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Yup.. This years Manatee County Fair starts a week from today... The Comp is Jan 21st... This years meat choice is...
''BOSTON BUTT''...
Don't have a clue what I'm going to do yet... Open for suggestions...
Also.. We do a little appetizer competition as well... Open for suggestions on that too ... thinking something totally different than the normal apps ...
I’m not sure how this all works, so please forgive my ignorance.
For Boston butt, how about pulled pork over a mini corn muffin or mini corn bread loaves topped with chilerelleno
cilantro jalapeño lime coleslaw? Probably the best coleslaw I’ve ever had and is absolutely delicious with pulled pork.
For app, what about some kind of crazy fries? Something that ties in beef birria, chicken and waffles, poutine, etc.?
These kind of competitions are a blast, especially if you are like me and enjoy having fun and showing off at the same time. If there are any rules, please post them because using them to your advantage.... is an advantage. For instance, how many portions are required and who are the judges are important.
For the Boston Butt entry I suggest buying several butts and cooking the money muscle end, which is called a Coppa Roast. It's the best muscle group on the butt, and while most cooks will be entering pulled pork, you can enter slices that will melt in your mouth. Grind or cube the rest for sausage or stew meat.
You want to look for a nice money muscle, they taper but look for the stripes of fat. The blade bone is on the opposite side of the butt, and is a good point of reference when butchering, or breaking down a full size but.
Here is a cross section of a butt showing the MM and the adjacent muscles. The Coppa roast is roughly the upper 1/3 of the butt and contains several good muscle groups. You follow the natural seams, and then shape the roast for smoking.
I inject to insure moistness and flavor, but it's not mandatory. Smoking is pretty easy, somewheres around 275°, and indirect.
I pull on color, and wrap until tender (adding some butter and broth) which takes around 90 minutes to get probe tender.
The hardest decision you will make is the thickness of the slices. The more tender the roast is, the thicker the slice you can make.
In the event you cook it too tender to slice, just separate the muscles and turn in chunks of pork.
For the appetizer, Plum Pork is killer. It can be served warm or chilled, meaning you can make it the day before.
I’m not sure how this all works, so please forgive my ignorance.
For Boston butt, how about pulled pork over a mini corn muffin or mini corn bread loaves topped with chilerelleno
cilantro jalapeño lime coleslaw? Probably the best coleslaw I’ve ever had and is absolutely delicious with pulled pork.
For app, what about some kind of crazy fries? Something that ties in beef birria, chicken and waffles, poutine, etc.?
If there are any rules, please post them because using them to your advantage.... is an advantage. For instance, how many portions are required and who are the judges are important.
MEAT ONLY in the turn in box with the exception of sauce... no greens... no foil... no markings... nothing ...
I believe it's 3 judges.. might be 4... blind judging .. we don't know who they are ...
15 teams will be the max ...
They (the fair) supplies the meat and charcoal... Charcoal and wood only... no pellet poopers.. no electrics... One butt per team... meat is handed out at 0900 (am) ... Draw numbers for picks... that number will be for turn in as well... turn in starts at 1600 (4PM) with the number one pick... every five minutes after that ... So number 1 gets first choice of meat ... but.. has to turn in first ... Team number 15 gets last pick.. but... doesn't have to turn in until 1710 (5:10PM)... gets an extra hour and ten minutes of cooking time...
Fires can be started any time... So get it fired up and up to temps by 0900 ...
As for appetizers... no rules ... just plenty to hand out to all members of other teams...
Well, the rules are simple enough, and I'm assuming you will fire your pit early, so it will be up to temp by 9AM. 7 hours of cook and rest time is doable with a high enough pit temp OR if you cut the butt into smaller pieces. I would definitely think about injecting, and wrapping.
If cutting into pieces is not allowed (or you simply want the most meat to choose from), there are some trimming methods that competition cooks used when KCBS rules had a minimum weight for butts. This is a good video showing this method. And the way Tim isolates the various areas will allow you to build some good bark.
This link has some great photos and a very good technique.
