About Us

Joined by our passion for meat, beer, cards and meat, we created a compitition bbq team to partake in just that.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Viejas Smokin' in the Park 2009

This was the 5th Annual Smokin' in the Park California State Championship at Viejas Casino.




As usual - Aaron was harrassed by the Meat Police - why do they always want to inspect my meat?!!?

This is always a great event - even though we had some minor glitches.



There's Joe - in his usual position. He is a huge help at these competitions - how would we do it without him?

This year was the first year that the event included vending - the crowd purchased tickets from the event staff which were then used to "buy" 2oz samples from the teams that were participating. The tasting event was tied to a very important cause - a portion of the proceeds went to the local school system's music program to help purchase intraments and trips for the bands. We were more than happy to particpate.
















Dean arrived late Friday night - he brought a bottle of Sailor with him. Why is almost gone by the time he got here?


The team consisted of Aaron, Noe, Dean, and Joe. We had some extra help from some other people. All was going very well until there was some confusion during the turn in process. We accidentally turned in Brisket instead of Pork. This disqualified us from the Pork catagory and since we had hundreds of people lined up at our booth, we immediately sold any and all meat available so we sold the remaining Brisket as soon as our turn in box was made. The KCBS Competition Rep brought our Brisket Box back and since we didn't have any more Brisket we were actually DQ'd from two individual catagories. We had the Rep taste the Brisket for us and he said it was definitley a quality turn in. Dean did a really good job cooking this meat and it was a big dissapointment that we messed this up.

















Noe prepping chicken - er... Bloody Marys.
















Joe - the official taster. I don't think he moved all weekend.

On a positive note - we finished 8th out of 52 teams in Chicken catagory. Noe did a great job with the chicken! Unfortunately, since we DQ'd two catagories, we finished dead last in the overall points.

Here is a link to the contest results:
















Aaron making chow for the team.


The other positive was the vending. Dean had the crowd literally mooing and our line was 100 - 150 people long at times. The Viejas staff said that we finished with the second most tickets sold - that was pretty impressive since the team that took 1st in tickets was a 5th wheel vending trailer specifically set up for this type of event.

Another cool thing that happened was we were on TV! The Viejas Staff suggested to the TV Station that we would be an entertaining group to interview. I think it looks pretty good. Check it out:

http://www.kusi.com/weather/64667797.html?video=YHI&t=a



















Aaron explaining the process to the TV Crew. Here's where I describe that I really don't have a "Good Side" and there is no lens that will make me look slender.


















Dean ready to show off his meat!

































Dean is keeping the crowd involved.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Here's how Big Daddy Black makes stuffed pork tenderloin.



Note: Normally I use pork lion instead of tenderloin because it is a larger cut of meat and can be pounded out larger. The way it is cooked (smoked) it doesn't really matter as far as tenderness.





Slice the loin (tenderloin) about half way down and pound flat. Be careful not to tear the meat too much. This is the hardest part!







Oil both sides of the loin and add a dry rub - in this case I used Marjoram and dill weed. Lay down a layer a layer of spinach and then the Gorgonzola and Parmesan cheese. Next add a layer of your favorite dried meat. In my case, i used dried peppered salami.









Roll the meat up in as tight as a roll as possible.



Pin the meat shut with wooden skewers, metal skewers or - what I did - combination of metal skewers and tooth picks. The tighter the roll the less oil will render out of the cheese and meat. The more of the oil and fat trapped in the meat the more tender (and fattening) the meat will be.




I sprinkled some different spices on the outside of the meats. The cheese had such a heavy flavor that it didn't really matter. The spices on the inside of the roll and the pepper on the salami had a greater effect.





Tenderloin smoked for about 1 1/2 hours at 250 F.






Sliced up pretty clean. I probably could have added 2 or 3 layers of spinach to make it more attractive for the ladies. Maybe with a layer of cheese in between the layers of spinach for the boys?
Note the nice thick smoke ring (pink meat from the outside in). Not bad for a quick cook time.


Note: A loin instead of a tenderloin would have produced a larger flat section of meat and more layers or coils. Still doesn't look too bad.






I could have drizzled some balsamic vinegar and dusted the plate with spearmint, chives, and basil - but that would have been trying too hard. (I suck at presentation!).


Bottom line:
Use a loin instead of tenderloin so the pinwheel is more evident.
Anyone can make peppered mashed potatoes. I also used sour cream instead of whole whipping cream in the potatoes since the potatoes were an impromptu dish. Whipping cream would have made the potatoes a lighter color and more presentable.








Saturday, August 15, 2009

Vista Rod Run 2009 - Event Pictures




Meat, Inc. BBQ team usually consists of Aaron, Dean, Greg, and Ryan. Dean and Greg couldn't make it so we pulled in some alternates.
Overall it was a good venue and the event went pretty well for the first ever. We had a great time (until the judging results were handed out).


Aaron, Ryan and Noe setting up the site.



Noe is now a seasoned runner as he also participated in Viejas Smokin in the Park 2008. He cooked the chicken for that event and participated in the chicken in this event. Even though he always appears to have a beer in his hand, he actually works really hard and does all the jobs no one else volunteers for - like washing dishes and wiping down the prep areas. Thanks for the help Noe!



Where's Noe's beer? WTFO?!?!?



Also joining us again was Ken (The Asian Malaysian). He doesn't do much but rook good (that's Malaysian for sexy). I think he has fun until we start to play poker. He should just hand Aaron $40 and call it even. It would save us all some time.




Del from Uncle Sam's Misguided Children (USMC) BBQ Team showing Ryan and Jonny Cakes the secret to trimming chicken.


Warren and his son Ross also joined in this time. They both did a great job with the vending and Ross got to take some great photos with the ladies. He doesn't know we had to pay those girls in meat - bbq meat that is.















Ross with the ladies. What kind of grin is that on his face?




Ken, Warren, Ross and Jonny Cakes pretending to help.




Who's ready for some poker?

Just hand the money over, Kenny. Oh wait - Kenny's already out of this picture - and his money is now in my stack.

You can't start Competition Day without a Bloody Mary with the proper garnish - MEAT.




We told Jonny Cakes that if he sang Holy Diver into the bbq, the meat would do better in the judging. Based on how we finished, Jonny Cakes can't sing or this is an old wive tale.

Ryan, Warren and Ross getting geared up in the official Meat, Inc. shirt. Warren is showing off his moobs. It looks like Ross is a little embarrassed of his dad's chiseled figure.

No one and I mean NO ONE likes their brisket wrapped in bacon during the Texas crutch.





Aaron showing Warren and Jonny Cakes how to rest and sauce ribs all at the same time.



Kenny and Warren doing what they do best. Nehow showmommy.



Ryan, Ross, and Aaron turning in some not so prize winning Ribs.



One of our satisfied rib customers. Lilly said that our ribs should have placed at least 3rd. That 11th place was B.S.! How does she know what B.S. is?


Ross with more of the ladies. Personally, I think it's the shirt. Get a room man!

Vista Rod Run 2009





This was the 1st Annual BBQ competition at the already established Vista Rod Run. The team thought that since this was basically in our back yard that the competition was a no brainer. Originally there were only 9 teams registered so a top 10 finish was achievable. As the competition date grew closer, 29 teams were registered and the top 10 finish slipped away.



This competition, Ryan and Aaron were focused on making our presentation better and took a lot of time asking questions and pre-making our turn in boxes. We had some really great input from Del (USMC BBQ Team) and from Phil Carter (7 Kinds of Smoke).



We also vended for the first time and had a ton of positive comments from the crowd tasting our samples.



Here is a link to the competition web site and the results page:





Ultimately, even though Ryan and Aaron - and the rest of the guys who turned out to help - thought this was our best presentation to date AND the meats were all pretty good, the results of the judging were lower than our expectations. I'll admit that the brisket was overdone and I couldn't slice it thinner than 3/8" - 1/2" thick without it shredding, the pork, chicken and especially the ribs all turned out great. The general public that tasted the offerings also had the same opinion and most people thought our samples were the best on the vending row. Too bad they weren't judging.

Here's the pictures of our turn ins:


Chicken - 25th out of 27


We did get a comment card from the judges on this meat:

"Bold move on the use of rub. You are onto something. Stood out on the table."

Sounds like such a positive comment . We got all 6 and 7 for appearance.

Ribs - 11th out of 25.




Pork - 24th out of 27





Brisket - 25th out of 27



























Monday, June 22, 2009

Viejas 2008 - 0600 - Wakey Wakey - time to get breakfast ready for the big day.

Our new friend returns at 0600 with enough booze to kill a horse. Luckily, Aaron was there to stop that from happening.
































Ken and Aaron prep breakfast - smoked quiche.











Real men discussing the finer points of smoking quiche (with bloody mary in hand).



Breakfast is served.
Side note - all the Viejas 2008 posts were added 9 months after the fact because we are all delinquent.

Viejas 2008 Pictures

Noe and the Meat Police - inspecting our meat.








Joe - are you awake?













Ryan - lookin for meat!

















Ken - working hard as usual.
















The Pit Master - lovingly taking care of his babies.
















200F - perfect bed time temp for my meats.


















Brisket - sleeping in the smoke.










Pork turn in.


















Chicken turn in.


















Rib turn in.














Brisket turn in.



















Side note - all Viejas 2008 posts were posted 9 months late because the Meat, Inc. Team is dinq.