All-Star BBQ Showdown

Smokin'- Thanks for the heads-up! It pays to check into the forum 1st A.M. Brian

Congrats to DrBBQ on the win!

It looks like OLN is going to replay the shows on Saturday nights as well. I forgot to program my Tivo for the morning shows, and when I checked in the evening I saw that they were on again at 10 and 10:30 pm (Central).

In the second show, they cooked brisket. It was very interesting to see the differences in techniques. The local texas guys were laughing at Myron and Ray for injecting, but when it came to judging, one of the judges said that their brisket tasted like roast beef. Also, both the locals and Ray cooked their brisket low and slow, but Myron said that he cooked his for 5 hours at 350 - 375 degrees... That doesn't make sense. I would think that it would still be tough, but he took second place...

Was Sat 7-23 the first showing?

I got REAL lucky to see the 2 back to back contests. we were spending the weekend in the Twin Cities and I was scanning the remote to watch our Twins game when I came across it. REAL lucky cause we don't get that channel at home.

It was exciting to see, knowing Hayward, Ray and Ed Roith.

What's the upcoming schedule? Our whole family watched, rivetted.

Congrats Ray, and Hayward, way to go! ["It was a little more sauce than I like but I was really getting into the music"].

Other than Eddy, does anybody else from the Forum appear? I read here on the forum that Eddy cooks on cinder blocks and chicken wire, is that right?

Thats alot of questions, but inquiring minds need to know.

Roger

Yep... those were the first two shows...

mnhogfarmer,
The schedule is laid out a little over a month..(July 23 to Aug 31) and then the Grand Finale taking place in New York City(not sure when that is aired).
The venues are listed as..Hammond, LA..Corpus Christi, TX....Bentonville, AR...Hunstville, AL....Memphis, TN....Sevierville, TN....and Kansas City, MO.
I think the OLN channel has done a great job with this show, and I love how the type of meat, and type of smoker is unknown until cooking time.
I really enjoyed seeing Dr.BBQ in action and enjoyed listening to what he had to say .
I think the network really hit the bull's eye when the let the judges and the competitors show and say exactly what was on their minds...I think other networks would try to edit some of that stuff out..
I learned one thing watching those first two shows....When you're talking BBQ , you're talking a whole lot of attitude..
Hope the rest of you get a chance to watch it.
If not , email me , I'm recording the entire set of shows.
Still can't figure out why Carolina wasn't included

I was kind of disappointed with the reactions of the "pros" to the judges' comments--namely in the brisket comp. That's the one thing I liked about this show--it showed the contestant's true character.

Thanks Ron & BH

After going to www.olntv.com I notice each episode is aired 8-10 times.

Roger

quote:

Originally posted by mnhogfarmer:
[qb] Thanks Ron & BH

After going to www.olntv.com I notice each episode is aired 8-10 times.

Roger [/qb]

Yeah... I noticed that, too! I guess I don't have to worry about missing one!

I have the series programmed in Tivo, just in case...

Well, you just have to understand the Love Hate relationship between judges and contestants. And also realize ALL of these pros know ALL of the judges and there are personalities involved. It would take a whole new series to delve into that issue.

Having watched the first two and knowing the people involved, I side with the pros. I've got some opinions about the judges and their theories, but that's my opinion.

Fun to watch.

Funny you guys are asking about the Okie slater or whatever Mike called it and how about the brisket dip and foiling and all the technical details. Come on, I KNOW you're looking at every frame looking for some secrets from the pros. Aren't you?

Well, you just have to understand the Love Hate relationship between judges and contestants. And also realize ALL of these pros know ALL of the judges and there are personalities involved. It would take a whole new series to delve into that issue.

Having watched the first two and knowing the people involved, I side with the pros. I've got some opinions about the judges and their theories, but that's my opinion.

Fun to watch.

Funny you guys are not asking about the Okie slather/paste or whatever Mike called it (I'll ask him for the offical name next time I see him)and how about the brisket dip and foiling and all the technical details.

Come on, I KNOW you're looking at every frame looking for some secrets from the pros. How about their selection of amateurs, didn't seem to know some things.

Aren't you curious about the secrets?

O.K. are you about to share some of them secrets with us Smokin????
I'm all eyes if you are!!!!!!!!
I really enjoyed the way that Dr. BBQ injected the brisket with beef stock....it seemed that he wanted to add moisture but at the same time he knew he needed to keep the beef flavor up front and not some fruity or exoctic ingredient.

Well, I'm here to answer questions it would be a little difficult to try to disect each show. I don't know all of their secrets either, but if you saw something, then ask.

I didn't see the injection part (caught the tail end of that show), but a lot of different folks inject their contest briskets for the reasons you state. They are basically trying to get a little edge over the other briskets. Because of slicing, you don't get a big bunch of taste from the bark on a single slice.

And I'm a huge fan of Burnt ends, with a little work you can turn the point/cap of the brisket into some yummy stuff.

And my mind is blank, I can't remember what Mike calls his bottle of stuff that he put on the ribs.

Smokin, I've never had 'burnt' ends. Can't even find a decent brisket at any of the two (or is it three now?) BBQ joints in the northern Utah area. Can you explain how to make them? I usually separate the point from the flat, slice the flat, and let my wife have her way with the point (she likes it pulled/shredded).

Thanks for any details/recipes.

You won't typically find them outside of Kansas city. Places here don't serve them and people laugh at the title...until they eat some.

Once the flat is where you want it, temp/tenderness wise, just separate the point and the flat.

Put the flat back in to smoke, I like to do it 2 hours or so, and I like to get it real tender, usually more than 210. The fat keeps it moist.

Take the point, chop it up into bite sized pieces like they did on the show and sauce them up. That's the traditional way, sauced up, not "with no sauce" as the Judges indicated.

Smokin'

How far up is considered "point"? Is there a difference in the ay the grain goes or anything or just take the thinnest part where it is pointy?I have heard friends who have eaten in KC talk about burnt ends.

I was a good girl and read Brisket 101 and now know about the point.So as Rosanne Rosanna Danna said "Never Mind"!

Good because I was going to tell you to check out the photos in 101

Oh, any the stuff in Mike's bottle is called
"Oklahoma Magic Mustard"

I wondered what that meant-magic mustard....because it didn't look at all like mustard.

Oklahoma hasn't discovered Mustard Sauces yet, but there are a lot of good ones on the market as you go SE. They're just Mustard Based BBQ Sauce.

I'm sure Mike won't reveal his secret and he probably just made it up for the camera crew anyway to throw all the views off. The shows are a hot topic at other forums as everyone is dissecting what they saw.

Hey, you don't get to see the pros work often.

Upcoming show will have our own Fast Eddy in it and I'll be watching.

Smokin'

I have had bottled mustard sauces that friends brought me.They are good! I will have to look for a recipe unless you can suggest a good place to look.
I am looking forward to seeing Fast Eddy.It was interesting to watch them.

I stop by the local BBQ store everyweek and buy a new kind of sauce along with checking up on the newest gadgets. I've tried several mustard based sauses from the caroloinas and have to say they do have a nice flavor that is hard to beat..

Saturday, July 30, 10pm Eastern, see Fast Eddy himself!

Donna

I just left OLN some positive feedback, maybe they will expand their BBQ related programing
OLN Feedback Form

I'm disappointed.. I have DishNetwork and scrolled thru the programming on OLN for tonight.. Saturday. Bullriding at 7PM PST.. nothing on for the rest of the night that remotely looks like BBQ. I'd think OLN is OLN.. maybe not on satellite.
=========================

Just went online.. Dish shows the program on tomorrow (Sunday) at 12PM and 7PM.. Not Saturday.

4:10pm Hawaii time.

It was nice to see a face to connect a name...


Good!eating BBQ

PS I liked the fact they had to really rough it build thier own smokehouse (Brilliant!)and turn out a quality product. All in all that had to be fun.

Smokinque,

I have Directv and it's programming showed the same as yours: nothing until tomorrow at 3pm. Will, as I sat there lamenting, lo and behold it came on right after the rodeo. And our own Fast Eddie took 1st place. Way to go.

Happy Trails

Direct Tv's online guide is wacked. the show started a few minutes late (bull riding ran over)but the on screen guide said it was supposed to be Outdoor Investigations I had set it to tivo it anyhow

I had my DVR set to record so I missed the last 10 minutes because of the rodeo,,,lol
according to the guide there is another showing Monday night at 6 or so mountain time.
The part I did see, Fast Eddy was a hoot,,,sittin back havin a cocktail whilst those others were strugglin building their pits,,lol He was still the first to have his butts on the fire and it appears he is the only one who slept,,haha

Well it was indeed on last night, but at a weird time.

Believe it's scheduled for a "repeat" today.

You'll see FE in top form.

quote:

Originally posted by RichH:
[qb] Direct Tv's online guide is wacked. the show started a few minutes late (bull riding ran over)but the on screen guide said it was supposed to be Outdoor Investigations I had set it to tivo it anyhow [/qb]

Grrrrrr.. my anger is starting to rise.. To bad they can't get their programming straight. Hope to find the replay this evening.

It was on yesterday just like my guide said it would be.

Two episodes. Briskets in Corpus and Butt in Bentonville.

Anyone else see them?

Interesting, I've competed all of the 4 pro's so far and even the amateur from Bentonville. Fun to see folks you know on the big screen.

I've seen 3 so far. Good to pull for the guys you know personally, even if we've already read about the outcome.

I think Eddy finished with 60 points; and rightfully wasn't happy with his score. Come on, judging someone on a cement block pit this week and putting that score against another weeks competion.

What are the standings of the 3 episodes so far?

I would of like to have heard the unedited comments in Bentonville by the cooks.

I saw both shows last night at 8pm and 8:30. I thought the Judges should have kept their comments to themselves. One would make a comment, then the other Judge would agree and say the same thing. Is this like a power of suggestion? Maybe they should have just used a score card and no talking aloud. Besides, how on earth can three people determine who makes the best BBQ in the country? I think there should have been more Judges to be fair.

Geeez...from what I listened to last night my brisket could have won that I smoked on Sunday.

I assume the next competition there will be different Judges, with different expectations and tastes. So, how can one compete when the requirements keep changing. Seem's like a "FARCE" to me, maybe I'm missing something, I'm still new at this.

Didn't I hear Judge Ed ask who's it was before he judged it?

In the hog ring we call that "shirt judging".

Roger

After watching all three episodes I came away with the distinct impression that the judges had been heavily coached by the producers. Did you notice how they had exactly the same complaints at each of the three competitions.

1. "Too much sauce."
2. "Doesn't taste like (beef, pork, giraffe, rhinoceros) whatever the meat du jour happened to be."
3. "Meat is too dry/tough."

Then they repeated that mantra over and over ad nauseum.

I find it hard to believe that with the caliber of the competitors, the judges could not have found something to like about every product. All the negativity was a real turn off.

The one positive that came out of the programs for me was getting an up close and personal look at some of the BBQ legends. I've met DR BBQ and watching him compete was a real pleasure. Seeing the laid back Fast Eddie in action was also a treat. Other than that I felt that I came away with very little.

My opinion, for what it is worth. The three judges acted like fools (court jesters) more than the judges of good food. The only opinion they could come up with was to be NEGATIVE.

Not tasting the BBQ, I can't go further, but I would guarantee you if they were eating in one of our local restaurants, they would have been out the BACK door bottoms first.

smokemullet

Since none of you know the judges, let's just say that's how they are, I don't think it's coaching by the staff. Those are typical comments I hear from judges when I talk to them or they post on the forums. They "know" good BBQ, just like every judge on the circuit (I can say that because I'm a judge too).

As a competitor, those are some of the very issues we work with, sauce/no sauce; to inject/marinage, etc or leave the meat as is; keeping the meat dry and getting it perfectly tender.

I find it interesting how one says something and the others jump in. I'd rather see this as blind judging, but that wouldn't make for good TV.

I love FE's comment about "when was the last time he cooked over cinder blocks" which is correct. How many judges have cooked recently? There are a few (Tom and gang included) but they are FEW and far between.

For the finals next year, I want them to have the judges compete against the BBQ guru's. I'll fly to NYC to judge that for free

I've seen all of them so far,am looking forward to seeing the rest of them.it is very interesting to see the techniques,& finished products.

Richard