Photos from recent bbq comp

Wow

Nice looking boxes. How did y'all do?

Stopping by to subscribe.

Not great. 30-something out of 67 overall. 20th in ribs. 24 in brisket. 40ish in chicken and near the bottom in pork. We do two comps per year. Never among the top teams, but we usually get lucky enough to have one top 10 category.

I know some folks are really protective of their recipes, but could you share the rub you do? My FIL competes and has placed in the big KC competitions, so I plan on sharing his Lawrey’s based rub as soon as I get his recipe.

I use almost all commercially available rubs/injections/sauce. Lately using KosmosQ products. (https://kosmosq.com). I’ve been successful with other brands including oakridge (https://www.oakridgebbq.com) & simply marvelous (https://www.bigpoppasmokers.com/simply-marvelous-rubs). Been doing competition bbq since 2012. Also worth noting that I prefer & use much simpler techniques and flavors when I cook at home.

Ribs & Chicken:
Brine (chicken only): Simple salt sugar brine for ~2 hrs.
Injections (chicken only): Chicken broth & kosmos moisture magic.
Rubs: KosmosQ Dirty Bird Hot & Killer Bee
Wrap (ribs only): margarine, honey, Brown sugar, dirty bird hot rub
Sauce: kosmosq sweet smoke sauce mixed with a bunch of honey and a little water.
Finishing rub: Ground dirty bird hot.

Brisket:
Injection: Water & Reserve brisket injection.
Rubs: KosmosQ dirty bird hot & Texas beef.
Wrap: beef consumme
Sauce: sweet smoke mixed with a bunch of the brisket au jus.
Finishing rub: usually a light dusting ground salt and msg.

Pork: My buddy does the pork. Not sure of details other than he uses killer hogs products & technique.

Our best entries are usually ribs and chicken.

You tried the cow cover hot instead of dirty bird hot on brisket? It's killer.

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Very first brisket today.







Will post some pics upon carving.

Final results after resting and carving:

Looks bomb but perhaps slightly over cooked it it started to shred. Pictures never tell the full story yet so interested in texture and taste. I have cooked 4-5 Briskets on my smoker and only feel like I nailed it once maybe. I think a lot has to do with meat quality as I will only do a prime brisket from Costco these days if I'm going to invest all that time.

So...it was delicious, but I confess that as a BBQ rookie that I don’t know what I don’t know. I had always thought in smoked brisket the flat slices (is more firm yet still tender) and the point mainly shreds but I could be wrong of course.

Also I didn’t realize there’s an appreciable difference between choice and prime (since we’re slow cooking to break down tough muscle fibers). But will give prime a shot next time.

If you're not making burn ends out of the point, you're missing out. I've had choice brisket turn out great and wagyu come out terrible. Lately I've been cooking a lot of Costco prime because it's been on sale, but usually I just go for whatever is cheap.

FPS on the best part of the brisket.

BBD,

This brisket looks good. Shredding flat is an indication that it could be slightly overdone but it’s better overdone than under in my experience. The optimal doneness for flat is that if you take a quarter inch slice it can drape over your finger with a full bend, and just barely hold together. How juicy was the flat?



Costco prime packer briskets are a no brainer and are cheaper than CAB or choice packers anywhere else I can find including restaurant depot.

Good info. The flat was reasonably juicy, but not nearly as decadent as the point. It reheats fantastically. For lunch today I microwaved some with leftover mashed potatoes, and it was wonderful.

Will def. look at Costco prime briskets. This one was on sale for $2/lb (choice)—nice and cheap if I had happened to mess it up.

Beef carcasses are graded in the ribeye, the inspector never looks at the brisket so marbling can vary wildly. Prime isn't always better. Shape and thickness can have a greater impact on your cook.

Slow cooking isn't necessary - I routinely do briskets in 6 hours or less.

You can look at your meat before you buy it though to give you at least what it should look like on the inside.

What temp are you at for this?

350 - 325

Buying a full (packer) brisket gives you very little indication of the interior marbling

Life hack maybe? I put some of my leftover shredded brisket into a bowl of instant pho, and it tasted incredible. Brisket chili tonight with the rest of the leftovers.

The Big D sandwich at Danny Edwards Boulevard BBQ - buttery soft, rich, thich-cut crown of the brisket. For my money the best BBQ sandwich in Kansas City. IE - best in the world.

Made these ribs based on Ian Knauer's Sticky Balsamic Ribs recipe

I apply the rub from the recipe above to the ribs, vacuum seal and leave them in the fridge overnight. Then throw them in a sous vide bath at 145F for 36 hours.

brush with the balsamic reduction and cook in the oven for 15 minutes, sounds complicated but its very easy and more importantly tasty

As good as those ribs my look, sous vide is not BBQ.