Gallatin BBQ contest Oct. 2nd and 3rd

The Charcoal Cowboys had everyone but Jay in attendance for the Gallatin Event which was a late add after my software project release got pushed until 2010.   Gallatin is just North of Nashville so we all worked until 1 oclock and then left from Brentwood around 2pm which is working ok for us because we have all of the marniades made in advance now in water jugs.   The Gallatin event is part of a large Square party on Saturday.   On Friday night no one is downtown with the teams so it is a very quiet Friday with only teams and friends.  They also serve a 3pm dinner for the teams.  Gallatin square is great and I really liked the downtown area. 

It was very windy for the contest so we didnt know how that would impact or product and we were still working on our rib timeframes because we felt we had great tasting ribs but had been missing on the texture.  We felt this event we would finally have the right cooking times for ribs.  We felt fine on Pork and Brisket but went back to just cooking the chicken on the hot grill and saucing.  Nothing fancy for the chicken as past events.

We felt good about ribs and pork both top10.  Brisket was dry for some reason and chicken was so so.   We went to the award ceremony not feeling great because again only annoucing top10. No call for Chicken.  Then we didnt get 2-5 call on ribs --I thought oh well probably 6th.  Instead they called our name first place Ribs.  We were all very excited.  No call in Pork - probably top 10.   No call in brisket so I thought well probably top 10.  I was thinking if the chicken was decent we could win this contest.  Then the big surprise....



The Brisket bombed ----  couldnt believe it.
Overall 12th
Chicken 16th
Ribs 1st
Pork 9th
Brisket 19th

Pictures above:
Turn in boxes
Team and award
Page about to eat a chunky bloody mary

More pictures

1st picture - Kenly and the Grand Ole Porker
2nd picture - Charcoal Cowboys fan club
3rd picture - the stage were we received our two awards with about 5,000 people in the crowd- I had to walk thru Jacks Old South to get our awards
4th picture - dinner Friday night -seafood paella
5th picture - The Cowboys with our ambassadors

PS == Great to see Ben from Ulika --he seems to always bring us luck.....
Also great to see Billy of Manwagon been 14 years and Mark Stone of Ash Holes

Music City BBQ festival

This was the first ever Music City BBQ festival. Overall I thought the set-up and the event had a lot of potential for a super event. We were located on 1st avenue at Riverfront Park. They had two events actual happening a musical festival and a bbq festival. They charged $10 to enter the event for the music but I don't think they really had anyone worth paying $10 dollars ( anyway that is what all of the event guest were saying) The guest felt they paid $10 dollars for the BBQ event. I think if next year they have it free to the public or $1 or 2 then I think this event will be well received. They actually just had too many things happening.. But I will say it was actual very well organized.

We have always in the past done well when competing in Nashville. Our first call happen in CMA Fanfest bbq contest. So, we hoped for at least one call but we knew they were only calling top 5 places and we were competing against some of the top teams in MBN and KCBS.

The strangest thing happen we got two top 5 calls -- 4th in Pork and 5th in brisket. We finished 9th overall. I can't explain how excited I was for Page and all of my team members. My only goal this year was finish one event in the top 15 and one top 5 in any category. I reflected on how well everything has went for us over the last 1 1/2 year. Two years ago I had never cooked on charcoal and never smoked in charcoal smoker. I had only cooked gourmet style or used a gas grill.

Thanks to everyone that has supported us over the last two years....

Smokin in McMinnville

This was the first event that we worked 1/2 day before leaving for the event. So, we were very nervous about how this would work because we have always taken Friday off for events. We didn't arrive to the site until 2:30. We set-up next to High on the Hawg and Krispy Kritters (who was already drinking vodka but they were a local team so all of the team left and didnt show up until 3:00am to start cooking.) We were behind Smoking Triggers and meet Johnny and Trica Trigg. I got all the meat prepared and iced down by 3:30 so we made up some time by making all of our marinades at home vs onsite.

The event was held at the Civic Center area that is surround by residents. They had a beautiful pool and gym that they opened to the BBQ teams. They also has indoor restrooms and showers which is extremely nice at 8:00 am in the morning. This was a great set-up for a BBQ event.

The event itself was a little rowdy because we had around 5 local teams that came to party with a large group of followers. I have no issue with teams partying all night but they were also giving away BBQ to everyone and we were trying to plate our brisket for turn in and festival guest came up and just took a couple of slices of brisket. I really blame the local teams for this issue because they didn't wait until all meat was turned in before giving away samples.

We still finished 9th in Brisket even with the situation with the person taken brisket slices.

Here is the results:
Overall 24 out of 34
Chicken 28 out of 34 - rubbery skin
Ribs 32 out of 34 - changed cook time
Pork 23 out of 34
Brisket 9 out of 34

One last thing: We finally meet High on the Hawg -Terry and Brenda. Terry will finish his last chemo treatment Labor Day week and I will be saying a little prayer that he is clean and we get to compete against them for years to come. They are a extremely nice couple and I enjoyed my time talking with them.

Boxes and More info from Murray, KY

We added a new member at the Murray ,KY event. Jay Barber has become part of the Charcoal Cowboys. Jay is from Searcy, Ark. and has been like my brother since 1985 when we were college roommates. I believe he has received the BBQ bug like Page and me.

Murray KY BBQ contest July 3rd and 4th

We had a great time in Murray KY and Murray had 26 Pro BBQ teams which made it a qualifier ( more to this story later). So, This is the first time that we have taken the family with us on a BBQ trip. My parents stayed at a RV park about 3 miles from the contest. They arrived on Thursday and scoped out the location for us. I left Franklin at 7:00 am Friday morning with my wife and child. Jay left Searcy Ark about 6:30 Friday morning and Page left Franklin around 8:00 am Friday morning with the whole family in tow.

I had no problems with travel -- the horse trailer pulled great even over some very small bridges going over Kentucky Lake and Cumberland River. I picked up my Dad and he drove us downtown and we found our spot across from Smokey Mountain Smokers, Swiggin Pig and beside ShadeTree Cooks and Lets get Drunkn and Q. I started setting up with my dad and wife prior to the rest of the team arriving ( this didn't work so well because I wanted to get the meat prepared and my wife wanted to set-up site first). Needless to say it was great to have everyone arrive and my wife and dad left so we could finish site up. Our families head to the Hotel and we caught-up with Barry of Swiggin Pig and got to meet some new teams. We also got to talk with Jim and Terry of previous TN Trio. They are cooking under Becky Sue BBQ team now.

So, we go to the cooks meeting at 4:30 and we find out that we don't have but 24 teams so this will not be a qualifier. So, After the meeting I spoke with Jim and Terry since Terry had his own cooker and they had plenty meat ---they split to give us 25 teams. I had also told them if they could find another team I had an extra butt and brisket that they could be cooked. Later that night they found a team that would cook so they took the brisket and butt.

We had a great dinner with the whole families --I cooked Hamburgers (homemade) and hot dogs on the gas grill that was attached to the trailer of Becky Sues BBQ team. We also celebrated Lindy's Birthday with some cake.

This would have been a great contest except for the JACK (picture above)-- I passed out at 2:30am - and didnt recover until about 10am.

So here are the results:
Chicken 23 out of 26
Ribs 25 out of 26
Pork 12 out of 26
Brisket 14 out of 26
My donate meat finished
Pork 23 out of 26
brisket 8 out of 26

Great Event ---- Loved the downtown and courthouse

Small backyard event in Cool Springs

Everyone,

So, I recieved a call yesterday about help set-up a small backyard event on July 25th at D1 in Cool Springs. I think we can have at least 11 teams maybe 15 teams. Chicken and Ribs -- basically following the Kansas City BBQ society rules. I will keep everyone informed about the event.

Plans for 2nd Half and Funny Video

Here is the plan for the rest of 2009.

07/03/09to07/04/09
Squealin' on the Square Murray, KYSTATE CHAMPIONSHIP


08/28/09to08/29/09
Music City BBQ Nashville, TN


10/02/09to10/03/09
Smokin' on the Square Gallatin, TNSTATE CHAMPIONSHIP


Funny BBQ video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ubTQfr_tyY

Results from Pulaski Sundrop Country BBQ Contest

Overall 19 out of 29
Chicken 27 out of 29
Ribs 20 out of 29
Pork 23 out of 29
Brisket 1 out 29


Reflecting on Pulaski:

This is really the completion of our first year of competing. After one year we have Placed in Ribs 2nd out of 98 teams, Pork 7th out of 48 teams, and Brisket 1st out of 29 teams. So, the only meat that we haven't placed in is chicken but we have scored ok but never placed. I think we finally have a chicken product that will allow us to place very soon.

I don't think I can explain how extremely proud I'm of my team being able to compete on the professional level within 7 competitions. I think everyone will see the major difference between the boxes in this years event compared to last year.

By the way it rained!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pictures from the Ryman -

Vince Gill Concert -Jammin to Beat the Blues

The Charcoal Cowboys catered the Vince Gill Concert at the Ryman Monday April 27th.

Storyline:

My wife is always volunteering me for different events. She has volunteer me to cook dinner for 8 people as fundraisers for School and Mental Health TN Association. These types of situations are very easy to accomplish even by myself by but a dinner for 50 - 75 people I had no idea what amount to cook for the event. She volunteer me on Monday before the event so I had really no time to get ready. All I could do was build a schedule because I was already cooking for the Block Party at Page's. We started Friday night at 6:00pm to set-up our cook site in the field behind Page's house. We loaded the Weber at 10:00 with the Guru controlling the heat. I left and went home to sleep. Page slept in the tent watching the Guru all night. I arrived back at 5:00 am and help prepare the other Webers and we started chicken. We finished our first round of chicken at 10:00am and tested the chicken with a couple different BBQ sauces. We feel we have found a great BBQ mix for our chicken. We really expect to score better with Chicken. We started the next round of chicken and ribs at 11:00 am. I left to buy all the food for the Vince Gill dinner at Sam's. I arrived back to Page's at 3:00 with the meat and start brining the Chicken and Pork for the VG dinner. Page had tried a new process of saucing the Brisket at foiling and he sauced one of the Pork butts at foiling. This will be something we will be doing during contest. So, we finished cooking for Page's block party at 5:30. We partied for the next couple hours and at 10:00 pm started the Weber again with the Guru and loaded the Pork Butts again. I left and Page slept in the house. We returned to the site at Sunday at 7:00 am and started the chicken and foiled the pork. I started chopping onions,peppers, potatoes, and boiling eggs for all the sides Monday night. We finished cooking and cleaning up the site at Page's on Sunday at 6:30 pm. I returned home and made all of the sides which I finished around 10:00pm

Menu:
Pulled Pork - 4 pans
Pulled Chicken - 3 pans
Cole Slaw - 12 quarts
Potato Salad- 18 quarts
Green Salad - 12 quarts
Baked beans - 4 quarts

This amount as we found out would feed around 150 people. Any way it was a great event and we were able to accomplish something we had no idea if we could do it.

Everyone invited

If you read this Blog you are invited to a BBQ party on Saturday April 25th

2009 BBQ ON BRIMSTEAD

Date: Saturday, April 25^th, 2009

Time: We will plan on having the BBQ ready around 5:30pm, but come anytime in the afternoon

Where: 3148 Brimstead Drive, Franklin, TN 37064

In the Backyard (come on around back)

Facebook | My Photos - Mobile Uploads

Facebook | My Photos - Mobile Uploads

Pig Roast Easter

The pig roast is something I really look forward to each year. We have a great cinder block pit and we burn down hickory to coals before adding to the pit. I really think the process we use creates great tasting meat in a old school method. After doing this twice I can see why the legends of bbq had such a following. Working the pit is a art.

I bought a 60 lbs pig this year from Publix and I took the pig to the site on Saturday. Set-up the site with tents and clean the pit and start the fires. We also cleaned the Pig and Chicken and brined both of them over night. I used salt, sugar and Butt Rub for the brining Chicken and used salt,sugar, and my seasoning on the Pig.

We started the fire at 4:00 on Sunday morning and added Pig to the pit at 5:00 am on Sunday morning. Then I started fire for chicken and started dutch oven to cook biscuits and started a fire for sausage and bacon. What a great morning watching the sun come up on the horizon and smell of bacon in the air with hickory.

I had issues with the pig --the hind legs were bigger then the front and I had 70 degrees difference. So I had to burn the pig trying the keep temp right. I burnt the skin but the meat was fine. I pulled the pig at 2:00 and it never go to pulled pork temp.

See pictures on Facebook link

Winchester contest

The charcoal cowboys are out for winchester. Best of luck to ulika and pig smokers in paradise. The next two cooking events are whole hog for easter in springfield and block party in franklin.

Clarification

The Horse trailer will still be used for local events. We rent from Wallace Trailers for events outside of Middle Tennessee. We had the old Ulika trailer for the last event from Wallace.


I'm working on finding someone to drive our trailer and get meat approval for Winchester event if so we will attend.

I hope to see everyone in Winchester.

Next events

We plan on attending Pulaski in May, Gallatin in October, and Lawernceburg in June locally.

I would like to add Winchester,Mcminnville, and Hot Springs

See everyone soon.

Smoke on the Water Results

Smoke on the Water had 42 of the top 100 teams in attendance with total of 129

We finished overall 59/129
Chicken 44/129
Ribs 46/129
Pork 86/129
Brisket 78/129

This was a great first event for the year. We scored well in every category and even had a couple perfect scores.

First time with our new smokers and we had never cooked in that type of weather.

it was fun seeing people come by and see the new 22in Weber bullet smokers. We spoke with lots of teams about the new smokers

Smoke on the Water in Little Rock March13th

The first contest under the name of Charcoal Cowboys with our new grilles.

I think we took more clothes than all of the other items we carry for the BBQ contest.

We started watching the weather on Monday which was 80 degrees and the weather was calling for Sleet and Rain temp in the 40's high and low's 30 at night on Friday and Saturday.

We left Thursday night for Searcy, Ark and we had sleet/snow on the ground. The trip to Searcy was fine and we arrived in Searcy around 11:00 pm. It was around 34 degrees when we arrived at Jay's house. We sit outside in the trailer for about an hour and talked about life. It is always these types of times that are the best.

Rebuttal by Page

So, Page doesn't seem to remember the Gallatin contest as I stated in the Blog:

I saw the new blog. It looks great. The only problem is that it is full of lies. What really happened was that I carried the load for Robert and Steve (since they arrived so very late) that I was simply exhausted as you can see in the picture. I had to rest up as I had to be refreshed for my trip to AZ on Sunday. And that my friend is what really occurred. In fact, I didn't want to have to use these but since you brought it up I have attached the incriminating photos to prove my story. Please note that I do not see any photos of me consuming any of that evil fire water.

Pictures of our turn in box

This was our last turn boxes for Thillerz on the Grillerz. We have hanged our name and ready for 2009.