Snowshoe Results

I had a great time at the Snowshoe Grilling Challenge yesterday. At least what I can remember of it. I was doing the competition solo, so most of the day was a big blur. My apologies to those who were there but I didn't get a chance to visit. And to those I saw after the competition, I hope I made a little bit of sense.

As usual, the Tafts did a great job with the contest. Even after 17 years, they keep finding ways to improve the contest. A big thumbs up for having the judging and awards presentation in the hall rather than in the bar. This was a huge improvement compared to last year. The competition sites were great, and it was just an all around good time. The organizers can't take credit for this, but the weather was absolutely beautiful. A great kick-off to the grilling and barbecue season ahead.

Here are my personal results...

1) Rib eye steak - I was very disappointed in my rib eye steak entry. I let them go too long on the grill and overcooked them. The product was good, so they didn't suffer as much as a cheap rib eye would have, but they were still way overcooked. I also should have practiced the presentation a lot more prior to the day of the contest. All in all, the execution was really bad for this entry.
Result: 13/21

2) Chicken wings - Screw you, chicken wings! I can't blame things not going according to plan with my poor showing in chicken wings. Things went according to plan...it was just a bad plan. Investigating on the web, I see that a lot of past grilling contests in New England had chicken wings as one of the categories. I'm sure this category will keep coming up from time to time. Guess that means I should practice before it comes up again. I need to come up with a completely new plan. Chicken in general continues to be a problem.
Result: 15/21

3) Fattie - Call me Mr. Fattie. That is, if you don't already because of my portly figure. After I turned in the fattie box, I expected to get a call. I'm not saying that to be cocky, but I was confident in the entry. It came out better than I expected, and it ended up being my only call of the day.
Result: 1/21

4) Chef's choice - I was shocked to hear, out of 21 teams, that someone did the same chef's choice dish that I did. Now, that happens when you are doing something like ribs - especially beef ribs, which seem to be a very popular choice these days. But when you are doing pineapple upside down cake??? I was certainly surprised. I did mini pineapple upside down cakes in cast iron muffin pans. I don't mind saying this now, because I'm not planning on making them again. As with the rib eye, the execution was lacking and the cakes came out too moist. "Mushy" as one judge said, and I can't disagree with that! The taste was good, but the texture wasn't so great. Still, it was my second best turn-in of the day.
Result: 12/21

Overall I came in 9th out of 21 teams. While I was disappointed in my rib eye entry, I was still happy with coming in 9th considering the field of competitors. There were some really great, accomplished teams there, and this being only my second grilling contest I really can't complain! Congratulations to my friends at I Smell Smoke!, QHaven, Lakeside, and IQue, finishing 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively. One team to really watch this year is Meat @ Slims. They took 5th at this contest, and I suspect they will do great things at their barbecue competitions this year.

Thanks again to everyone involved: the Abington VFW, the organizers, the reps, the judges, fellow competitors, and everyone else who was there supporting a great cause!

Snowshoe

The Snowshoe Grilling Challenge is coming up this Saturday. If you've seen my status updates on Facebook lately, you've also seen that I've been practicing a lot. It was my goal to finish experimenting/practicing last weekend. I finished late Sunday night, so I was happy about that.

Here's how I feel about each category going into the contest:

1) Rib eye steak - I have a feeling that there will be lots of great steak entries, and I expect several competitors to score well with their steak. I don't think I've met a rib eye that I didn't like! I like the way we prepare it, but I'll be happy to place in the top 10 in steak with the stiff competition at this contest. Lucky judges!

2) Chicken wings - I'm sorry to say this, but I really don't like chicken wings. I don't like eating them and I don't like cooking them. And I like them even less after practice cooking them several times. Hooters establishments exist to take your mind off the fact that you are eating a freaking wing of a chicken. Just kidding, all you chicken wing lovers! I think the wings will be acceptable, but I'd be extremely shocked if we get a call in this category. It's the only category where I can say that.

3) Fatty - This was the easiest category to nail down. We took 5th place in Fatty last year, so only minor modifications were made. If we follow the schedule and things go according to plan, the entry should be strong.

4) Chef's choice - I really love what we came up with here. It took a long time to figure out exactly what we were going to do, but it was worth the wait. I can't give anything away, other than to say I'm really happy with it.

On another note, I'm going to pick up a load of Wicked Good Charcoal tomorrow. I decided to purchase it and pick it up at the warehouse in Holyoke rather than buying a handful of bags at a time and have it shipped to me. It's more economical this way, and I'm really not that far from Holyoke. Wicked Good is a class act and I highly recommend their products. And they are just plain nice folks! They also informed me that they have some damaged and some dirty 22 lb. bags of lump available for $9.00/bag. You just have to pick it up at the warehouse. If you are interested, contact them at wickedgood@psouth.net to arrange a pick-up...tell them Jared sent you.

Hope to see everyone at The Snowshoe! Looking forward to seeing fellow competitors, fellow judges, and other kind visitors donating to a good cause!