Let me start by saying what a great contest this is. It is sponsored by the Jackson County Shrine Club and the entry proceeds go to helping sick or needy children in Children’s Hospital. There were no cash prizes, just trophies for each category. The trophies were hand crafted by “Signs by SNAIL “(Jay Vantuyl). SNAILS’ craftsmanship is impeccable, and so is his food! He has been featured on the Food Network twice for both his competition cooking team and the unique smokers that he builds. This is the video from one of his appearances, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejpbwAXdKf0.
The grand champion’s trophy was a fully functional miniature smoker made by some of the shrine members (sorry, I just can’t recall their names right now). I was told by one of the creators of this miniature masterpiece that it took three weeks to complete. If you choose to, you can cook a single chicken leg or thigh on it using one charcoal briquette. Man, I wanted that trophy!
The contest is a family friendly event. Children were running around chasing each other and playing games while the parents enjoyed a familiar bonding over their favorite libation. Steve Holbrook and Tracy Helton ran a top notch event. I would highly recommend this contest to anyone.
The rules are based on pre- Kansas City Barbecue Society’s rules. The garnish was open, meaning you can use anything that is edible as a garnish. During the cook's meeting it was emphasized several times that rule number 8 listed in our cook’s packet is paramount to this event. What is rule number 8 you say? Rule number 8 states that "YOU MUST HAVE FUN!"
Well let me tell you, as exhausted as I was from the heat and being a team of one, I HAD A BALL! I met some really good people that bent over backwards to lend a helping hand or just to make you laugh. This is definitely an event that I will attend annually.
I would really like to extend a huge thank you to Paul Kirk for his contribution to this contest. Paul was considerate enough to tell me about the event and then he graciously lent me his personal cooker to compete with for this event. Thank you Paul!
Exhaustion must be the key to serving good barbecue in a competition. It is hard work being a team of one. At times it challenges your fortitude and commitment to your fervor. As hard as it was to press forward, the rewards outweighed the spoils in the end.
I was really surprised to hear my name called three times for a trophy. I felt that my chicken was dry and my pork was overcooked. I did feel good about my ribs because they had a real good color, they were tender, and had great flavor (to me). I felt proud of my brisket. I probably paid more attention to the brisket and tending the fire than I did to anything else. I only cooked one brisket (12lbs after being trimmed) which is a big risk in a contest. It cooked in 10 hours! I cooked the brisket near the firebox to ensure that a temperature drop would not affect my cooking time of the brisket. My strategy paid off. Here is how I faired:
Chicken: 3rd place
Ribs: 2nd place
Pork: 17th place (ouch!)
Brisket: 7th place
Overall: 5th place
Congratulations to Jay “SNAIL” Vantuyl for becoming Grand Champion two years in a row! I have never met a more humble and deserving person than SNAIL! I guess the big question now is “Can the SNAIL three peat?” Only time will tell. See you next year!
My seventh place brisket award!
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