My 1st Competition is over with...

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gnbbbq

Newbie
Original poster
Apr 19, 2018
12
45
Competed in my 1st ever competition this past weekend at the Almost Heaven BBQ Bash in Weston, WV. I competed in the backyard competition as well as the Peoples Choice pulled pork and the Chicken Wing contest.

For my first time competing, I honestly felt pretty good. I did not forget to pack anything, our setup was great, and I was proud of the meats I turned in considering I was using a smoker I had very little experience on. (Sling-n-Steel Gameday)

Pulled Pork - No clue where we finished as they only announced the winner, but I hit my temps and flavor profile perfect and could not have been more proud of the product we submitted.

Chicken - I submitted thighs, and I knew going into this that they would be my weekness since I have only done them twice before. While they looked amazing, the skin was not bite through and they were a bit dry. I placed 10/14 on these. I did gain great feedback from the judges though, so that is valuable.

Ribs - Felt very good about these. I did overcook them a tad and that was noted from the judges, but they seemed to enjoy the flavor profile. I just need to tweak it a bit to get a bit more pop on the front end. I placed 7/14 and missed getting a call by .02 points.

Chicken Wings - Honestly, I didn't feel good about these at all. the charcoal was a bit too hot when I went to finish them and they got a lot darker than I would have liked. The flavor was spot on for how I prepare them though. This competition was open and backyard competed against the pro teams. I placed 2/22 teams and missed 1st place by 1.1 points! I am still smiling over this.

Overall we had a fantastic and fun weekend and met some awesome people. We had 6 family members hang out with us all weekend which made it really enjoyable. To say I am hooked to the world of BBQ Competing is an understatement. Both myself and my wife had a blast and made a great team together.











 

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Last edited:
Congratulations!
Those wings look fantastic!
I'm sure that 1st Place is not too far away!
You have a real nice rig & setup too!
And congrats on making the carousel!
Al
 
Congratulation on placing. Those wings look fantastic.

Point for sure.

Chris
 
Food looks amazing congrats on the 2nd place wings! Aside from all the WV gear the setup looks great too! JK I bet it was a great time!
 
Food looks amazing congrats on the 2nd place wings! Aside from all the WV gear the setup looks great too! JK I bet it was a great time!

HAHA, thanks!. We will see you all on September 1st... ;-)
 
Congratulations!
Those wings look fantastic!
I'm sure that 1st Place is not too far away!
You have a real nice rig & setup too!
And congrats on making the carousel!
Al

Thanks! My Father-In-Law, Brother-In-Law, and Myself all went in on the rig and have been very happy with it so far. Setup is a work in process until we find the ideal flow and sitting arrangement, but it worked very well this past weekend.
 
Congrats!!:)
All the Presentation boxes look Great to me!!
Hang in there---First is not far away!
Like.

Bear
 
Congrats! Those wings look amazing. Would you mind sharing your wing recipe? I'm a huge wing fan and that's one of the next smokes on my wish list.
 
Congrats! Those wings look amazing. Would you mind sharing your wing recipe? I'm a huge wing fan and that's one of the next smokes on my wish list.

It's basically a modified Adam Perry Wing. The rub is sucklebusters wing rub and the sauce is sucklebusters peach bbq.
 
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Conagrats on the place! I think everything looks pretty good. Are you going to do more backyard comps or are you going to jump into straight pro contests?

For the remainder of this year I am going to stick to Backyard. I am only registered for one more competition at the moment, which is the WV BBQ Festival in Charles Town, WV on September 1st.

I don't think I am quite ready for KCBS/Pro level competing yet, but that is the plan down the road after I get a few competitions under my belt and get a better understanding of the judging and stuff.
 
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