# My 1st Competition is over with...



## gnbbbq

Competed in my 1st ever competition this past weekend at the Almost Heaven BBQ Bash in Weston, WV. I competed in the backyard competition as well as the Peoples Choice pulled pork and the Chicken Wing contest.

For my first time competing, I honestly felt pretty good. I did not forget to pack anything, our setup was great, and I was proud of the meats I turned in considering I was using a smoker I had very little experience on. (Sling-n-Steel Gameday)

Pulled Pork - No clue where we finished as they only announced the winner, but I hit my temps and flavor profile perfect and could not have been more proud of the product we submitted.

Chicken -  I submitted thighs, and I knew going into this that they would be my weekness since I have only done them twice before. While they looked amazing, the skin was not bite through and they were a bit dry. I placed 10/14 on these. I did gain great feedback from the judges though, so that is valuable.

Ribs - Felt very good about these. I did overcook them a tad and that was noted from the judges, but they seemed to enjoy the flavor profile. I just need to tweak it a bit to get a bit more pop on the front end. I placed 7/14 and missed getting a call by .02 points.

Chicken Wings - Honestly, I didn't feel good about these at all. the charcoal was a bit too hot when I went to finish them and they got a lot darker than I would have liked. The flavor was spot on for how I prepare them though. This competition was open and backyard competed against the pro teams. I placed 2/22 teams and missed 1st place by 1.1 points! I am still smiling over this.

Overall we had a fantastic and fun weekend and met some awesome people. We had 6 family members hang out with us all weekend which made it really enjoyable. To say I am hooked to the world of BBQ Competing is an understatement. Both myself and my wife had a blast and made a great team together.


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## SmokinAl

Congratulations!
Those wings look fantastic!
I'm sure that 1st Place is not too far away!
You have a real nice rig & setup too!
And congrats on making the carousel!
Al


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## gmc2003

Congratulation on placing. Those wings look fantastic. 

Point for sure.

Chris


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## chopsaw

Everything looks good . Congrates on the 2nd place .


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## BKING!

Wow! Everything looks great!


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## SmokinVOLfan

Food looks amazing congrats on the 2nd place wings! Aside from all the WV gear the setup looks great too! JK I bet it was a great time!


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## gnbbbq

SmokinVOLfan said:


> Food looks amazing congrats on the 2nd place wings! Aside from all the WV gear the setup looks great too! JK I bet it was a great time!



HAHA, thanks!. We will see you all on September 1st... ;-)


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## gnbbbq

SmokinAl said:


> Congratulations!
> Those wings look fantastic!
> I'm sure that 1st Place is not too far away!
> You have a real nice rig & setup too!
> And congrats on making the carousel!
> Al



Thanks! My Father-In-Law, Brother-In-Law, and Myself all went in on the rig and have been very happy with it so far. Setup is a work in process until we find the ideal flow and sitting arrangement, but it worked very well this past weekend.


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## yankee2bbq

Congratulations!  Everything looks good!  I wouldn’t mind trying some of your bbq!


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## dcecil

Those box’s you turned in look amazing, great job and congrats


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## Bearcarver

Congrats!!:)
All the Presentation boxes look Great to me!!
Hang in there---First is not far away!
Like.

Bear


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## Geebs

Congrats! I would say that is a successful 1st competition for sure. The food looks awesome!


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## Faarg

Congrats!  Those wings look amazing.  Would you mind sharing your wing recipe?  I'm a huge wing fan and that's one of the next smokes on my wish list.


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## gnbbbq

Faarg said:


> Congrats!  Those wings look amazing.  Would you mind sharing your wing recipe?  I'm a huge wing fan and that's one of the next smokes on my wish list.



It's basically a modified Adam Perry Wing. The rub is sucklebusters wing rub and the sauce is sucklebusters peach bbq.


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## bbqbrett

Conagrats on the place!  I think everything looks pretty good.  Are you going to do more backyard comps or are you going to jump into straight pro contests?


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## gnbbbq

bbqbrett said:


> Conagrats on the place!  I think everything looks pretty good.  Are you going to do more backyard comps or are you going to jump into straight pro contests?



For the remainder of this year I am going to stick to Backyard. I am only registered for one more competition at the moment, which is the WV BBQ Festival in Charles Town, WV on September 1st. 

I don't think I am quite ready for KCBS/Pro level competing yet, but that is the plan down the road after I get a few competitions under my belt and get a better understanding of the judging and stuff.


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## blathnac

Congrats.  Sure looks like you had fun.


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## radio

Good looking food, and congrats on the strong finish!


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## noboundaries

What an awesome story and pics! Congrats on the placement!


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## ab canuck

Great looking food, Congrats on your results and on you carousel ride. Like all the way


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## poobah18

Congrats.  Looks like Q I would want to pay for.


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## SmokingUPnorth

Man hose wings look good. Like someone said already about the wv gear. You probably would have taken first without it. Hahah Notre Dame fan speaking.


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## CharlotteLovesFood

Wow...that is definitely competition worthy food. Congratulations! :D


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## gnbbbq

****Update****
Just found out that for the peoples choice pulled pork competition, that we got 7th place out of a field of 32 teams, pro and backyard combined. I will take that.


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## rderdc

Awesome! I've just started at looking to getting into competition. How did you know you were ready for competing? Did you take any classes?


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## RiversideSm0ker

Awesome, you had a great time and almost came away with a first place. That's amazing. 

George


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## Stephen Phillips

Awesome man...as one mountaineer to another congrats and eat s*#t pitt! I was thinking about trying my 1st contest here in AZ at the end of October.


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