NEBS SummerFest

The New England Barbecue Society is holding the 2nd Annual SummerFest this weekend. The event is free to NEBS members and $10 per day for non-members. There are tons of activities for the entire family, and there will be lots of good food as well. I encourage all NEBS members and those with a zeal for barbecue to come join the fun.

Several people have signed up so far, but I'm hoping many more will do so this week. Please help me spread the word! Tell all of your fellow NEBS members and your friends that are interested in barbecue that we'd love to see them there. If people aren't big on camping, they can certainly come for the day on Saturday and/or Sunday. All they have to do is sign up by clicking here. People are allowed to show up without registering, but it helps us out with planning if they register.

If you have any questions about SummerFest, please send me an email.

Here are some views from the last SummerFest when we opened up our tent on Sunday morning...

Back from Maine

We survived our second KCBS contest in Eliot, ME this past weekend (just barely). Here is a rundown by category:

1) Chicken - This is the only thing I really missed the mark on. However, after thinking about this quite a bit, I think I know what I did wrong and I also think it will be pretty easy to fix at our next competition. Finish: 25 out of 29.

2) Pork ribs - Horribly overcooked due to an electronic malfunction. But as Mike from Lakeside said, better overcooked than undercooked. That made me feel better, and he was right. Finish: 14/29 Very surprising...thought I'd be in the 20s in ribs. One judge gave it a perfect score. Go figure.

3) Pork - I was happy with what we turned in for pork. I thought it was probably our best chance at getting a call in anything that day. But I had no idea, with such get teams like I Smell Smoke!!!, Yabba Dabba Que, Bastey Boys, Transformer, Lakeside, Lunchmeat, Cancer Sucks, etc. that it would end up in first. It totally blew me away. Suzanne said she thought that maybe they were trying to figure out how to pronounce our last name when there was a delay in announcing first place pork, but I wasn't thinking that at all. I'm still in shock! Finish: 1/29.

4) Brisket - This was another entry I was very happy with. It came out pretty much as I had hoped. I only got two perfect scores from judges (different judges) and the second was in brisket. Another judge disagreed, however, and gave it a 5 for taste. I only cook one brisket and the entry all came from the same place on that brisket. Cut me a break, Judge #5. :-) That's ok. I'm going to cook it the exact same way next time, because I'm confident in the product. Finish: 10/29.

Overall - Finish: 11/29. Not bad for our second competition. At our first competition last year at Harvard, we finished 31/35 and we were 34/35 in pork. Ouch. What a difference a year makes.

It was a great competition and I'm hoping they will have us again next year. Great job, Jane and Laurel and also Kathie and Leslie (I know the chicken wing turn in time change wasn't your fault!). Also, thanks to Ann, Dan, Carol, Peter, and everyone else who stopped by our site to say hi!

Next up, the Harvard Fall Festival. My parents are joining us from Illinois for that one, so it should be a lot of fun.

Sick

I can't friggin believe it. I've got some sort of flu bug. Taking drugs. The damn thing better be gone by Friday!

Catching up

I'm guilty of blog neglect. This is what's been going on...

1) June/July - Caught a very nasty virus which basically kept me in bed for a full two weeks and took a full four weeks to get back to "normal." Missed judging in NH and spent my birthday in bed. Not a fun time, to say the least.

2) Harpoon - I was feeling good just in time for Harpoon. I judged both days and got to try a lot of good entries. I had fun with the NEBS BOD folks, and spent some time helping out in the NEBS booth. I know everyone says this, but Harpoon truly is the best.

3) Brookline, NH - Andy and Ken were looking for more judges for this backyard contest, so I decided at the last minute to lend a hand. It was some of the worst barbeque I've had in a long time. I feel a little bad about saying that because this is a backyard contest and I'm sure many teams were competing for the first time, but I have to be honest. Maybe I was just at the wrong table. My first competition was at Brookline, and I really hope my food wasn't that bad. It probably was. In any case, it's too bad the Brookline event doesn't draw bigger crowds. There is a lot of potential there.

4) Upcoming Maine Competition - I've been remiss in posting about my practice cooks for the upcoming Maine competition. Lord knows I've been practicing! The last of the practicing is done. Chicken was giving me fits...until last night. I finally figured out the key that will earn me first place chicken in Maine. Or at least won't earn me DAL. Maine should be a lot of fun. With a little prodding from Jane the Maine BBQ coordinator, I decided to cook the People's Choice and Iron Chef competitions as well. The People's Choice should be easy enough (chicken wings) and I've always wanted to do an Iron Chef. Oddly, I already know what I'm going to make for the Iron Chef competition. How do I know without even knowing what the secret ingredient is? I have easily adaptable recipes. I can make my recipes with shrimp, beef, pork, eggplant, or whatever. Bring it on.

5) NEBS SummerFest - I've been busy, with Andy King's help, getting things lined up for the 2nd Annual NEBS SummerFest. This is a free event for NEBS members. All you have to do is go here to register. For more information about SummerFest, you should click here. If you aren't a NEBS member, what are you waiting for?