My rib cookoff today.

[babydocsmoke]

Well done!! Congrats!

 

[sandyut]

Well'p
I guess I cook best when I'm under the gun. I got a 1st place again with a PERFECT score, zero deductions.
Seriously, I worked extremely hard on my rib game. I was super confident going in, but thought I royally F'd up when the ribs got darker than I was shooting for . All the judges and people's choice all left comments stating that my ribs were perfect, couldn't be any better.
Shoked the shit out'a me once again I thought I choked. It seems like whenever I think I choke, I win.
I need to quit second guessing myself.
I'm my own worse critic.

I have 3 racks at home, I promise I'll take pictures when I reheat them.

The first person to get a call was my Dad, and he started crying because he couldn't be here today, after his surgery. I guess I'll admit, it made me cry as well .

Thanks for all of the support guys, it means the world to me.

I told the lady that owns the bar, that I retired today, and next yr I want to be a judge. She said they would be honored.

Good times, and View attachment 737634God Bless.
Dan.

I brought my lucky charm today, this woman has supported me, and had my back even when things got extremely bad .
This is Miss "C" my little blonde hottie, we've known eachother since the 7th grade.lView attachment 737635
She's my rock star wife. I'd be in a bad place if it wasn't for this woman, she made me see the light.View attachment 737636

Congrats on holding the top pot!

 

[kilo charlie]

Congratulations on the repeat!

 

[Brokenhandle]

Dan, I'm pretty sure at one point you sent me your number but I can't find it. Was gonna send you a video of the first rib my granddaughter tried at 1 year old. I don't compete in rib cook competitions but she definitely gave me the seal of approval! Well, to be honest I gave her a rib off my wife's plate!

Ryan

 

[forktender]

Way to go . We'll have to share lard stories.

In the first photo, you can see a clear plastic tub'o lard, I get it from a local Mexican store. It's the lard that they save after making their
chicharrone.

I use it as a binder for my rub, just a thin layer. Then at wrap, I use peach butcher paper, I rub a palm full into the paper before I lay the ribs down.
Then I heavily mist the paper with peach nector and pour a good amount of Kosmos Jap. peach rib glaze under and over the ribs, then wrap. I only wrap for contests, and they are only wrapped for 30 minutes of so, until they reach 190* between the bones. Then I sauce with Blue Hog's sauce which has about 1/4 Kosmos Jap peach added to it. Then I thin it down with some really good Tenn home brewed corn whiskey, made by the Westmorland Family in the hills of Tenn. one my friends is family to them, and brings me a few jugs every couple or years, it's good stuff.
I thin it down so it's pretty dang thin, glaze the ribs or butts, and put them back on the smoker for 15-20 minutes until the glaze sets.
It's turns into pig candy with a touch of back end heat, they are a sticky mess to eat, but everyone loves my ribs. I make them a lot this time of year. Any party, birthday, or potluck at the shooting range, I get volenteered to bring ribs. Most of the time I like bring them but every now and then I just don't wanna cook. That was yesterday, my back was killing me so cooking ribs was a chore. They got way darker than I wanted them to be.

I honest;y thought, there goes my chance of winning two yrs in a row. But all three judges gave them a perfect score.
Two of the judges are chefs at the French Laundry restaurant in the Napa Valley, so I'll trust their palate any day of the week. The third judge owns a big, fancy Italian restaurant locally. So we had a loaded judgng field. I was completely shocked, all three of them came up to me after the contest and said they were the best ribs they had ever had...which blew me away. In my mind, I can do better, but hey, I'll take it!!!

They all had questions about my smoker and what my process was, I mostly told them the truth. LOL!!!
I can't give away all of my secrets to them. LOL!!!

 

[ajbert]

Congrats on winning!

I did some baby back rids yesterday and ended up with the top position, too. To be honest we had a couple of the neighbors come over for the ribs and the potatoes and beans my wife made. But I did get thumbs up all around so I'll take that as a win!

 

[forktender]

In the first photo, you can see a clear plastic tub'o lard, I get it from a local Mexican store. It's the lard that they save after making their
chicharrone.

View attachment 737676

I use it as a binder for my rub, just a thin layer. Then at wrap, I use peach butcher paper, I rub a palm full into the paper before I lay the ribs down.
Then I heavily mist the paper with peach nector and pour a good amount of Kosmos Jap. peach rib glaze under and over the ribs, then wrap. I only wrap for contests, and they are only wrapped for 30 minutes of so, until they reach 190* between the bones. Then I sauce with Blue Hog's sauce which has about 1/4 Kosmos Jap peach added to it. Then I thin it down with some really good Tenn home brewed corn whiskey, made by the Westmorland Family in the hills of Tenn. one my friends is family to them, and brings me a few jugs every couple or years, it's good stuff.
I thin it down so it's pretty dang thin, glaze the ribs or butts, and put them back on the smoker for 15-20 minutes until the glaze sets.
It's turns into pig candy with a touch of back end heat, they are a sticky mess to eat, but everyone loves my ribs. I make them a lot this time of year. Any party, birthday, or potluck at the shooting range, I get volenteered to bring ribs. Most of the time I like bring them but every now and then I just don't wanna cook. That was yesterday, my back was killing me so cooking ribs was a chore. They got way darker than I wanted them to be.

I honest;y thought, there goes my chance of winning two yrs in a row. But all three judges gave them a perfect score.
Two of the judges are chefs at the French Laundry restaurant in the Napa Valley, so I'll trust their palate any day of the week. The third judge owns a big, fancy Italian restaurant locally. So we had a loaded judgng field. I was completely shocked, all three of them came up to me after the contest and said they were the best ribs they had ever had...which blew me away. In my mind, I can do better, but hey, I'll take it!!!

They all had questions about my smoker and what my process was, I mostly told them the truth. LOL!!!
I can't give away all of my secrets to them. LOL!!!

I've done them with and without the lard, honestly, you can really taste the difference between them. The lard almost gives them a toasted bacony flavor. It's liquid gold, and they sell it cheap.

 

[forktender]

Dan, I'm pretty sure at one point you sent me your number but I can't find it. Was gonna send you a video of the first rib my granddaughter tried at 1 year old. I don't compete in rib cook competitions but she definitely gave me the seal of approval! Well, to be honest I gave her a rib off my wife's plate!

Ryan

I'd love to see that, those videos crack me up.
I'll P/M it to you again.

 

[thirdeye]

In the first photo, you can see a clear plastic tub'o lard, I get it from a local Mexican store. It's the lard that they save after making their chicharrone.

About 15 years ago I took an day competition class hosted by two of the top 10 cooking teams that year. They taught us a lot about moistness and building flavor, and one example were some ribs seasoned only with garlic salt and lightly basted with lard. This was way before injecting ribs was common.