Well, my 1st contest has come and gone. Gotta say that the hook has been set. It was here in Boise, Idaho with 22 teams competing. Got there by 1100, meat checked in @ 1215, prep work done and meat ready by 1500. Seems I was on the end of "pellet row", and found my Traeger cooking neighbors to be a lot of fun more than willing to help out a rank amatuer. I cooked all 4 meats, skipped the iron chef which was Kobe beef taco's, placed 5th in chicken and 8th in pulled pork. I had a feeling that my brisket wasn't in the running even though it was tasty, tender, and moist....and I was right. My St. Louis spares on the other hand, I thought would get me on stage (as did the neighbors and my wife), and 4 of the judges treated me fairly well, while the other two beat me up a little. No stage walk for the ribs!
Everyone running the show and competing seemed to have a lot of fun which set the hook for me. I'll be back next year to do better as I will be taking a judging class. Fast Eddy, thanks for the tips, Jim Minion thanks for the class, Forum folks , thanks for everything else.
Joe
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