helluva trooper!!

We were thrilled to have so many friends come out to cheer us on, including some who camped out for the weekend.  Unlike prior years, we only stayed over on Friday night, preferring to pack up our gear and head outta Dodge on Saturday night in advance of some looming storms.  All in all we had a great time, cooked a lot of awesome food, hung out with some really fun folks, slaked our thirst on a sufficient supply of ice cold cereal malt beverages, took a few pictures, and enjoyed the camaraderie that has become the hallmark of the Smoke Dreams BBQ team.

First KCBS Competition Is In The Books

The members of Smoke Dreams BBQ endured some hot and humid weather on July 29 and 30 to successfully survive their first KCBS competition. The event was the 1st Annual Bluemont BBQ Bash held at Great Country Farms in Bluemont, Virginia.

Before we even got to Bluemont, the team enjoyed some nice publicity from an article in Leesburg Today, one of our local papers. The ol' Goofus gave a nice interview to a cub reporter about the upcoming event, and lo and behold almost half of the story was about us. This was pretty good publicity!!

hog-nosed pitmaster preps spare ribs

Once we arrived at Great Country Farms we moved into a spacious 24'x24' cook site, the largest the team has ever enjoyed. This gave us plenty of room to spread out our cookers, tables, coolers, and other gear that we need to operate a productive and efficient outdoor kitchen. We didn't have to worry about stepping over each other or any of our stuff.

We loaded in, set up, and prepped on Friday, and the temperatures peaked at about 103°F. We chased every beer that we drank with a bottle of Gatorade and a bottle of water. I couldn't believe how much fluid we consumed just to stay hydrated. We went through a lot of ice, but thankfully the competition organizers had some on site so we could restock for $2/bag whenever the contents of our coolers started to get a little watered down.

Sweltering in the heat and humidity, we trimmed up all the meats and got everything ready to go for a long night of cooking. Thinking that we were going to have electricity, we brought some lights and other gear that required juice – like fans to keep us cool. However, once we got there, we discovered that the organizers were providing water but not electricity. Thankfully, Eric had a buddy in the area who owned a generator, so he was able to borrow it, thereby providing electricity without too much trouble.

Big Daddy loaded with meat

We started our fires at about 10pm, using Kirk's trusty turkey fryer burner to effortlessly ignite our charcoal chimneys. With Dwayne as the team's official pyromaniac, we got Luke's 22.5" WSM going first (brisket) and then at around 2am we fired up the Big Daddy Smoker (pork butts and ribs).  Kirk's little Brinkmann smoker didn't get lit off until Saturday morning because the chicken doesn't take that long, plus it was the first turn-in at noon.

Timing is always a challenge at a BBQ competition, but with this being our initial KCBS outing, our turn-ins were only 30 minutes apart versus the hour that we had enjoyed at previous non-sanctioned events. The period from 11:30am until 1:30pm was the most hectic yet exhilarating experience of our lives, but we got through it and turned in everything on time.

delicious pork is shredded, sliced, and boxed

Our meats were pretty tasty, but knowing that one-seventh of our score was to be based on appearance, we made sure that our boxes looked nice. For that we have Michael to thank because his box preparations were professional and meticulous. We used Bibb lettuce for the first time and inserted some parsley as an accent. The variegated look of the Bibb lettuce was awesome, and it's a technique that we will continue to refine for subsequent competitions.

tessellated blackberry goodness

There were couple of optional categories that we entered. The first was where local V.I.P.s (e.g., politicians, civic leaders) judged a box that was turned in at 2:30pm. We had a second batch of chicken ready to go, so we served that up for them. There was also a blackberry-themed dessert category, and we were fortunate to have Luke's friend, Leigh Anne, prepare a delectable and creamy number that had blackberries in it and on it. Yum!!

So, what about the results? Here's how Smoke Dreams fared against the 25 other teams:

• Chicken (153.1432) - 21st place
• Pork Ribs (157.7146) - 10th place
• Pork (160.0000) - 10th place
• Brisket (134.2856) - 24th place
• Overall (605.1434) - 17th place

The V.I.P. entry came in near the bottom, but that's okay because our aim was to impress the Certified Barbeque Judges in the KCBS categories not the inexperienced palates of the local celebrities. The dessert came in 8th out of 14.

All in all we were very delighted by our performance, especially because in specific categories and/or the overall rankings we came out ahead of caterers, restaurateurs, teams that sell BBQ-related products, and teams with big smokers and years of experience under their belts. Not bad for our KCBS debut, eh?

Want to see more? Check out the pictures.

Bring On The Competition!

The team is ready to go for two upcoming competitions: Bluemont BBQ Bash (July 29-30) and COFaQue (August 12-14).

We've got a thorough but concise checklist for the gear that we'll be taking and a definitive shopping list for the food and other supplies that we'll need to pick up beforehand. We may not be the most seasoned BBQ team on the circuit, but we are certainly among the best organized.

Speaking of seasoning, I've made up large batches of all three proprietary rubs and six homemade sauces in advance of the competitions. Additionally, our cooking methods have been finalized, although I'm still working on our precise timings for this our first KCBS event.

We will have a sprawling 20'x25' cook site, the largest space we've ever had. It will be nice to have plenty of room not just for our smokers, but also for a food prep area, washing station, buffet table, and snooze center. I created a scale drawing of all of our cookers, tables, etc. so that when we load in there won't be any confusion about what goes where. Are we efficient or what?

Thinking about attending one or both of these events? Hit the Contact Us page and drop us a line so that we know to expect you.