Annual Men's Barbecue Association Competition

[Major Eaton]

There I was, on Barbecue row


Staring down some of the fiercest competitors ever!


These guys were good, I just knew it! But I was not daunted! I fired up that old Smokey and went to town...4 AM wake up call, 5 AM meat on the grill.

Chicken! Ribs! Tri-Tip! Tenderloin! A smorgasbord of flesh and muscle, all waiting to be smoked, flamed, seasoned, injected, cut, and spit out!

I entered my portable kitchen and went to work


The results?

3Rd Place in Chicken...which I can not show here, due to a technical error

The below, didn't even place in a 13 team/kitchen event

Sigh

Tri-Tip


Ribs


Bacon-Wrapped Tenderloin


Sorry for the photo quality, I was cooking art, not photographing it.....

[Super Ordinary Guy]

Dude , that is soooooooo Kewl......

I would love to do that, although I don't think I could get anywhere a winning place with the professionals...

3rd place in Chicken.... VERY WELL DONE !!!

Love the look of your portable kitchen.....

Man a lot of work there , accumulating all that stuff, hauling it, cooking the food and taking it down and back home again .......

The best I have ever done is in a Chili Cookoff, took first place peoples choice once and 3 rd place Judges Choice another time.....

Might I ask what the entrance fee was???

At the last little dinky Chili Cookoff this year on the Southside it was $180 and all you got was a trophy, I decided not to enter...

Been a few years since i have entered anything.... Wish I could have been there....

Congrats.....

[n11pilot]

Major, this is some incredible looking food. Don't apologize for the photography, it was good enough to raise my cholesterol.

[Major Eaton]

$125.00 secures a place, 2 whole chickens, 2 3to4 lb. tri-tip, 2 full racks of Pork Spare ribs (about 10#), and 3rd-1st place aprons for all four categories, including trophies for Reserve and Grand Champions for a team of 4.

I should add, the site for this annual competition is about 500 yards from my front door. Literally around the corner.

Which is good because the Good Major squeezes this body into a small Japanese compact. It can not haul much more than those coolers. I ... honest to God ... roll my barbecue to the site each year. There's a running joke about it.

[Cousi]

Dang! Now I'm hungry. Very fine looking victuals Major! Third place is very well done. Congratulations!

[n11pilot]

I can't stop looking at the photos of the Major's worthy culinary efforts. Its like food porn.

[Cousi]

Well I know I can't look at this thread without a napkin.

What? To clean up the drool!

Pigs! All of you!

[n11pilot]

Well I know I can't look at this thread without a napkin.

What? To clean up the drool!

Pigs! All of you!

Sure, we believe you. Just like we believe that you buy Gourmet magazine for the articles.

[Doug Palumbo]

I have always found chicken harder to cook right than most other meats. Good job Major!

[Super Ordinary Guy]

I have always found chicken harder to cook right than most other meats. Good job Major!

I can get chicken just perfect..........................

For me.....not for other people.....

I like it very dry and almost everyone else likes their chicken moist, so what is overdone for them is great for me......

[Major Eaton]

I have always found chicken harder to cook right than most other meats. Good job Major!

In the grilling game, it's a challenge. Sure Tri-Tip (poor man's brisket) and Ribs require a certain amount of finesse and patience

But chicken can go from bad to worse in nothing flat. As SOG points out above, it's highly temperamental.

My secret? Well, look at the avatar. It's BUTTER.

[Doug Palumbo]

I let the raw chicken sit in a bath of vinegar. Really does a number to tenderize the meat and keep it super moist! Some vinegar flavor remains but not too much. If you use BBQ or some other basting sauce, the vinegar just adds to the flavor.

[Super Ordinary Guy]

I let the raw chicken sit in a bath of vinegar. Really does a number to tenderize the meat and keep it super moist! Some vinegar flavor remains but not too much. If you use BBQ or some other basting sauce, the vinegar just adds to the flavor.

Give lemon juice a try or lime if you prefer, it will do the same as vinegar and leave a better flavor ....

[Super Ordinary Guy]

Major, do you have a smoker or just use the grill with indirect heat?

Also besides looking delicious they look like spare ribs... Did you use Spare or Baby Back....

Dang you Major,,, you got me in a tizzy on this one...

3-2-1 method or 2-2-1 ???

I am curious and will probably be trying some ribs again soon because of this post..

They definitely aren't easy for me to do right and your pics and the cookoff looked like a lot of fun....

You do realize if we lived closer we would be grilling everything that walks day after day learning and having fun,,,,not to mention GOOD EATS!!

[Major Eaton]

I would be a 3-2-1 man, at least the way I learned/interned. We used Spare Ribs...provided by the Association. I have a gas grill, and a charcoal grill, that can indirectly smoke. I don't prefer to smoke on it, but I can use indirect heat and wood chips and impart a nice pecan flavor to whatever I choose. But in the purist sense, I'm a griller, for now.

I'll start truly smoking when I get a Kamado.

Vinegar, tarragon vinegar helps with the lingering flavor Doug. It brings an earthy sweetness, that really compliments a typical Mid-West BBQ. I haven't tried it yet with the NC style, but my goal this coming year is to perfect the Tri-Tip. And to come up with a much better showcase entry.