The First Practice Run of the Year

Good Day Piglicious People. This weekend marked my first crack at ribs of 2010, and it was a great success. I used the rub that I mixed up shortly after last year's BBQ Fest and got great results in the flavor department. I can't say whether or not the flavor was exactly the same as what we got last year, but it was definitely close and it was damn good. The flavor isn't really the thing that was most impressive from yesterday's practice run though. We already knew that we had a good flavor; hell, when a judge comes to your tent after the event and tells you that flavor was a perfect 10 on the score card, you know there's at least one thing that needs no changes. What made yesterday such a success was that I was finally able to successfully implement some of the tenderizing techniques that the judge had recommended last year.

I spent a little time last May and june when everything was still fresh in my mind trying different methods of achieving a better texture, but with mixed results. Some attempts yeilded dry, overly tender meat. Others achieved decent texture but a greatly diluted flavor. Yesterday I used a number of methods, both new and old, which yeilded a stellar final product. The result was a rib that one of my test subjects called the best ribs she'd ever eaten. Sure, she doesn't have the badge of a MIM judge, but high praise nonetheless.

The flavor was fantastic; strong, but not overbearing, and the texture was as close to being the "winning" texture described at the cooks' meeting as I've ever been able to achieve. It was tender enough to pull apart 2 ribs without straining or having a bone just fall out. When you bit into the meat it was firm enough that you had to apply some jaw pressure, but it wasn't tough; It left a perfect bite mark, which as most top chefs will tell you on Pit Masters, is the ideal tenderness. I separated a rib from the rack using a knife to examine the smoke ring and it required no "sawing" whatsoever. Just a slight bit of downward force allowed the knife to cut through clealy leaving no frayed edges.

You'll have to pardon my gushing, but it's pretty exciting to finally get this close. All the times of attempting to get the texture right but to miss one way or the other; and now to finally have it go right. If we can just replicate these ribs in May, we could seriously see our team make a big jump up the rankings.

I hope that someone can post a little synopsis of the meeting this week for those of us that can't make it. Also, I'd like to be able to discuss the potential Abita sponsorship with some of the guys making business type decisions. I've got no real background in that stuff, and I'd love the input on the next steps. I will say that it looks like we have a real shot at getting a few kegs and if anyone can think of some fun ways to advertise for Abita using our team, that'll help us to get them on board. I've already offered their name on our shirts, using Abita cups, coasters, and a banner.

That's all for now.

Viva La Coola