It's not everyday you check the mail and find out who's entered up in your next bbq contest. I have been following and studying competition barbecue for a number of year's but have only been competing since 2008. Today I recieved my packet in the mail for the upcoming KCBS Labor Day Blues and Barbecue Festival in Bedford and was a little surprised at some of the teams I saw whom have entered this contest. Out of the 40 teams currently entered, 12 of them are in the top 100 of the KCBS standings. Out of those about 5 are in the top 15. It's really going to be an honor to cook next to those guy's considering the amount of teams that are currently ranked this year. That number as it stands today is around 3,660 teams. I have been following many of these teams even though this will be our 2nd time to ever cook KCBS. I have also recognized many other names that are on the leaderboards of the current IBCA standings as well. This is definately going to be an interesting mix of true BBQ talent. I am really excited to see where the cards are going to fall. I will be cooking solo this weekend without the help of my trusted partner and comrade Chris Canon. I have really come to appreciate the value of cooking alongside friends and family. I have cooked alone several times but never in a KCBS comp. This is going to be a totally different ballgame for us that I cant wait to play.
To be continued......
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
IBCA Friends of Thunderbird Bay BBQ Cookoff......
Having just recently eaten at some of the best BBQ joints in Texas the day before this comp I was somewhat excited yet a little down that my brisket would probably not compare to what I had just eaten. It's amazing what happens to a perfectly good piece of meat vs another piece of meat that wont render sometimes. It sort of makes you want to just throw it on the ground. That being said I wanted to have a great attitude about this competition as my partner Chris Canon from Midland was coming up to join me in battle in a region thought of by most as one of the hardest places to compete in and around Texas.
I set up Friday after lunch in the park right by the pavilion in the shade and waited on Chris to arrive so we could begin the process of washing the meat etc...Chris arrived shortly after 4:00. We were registered in a matter of minutes and waited for what seemed forever to have the meat inspected. We decided to leave for awhile and came back to a very clean area with our own personal trash cans by our cook-site which was something you dont hardly ever see. We began prepping the briskets and put them in the cambro to season overnight and left for the evening.
We came back Sat morning around 4:00 AM and the first thing I noticed was the water/juice mixture dripping out of the bottom of my cambro. It was still pretty cold yet these are supposed to be airtight so I spent most of the morning distracted by how this could have happened. We fired up the pit and put on the briskets around 5 AM. Our lights had burned out so we worked in the dark getting the chicken cut and prepped. This time I chose to cook with free range chickens instead of the normal already split chickens we normally cook. The ribs went on afterwords and we watched the sun come up drinking coffee and discussing barbecue.
Around 9:00 we figured they would be having a cooks meeting as discussed the night before but found no one. We walked up to a registration table after eating a breakfast burrito made by one of the vendors and found one of the directors who gave us a rule sheet and our boxes and said this will serve as you cooks meeting. Typically these meetings last anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes or even longer yet we were finished almost instantly and left scratching our heads.
Our first category for the day was chicken. We cooked and split two whole chickens and wound up going with the smaller one. We both thought it was the best we had done this year and made turn in without any problems.
Our second category for the day was ribs. We had a similar experience with our ribs like we had in Enid, OK. Good ribs up until presentation time. It's amazing how quick you can lower your own score with a bad cut but we made the best of it and covered up what we could making turn in with no problems.
Our last and final turn in of the day was brisket. We cooked two Briskets and both had refused to cooperate. Our best one was the biggest one we had on. About 15 minutes before turn in it had only reached 190 degrees. We didn't get it really where we wanted it and didn't get to rest it but it had exceptional flavor. We were right on the cutoff for turn in. The guy behind me was sent back to re-cut his Brisket. I watched closely at their table and he came back with it well past the cut off point.
For the most part this was a great cook-off up until the awards and what I saw happen at the brisket table. Colins Creek recieved calls in each category taking a 6th in Ribs, a 6th in Brisket, and a 9th in Chicken. One thing that took this from a good cook-off to a never go back cook-off was when one of the local teams took a first in every category. Typically this would never bother me except for the fact that it's supposed to be blind judging. All 10th through 2nd place calls were ticket numbers that were called yet for some reason they decided to call their name instead. How would they have any idea or know who's product that was if it was a fair contest ? Another factor that played a part in this is having local judges set up right by the turn in boxes and watching them interact with their local friends who were cooking right after they did a turn in. As much as I like having a positive attitude about barbecue how can you when each and every cook who competed gets up and screams BS and walks out during the Grand Championship only to pack up and leave almost immediately without saying their goodbye's. I think the IBCA board will be hearing about this one and it's unfortunate because not only was this their first year about 90% of the competitors came from parts all over Texas. I am not one to make accusations or have a bad attitude but it's funny how people you don't even know will pull up to your truck while packing up and encourage you to call the IBCA. I just wish Texas would join up with the rest of the world and adopt a judging system that's similar to the one that KCBS uses.
I set up Friday after lunch in the park right by the pavilion in the shade and waited on Chris to arrive so we could begin the process of washing the meat etc...Chris arrived shortly after 4:00. We were registered in a matter of minutes and waited for what seemed forever to have the meat inspected. We decided to leave for awhile and came back to a very clean area with our own personal trash cans by our cook-site which was something you dont hardly ever see. We began prepping the briskets and put them in the cambro to season overnight and left for the evening.
We came back Sat morning around 4:00 AM and the first thing I noticed was the water/juice mixture dripping out of the bottom of my cambro. It was still pretty cold yet these are supposed to be airtight so I spent most of the morning distracted by how this could have happened. We fired up the pit and put on the briskets around 5 AM. Our lights had burned out so we worked in the dark getting the chicken cut and prepped. This time I chose to cook with free range chickens instead of the normal already split chickens we normally cook. The ribs went on afterwords and we watched the sun come up drinking coffee and discussing barbecue.
Around 9:00 we figured they would be having a cooks meeting as discussed the night before but found no one. We walked up to a registration table after eating a breakfast burrito made by one of the vendors and found one of the directors who gave us a rule sheet and our boxes and said this will serve as you cooks meeting. Typically these meetings last anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes or even longer yet we were finished almost instantly and left scratching our heads.
Our first category for the day was chicken. We cooked and split two whole chickens and wound up going with the smaller one. We both thought it was the best we had done this year and made turn in without any problems.
Our second category for the day was ribs. We had a similar experience with our ribs like we had in Enid, OK. Good ribs up until presentation time. It's amazing how quick you can lower your own score with a bad cut but we made the best of it and covered up what we could making turn in with no problems.
Our last and final turn in of the day was brisket. We cooked two Briskets and both had refused to cooperate. Our best one was the biggest one we had on. About 15 minutes before turn in it had only reached 190 degrees. We didn't get it really where we wanted it and didn't get to rest it but it had exceptional flavor. We were right on the cutoff for turn in. The guy behind me was sent back to re-cut his Brisket. I watched closely at their table and he came back with it well past the cut off point.
For the most part this was a great cook-off up until the awards and what I saw happen at the brisket table. Colins Creek recieved calls in each category taking a 6th in Ribs, a 6th in Brisket, and a 9th in Chicken. One thing that took this from a good cook-off to a never go back cook-off was when one of the local teams took a first in every category. Typically this would never bother me except for the fact that it's supposed to be blind judging. All 10th through 2nd place calls were ticket numbers that were called yet for some reason they decided to call their name instead. How would they have any idea or know who's product that was if it was a fair contest ? Another factor that played a part in this is having local judges set up right by the turn in boxes and watching them interact with their local friends who were cooking right after they did a turn in. As much as I like having a positive attitude about barbecue how can you when each and every cook who competed gets up and screams BS and walks out during the Grand Championship only to pack up and leave almost immediately without saying their goodbye's. I think the IBCA board will be hearing about this one and it's unfortunate because not only was this their first year about 90% of the competitors came from parts all over Texas. I am not one to make accusations or have a bad attitude but it's funny how people you don't even know will pull up to your truck while packing up and encourage you to call the IBCA. I just wish Texas would join up with the rest of the world and adopt a judging system that's similar to the one that KCBS uses.
Blacks Barbecue, Lockhart Texas......
The first time I ever had a piece of Blacks Barbecue was on the way out of Lockhart. We had just had our fill of Kreuz Market and were heading out of town when I had the sudden urge to turn around and get some for the road. We came back into town and pulled up into what looked like a time warp. If you are not familiar with Blacks one thing that's very special about them is that they have been in business for over 77 years and have been ran by one family the entire time. It is the oldest family owned barbecue business in Texas. I went in and placed a quick order to go of 1/4 pound of Brisket, a rib and some jalepeno-cheddar sausage. They wrapped it all up in a piece of butcher paper and tin foil and put it in a paper bag. When I was headed out the door I ran into Kent Black whom I'd met in Austin at the National Barbecue Convention and he introduced me to his son Barrett who will one day be taking over. We visited for a while and since the family was waiting in the car I had to cut it short otherwise I could have been there for most of the day. About an hour after leaving Lockhart we decided to compare Blacks to what we had just had at Kreuz and decided to come back through Lockhart on the way home from our vacation just to go back.
Our 3 hour trip back to Lockhart at the end of the week seemed to last forever kind of like a kid around Christmas time. We finally arrived around 4:00 and were greeted by the same smiles and friendly faces that had greeted me just a few day's earlier. As we went in the the first thing you get is your tray and side dishes. Then you come up to a very seasoned cutting board behind the counter which is an actual table of sorts and order your meat where it is cut with a steel knife and fork. You can tell little has changed as this is one of the few places who still do it this way. We ordered 1 1/2 pounds of Brisket, several ribs, and some more jalepeno-cheddar sausage and took a seat. I must admit that the Brisket served at Blacks is bar none the best I have ever had. I have eaten at some really great places and nothing compares to the lasting flavor of their brisket. I know some people believe that salt and pepper create a bland brisket, however the addition of seasoned post oak is better than any combination of rub you could use and has some of the greatest flavor when paired with beef. I have come to believe that many rubs on the market now days have a tendency to actually take away from the meat instead of adding to it and you do not get the genuine actual flavor of what it should taste like otherwise.
After we had finished eating I went up to the counter to purchase some merchandise and was asked to go back through the line to pay. While paying Barrett Black had just walked in through the door and thanked me for coming back through. I told him how much I enjoyed the brisket and their barbecue and with that he proceeded to tell me something that very few people will probably ever know. Although this will not be discussed in this blog I can tell you that going back through that line was one of the biggest lessons in barbecue I have ever had and came at a time which was least expected. I would go one step further to say that what I walked out of their with that day is not any one recipe of sorts but will probably never be printed in any book nor will be found on the internet and can only be experienced at one place.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Kreuz Market, Lockhart Texas......
This past week my family and I took a week's long trip down to the coast. On the way down to Corpus we took a little detour through the Texas Hill Country for some of the states finest barbecue. I have never been to Lockhart before and have always wanted to go. To me Coopers in Llano had always reigned as one of the supreme places to go, however after experiencing some of the BBQ that Taylor and Elgin had to offer I had to find out for myself if there was any better. Even though Lockhart was a few hours out of the way I knew it was something we had to try and I am so thankfull that we did. It is one thing to read about barbecue meccas such as Kreutz but to experience it in person brings a whole new level to true Texas barbecue.
Upon arriving one of the first things that I noticed about Kreuz is the size of the building. It is not the original Kreuz Market but does however come from the same Schmidt family. I have never seen such a large structure especially one that's built for barbecue. When you enter down the hallway up into the pit room where you place your order you will see signs all over making it very clear that this place is very different from most of the BBQ joints found in Texas as they have not changed a thing since the early 1900's. No Forks, No Sauce, and No Plates are just a few of the rules of eating here. When we walked up to place our order we were greeted by an elderly lady named Ella Townes and the Pitmaster Roy Perez. One thing I noticed while ordering is instead of hearing an electric knife cut into the meat like you do in most places in TX you actually hear the heat of the fire by the pit instead. Here they cut your meat with a very sharp steel knife just like they did back in their humble beginnings.
.
We ordered a pound of Brisket, a few ribs and some jalepeno cheddar sasauge. I have always agreed that barbecue sauce truly hides some of the great flavors of barbecue and little did I know how much it did until eating the brisket here. One thing that I have learned from this is the simpler the better. I also learned that post oak will now be my new wood of choice considering the magical flavors that it brings out in the meat along with just plain old salt and pepper. I have always cooked with mesquite mixed with oak or pecan however seeing that nearly all of the top joints in Texas use strictly Post Oak speaks volumes on why it truly is king here in Texas.
I would highly recommend Kreuz Market and Lockhart in general as an excellent place to get some of the top BBQ in Texas. Very few places still follow these practices so it's nice to take a little trip back in time to actually see some of the roots of true authentic Texas BBQ and get a feel of what it is like to taste the wholesome goodness of what sauce-less barbecue is all about.
Upon arriving one of the first things that I noticed about Kreuz is the size of the building. It is not the original Kreuz Market but does however come from the same Schmidt family. I have never seen such a large structure especially one that's built for barbecue. When you enter down the hallway up into the pit room where you place your order you will see signs all over making it very clear that this place is very different from most of the BBQ joints found in Texas as they have not changed a thing since the early 1900's. No Forks, No Sauce, and No Plates are just a few of the rules of eating here. When we walked up to place our order we were greeted by an elderly lady named Ella Townes and the Pitmaster Roy Perez. One thing I noticed while ordering is instead of hearing an electric knife cut into the meat like you do in most places in TX you actually hear the heat of the fire by the pit instead. Here they cut your meat with a very sharp steel knife just like they did back in their humble beginnings.
.
We ordered a pound of Brisket, a few ribs and some jalepeno cheddar sasauge. I have always agreed that barbecue sauce truly hides some of the great flavors of barbecue and little did I know how much it did until eating the brisket here. One thing that I have learned from this is the simpler the better. I also learned that post oak will now be my new wood of choice considering the magical flavors that it brings out in the meat along with just plain old salt and pepper. I have always cooked with mesquite mixed with oak or pecan however seeing that nearly all of the top joints in Texas use strictly Post Oak speaks volumes on why it truly is king here in Texas.
I would highly recommend Kreuz Market and Lockhart in general as an excellent place to get some of the top BBQ in Texas. Very few places still follow these practices so it's nice to take a little trip back in time to actually see some of the roots of true authentic Texas BBQ and get a feel of what it is like to taste the wholesome goodness of what sauce-less barbecue is all about.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
The Real Deal......
This past weekend during the 4th we decided to fire up the pit at the Lake house and invited over the family to hang out for the day. We had about 43 family members show up in all and I can honestly say that it was one of the most memorable 4th's I have had in a long time. Something most BBQ experts will tell you is that you never leave your post while cooking BBQ. With that being said I got to watch everyone play in the lake and on the boat while I sweated bullets trying to make sure the temp didn't spike etc...I really enjoy cooking for people as it releaves stress and gives me a since of accomplishment when folk's go out of their way to commend you for your efforts. Overall I would have to say that I enjoy cooking "Pit BBQ" more than any other BBQ even more than with competition rig. There's nothing like the flavor of good pit smoked BBQ and that's exactly what we had.
Here are some pic's of our meal. We wound up doing 2 Briskets, 6 slabs of Beef ribs, 3 rack's of Baby back's, 9 links of polish sausage, and 24 chicken thighs.
Patty and the kids and I arrived in Brownwood Friday morning. My parents, sister, and my brother and his family arrived Thursday evening to start getting everything ready for the weekends festivities. We were without a dock up until Friday evening but the guy's that were working on the new one went ahead and brought it over and secured it so we would be able to fish and take out the boat. The last one we had was destroyed in the recent tornado, however the "Pit" didn't get a scratch. We all went out to eat Friday night and went ahead and celebrated my birthday at the restaurant and afterwords went back to the house and watched a few Friday night fireworks. After the fireworks the work began and I started prepping all the meat. My brother stayed up with me until 2:00 AM until the Briskets were put on and decided to go ahead and call it a night. Since dinner was set for 5 PM the next day I had to make sure they were done so we had to put them on the night before.
Everyone showed up around 10:00 Saturday morning and had a great time. It's always nice to spend the day with your family even if you don't always get to relax and play like everyone else.
Here are some pic's of our meal. We wound up doing 2 Briskets, 6 slabs of Beef ribs, 3 rack's of Baby back's, 9 links of polish sausage, and 24 chicken thighs.
Patty and the kids and I arrived in Brownwood Friday morning. My parents, sister, and my brother and his family arrived Thursday evening to start getting everything ready for the weekends festivities. We were without a dock up until Friday evening but the guy's that were working on the new one went ahead and brought it over and secured it so we would be able to fish and take out the boat. The last one we had was destroyed in the recent tornado, however the "Pit" didn't get a scratch. We all went out to eat Friday night and went ahead and celebrated my birthday at the restaurant and afterwords went back to the house and watched a few Friday night fireworks. After the fireworks the work began and I started prepping all the meat. My brother stayed up with me until 2:00 AM until the Briskets were put on and decided to go ahead and call it a night. Since dinner was set for 5 PM the next day I had to make sure they were done so we had to put them on the night before.
Everyone showed up around 10:00 Saturday morning and had a great time. It's always nice to spend the day with your family even if you don't always get to relax and play like everyone else.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Pit BBQ on Lake Brownwood......
One of the things I enjoy most about cooking and barbecue is just being able to get away from everything and to focus on what I like to do best. This past weekend although I didn't get a chance to cook I was able to do just that. Not only was I able to spend some time on the cooker but our family reunion was just a few hours away in Albany thus the reason for our weekend trip to Brownwood. Several years ago our family purchased a Lake house in Feather Bay on the lake there. We could have not asked for a better place to get away. There is nothing like the aroma of mesquite smoke in the morning, cooking barbecue first thing, while you are watching the sunrise, drinking a cup of coffee and looking out over the lake with a fishing pole in your hand. This was where I actually first learned to cook what many Texans call true "Pit" barbecue. There is really no comparison in cooking barbecue on a big pit VS a small backyard smoker. There is just something magical about the whole process that just makes it so much better. It's the most common type of BBQ in the Hill Country which is part of the reason why BBQ in the Hill Country is so much better than other parts of the state. One thing I have learned is that BBQ pit's without any cover are hard to keep clean from the elements. Our pit is a prime example. I do know with a little maintenance they will last a lot longer and cook a lot better. Although I didn't get to cook this time my father and I did get a chance to fix it up and spend some time on it. Here's a few pictures of the before, halfway point, and after.
Another priority that had to be taken care of while we were there was the issue with the dock. Several week's ago a tornado touched down in Brownwood and destroyed hundreds of dock's including ours. We really enjoyed our dock especially during the fall, spring, and summer month's especially when the fish were biting. Here are a couple of pic's of the damage. Hopefully by the 4th of July we will have a new one.
The main purpose of the trip though was to go to our family reunion in Albany. Albany is a small town just north of Abilene, TX. Albany is known for it's many ranches, it's oil, it's hunting, it's wealth, it's culture, it's heritage and most of all for Watt Matthews who was one of the most well known and respected ranchers in TX. Our family had the pleasure of knowing Watt very well and my Grandfather worked for him many years on the Lambshead Ranch where him and my grandmother started and raised their family. A big portion of our family still lives in Albany today and has since there establishment back in 1918. I have always had a soft place in my heart for Albany for many reasons. Most of the cooking done in that part of the country is done on chuckwagons and dutch oven's. It's not a show they put on just a way of life they want to keep true. Our reunion took place on the Stasney Cook Ranch. My father went to school with one the gentleman that runs it and it's always a joy to visit with him. Here's the pit they like to cook on.
This blog would not be complete if I did not mention that Albany is also home to the number one small steakhouse in all of Texas. The Fort Griffin General Merchandise. There is nothing that compares to this place. The Beehive Saloon which is the "Bar" in the middle of the steakhouse was replicated by Robert Duvall and sits in his home today. He's a regular there while he's in Texas and spent a lot of time there while shooting Lonesome Dove which is actually based off part of the early history of what happened in and around Albany and Ft Griffin. It was also where Doc Holiday and Wyatt Earp first met. Pat Garrett of Young Gun's fame also got started here as well as many others hence some of the history of this old Texas town.
Another priority that had to be taken care of while we were there was the issue with the dock. Several week's ago a tornado touched down in Brownwood and destroyed hundreds of dock's including ours. We really enjoyed our dock especially during the fall, spring, and summer month's especially when the fish were biting. Here are a couple of pic's of the damage. Hopefully by the 4th of July we will have a new one.
The main purpose of the trip though was to go to our family reunion in Albany. Albany is a small town just north of Abilene, TX. Albany is known for it's many ranches, it's oil, it's hunting, it's wealth, it's culture, it's heritage and most of all for Watt Matthews who was one of the most well known and respected ranchers in TX. Our family had the pleasure of knowing Watt very well and my Grandfather worked for him many years on the Lambshead Ranch where him and my grandmother started and raised their family. A big portion of our family still lives in Albany today and has since there establishment back in 1918. I have always had a soft place in my heart for Albany for many reasons. Most of the cooking done in that part of the country is done on chuckwagons and dutch oven's. It's not a show they put on just a way of life they want to keep true. Our reunion took place on the Stasney Cook Ranch. My father went to school with one the gentleman that runs it and it's always a joy to visit with him. Here's the pit they like to cook on.
This blog would not be complete if I did not mention that Albany is also home to the number one small steakhouse in all of Texas. The Fort Griffin General Merchandise. There is nothing that compares to this place. The Beehive Saloon which is the "Bar" in the middle of the steakhouse was replicated by Robert Duvall and sits in his home today. He's a regular there while he's in Texas and spent a lot of time there while shooting Lonesome Dove which is actually based off part of the early history of what happened in and around Albany and Ft Griffin. It was also where Doc Holiday and Wyatt Earp first met. Pat Garrett of Young Gun's fame also got started here as well as many others hence some of the history of this old Texas town.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sundays at Buckshot's......
A few weeks ago I received a call from one of my classmates in regards to cooking out at his new establishment Buckshot's. Buckshot's is a new outdoor entertainment venue that features live bands from around Texas and other parts of the country. It has a huge outdoor fireplace, bar, stage and nice little pond that's right in the middle. It's a very nice set-up and has been attracting up to 250 people on any given Sunday. We had found out that the up and coming artist Josh Langston was going to be playing that day. That very same weekend I had also planned on competing in the World Championship Bison Cook-Off is Santa Anna, TX but since I had a few other things pending that weekend as well I decided not to enter the competition and felt I should try and make a little money vending on a Sunday afternoon instead.
If you have never vended before it's a little different than catering from what I am finding out. I definitely wanted to give this a shot but to be honest it did not turn out the way I had intended. Since my specialty is Ranch Style Cuisine that's what I had wanted to do this first time around. I wanted people to know the true definition in my opinion of what Ranch Style BBQ really is and what Colins Creek BBQ was capable of doing. I know that there is a little money to be made in vending but I was not prepared in all honesty for the up front expenses of vending this type of cuisine.
I had decided to do something out of the norm that would appeal to most everyone thinking I would attract more customers. We had a menu that featured Mesquite Smoked Ribeyes, Baby Back Ribs, Beef Ribs, Sausage, Brisket and Chicken. I also made up some Ranch Style Potatoes and some beans. This was one of the most intense cook's I have done before not knowing really what kind of audience I would have.
I took my family out with me and also was able to get the help of another great cook and friend of mine Chris Canon. We had anticipated on having a big crowd but to our amazement only 40 people showed up. We served up about 26 plates from the 40 in attendance but did not really even come close to breaking even. I know we will definitely do this again but will probably go with "Plan B" next time and just try to keep it simple. I will be taking this as a learning experience and hopefully will recoup our losses at a later date. Until then I have been reading up on my new book Americas Best BBQ on what to do with all the leftovers and will probably be cooking up some new recipes that will come in handy as I try and figure out why I even do this. I guess it's my addiction but if you want to know the truth I still have a few things up my sleeve for next time that most people here in West Texas have never seen done on a BBQ pit.
If you have never vended before it's a little different than catering from what I am finding out. I definitely wanted to give this a shot but to be honest it did not turn out the way I had intended. Since my specialty is Ranch Style Cuisine that's what I had wanted to do this first time around. I wanted people to know the true definition in my opinion of what Ranch Style BBQ really is and what Colins Creek BBQ was capable of doing. I know that there is a little money to be made in vending but I was not prepared in all honesty for the up front expenses of vending this type of cuisine.
I had decided to do something out of the norm that would appeal to most everyone thinking I would attract more customers. We had a menu that featured Mesquite Smoked Ribeyes, Baby Back Ribs, Beef Ribs, Sausage, Brisket and Chicken. I also made up some Ranch Style Potatoes and some beans. This was one of the most intense cook's I have done before not knowing really what kind of audience I would have.
I took my family out with me and also was able to get the help of another great cook and friend of mine Chris Canon. We had anticipated on having a big crowd but to our amazement only 40 people showed up. We served up about 26 plates from the 40 in attendance but did not really even come close to breaking even. I know we will definitely do this again but will probably go with "Plan B" next time and just try to keep it simple. I will be taking this as a learning experience and hopefully will recoup our losses at a later date. Until then I have been reading up on my new book Americas Best BBQ on what to do with all the leftovers and will probably be cooking up some new recipes that will come in handy as I try and figure out why I even do this. I guess it's my addiction but if you want to know the truth I still have a few things up my sleeve for next time that most people here in West Texas have never seen done on a BBQ pit.
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