2011 Jack Daniels World BBQ Grand Champion

The streak continues. By: Shaune Connolly

June was a very busy month for us.  We had 3 competitons back to back to back; Cape Cod BBQ Championship in Sandwich, MA, Rock n' Ribfest in Merrimack, NH and BBQ at the Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach, ME.  It was a tough 3 weeks on all of us but we made it through all of them with some awesome results!

Cape Cod BBQ Championship: Grand Champion BBQ
We had a alot of fun at this competition eventhough it rained the entire weekend and our site looked like Peter's Pond.  We always enjoy this competition because its close to home and the ementies at the campground are great...they have showers!  It was also our first competition where we got to use our new 10x20 EZ-up, we kept dry the entire weekend....YAY!  Saturday night we got to enjoy a potluck with Beverage Brothers and Sweet Chicken...great food and great friends!  Sunday was a typical BBQ day and we were happy with everything we presented.  Winning Grand Champion again was a big shock to all of us!

Rock n' Ribfest: Grand Champion Grilling, Grand Champion BBQ
This was a busy weekend because we were doing grilling on Saturday and BBQ on Sunday.  Bill usually does not like to do grilling but we usually do well so I persuaded him to do it.  Categories were shrimp, pizza, sausage and saltwater fillet.  Al did his Shrimp Tacos that he won first place for at Memphis in May, I did a pulled pork pizza and Bill did sausage and salmon.  We knew what we presented was good but never expected to win Grand Champion. 

Again, Sunday was a typical BBQ day.  Bill felt a little more stress than normal due to winning 3 champinships in a row.  In the end we all pulled together and presented some pretty good BBQ.  After everything was done Bill and I were relaxing , talking about the day and having a couple of beers.  I said to Bill "wouldn't it be great if I put my hand in this cooler and pulled out a Harpoon Raspberry Beer"(I drank them all on Friday night or so I thought) .  He said "there are none in the cooler, Shaune...let it go".  So I put my hand in the cooler and what came out....a Harpoon Raspberry!!!  I turned to Bill and said this is an omen, we are going to win today!  An hour later we won Grand Champion for BBQ!  This was just crazy...Bill, Al and I still can't believe it!  This was a huge win for us because now we are definitely going to The Jack!

 

BBQ at the Ballpark: 6th place overall, 1st place brisket, 5th place chicken, 5th place pork
We were not scheduled to do this contest but we were on such a streak that Bill and Al thought we needed to do it so off we went.  Unfortunately, the streak was broken at this event by our good friends, Feeding Friendz.  It was a fun competition even though it rained Friday and Saturday.

We are off for the next 3 weeks...our next competition is Harpoon!  See you all there!

Smokin' Hoggz Receives Prilosec Sponsorship!

It was announced at the end of May that Smokin' Hoggz would receive sponsorship from Prilosec OTC.  We were told that the main reason we received the sponsorship was because of the amount of votes we received.  1673 votes were cast during a 6 week period!  Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote for us daily and from multiple computers.  We could not have done it without you!

First GC...Roc City Ribfest

     This was our second year coming out to Rochester, NY for the Roc City Ribfest. We had such a good time last year that we just had to do it again. We left early Friday morning and arrived at Ontario Beach Park around 1:00 in the afternoon.  The weather was a bit cooler than I had hoped for, but what can you do. Once we finally found our site we started unpacking and setting up what would be our home for the next few days. Our site this year was awesome, we were right along the boardwalk overlooking Lake Ontario.

     Around us this weekend was Big Guns BBQ, 2 Worthless Nuts, Lakeside Smokers, Show Me Your Rack and Beverage Brothers. This was going to be a fun weekend!!!!

     Friday night we got all of our meat prepped for Saturdays NEBS Grilling Contest (Scallops, Cornish Hen, Tri-Tip, and Bacon) and the ribs for the Roc City Rib Off.  The remainder of the night was spent hanging with friends, trying to keep dry and listening to the Bruins game.       

    Saturday was a good day but we did not finish as well as we hoped in the NEBS Grilling Contest. We ended up finishing 20th out of 57 teams. Our best was the Cornish Hen which came in 6th. Congrats to our friends Mike and Kris from Lakeside Smokers for kicking ass and winning Grand Champion... great job guys!!!!!

     Next up was the Rib Cook Off.  The event organizers decided to change things up a little on the judging, they charged $20 per person to judge the ribs and all the proceeds went to the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester, NY. They were able to raise about $2000!!!!! We ended up placing 6th out of 124 teams. We were pretty psyched about that!!!!

     Sat night was a typical night at a contest, hanging out with friends, drinking beer, bourbon and eating Damn Dip!!! The big meats went in smoker around midnight, it ran like a finely tuned sports car all night, the only thing we had to do was fill up the water jug around 4 AM. Sunday morning was here and we were getting ready for crunch time. Shaune did a great job on the boxes as usual, we were ready for our first turn in. Everything was on time and we were very happy with what we turned in. Now it's time to wait for the awards. During this time I like to start packing up, it keeps my mind occupied from worrying about how we did.

     Finally it's time for the awards...84 teams waiting eagerly for the results. We were 38th in chicken. 8th in Ribs which was big for us because our ribs had always been average. 11th in Pork, just missed getting a call. 1st in Brisket, WOW, I couldn't believe it!!!! As we were going up to get our trophy, Al and I went to give each other a high five and missed, Al's thumb landed in my left eye temporarily blinding me (look at he pix above), nothing a few PBR's can't fix. Knowing that we had gotten two calls I thought we had a pretty good chance of getting somewhere in the top 20. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine a GC, and sure enough they called us for overall winner. Our very first Grand Championship!!!!!!!!!!What an awesome feeling, here it is almost two weeks later and it still doesn't seem real.

Lexington BBQ Battle

Cold, rain, and wind. That's pretty much how the weekend weather went. Cold Saturday morning and throughout the day, torrential rain and winds through the night. What else do expect in New England for this time of year. Still that didn't stop 27 of the best BBQ teams from doing what they love...Cooking BBQ.

This contest was hosted by Steve Eastridge from the BBQ team Meat@slims. Steve and his team did a fantastic job planning and organizing this event. All of the proceeds from this event went to support the LABB Collaborative.

This was the first contest we were able to use our new trailer. It was nice to be able to do all of our prep under cover and out of the elements. After a few tugs from the bottle of Gentleman Jack to warm us up, the meat was ready to go on the smoker.

Despite the wind and the rain everything was running pretty smooth, the auto-water on the smoker was working, the pit was holding temp great. It seemed to be smooth sailing, until I checked the temp of the butts and brisket two hours after wrapping in foil, they had only gone up about 5 degrees, not good. I made the decision to finish them on the Weber Kettle grill. After 1.5-2hrs they were happily resting in the Cambro, crisis averted. It's all in how you react...Right Chris??

Smoking Hoggz BBQ had a pretty good weekend all in all. We finished 9th overall, 7th in chicken, 7th in pork and 8th in Brisket. This was an excellent start to the 2011 BBQ season. Congratulations goes out to Fatback Joe's for winning GC and our good friends Mighty Swine Dining for winning RGC, and all the rest of the teams who got calls. Our next event is Memorial Day Weekend, in Rochester NY, Roc City Ribfest. Hope to see you there!!!

The newest addition

What a pretty site, the newest addition to the Smokin' Hoggz BBQ Team. Now we don't have to squeeze all the equipment plus three people and a dog into the truck. Life is good!!!!!!! Bring on the Q!!!!!!!

Grilled Shrimp Tacos w/Lime Slaw

This Recipe will make 8 Tacos

1 lb uncooked shrimp(21-24/lb) peeled and de-veined
           your favorite seafood seasoning (Smokin' Hoggz all purpose dry rub)
8 6-inch corn tortillas (flour tortillas are ok too)
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp mayo
grated zest from 1 lime
juice from 1 lime
16 oz pkg cole slaw mix (Dole)
2 scallions(green onion) diced
1 Jalapeno seeded and diced
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro
1 large tomato seeded and diced
Sweet chili sauce
Canola oil
Salt and pepper to taste

For the slaw(prepared about 2 hours before hand):

In a bowl combine sour cream, mayo, 1/2 lime zest, lime juice. Add cole slaw mix, green onions, jalapeno, cilantro and mix well. Season w/ salt and pepper. Stir in tomato. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.

For the shrimp:

In a bowl toss shrimp w/ oil, the rest of the lime zest, salt and pepper and let sit for about 1/2 hour. I find it easier to put the shrimp on skewers after this and season with the dry rub. Grill shrimp about 2-3 min per side over direct heat, toss shrimp in sweet chili sauce.

For the tortillas:

Grill tortillas over direct heat for about 1 min per side.

To assemble the tacos, spoon slaw mix into bottom of the tortilla, top with 3 shrimp and enjoy!

Auto Water

SnowShoe 2011

AHHHH!!!!!!!!!the first contest of the season. The Snowshoe Grilling Challenge. Held right here in good old Abington Ma. one mile from my house, what could be better than that? What a great contest, not only because you get to see your BBQ friends after a long winter, but also because it is a great opportunity to help out the local community and donate to the Abington Food Pantry.
The weather for the day was partly cloudy with temps in the high 40's low 50's and slightly on breezy side, but all in all a good day for grilling (is there really a bad day for grilling, I didn't think so).

We had a very good day we finished 8th overall in a tough field of 24 teams, I felt that we turned in some really good food, and the judges thought so too.

The categories were:  Strip Steak                                     18th

                                 Pork Tenderloin                               9th

                                 Sausage Fattie                                  9th

                                 Chefs Choice (Shrimp Tacos)           7th

Congrats to all of the teams that got called and to Heritage Foods GC, and I Smell Smoke RGC.

Next contest for Smokin' Hoggz BBQ will be April 16-17, in Lexington Ma.

New Logo

Got Charcoal!!

Looks like the BBQ Fairy left me a present!!!!!!

 

Smoker Cart

These smokers are pretty heavy, this one alone weighs about 275 lbs. I bought the cart at Lowes for $100. I think it's a pretty good investment that will save me a lot of back pain.

New Website

Hey All, Just wanted to let everyone now that we now have a website!! It is not completely finished yet, but it is up and running. Here is the link http://www.smokinhoggzbbq.com/. I will be working on it over the next couple of weeks to get it 100% functional. On the site you will find a tentative 2011 competition schedule, so come on over and check it out.

New Addition!!!!

I am happy to announce that Smokin Hoggz BBQ has added a new member to the team, a Backwoods Fatboy!!!!!!! I am so looking forward to start cooking on it. Hopefully this will make things run a little more smoothly during comps.