# Buffalo ICBS Cookoff



## lawdog (Aug 5, 2008)

Not sure where to put this so here goes.
My chief and I are hitting our first comp. IBCA local comp, I just want to hit the brisket and spares, he wants to try the chix for a shot at the GC. Here is a link to the sign in page........ http://www.buffalospringslake.net/Ga...g%20poster.htm

Chief has 10 additional briskets to cook and than freeze for a Childrens Advocacy Center annual dinner on the 26th and we both have several custom orders to do @ the same time. Custom preorders will pay for our entry fee and comp meat.........man it sure is nice to have a cooker that will handle that much chow. 
The comp cook will be Aug 15 an 16.
I will follow with plenty of pics.


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## lawdog (Aug 14, 2008)

Damn, I had to return a "stray" dog to a fellow in the town adjacent to where I work, who just happens to have competed in this cookoff for the last 11 years. While giving him back his pooch, he asked me if I had reserved my camper spot for the cookoff yet. Needless to say I pulled one of the last spots in the prime area with electric and water. 
It's only Wed and the camp berths are already filling up with campers and cookers.
I talked to the sponsers and they said they hoped to get 200 teams. I talked to past participants, they said 100 teams is more like what we will have. 
It just blew my mind that people were already showing up on Wed. for a cook that starts on Fri., guess this country boy has a few things to learn.
I will follow up as we progress.


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## bmudd14474 (Aug 14, 2008)

Goodluck to you guys


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## lawdog (Aug 17, 2008)

Wow, what a weekend. We got our mini camper out at the cooksite on Wed the 13th, cooker out on the evening of Thurs the 14th and arrived for the cook @ about 1500 on the afternoon of Fri the 15th. Lots of people, both cook teams and spectators.
Checked in at registration table and they inspected our cooking meat, also had random walk around inspections to make sure everything was being kept clean and @ proper temps till we got it on the cooker.
Got our canopy set up and cooked some home made ranch style beans (very spicy), brawts and venison cajun hot links for supper, had a few cocktails. It was great with all the spectators and competetors alike roaming the area, trying each others food. Lots of great and really inventive cooks out there.
Fired up the DPP and got the 10 briskets for Childrens Advocacy Center on the cookeraround 1800 or so, (only taking them to rare and then wrapping them and freezing them to be finished in a MES on the 26th) and the ham for St Benedicts homeless kitchen on Tues the 19th.
We got our comp briskets rubbed and on at about 2300 on a nice even 225*, 5 of them. (3 briskets pre sold @ $7.50 a lb and also a rack of spares @ $ 15.00) We put all briskets on so we could choose from the best for our turn in. All briskets rubbed with simple Sea Salt and CGBP rub, one slathered in mustard first.
Weather was nice, high 60's, light breeze, nowhere in sight was the 60% chance of rain the weatherman had predicted. Our night shift officer got off work around 0200 and lives in Buffalo Springs so he came by and had some beans and sausage and we started noticing some lightning north and west of the canyon we were in, but usually when it gets so late in the evening there just isn't enough heat left to fire off anything big so no worries. Pulled the briskets @ 140* internal, line of sauce on top, wrapped and back on smoker till morning.
I offered to take first watch on smoker duty and night officer went home and partner went to pickup to catch first hour of sleep at about 0330. 
I had my alarm set for 0400 and digital remote thermo alarm set to sound if temp dropped below 215* so I dozed a little only to be awaken by a huge flash of light and deafening crack of thunder.........and then the rain. Not to much at first, just light. Then my temp alarm went off, grate temp below 215*. Thats ok, a little rain, a little more wood= keeps temps up........Then the sky opened up and the rain came down, and down, and down. I still am thinking more wood, more heat = everything will be ok. Temp alarm goes off again. Grated temps drop to 168* and I call my partner to wake him up, I am soaked all the way through and now so is he from the 30 foot run from his pickup to the canopy. We finally decide we have got to get the smoker under the canopy to keep the firebox and cook chamber dry and heat back up........
Now remember back to where I stated that we were in a canyon, water usually runs down hill to collect in the lake situated in the bottom of said canyon. Moving a huge smoker, even on wheels on uneven, muddy ground is not an easy task but we finally got the huge smoker under the canopy but new problem, no room for us. 
Temps back up to around 225* and we head to sit in tiny camper with remote temp alarm. Temps hold for about 30 min and then start to drop, my partner says he will go out and add wood. He was go for about 10 min and when he returns tothe camper he told me that the wood I had put on top of the fire box to try to dry out had caught fire and we almost had as good of a fire on the firebox as we did inside, underneath the canopy but nothing was damaged he got the top fire out.
Finally after about 1 hour of solid hard rain the sky started to gray and the sun started to come up. All in all we got almost three inches of rain in around an hour.
I didn't have a chance to get any pics of the rain or the results of the rain but trust me by the end of the day 3 inches of rain+bottom of canyon+by lake = rising water. By the end of the day the water had risen from its original level to flood the turn in tent, and end up about 10-20 feet from the road (originally 200-300 yards) and shut down one road in to the campgrounds.
Ok back to cooking. Ribs on at 0700, 2-2-1 meathod for 1330 turn in (light rib rub, splash of a/j, wrap, unwrap, spritz every 20 min)
Chix on @ I don't remember to enternal temp of 180* 1200 turn in time (injected italian dressing, light poultry rub)
Briskets off and in cooler before ribs went on (coolered and they were at 203*, will be unwrapped and put back on later to firm up) for 1500 turn in time
Everything went fast and furious through all the cooking and didn't get alot of pics but here is what I ended up with.
Click link or pic for slideshow
http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/...ookoff 2008/?action=view&current=a5493348.pbw
http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/j...t=a5493348.pbw

We did manage to place 6th in brisket for $75 
Had a great time, can't wait till next months comp
Sorry for the novel


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## richtee (Aug 17, 2008)

Dude... I know the feeling. One cookoff we had 40+ winds. NOT too conducive to smoker temps or camper awnings!

Congrats... it is what it is!  :{)


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## pineywoods (Aug 17, 2008)

Congrats on the placing and I'm sure it woulda been more fun without that 3" of rain.


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## lawdog (Aug 17, 2008)

thanks T-H, Rich and Piney, by the time it was all over just about 36 hours with now sleep.  I didn't expect to place in the money and was very happy with the results


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## capt dan (Aug 18, 2008)

Thanks for the report and slideshow. Great thread. I missed it at first posting.  Food looks great. That smoker seems  to do a great job. Glad ya didn't drown in the canyon !


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## smok'n steve (Aug 18, 2008)

Wow, quite a story there with the rain and all!  You had a lot of meat to cook too!  Nice Pics!

Question for you, on the 10 briskets you did.  You said you took them to rare, then froze them.  What was the internal when you pulled them, and what was the benefit since they will have to be re-heated to finish?   I often thought about 2 staged briskets, but haven't done it thinking that it wouldn't yeild the same results unless it was just a re-heat of a finished brisket.


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## lawdog (Aug 18, 2008)

Steve,
the 10 briskets went to 140* internal and then were pulled.  I don't guess there really is a benifit other than we wanted to be able to focus our attention on our compition stuff and still get a good smokey taste on the others.  The 10 briskets will be finished off in a couple of MES's and the Ov*n if needed, those are my partners gig.


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## smok'n steve (Aug 18, 2008)

Understood--sounds like you gave them the smoke ring!!!!


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## curious aardvark (Sep 15, 2008)

I for one am grateful for the novel length descriptions. 
The more I read of these things the worse I need to get back over to the states and visit a few. 
Maybe next year :-)


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