Well where to begin and what to write about….. as I was thinking of a story for the first paragraph I had a couple of different thoughts. Pueblo was my first contest I ever did last year, I thought about writing about what I thought I knew then and what I think I know now. Two things I know for sure that I did not know last year, is to bring a light to work with at night and bring something to sleep on – oops! You get so wrapped up in do I have this and do I have that…Is it on my list and your forget 2 important items. What I bring to a comp now is about half of what I brought then. I am a believer that less is definitely more when competing in BBQ. I also thought about writing about how wonderful the Pueblo contest is. Although they did not bring in the big time band – they had foghat play last year – It was still a very well organized and executed competition. Any comp where they hand you a 6’er of Bud at the cooks meeting properly sets the tone for the weekend. I also appreciated the ice cream cart and the breakfast burritos….DELIVERED. Pueblo is first class all the way. What a backdrop for a awards with the river and the band. Finally I considered writing a little about the RMBBQA chase for the cup. It is looking like a 2 horse race this year between 4 legs up and Burnin Bob, I look forward to those two going at it for the next few months – Those two are setting the RMBBQA on fire!! Instead of writing about any one topic in more detail I decided to just give a quick glimpse into those three areas mentioned above.
Potluck while still good lacked the starpower this week, lots of supporting actor and actresses but no stars. I actually think my favorite item was the salad that came from Ryan and 2 lil macs. While my contest experience is limited, from the contests I have been to Pueblo has the “Coolest” tradition. It is expected that if you win a Grand Championship you jump into the river. How “cool” is that??? It was fun to watch Rythm in Que jump in last year and I also got a kick of watching Bob run and jump into the river as if his shorts were on fire. I heard someone call it the BBQ baptism.
Cook went good until my fire went out around 10am – It did not affect my chicken and my ribs were underdone as usual so no biggy. I am ready to drop the moniker pesky when I talk about my pork. I feel like that has become my most consistent category right now. Now its time to go to work and practice on my chicken and come up with a new flavor for it. The highlight of the weekend while usually the potluck happened at awards during the brisket announcements. There are a few moments I can think of when I am truly in a state of disbelief, I can add my perfect score 180 in brisket to the list which includes such memorable moments like rupturing my achilles days before my wedding or getting a phone call that says your trailer is ready for pick up…. I will fall out of my chair when that happens. Hearing GQue with a perfect score 180 is a moment that makes all of the time spent practicing, eating and reading about BBQ all worthwhile at least that is what I can tell people when they say how can you spend that much time BBQ’ing?
Big Congrats to Kelly Wertz who yet finds is way again into the winners circle with Reserve Grand Champion and to Burnin’ Bob For his Grand Championship. Those guys are both off to a terrific start to the RMBBQA season! The Kelly and Bob show rolls into Frisco next weekend. If you read this and have ever considered attending a BBQ contest and never have before, Frisco is the one you want to attend. Event organizers expect 40,000 folks. Several of the teams vend and it is generally a good time with good weather. If you do make it up please come over and say! Already looking forward to it – Cant Wait! See you in Frisco!
