What a Difference a Year Makes

This weekend marks my second time to cook the Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ competition in Enid, OK.  I blogged my results from last year in this contest.  This year was a different outcome entirely.  I'm cooking some different flavor profiles, and some different techniques... and they paid off.

Results from this year's contest:

Chicken - 13th

Ribs - 3rd

Pork - 3rd

Brisket - 13th

Overall - 3rd

My wife is really appreciating the new decor of our living room mantel.

This is the team ID sign I got when I signed in at the contest... The real question remains... HOW DID THEY KNOW???

Next stop Overland Park Sams contest!

Operation BBQ Relief

You've seen the pictures and videos of the devastation in the Northeast due to hurricane Sandy.  Now you have a chance to help.

Operation BBQ Relief is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization founded in May 2011 to help victims of the Joplin, MO tornado.  The group, headed by Stan Hays (County Line Smokers), Jeff Stith (Big Creek BBQ), and Will Cleaver (Sticks N Chicks BBQ), was able to serve over 120,000 barbecue meals in less than two weeks during the operation in Joplin.  This was made possible by businesses who contributed food and supplies and people from across the country who donated cash.  As a result of the operation in Joplin Operation BBQ Relief was born. (from the OBR website)

Head on over to their website and check out some photo albums and videos of prior operations.

Currently they are working on securing TWO locations, one in New York and one in New Jersey, and are attempting to raise $15,000 to fund that operation. So far many businesses have donated charcoal, rub, meat etc. and many individuals have given cash to help reach this goal.  I would encourage everyone who reads this blog to click to the donation page, and give a tax deductible cash donation to help feed those affected by Hurricane Sandy.  100% of the funds donated for will go toward disaster relief!   If you're in the area, contact OBR and volunteer to help them cook, serve, clean, or  whatever you can do.

Check OBR out and "like" them on Facebook

Follow OBR on Twitter

Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ - Enid, OK

Our third contest was Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ in Enid, OK. This was the biggest contest we have been to so far with 66 teams competing in this KCBS sanctioned contest.  We were once again lucky enough to have David Bouska and the Butcher BBQ competition team as our neighbor on site.  David has been a great help in getting Dr. Nordy's BBQ up and running and being competitive at these contests.  David was one of the teachers of the class I took in December, and he has been a great resource when questions arise on site at contests.  (Thanks David!)  For the record... Butcher BBQ finished 3rd in the country in the KCBS Team of the Year in 2011 so he is my BBQ "E.F. Hutton"... when he talks... I listen. (if you have no idea what the EF Hutton reference is you either have  lived in a cave your whole life or are too young to have experienced some great commercials).  

I forgot to take many pictures of this event... I'll try to do better next time.  

Final Results - Smokin Red Dirt - Enid, OK

Dr. Nordy's BBQ

Chicken 60th

Ribs 40th

Pork 5th

Brisket 17th

Overall 33rd

Next Competition for Dr. Nordy's BBQ - Langley, OK May 18th-19th

Stillwater Elks Blazathon

Dr. Nordy's BBQ competed in our second contest April 6-7 at the Stillwater Elks Blazathon in Stillwater, OK.  This was a fun event with 49 teams.  I was a little more relaxed after having one contest already under my belt, but not completely comfortable yet.  Though it stormed and rained all night and much of the morning we had a good cook and were lucky to get a FIRST PLACE call in Ribs and a SIXTH place call in Brisket!  Not to shabby for our second contest. I am thankful for our Cookshack FEC100 and PG1000 smokers that cook great even in bad weather!

Our site in the Elks parking lot.  It was nice of them to put a sign to direct people to our site... The signs were a nice "night light" after the sun went down. 

Another view of the site

This is what Frist Place Ribs look like... or at least what the award looks like!

Kelli says these aren't staying on the mantel... shes wrong!  Hopefully will be adding more!

Final Results Stillwater Elks Blazathon

Dr. Nordy's BBQ

Chicken 47th

Ribs 1st

Pork 27th

Brisket 6th

Overall 18th

Sams Club BBQ Tour 2012

And we're baaaccckkk..........

I've been hiding out practicing competition BBQ.  The first competition for Dr. Nordy's BBQ team was March 23-24 at the Sams Club BBQ Tour in Midwest City, OK.

This competition was one of 25 local events which feed in to 5 regional competitions and ultimately into a National Championship in Bentonville, Arkansas.  Turns out this was a pretty crazy event to choose as our first event as there was only one other first time team there and the field was stacked with "well seasoned" (pun intended) teams.

This was both the debut of Dr. Nordy's BBQ team as well as our new competition trailer... 

Loaded and ready to travel!

Some shelves might be handy... 

Our setup at Sams

Posing for a silly picture

All the comforts of home... (sarcasm...)

Another view of our site.

Cooking up some chicken

All in all it was a successful first competition.  My goals were 1) make all the turn-ins and 2) don't finish in last place. We met both goals and I was very happy to hear our name called twice for top 10 finishes in both pork and chicken.  

Results Sam's Club BBQ Tour - Midwest City

Dr. Nordy's BBQ

Chicken - 8th

Ribs - 22nd

Pork - 6th

Brisket - 25th

Overall 22nd

Next stop for Dr. Nordy's is the Stillwater Blazathon April 6-7, in Stillwater, OK.  I will be making a couple of tweaks in ribs and brisket and hopefully can put out quality pork and chicken again at this next contest.  

Everyone gets a chicken!!!

When we were in Branson last year, we took the kids to Dixie Stampede.  Part of the huge dinner that is served there included a Cornish Game Hen.  The kids liked the show... but also thought it was great getting their own chicken to eat.

I finally got around to cooking some Cornish Game Hens on the PG1000.  I brined and rubbed them with the same recipe I used in WIfe Says NO BARBEQUE THIS WEEKEND.  Hens went in the brine for about 2 hours, they then were rinsed and dried uncovered in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.  I then cooked them on the PG1000 at 225 degrees for about 30 minutes then increased the temp to 350 degrees until the breast was about 165 degrees and the thighs were around 175 degrees.  I also basted them every 30 minutes with some Parkay.

They had a nice garlic herb flavor with a mild smoke flavor.  Definitely will be cooking these again.

Cleaned and headed to the brine

Rubbed with the wet rub

After about 1 1/2 hours on the PG1000 

Finished 

Served up with Kelli's Roasted Broccoli, and Potatoes Au Gratin from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Butcher BBQ Honey Rub Smoked Shrimp

If you video it... they will cook.

Cookshack has done a great job lately posting weekly cooking videos on their YouTube channel.  This weeks was ButcherBBQ Honey Rub Smoked Shrimp.  Having had shrimp cooked this way at their cooking class in December, it was time to make it myself.    

I'll let the pictures do the talking.  Video by Cookshack C.E.O. Stuart Powell included at the end.

2 lbs shrimp - deveined, tails left on.  These are a little small... but worked

Shrimp coated with ButchersBBQ Honey Rub then with Parkay on top

Placed on the indirect side of the PG1000 at 225degrees for about 45 minutes

After some time the butter melts and the shrimp smoke in a butter bath.

Temp on the PG1000 was increased to 400 degrees and the shrimp

were grilled direct on each side for about a minute.

Finished product

EXTREME CLOSEUP

Dinner

Turned out great.  Excellent flavor.  No leftovers!

Here's the full recipe from Stuart Powell

Christmas Prime Rib

Merry Christmas - well... Happy New Year... or whatever holiday is nearest when you are reading this!  Christmas 2011 marked my first attempt at Prime Rib.  I've been wanting to try to cook a prime rib, but have been a little hesitant due to the cost... It's hard to experiment on a $100 piece of meat!  

First a little info on Prime Rib - or Standing Rib Roast.  This is a cut of beef from the primal rib.  It can include from 2 to 7 ribs.  The cut can be found both with the bones attached and with the bones removed.  Regardless of the status of the bones this cut will often be tied with twine to help hold the different muscles together during the cooking process.  Some will remove the bones and then reattach them with twine for cooking.  Prime rib sliced into steaks is also known as rib-eye steaks.  

I found a 5.25 lb boneless prime rib to try out my first cook.  It was choice grade meat and cost  about $60.  I then rubbed it with olive oil and then with cracked black pepper, cracked sea salt, and rosemary. I refrigerated it overnight wrapped in plastic wrap.  

I did a two stage cook on the prime rib.  I started cooking at 180 degrees in my FEC100 smoker for about 90 minutes then increased the temp to 225 degrees.  When the internal temp hit 135 I took the meat off and tented it with foil to rest for about 30 minutes.  During that 30 minutes I fired up the PG1000 to 500 degrees.  After the thirty minute rest I placed the roast on the indirect side of the PG1000 for about 8 minutes.  This crisped up the outside and gave a nice crust.  Since I didn't cook it directly over the flame it didn't char, but rather got a nice seared crust.   

So you may ask, "Why didn't you do the whole cook on the PG1000?"  I could have and usually would, however I needed to use the 2 stage cooking feature (cook and hold) of the FEC100 as I was not going to be immediately available to adjust the cooker temp.  

Overall the prime rib turned out really good.  It was more medium than medium rare, this pleased my wife who likes her meat well done (ruined) but my goal was a nice medium rare.  So... mistake made here was 1) removing from the first stage of the cook too late and 2)underestimating the "carryover" while the roast was resting (the effect of continued cooking and raising of internal temp during the rest).  Next time I would pull it to rest at a lower internal temp and hope to hit that medium-rare point.  Regardless, the meat was still juicy, flavorful, and tender. 

Rubbed and to the fridge overnight

Sear phase at 500 degrees on the PG1000

Sliced and ready to serve

  

Nordy's Video Debut - ABTs on the PG1000

Yes this is a repost from Feb 2011, but I wanted to add the video I recently did for Cookshack, cooking ABTs on the PG1000.  You can check out other great videos on the Cookshack Smokers YouTube Channel.

ABT = Atomic Buffalo Turd
Sounds yummy doesn't it...  Name aside these stuffed jalapeños taste nothing like a turd. Halved jalapeños filled with  a mixture of cream cheese, shredded colby-jack cheese, and hot sausage, then wrapped with some peppered bacon.  That cocoon of goodness is then smoked at low temp for about an hour, then the temp is increased to crisp the bacon, on the pellet grill.

ABTs - Post prep - Ready for the grill

ABTs on the indirect portion of the grill.  They are sitting on a 

frogmat.  Frogmats are completely non-stick mesh which prevents

delicate foods from falling through, or sticking to the grates. 

The finished product - Jalapeños plate nicely on a bread plate

The ABTs were spicy but mostly from the peppered bacon.  There is a little heat in the jalapeño but the longer you cook, the less heat they have.  Highly recommend these the next time you need some finger foods/appetizers.

KCBS CBJ Class & Fast Eddy Competition Cooking Class

I took the weekend off from cooking this past weekend... sort of... 

Every year Cookshack offers a competition cooking class taught by BBQ legend Fast Eddy Maurin and David Bouska of ButcherBBQ who just happens to be the current third place team in team of the year points in the KCBS.  In addition to this class they have a KCBS Certified Barbeque Judge class as well.  

For those who don't know, BBQ competitions sanctioned by the KCBS are encouraged so seek out as many Certified Barbeque Judges (CBJs) as possible when they plan an event.  The approximately 4 hour class teaches people to be able to fairly judge BBQ to the KCBS standards.   Most competitions will have some non-certified judges, however most have a goal of having 100% CBJs.  

Our class was taught by Merle Whitebook, Master Judge from the KCBS.  He did a great job educating us on the KCBS BBQ standards, how to judge, and most importantly how not to punish cooks for things out of their control!  I thought I understood what the rules and standards were, however Merle offered tons of examples and anecdotes which made many of the "rules" more tangible and real.  

The class consisted of a lecture and Q&A time followed by judging a simulated full contest, complete with lots of good food in all 4 categories of Chicken, Pork Ribs, Pork Shoulder, and Brisket.  After each category we discussed the various scores and "scenarios" which were staged such as a box which only had 5 instead of the required 6 portions of food, or illegal garnish etc. 

Overall, great class.  I would recommend anyone interested in BBQ to seek out a KCBS class and become a CBJ and get out and judge some contests!

Stuart and Red prepping some boxes to be judged 

Photo Credit: Frank Diaz - of Tin Hut BBQ

Merle teaching future CBJs

Photo Credit: Frank Diaz of Tin Hut BBQ

One of the 3 pork Boxes during our judging training.

Photo Credit: Frank Diaz of Tin Hut BBQ

The second day of the class is when things got real serious.  This was an 8AM-5PM of competition BBQ teaching.  Fast Eddy and David Bouska did a fantastic job of covering planning, purchasing, trimming, cooking, and winning!  Fast Eddy has been around the BBQ world for years and complements teaching his great knowledge of BBQ with some of the many uh... "stories" from his many years on the BBQ circuit.  David Bouska's team, ButcherBBQ is currently 3rd in the KCBS Team of the Year standings and his anal retentive... uh... I mean attention to detail, leaves no question as to how he attained that ranking.  Both Fast Eddy and David provide not only their recipes for championship BBQ, but teach you HOW to cook them in the intense world of BBQ competition.  We did a little hands on cooking ourselves, cooking chicken and ribs all on the Fast Eddy line of smokers by Cookshack.  Needless to say... the samples of each BBQ category provided by Eddy and David were quite possibly the best part of the weekend.  

I would highly recommend this yearly December class to anyone interested in competing in BBQ, currently competing in BBQ, or even those just interested in beefing up their backyard skills.  Check the Cookshack website for announcements of next years class. 

David prepping ribs while Fast Eddy watches.

(Sorry I was too busy scribbling notes and eating BBQ to take many pictures of the Competition Class!)