Big Wayner’s BBQ Blog Review of our book can be found here along with all kinds of other interesting topics.  This is quickly becoming one of the best bbq blogs on the web…you should check it out!

-Thanks Wayne for doing this!-

Book Review: The Book on Competition Barbeque

In the days leading up to the 2011 Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue, I did a series of articles highlighting teams that competed there.  One of the teams that I had the pleasure of highlighting was Hot Grill on Grill Action (click here for the review).  Today I’m here to talk about their eBook: “The Book on Competition Barbeque”.

About the Book

The guys at Hot Grill on Grill Action tout the book as much more than just recipes, and I have to concur.  While the book does contain many recipes that they use in the award-winning BBQ, it is a summation of knowledge chock full of tips and pointers collected over the years.  The level of detail in this book can only be rivaled by competition BBQ classes that are offered by many competition teams throughout the country, and I would venture to say that there is more detail in this book than many of those classes.

This book is written for a wide range of audiences — from the backyard guy looking to enter his first competition to the seasoned pro looking to break through for his/her first grand championship.  No matter your experience level, you will have no problem finding relevant material for you.

Making the Meats Count

Approximately half of the book (73 out of 159 pages) is dedicated to preparation of meats in the four KCBS categories (chicken, ribs, pork, brisket).  Every facet of preparation is covered — from meat selection to meat prep to the cooking process.  They even go into great detail about meat boxing and presentation.  The main thing they stress, however, is the importance of taste, and this is reflected by dedication of an entire section to this.

If you’re a firm believer in that a picture is worth a thousand words, then you won’t be disappointed.  Each section is full of colorful photos clearly outlining crucial steps in the process.  The guys at Hot Grill on Grill Action took great steps to make sure their points are clearly communicated.

All You Want to Know

But the guys don’t limit their book to how they prep their entries.  They examine every element pertaining to a contest.  For example, they provide a general checklist of items to bring as well as a contest timeline of events.  Also included is a primer of various woods that could be used along with recommendations as to whether or not it should be used.  There’s much more in there, but I can’t give it all away here…

No matter how forthcoming a lot of teams are in classes, they always hold some info close to their chest that puts them over the top.  The guys at Hot Grill on Grill Action don’t do this; in fact, they are fully forthcoming in detailing what they believe gives them the competitive edge.

Because I have to Nitpick…

My job as a reviewer is to be as objective as possible when checking out a product.  As far as the content in the eBook goes, I could not find anything absolutely outrageous or objectionable.  The guys did a good job outlining the tips and tricks and plans that have been successful for their team.  In saying that, I do have some observations…

• Because this book is delivered in a PDF format, it would be super nice if the entries in the Table of Contents were clickable to go directly to their respective areas.
• Something that could be done as a benefit with purchasing the eBook would be access to a subscribers area that contains more in-depth info pertaining to the book.  A prime example would be videos for different methods of meat prep, for example.
• People may think the price point for the download — $39.99 — may be high.  However, if you are serious about competing, the price point is an outright bargain compared to the $500-750 one can spend on a competition BBQ class.

Conclusion

If you are looking to become a serious competitor on the BBQ circuit or to step your game up to the next level, I highly recommend purchasing this book.  The amount of information presented in there is well worth the price.

“The Book on Competition Barbeque” is available for purchase in PDF format for $39.99 at http://www.bbqrevolution.com.

• Book

Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beef

Brisket is a tough meat to master for many competition and backyard cooks. You may or may not have noticed that brisket can have different grades from the USDA.  Below are the grades you may run into and a quick course in the differences.

Select Grade: This is the second lowest grade of brisket I have seen available. There are lower grades such as standard, cutter, etc.  These cuts contain the least amount of fat and will be firmer. Do not use these in competitions if you can avoid it. These are usually seen in grocery stores.

Choice Grade: This is the most common grade you will see and the most used grade in competition. Sam’s, Costco, and many butchers will carry these.  They will have more marbling than select and standard.  It is very important use the basic factors such as size, thickness, marbling and feel to find the correct choice brisket. They all may be labeled Choice, but some are clearly better.

Prime:  This is actually a choice brisket that has received the highest mark of the choice cuts. Typically they will have a little more marbling and will have a softer feel to them.  If you keep your eyes peeled, they are often mixed in with the Choice grades  at Sam’s and Costco. Look fat side of the packaging and you will see a USDA Prime stamp. You can talk to the butcher and the above resources and they can order prime for you.

Wagyu- Referred to as the American Kobe beef.  The USDA does not grade Wagyu.  It’s actually a different breed of cow originating from Japan and uses a different grading system. The Kobe breed of cattle used in these cuts produce a well-marbled brisket. The biggest deterrent is price. They can be up to 5x the price of the above briskets, and often you have to pay a hefty shipping cost as they need to ship refrigerated. We cooked a few of these and they produce a slightly different taste and seem to cook faster. If you can cook them correctly, they are just fine. However, reports of low scores using Wagyu are common, due to unfamiliarity of the judges and the difficulty to cook.

CAB Certified Briskets:  Beef branded as Certified Angus Beef® has a higher amount of marbling and an exceptionally tender, juicy flavor. Only some USDA Prime beef and top grades of USDA Choice beef are sold under this brand name.

Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beef

Book

See the full PDF of the November/ December edition of ‘Drippings” magazine here and go to pages 10 and 11.  The Drippings Click Here

Hot Grill on Grill Action’s new book!

The Book on Competitive Barbeque

A Book Review by Sonny Ashford 

The Flabongo’s are hung on the tent rail with care so that any who venture close will know that Hot Grill on Grill Action are there and ready to compete.  It certainly distinguishes them from the other teams that are generating smoke in the early hours before a contest. I had the pleasure of meeting this vibrant group of young men at several of the contests in and around the Midwest.  Ryan Amys, Matt Frampton, Logan Hendrickson, and Chris Yelick comprise the team known as Hot Grill on Grill Action, and to their credit beyond authoring The Book on Competitive Barbeque, that I’m reviewing they represented Nebraska at the Jack Daniels Invitational this year.

The whole group has opened their tent flap to people that want to learn what goes on after the Friday night party comes to an end and now there is a book that shows what you need from “git to go” in a contest environment. This book is for everyone that wants to cook “Competition Quality” barbeque whether you’re in the backyard, a street bragging rights event or one of the 350+ events sanctioned by KCBS. It appears to all be there in one electronic source.

Yes, this is an e-book. I did a review of an e-cookbook in September that was packed with recipes from the Carolina’s but this e-book is much more than a cookbook, it is a how too book. Yes, there is an introduction with some strong opinions and opinions well worth listening too, such as: “Following this intro, you will NOT find the phrase “use your favorite rub or sauce.” There aren’t many resources that we find “useless”…..but those recipes that state this are, quite frankly, VERY useless.”

They point out that their opinion is not the end all of what you need to know about smoking barbeque but they assure you that want they have in this ebook is well founded from years of practice and information gathered over the years.

What I find very interesting is that right after the Introduction is the BBQ Competition Overview where they show the beginning to end of a contest.  They dig into “The POWER of Taste” as this is the “#1 most important aspect of competition BBQ, no question.” It goes so far as to list the weighting factors that are used in the KCBS Scoring Software with TASTE obviously carrying the highest value and this is put there to illustrate the effort that needs to be put into having a product with great taste.

From there it goes into all the things required for the Chicken category. Matt Frampton is the team Chicken Man and he gives not just words, but pictures so that even John Underwood can follow the directions. Nice color pictures that illustrate every facet from the type of chicken to buy to the whole preparation you go through. And yes, they give you a chicken rub recipe. This will take you through everything from on the tray to the final product and even how to build a box for the presentation. This is a super book for everyone!

Ryan Amys goes forward as the Rib Man. He is quick to tell you that there are people who believe that the longer you cook ribs the better they are and he says that is not true. He gives you the recipe for proven success.  Some of the ingredients are store bought, but his product is bone-sucking good.

Ryan enhances his trip through rib world with when to buy ribs and what to look for – like straight bones. He goes through the preparation and again the pictures are worth the words as you read through the color pictures.  It is very detailed and even gives you the cooking temperatures and the schedule and also the wrapping times.  Again there is great detail for the novice or the pro to address what they are doing and validate what is currently being done with what kind of success. Ryan, I could use a slab or two, no make that three of your ribs.

Great job!

Chris Yelick is the Man of Pork, and he’s about to release what Myron Mixon was the first to hear when Hot Grill on Grill Action appeared on BBQ PItmasters, secrets to their pork that made Warren Sapp say, “Cook on my team. You had a 300 lb man smiling inside.” Like the Chicken and Ribs sections there is nothing held back as the recipe and all the pictures are there to illustrate how they are winning the pork category time and time again.  Cooking temperatures, wrap times, it is all there including the turn-in box for you to see. You can’t go wrong with a guide like this. But you still have one more category to go and that is brisket.

Logan Hendrickson jumps all over the brisket and starts of with words like “unpredictable, tough, and capable of driving cookers crazy as they are all different.” In his very capable way Logan has made all, well most of the mistakes and gives you a path to a probable success when you follow his roadmap. He gives you all the stuff you need to start and then the “Miracle Mop”. Pictures are worth a thousand words and this is so true with brisket.  Learn all you can and Logan gives a box full with his words and pictures. Please note the electric knife in the pictures.

In closing up this review, the guys give you so much more to go over. Things that include:

• • General Equipment, lists and what to bring
• • KCBS Rules and Judging
• • Official general Rules
• • Official judging Guidelines
• • How to become a judge [Call Sonny]
• • Contest timeline
• • Cooks meetings
• • Woods, etc
• • Competitive Edge

There are several more, but suffice it to say that they have tried to give you everything you need in a contest, whether in your backyard or at the American Royal. I guess you have figured out I think this a good book and definitely one you can use time and again. 

Get your own copy at www.bbqrevolution.com, or you can write to BBQ Revolution – Hot Grill on Grill Action BBQ Team, 4350 S 154th Street, Omaha, NE 68137. 

You can also find out what a Flabongo is and how to make one for your own party, and it will settle some challenges.

Thank you for allowing me to review the book, it was worth every minute.

• In this book, we are going to show you, step by step, everything we have learned over many years of competition, giving away every “secret” we have.  Though they are included, we share far more than recipe secrets in this book.  You’ll learn how to find and enter a contest, what equipment to bring, what recipes we often use and others you should try, what woods to use and enough information about them to make your own informed decisions, how the judging process works, the timeline of a contest, how to compete for little to no money, our strategies to gain a competitive edge, the power of taste and most importantly….how to have FUN! 

• We have learned from some of the best and have taken that knowledge, combined it with our own trial and error, read about every book, perused probably every post online regarding competition BBQ and created a system that we strongly feel is the best way to compete at the highest level, throw one hell of a party and keep costs to a minimum.

• One thing that’s for sure in the world of competitive BBQ is that the competition is fierce.  It’s friendly… but fierce.  Teams will spend countless hours and large quantities of cash perfecting their art in the quest to produce a winning product.  Every team has their ‘secrets’ and most keep them close to the vest.  While you’ll surely learn your own secrets and use some of ours that we’ve shared, we strongly believe there is one key element to producing at the highest level.  We call it Competitive Edge and provide a large amount of information around this.

• Last year’s competition season started no differently than any other.  Everyone on the team bought their ingredients to make their first rub of the year in hopes to create the perfect combination of spices.  As always, everyone bought a few “store bought” rubs to try as well.  We know, we know, some folks believe a true BBQ guy is supposed to make his own rub and not use store bought.  We’ve been buying and trying store bought rubs since we started and always will - especially pre-season.  You just never know what you might find.  We have discovered something incredible about rubs……………

• One of the most difficult things to do as a competition team is to absorb the cost.  A contest can cost you anywhere from $400 to $1000, depending on what is being turned in and how far you have to travel.  This can be quite a burden on you, your wallet and your family.  We have learned a few things along the way that have helped us “break even” for the most part each year – BEFORE – any winnings.  This has given us an opportunity to compete more and stress less. Here are a few things we do that help eliminate the costs for us……..

• How to build a Flabongo.

• Your first contest:  Start Here.  It is completely catered to the true beginner or first time competitor.  The focus of this section is going to be solely on the 4 main categories you’ll see at a KCBS or similar contest.  It directs you right to the areas of the book you need for your first contest, eliminating the details you’ll want later, making the book valuable many times over.  Simple step by step instructions.

 Please take a minute to meet the guys from Hot Grill on Grill Action here!

Enter the quanity desired and order the e-book PDF now!

This book is only available via download as an e-Book.  Once your order and payment are processed, you will receive an email with instructions for how to download the PDF.  If you don’t receive the email – please let us know @: sales@bbqrevolution.com

Product Review: IQ 110

Manufacturer: PitmasterIQ.com

Description:
Automatic Temperature for Charcoal Smokers (Weber Kettle, Weber Smokey Mountain models, Big Green Egg Smokers, Drum Smokers, etc.). 

Our team discovered the impact automatic temperature control can do for your turn ins when we added Rock’s Stoker BBQ controller to our main rig last year.  Additionally, it gave us a chance to actually get some rest instead of monitoring our rig temp, fuel level, etc. This led us to consider adding a second stoker fan and adaptor kit for our Weber bullets.  In our search we stumbled upon the IQ110.  We were intrigued by the design, and reached out to John Kennington, owner of PitmasterIQ.com, for more product information. A few weeks later, we were sent a demo model to conduct a review, so here we go. 

Installation:  
When the unit arrived, it consisted of 5 parts: the control unit, air adapter, hose, temperature probe, and an AC adaptor.  A couple of koozies also found their way into the fed ex box, which was much appreciated.  We found the instructions to be straight forward and easy to follow. Just looking at the pieces, it was pretty obvious how to use it and set it up, but we did due diligence and went through the steps in the instructions. For our review, we used the Weber 22” Smokey Mountain cooker. We were running some trial briskets, so we had two long cooks coming up, which would be a perfect time to put the IQ to the test. We installed the IQ110 in about 2 minutes, no problems.

Operation: 
Operating the IQ110 is simple, you turn the dial to the desired temperature and the IQ takes care of the rest. There’s a LED light that will be doing one of the following:

• Flashing green – your pit is10 degrees cooler that the set point
• Solid green- the pit is within 10 degrees of the set point (desired result).
• Solid red- pit is 10 degrees or more over the set point
• Flashing red- pit is 50 degrees or more over the set point, not good.
• Alternating red/green: This happened to us a few times, and was due to us taking the lid off to mop the brisket. This is the unit detecting the lip being open, and the LED returned to normal within a few minutes.  However, if it would have stayed alternating red/green, it could mean the probe has failed or the main unit has overheated.

As you can read above, it is easy to set up the unit and have a decent idea of where your temp is by observing the LED light. If you can’t figure out how to do that, you probably shouldn’t be around fire and need to stop reading now. For the rest, I digress to the results.

As side benefit:  Even though there isn’t a current temperature gauge on the IQ – you can turn the dial until it turn’s solid green and get a real good idea of where the temp sits currently.  Quickly turn it back to your desired temp though!  The IQ reacts very well! The fan will kick off within a couple seconds if you move it to a temp where it thinks it needs to stoke the fire! 

Cook:  
We filled the charcoal chamber up and used 1 charcoal starter full of lit coal to start the cook, in addition to hickory chunks. The LED flashed green and the fan kicked in.  In 35 minutes, it was at our set point of 240, and the LED was a steady green. Our brisket was added.  For the next 8 hours the unit rarely went away from the steady green, and if it did, it recovered quickly. In both cooks, we found the product to work near perfect during the first 8 hours. The only issue we had was when we began mopping our brisket, and we took the lid off every 40 minutes or so for 5 hours. We did have a couple of times of flashing red and red LED indicators, for about 15 minutes an episode. It is important to note that the Weber 22” is a great cooker, but has the flaw of extreme temperature rises when the lid is off. We had better luck in our second cook when we closed the bottom intake vent and top vent ½ way. The issue we faced was related to the smoker, not the IQ. For the 18” Smokey Mountain, we would not foresee this issue. Also, if we weren’t mopping so often, it wouldn’t have surfaced.  

Turning to accuracy, the IQ’s temperature dial is segmented in 25 degree intervals, with space to set in between (see pic below). So you if you want 240, you need to use your best judgment where that is. To test the accuracy, we used the built in thermometer on the Weber as well as a 3^rd thermometer placed in one of the top vent hole as our gauge. Both thermometers and the IQ ran at the same temp, which was great to find out. We were left with the impression that the IQ temperature probe is very accurate. 

Final Thoughts: 

The IQ110 did what it said it would do.  It does not have the features of some of the fancier controllers out there, such as digital readouts, food probes, etc. It also does not have the hefty price tag that comes along with those. It’s a no frills temp controller that is a great match for bullets, kettles, Big Green Eggs, Drum smokers, and similar types of smokers.  What we found with the IQ110 was an easy installation, easy to operate, and most importantly, a very accurate temperature control for long periods of time.  As a competition BBQ team, the last thing you want to do is battle rig temperatures all night long.  When we cook on our bullets, we find them to be accurate, but still get up every few hours to check the temperature during the night and usually make an adjustment to the vents during those times. With the IQ110, I would be comfortable sleeping through the night. Many backyard bbq folks and competition folks use aforementioned cookers. With the smaller price tag, the IQ110 isn’t going to break the bank and should provide some comfort before you close your eyes for some sleep during your cook.  Here is a pic of the brisket we turned out using the IQ110.

Overall Ranking: 12 out of 43

Chicken: 13th place

Ribs: 2nd place

Pork: 15th place

Brisket: 27th place

Congratulations to the Reserve and Grand Champions!

Grand Champion: Spitfire

Reserve Champion: Brew “N” Bar-B-Que

And another congratulations to Moe Cason with Ponderosa BBQ.  He came in 7th overall.  Despite our crap talk, Moe got us again.  We’ll getcha next time big guy!

• 1 – Large Brisket (about 12 – 14 lbs)

Basic Directions

• Heat Smoker using favorite rig and fuel source
• Trim brisket
• Rub brisket with Lipton’s Beefy Onion Soup Mix and fresh ground black pepper
• Smoke @ 230 degrees F 8 hrs
• Remove brisket from smoker, placing on 2 large foil sheets
• Wrap brisket with 2 cups mop sauce, recipe follows
• Smoke @ 230 degrees F for an additional 4 – 6 hours
• Remove brisket and place in a cooler

Detailed Directions 

Remove most of the fat from a whole brisket, leaving only 1/4 inch to help preserve the juiciness during the cooking process.  Gently remove the membrane from the meat side of the brisket as it allows you to (this can be tough).  Hand rub brisket with all the contents of 4 packets (2 boxes) of Lipton’s Beefy Onion Soup Mix and then generously cover with fresh ground pepper. Start the smoking process!

Smoke the brisket for 8 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.

After 8 hours, brisket should be almost black.  This blend of smoke and rub forms a crunchy exterior called ‘bark.’  To ensure brisket turns out tasty and tender, wrap each brisket in a double layer of aluminum foil and pour 2 cups of Mop Sauce over brisket. Seal foil tightly and return to smoker @ 225 degrees F for 4 – 6 hours or until internal temperature reaches 190 degrees.

Remove brisket from smoker and place in a cooler or oven for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.

Remove brisket from foil and let rest 15 minutes.

Slice, against the grain,  just before serving to preserve juiciness. Save the ‘burnt ends’ for yourself, they’re the best part!

What to drink: Lots of Beer

Mop Sauce:

• 1 cup of Apple Juice
• 1 cup of Coke

Ingredients:

- (1) 12 lb Brisket
- 1 12 oz can of Coca-Cola
- 1 cup of Apple Juice
- Your favorite  Brisket rub seasoning (lots available, to see the ones we win with go here http://www.bbqrevolution.com/ )

Get your Rig of Choice fired up: For this cook, I will utilize the Weber Smokey Mountain (bullet smoker).

The WSM is a fine choice. Grab some hickory chunks and let's get started!!

Step 1. Unwrap and trim brisket.

You can tap the fat areas and if it feels solid, it needs to be trimmed. you will notice 2 major areas of the brisket where you need to trim every time. The are located in the point. One is on top and the other is in the thickest side of the point. These are large fat “wedges” that need to be removed. Some folks trim off the fat cap, I am not a big fan of that. The cap will provide the brisket with moisture and taste as the fat renders and is absorbed into the meat. I also trim of meat on the sides that appears brown.

Inject sites are 1 inch apart. Note: Puddling can be seen in this pic

Step 3. Apply a thin coat of mustard over the brisket. This will act as a binding agent to hold the rub on the brisket throughout the cook.

Step 4. Apply a generous amount of rub on the brisket. It is of this Pitmasters opinion you cannot over-season a brisket. That said, don’t get in a contest to see how much seasoning you can get on your brisket. Use you common sense.

Logan’s note: Some of you pros will appreciate this one: It is not necessary to season the fat cap of the brisket yet… since you will cook the brisket Fat side up, you can season the fat cap after putting the brisket on your rig.

Step 5: Place the brisket on the smoker fat side up and season the fat cap if you have not yet. You will notice you can really get a good amount of seasoning on with this method. As the fat cap renders, this seasoning will absorb into the brisket with the rendered fat.

Pitmaster tip: Wait to season the fat cap until it's on smoker, if you can. You will hold more seasoning.

Step 6. Cook the brisket until internal temp reaches 160 degrees.

Step 7. Re-season and wrap the brisket in heavy duty foil. Many briskets, and pork butts for that matter, seem to hit a wall at this temperature and cook slowly, jeopardizing your turn in time. This will also seal all the juices inside the foil, making for a nice, juicy brisket nearly every time.

Re-season the Brisket

use heavy duty foil

Step 8. Cook brisket to 195 degrees.

Step 9. Keep in foil and let brisket sit for 1/2 hour to 3 hours. A brisket will stay tender for that long, maybe longer. Ideally, for a competition, try to keep this time as close to an hour as possible. The brisket absorbs a portion of the juices in foil. Take it out right away and you will have a dry brisket.

Step 10. Slice against the grain and enjoy!!!!!

Pics of the final product are all posted here!

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