Preparing for my first competition...

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worktogthr

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
SMF Premier Member
Nov 3, 2013
2,928
1,032
Massapequa, NY (Long Island)
Hey All, 

Haven't been posting much because I have been busy with work and life as well as prepping for my first ever competition.  My friend and I will be cooking as the Pequa Porkers in tomorrow's Grilling at the Beach Competition at Tanner Park in Copiague, NY.

Seemed like a great competition to try for our first go because its free, its only a half a day long, and it is close to home.

There are three very flexible categories:

Chicken

Beef

Dessert

Only rules are that all of them have to be cooked on some kind of grill or smoker, all heat sources are allowed (charcoal, wood, gas, pellets, electric, etc.  We have been encouraged to be creative meaning it's not necessary to put only sauced and seasoned meat in the turn in boxes.  You can wrap or stuff the proteins any way your heart desires.  

We will be cooking a Smoked NY Strip Roast on the PBC with some hickory for our beef entry with a compound butter (That is still under debate...during our test runs everyone loved the beef the best without any compound butter, we tried a few).  For chicken we will be cooking a bacon wrapped jalapeno and cheddar stuffed chicken thigh on the Weber 26 inch kettle with some apple wood.  And finally for dessert we will be making a Maple Bacon Bourbon Pecan Pie Cookie Bar on the Weber 26.

We are getting excited because we have no expectations but know we are going to have a great time.  Our only cause for worry right now is the set up.  We wish we could get there early but they are only allowing us in the park at 7:30 and meat inspection is at 8:00.  Ideally we would love to start cooking at 8 but  half hour is going to be tight for unloading and setting up.  The turn in times are as follows:

Chicken:  11:30

Beef:        12:15

Dessert:     1:00

There will be a 15 minute buffer allowed at each turn in whether early or late which is nice.  The food presented to the judges within that half hour bracket will be tasted and scored as soon as possible.  We appreciate this format because it timing will be difficult for us since its our first time.

Tonight is finishing last minute prep and packing all our equipment into my buddy's van .  I'll try to get some pics as we go unless we are just too overwhelmed to do so.

Looking forward to sharing my experience with you all.

-Chris
 
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Thanks guys for all the encouragement. Ended up being a small comp, only 7 teams, but we won Grand Champion with the best over all score and we won first place for dessert! We were shocked and would have been happy that our first contest was a guaranteed top 10 haha. It really was fun. I loved being up against the clock and having to prioritize everything during go time! We were very well planned and organized which I guess helped us out. Its still unbelievable to me that we won the whole thing. our menu was exactly as I mentioned above. Here are some pictures and thanks so much to everyone on this site who helped my interest in this hobby grow and have let me in on all their secrets and knowledge.

-Chris



I'm the one with the hat on and that's my buddy Andrew on my right.
 
Now that is just awesome Chris!

Congratulations to you and Andrew!

I think a point is in order for a first place finish!

I'd give you 2 if they would let me!

Al
 
 
Now that is just awesome Chris!

Congratulations to you and Andrew!

I think a point is in order for a first place finish!

I'd give you 2 if they would let me!

Al
It's OK Al.  I had that other point you were looking for.  My bad.  I threw it in with yours though. 

Congratulations guys.  A job well done!!
 
 
Now that is just awesome Chris!

Congratulations to you and Andrew!

I think a point is in order for a first place finish!

I'd give you 2 if they would let me!

Al
 
It's OK Al.  I had that other point you were looking for.  My bad.  I threw it in with yours though. 

Congratulations guys.  A job well done!!
Thanks so much guys!  We were so excited to win!  And today after getting over the initial shock and being so tired, I can really enjoy it.  Got some cool BBQ prizes for our efforts as well, including a new Thermopen, 2 cook books, including a charcuterie cook book which i am very psyched about, and some nice cast iron pans.    The most rewarding part though is that we were able to work so well together.  It was an accomplishment just to get the boxes in on time, let alone win.  And it was so nice hearing such nice things about the food afterwards from the judges.  All in all a great experience that does have me hungry for more competition.
 
This is so great. Do we have to bow when we read your posts now?

Congratulations to the champions!

Points for the win.

Disco
 
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Nice job man! Sounds like you had a lot of fun and the food looks like it was great. Thumbs Up

Thanks so much! We were happy with what we put out and just relieved we got it all I on time. Can't wait to do another comp!
Chris congrats that is a great job you did.
Richie

Thanks so much Richie. One of the most fun experiences I've had in a while.
 
Thats awesome Chris. Congrats.

also everything looked top notch from here.
 
Congrats on the win!
Thats awesome Chris. Congrats.

also everything looked top notch from here.
Congrats Chris, tasty lookin Q !
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Thanks for the congrats and kind words guys!  Now I have the bug to compete again.  Unfortunately my teammate isn't available for the two comps coming up in the next couple of weeks.
 
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