May 14-15 2010 Smoke in the Valley

Green Lane, PA



This was to be the second year for this event and the field was almost double in size from the inaugural contest the year before. The weatherman waffled all the preceding week on the possibility of rain or storms for Friday night. Despite a tornado warning during the cooks meeting, as well as word that a funnel cloud had been spotted nearby, all we had was a little rain and some distant lightning and thunder, not too bad at all. Apparently the BBQ gods were watching out for us this time.


The local VFD once again did a bang up job going out of their way taking care of the cooks and promised to try and improve for next years event. I have not cooked as many contests as some folks out on the circuit. I will have to say that the continental breakfast put out by the contest committee here is one of the best I’ve seen. Hot coffee, juice, fresh fruit, (including local strawberries), and a ton of HOMEMADE baked goods are just a sampling of your choices. The shoofly pie, in my humble opinion, is worth the trip by itself.


Level sites, easy in and out, helpful staff, good food, friendly people, beautiful countryside, and great springtime weather on Saturday made this weekend very enjoyable. Oh, and did I mention on-site coffee delivery. That’s right, after the initial breakfast rush, contest volunteers came around on a golf cart with fresh hot coffee and stopped at each and every site to see if you needed a cup. It is easy to see why this contest is quickly becoming a favorite for many east coast teams.


The contest was won by PA Midnight Smokers, Reserve Champion was 3 Eyz BBQ, with Dizzy Pig BBQ finishing in third. Top honors in chicken went to Max Cue. ZBQ was 1st place in ribs and PA Midnight Smokers, the contest Grand Champ, swept the pork and brisket categories. Congrats to all that walked.


The who are those guys? crew improved from their last outing finishing 8th place over all. They received 2 calls, 9th place ribs and 5th place brisket. Chicken was 18th and pork 15th. There were a total of 49 teams cooking the event. At least we are moving in the right direction.


Shawn Tucker, the contest organizer told me that he is just about to the max with 50 teams, so if you want in on this contest, you’d better get your entry fee in early next year. I know we’ll be back, and judging some of the comments from the other cooks, many of them will return as well.

Pork in the Park 4/16-4/17

A BBQ contest is casual.....or is it?


Casual Encounters
Wanted: Male or female for occasional weekend companionship. Prefer beer and tequila drinker, cigar smoker a plus. Person must be willing to work long hours for little or no pay and go two days without a shower. The activity requires the participant to be on their feet for many hours and get very little sleep. Svelte physical condition not required. Good dishwashing skills move you to the front of the line. Strong back, tough skin and sharp tongue are required. Occasionally, one may be required to intervene and or participate in verbal squabbling and or altercations. If you enjoy hanging out in a smoke filled room until your cloths reek and your legs and back ache, this is the relationship for you. Also, it would be preferred if you disliked sunsets, sunrises, puppies, salads, light beer, sleeping in, lazy weekend mornings, pillow talk and long walks on the beach. Attach resume (including references) and apply as soon as possible. Time is of the essence.

It was late Tuesday evening before our season opener at Salisbury, the Pork in the Park BBQ Festival. Teamate Erich had something come up and would be unable to attend. I had recently had some success with a trailer purchase on Craig’s List, the on-line classified site and thought, “what the hell, why not?” I cobbled up the above want add and posted in the personals section on Maryland’s Craig’s List. The categories were a little confusing, men seeking woman, woman seeking men, men seeking men, strictly platonic, etc. I couldn’t find one that advertised BBQ team seeking weekend help. So after looking them all over I decided on “casual encounters”. After all, how much more casual could you get than a BBQ contest?


Surely there would be a huge bunch of folks out there that would want to casually participate and or hang out with an established BBQ team for the weekend, even it meant doing so was at the expense of loosing a nights sleep. I posted the add and waited. I checked my email box every hour on the hour for the first day or so and heard not a peep. Imagine my excitement when Thursday morning came and I saw a response to my add, finally, I thought.


My excitement was short lived however when I read over the response and saw the photograph that the person had sent along with the question, “did I mind if he wore a mask and brought a friend or two?” I didn’t know you were allowed to send images like that on the internet. It was only after reading this note that I ventured into the ‘casual encounters’ section of Craig’s List and saw for myself what the words ‘casual encounters’ meant to other folks. If this is what folks around town are doing for casual entertainment, I must be from the wrong planet! What ever happened to sitting around drinking a beer and watching the ball game on the tube. BBQ enthusiasts these were not. I think this must be what is referred to as ‘the too much information age’. Perhaps I should have posted on one of the BBQ forums that I frequent instead of chancing this increasingly poplar web based classified site. It was too late to repost anywhere else, we’d have to wing it a man down, again.


For those that don’t remember, the last two contests for the 2009 season we were a man down. While it is certainly a doable deal, it is much easier on everyone when we are operating on all cylinders. Oh well, I much rather operate a man down than invite Percival Sweetwater and his roving band of who knows whats along for the weekend, even if he DID wear a mask!


We arrived on site, got set up and began the prep work. With two ancillary categories on Friday night, we were very busy getting everything ready for the two day event. I was also selling my new book at a contest for the first time. It was very nice having folks stop by that had read the book saying how much they enjoyed the contents. I also enjoyed chatting with some of the folks that approached about buying a book.


One such fellow I spoke with on Friday night introduced his self and explained how he had driven up from Virginia Beach to visit the contest and see what all the fuss was about. Considering starting his own team, he said he really enjoyed wandering around and talking with some of the many cooks that were present. He added that he was staying in a nearby hotel and was planning on attending the event the next day as well. Eddy Cloud was his name and I invited Eddy to stop by the next day to watch the final prep and the building of the turn-in boxes. For my money, this is the most exciting part of the BBQ contest and the best part for someone to see if they have never had the pleasure. That is, of course, if the person is interested in BBQ.


The next day, Eddy showed up, hung up his hat and after a few introductions jumped in like he had been on the team all along. He stayed and helped with the turn-in boxes, clean-up and packing, even pitching in with a ton of dishwashing duties. We learned a lot about Eddy in our short time together. But there was one thing that I already knew; there is something about the slow rolling sweet blue smoke that brings out some of the nicest people you’d ever want to meet. Here was a guy that I had just met, from out of town, on a weekend, working his butt off to help us try and do well in a contest. I have said it before, and I’ll say it again, BBQ folks are good people I tell you. Thanks Eddy.


Oh yea, the contest. Well, we finished 21st out of a 132 team field. We received one call to the stage for 7th place in ribs. Our chicken was 47th, pork 45th, and brisket 29th. We certainly wished we had done better, maybe next time out. For now, I gotta figure out how to REMOVE a want add from the now famous Craig’s List, you oughta see some of the responses that have come in, whew, and they call this stuff casual???? Never again!

Contest Memories

Grab em while you can!


As a fairly new team to the contest circuit just entering our forth year of competition I took a look back to see what, if anything we were doing to preserve contest memories. As anyone that has cooked in more than a few BBQ contests will tell you, the time spend at the actual contest is very minimal when compared to the time spent preparing, packing, traveling, and cleaning up. In my opinion, much more time is spent getting ready for an event than cooking the event. At the contest, I find myself rushing around trying to spend a little time with the other folks that I have come to know on the BBQ trail. Sometimes at a larger event, there are folks I won’t even get to see. I find, that much of my enjoyment of the contest experience comes from the memories that I can clutch onto after the smoke from the event begins to drift away.



Probably the most popular memory collector amongst most teams at a contest is picture taking. I really enjoy looking at the photos we take at a contest. This include shots of our turn-in boxes which when compared with the score sheets help to give us ideas and areas in which we can improve. I always try to include a group shot of the entire team and any guests that we might have in camp for the weekend. I also enjoy looking at the photographs taken by other teams and contest organizers that are posted on the internet from the event we just cooked. I particularly enjoy when teams post pictures on their websites and include a sentence or two talking about their photos. This makes for some great reading, at least in my opinion.



I have always said just as soon as our team makes the big time, the first thing that I will do is hire a staff photographer. Wouldn’t it be great to have someone in camp that was responsible for nothing else but recording the entire event with video and still images. The biggest problem that we have is remembering to break the camera out and snap some pictures. We usually remember to shoot the boxes, but after that, all bets are off. I have returned from some contests with pictures of the turn-in boxes and a team group shot and nothing else. Somebody has got to remind me to take more pictures.



You may or may not know that I am a blogger. www.thenewguys.blogspot.com. (A shot of shameless self promotion there). I try to create and post a blog entry about each contest that we cook. I like to get my thoughts down as soon as possible after the event in an attempt to provide at least a little accuracy. Most times I can write most of the entry in my head as I am travelling home form the contest. I also enjoy reading other bloggers accounts of contests cooked. I find this makes for great reading, especially during the off season.



I usually try and focus on one or two events that occurred during the weekend to highlight in my ranting. Sometimes people ask me, “How do you figure out what you are going to write about?” To which I reply, “I never know”, but something always pops up to make good fodder for a blog post. Most times it is something that went wrong or as a result of our inevitable brush with the BBQ gremlins, sometimes disguised as Mr. Murphy of Murphy’s Law fame, most times, a regular unwanted visitor in our camp.



A contest journal detailing the entire contest cook is a great idea and a good way to tweak your procedures and methods. This is best done if the entries are made by one person on the team as they happen. In an ideal world, I would have a record keeper also on staff whose only responsibility would be to record each and every step of our preparation procedure, including times and amounts.



The members of my team certainly realize that we operate about as far from the ideal world as you can get. As much as I would like to adhere to this bit of advice and suggestion, the sad truth of the matter is that I don’t. Oh, sometimes if I am particularly happy with an entry or procedure, I will try and reconstruct it on paper to preserve for eternity in the annals of BBQ cookery. But alas, six months after the fact, I pick up the yellow legal pad that I once scribed with great intentions and can make no sense whatsoever of the scratchings and clawings shown before me, oh well, at least I tried.



Some teams will have an event tee shirt or other memento autographed by the competing teams. I think this is a great idea. This could be a great collectable in the future as well as a wonderful reminder of who you cooked with at a particular event. At some point, early in our second year, I came up with the brainstorm to carry a guest book with us to our contests. I got it out the first time I brought it along and had a few folks sign. Since that day, I have lugged it along to each and every contest; I have just forgotten to get it out. This makes it extremely hard for folks to sign. The guest book remains with two signatures, gathering dust in my carry-all box, longing to see the light of day. Perhaps this year it will make an appearance, it sure sounded like a good idea two years ago.



For me, my entire collection of contest memories consists of a few photographs and the occasional blog post. Both of which I enjoy immensely. The pictures I have on a random rotation for my computer screen saver. Many times during the winter I find myself staring as the pictures click by, reminding me of the fun I have had and the friends that I have made. Pleasant memories for sure.



Let’s face it, with my slowing fading memory cells being helped out the door with each and every passing day, sometimes it doesn’t hurt to use a little assistance when recalling what happened at a contest. Especially as time marches forward and your first year on the circuit all of the sudden becomes your 5th , before you can say ‘pass me that brisket’.



So, if you are new to the game, or even if you have been around for a while, don’t just carry your camera and other memory maker around, get them out and use them. Take plenty of pictures, or get that item signed. Life is too short and the contest experience is just like life, it gets by you like the blink of an eye. Hang on to the good times for as long as you can, you’ll be glad you did!

Contest patrons-

Rude or uninformed?


If you cook enough BBQ competitions you will eventually come in contact with a rude or obnoxious patron, this I can guarantee. It is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when and how often. Let me explain. First of all, I am not talking here of the contest drunk. Some events have more than their share of inebriated attendees, and let’s don’t forget the overly indulging contest participants. Either one of these groups are always a possibility when you have cookers, charcoal, meat and beer all in the same location at the same time. Even at the so called dry contests, where there is a will, there is a way.


I am talking here of some of the supposedly sober patrons that are at the contest during and after the turn-in window on Saturday. Now, before I go any further, I think I need to say that the rude patron is the exception rather than the rule. Most are very friendly, polite, sober and fun loving. There are however, a few exceptions:


The Nosey Nate- You are busy with your last minute saucing and box preparation, everyone on the team is busy with the task at hand. If your team has been at it for a while, at times, there is very little conversation, everyone knows what needs to be done and when. It is like a finely tuned engine. Wait a minute, who is that over there with their nose stuck inside our spice box? Which is sitting inside our enclosed trailer. I don’t recognize him. Did you invite him? “Can I help you?” the interloper is asked, “no thanks, I am just looking”. What are we in a grocery store here? This is a good example why you need to lock up and guard your valuables at a contest.


The Trespassers- Not quite as bad as The Nosey Nate these folks will walk right through your site in order to save a few steps in getting where they want to go. At times, we have had groups of trespassers, (sometimes known as herds), walk right through a circle of teammates sitting inside our site while we are eating or discussing strategy. I feel sorry for the teams at heavily attended events when they are cited in the path to an area where the public wants to be, the words trespasser super highway comes to mind. Many times even crowd control devices such as caution tape or hay bales are not sufficient to deter these folks from taking a shortcut to the rest rooms.


The Scout- This person could be sometimes confused with a two face. Very polite, non obtrusive, asking a few timely questions, not interrupting, you almost feel that you are dealing with a regular person. In a weak moment, you offer a sample, after all, they have been standing quietly talking and it does appear to be a bit of drool on the side of their mouth as they stare quietly at your pile of extra ribs. They thank you over and over, reach into the pan and begin to sample. “Wow, this is the best I have ever eaten…..hey Uncle Bill, grab the kids and come here.” Uncle Bill, who has been stationed just around the corner and out of eyesight, has been waiting to hear the dinner bell ring. He storms the site with 5 or 6 kids of assorted ages in tow, let the feeding frenzy begin. “Do you have any napkins? Where are the drinks?”


The Intruder- This is the person that will walk right into your site and stand right amongst the team as they are preparing their boxes. Sometimes even developing a bit of an attitude when asked to move and or leave. We have had these folks exclaim, “I can’t see anything from out there!” referring to the area where the general public is supposed to be.


The Buffet Patron- Here is the guy that bellies up to your turn in table and begins to help his self to what ever is being offered as the special of the day in his pea brain. Dipping his ungloved, who knows where they’ve been hands into your freshly pulled pan of pork butt, this guy is sure to give you a tude when asked to leave….”I thought this was a BBQ contest” I heard him mumble as he left the site in a huff, surely looking to find a manger for which to file a complaint.


The Take Out Patron- Sometimes working in conjunction with The Intruder and or The Buffet Patron this person is not only looking to feed their uninvited faces, they also operate without regard to any health and safety regulations or even basic common courtesy. “Where’s the plastic bags?” I was asked two years ago at Dover by a woman as she finished wrapping a self served order of my brisket in some of my aluminum foil that she had already helped herself to.


The Hit and Run Specialist- You have just finished with ribs, the box has been sent to the judges, you have a few minutes to catch your breath. You single bone the remaining ribs and toss them into a pan for later sampling and possible discussion with the team. The pan is moved from the prep table to another table as you ready the area for the pork entry. The pan is situated within arms reach of the front of your site and without thinking you forget to post an armed guard. You turn your back to sauce your butt and ‘bam’ he’s got you. He has been circling unnoticed in front of your site just waiting for this moment. If it were just him, maybe no big deal, but now you’ve got The BBQ Seagulls to deal with.


The BBQ Sea Gulls- What in the world do seagulls have to do with a BBQ contest you ask? Have you ever been to the beach or on a large parking lot in an area where there are a large population of seagulls? Renowned scavengers, seagulls have the uncanny ability to spot a corn chip or a french fry in the sand at 1000 yards. BBQ Seagulls have the same ability to spot a handout at a contest, as soon as they observe the score made by the Hit and Run Specialist, they dive in and help themselves. The commotion caused by the initial incident, followed by the ever increasing size of the flock helps attract even more of the ferocious and raucous feeders. Left unchecked, they will continue to feed until the pan is empty. I have even observed some of this ilk even go as far as moving the pan closer to the public area to facilitate even easier access for their comrades.


The Questioner- I sometimes think this person is not so much rude as they are oblivious to what is actually going on. They amble up to your site, right in the middle of crunch time, can see that you are extremely busy, yet continue to ask question after question. All while you are watching time slowly tick away out of the corner of your eye, and you thought you would have time to run to the spot a pot before the next turn-in. Forget that.


The Brown Noser- This is the person that thinks if they heap enough praise on you and or attempt to inflate your ego with high flying compliments that you might even throw the keys to your truck in along with the extremely large carry-out order that you are sure to box up for them to take home. “This is the best stuff that I have tasted all day and I have even eaten some of THE BIG GUYS stuff.” I’ll bet he says that to all the teams.


While I have had some fun here with some of the experiences I have had, I do believe that I have touched on an important issue, better informing the public. I am sure there are a certain percentage of patrons at a contest that know exactly what is going on and how the entire contest schedule proceeds. But I do believe that there is a large majority of folks wandering through the venue without a clue. They are at a BBQ contest and all they see are folks standing around looking at their cookers or playing with white Styrofoam boxes. Where are the samples? What the heck is going on here? Can I buy a sandwich from you? Where are the men’s rooms?


A simple one page handout along with some strategically posted signage would go a long way in letting the public know exactly what they are seeing and what will be occurring. The contest organizer could also assist with the message when advertising the event, particularly in an area where the contest is a first timer. Information could be contained such as a brief explanation of a contest, what can be seen and when, what is and is not permitted as far as food sampling and sales, a time schedule as to when the teams will be busy as well as when the awards will be given out. I don’t think a three page pamphlet is needed here, just some brief and basic information.

A better informed public would have a positive effect on the entire competition circuit in a multitude of ways. First, more informed contest attendees are least likely to become rude or obnoxious patrons, although in some cases, nothing can be done to correct a person’s ignorance. Second, it would help to improve the public’s contest perception as well as their enjoyment as a spectator. I have witnessed on several occasions persons grumbling and storming out after they learned that there would be no free foods offered for their consumption. Lastly, I think that we would be more likely to attract folks into the competition arena if they were better informed. My thinking is the more people informed and involved, the better the entire experience for everybody.

The other option I have would be to carry a couple of rolls of barbed wire and fence posts along with my regular contest gear. This way I could erect a barrier that would be sure to keep even the most hell-bent intruder away. I could also bring along some off-duty Police or a couple of out of work bouncers to act as a sort of quasi security force. Somehow I feel this would be frowned upon by the contest organizer, for my money, it would be easier and less hassle to inform the public, what do you think?

A New Sponsor

FAB makes it better

Who are those guys? BBQ team is proud to announce a new sponsor for the 2010 competition season, The Ames Company, Inc. makers of FAB and AmesPhos Products. For those that don’t know, FAB is a product that is injected into meat to help enhance flavor and retain moisture. We have used FAB injections on both our pork and brisket submissions at each contest that we have cooked.


I first met the Ames family in 2006 at the New Holland Summer Fest while I was cooking with my friend, Steve Farrin from I Smell Smoke. They are a family business that specializes in producing quality products and good old fashion friendly service. Their entire selection of available products as well as specifics with regard to FAB meat injections can be found on their web site http://theingredientstore.com/


I encourage you to check them out and give their products a try. If you are attending a contest we are cooking, stop by, (after turn-ins of course), and taste our FAB enhanced products, we know you will like them. Just don’t tell the guys on the other teams how good they are!!!

Two years of blogging

Time flies when you are having fun!


I was doing a little research last week and realized I have been blogging here for over 2 years this past December 11th. Two years, it doesn’t seem like it has been that long. A lot of water has passed under the bridge in that short period of time. Our team has come a long way; we got a few calls and even won our first Grand this past October.


We are about to enter into our 4th year on the competition circuit. As I look over the contest possibilities for the up coming season, I notice there are an increasing number of events to pick from. For a team in our section of the mid atlantic region, you have 20+ contests to pick from with-in a reasonable driving distance. That is not counting events that are a little further away.


The WATG? gang again figures on cooking 6-7 contests for the 2010 season. This is about all that we can handle considering work, family and other obligations that seem to pop up every weekend during the summer months. We like the fact that there are more contests in which to choose from and wish that we could find the time to cook a few more. We also appreciate the fact that there are more events that require less driving, a sorter drive home, in my opinion, is a good thing.


We have posted our tentative schedule on the website, www.watgbbq.com and will post here as soon as a few more dates are confirmed. If you are out and about and decide to visit a contest in which we are cooking, please drop by and say hello. We would like to meet you. This brings me to my next and most important point, saying thank you to my readers.


Throughout the two years this blog has been posted, I have received numerous e mails, comments, personal visits, phone calls and other communications from folks that have been reading my written words. I even had one reader tell me, “You ought to write a book!” Well, this past year, as many of you know, I did just that. As I journey through this process of being a fledging author, I take all of your comments and words of encouragement with me. I am not sure where this road will lead, (if anywhere), but I am sure that it will be an experience I won’t soon forget.


I hope that my book is a help to those that would like to become involved in the sport/lifestyle called competition BBQ cooking. In a way, I am passing along some of what I have learned from so many others on the BBQ trail, to folks just starting their journey. As I have said many times in the past, it is a trip that you won’t regret.


I know that I kid around that I have only two readers, and one is my mother, but you and I know there are at least 8 of you out there in cyberspace, and for that I say thanks. Thank you for reading this blog and thanks for your encouraging words over the years.


I would also ask that if you like the blog, that you click below and become a follower, it doesn’t cost anything, and is very helpful in showing sponsors and others how many people are stopping by to take a look. Likewise, I ask if you are on Facebook, that you add me, who are those guys? BBQ team, and Startin the Fire to your friends and fans list. I am hoping to use the Startin the Fire page as a forum to answer questions and help folks interested in starting their own BBQ team.


It is mid February already; the contest season is just around the corner. I have begun ordering supplies and I continue to practice and refine my technique. Our first event will be Salisbury, MD in mid April. It will be here before I know it.


I have a couple of events associated with the book scheduled in the month of March, which will make things go by even quicker. As you probably know, I will keep you informed as to my trials, tribulations and experiences as a beginning book author. I am sure, as is anyone that knows me, that there will be a funny story or two to come out of all of this……stay tuned!

The BBQ Guru

Our newest sponsor!


We are pleased to welcome The BBQ Guru as an additional sponsor for the who are those guys? BBQ team. The BBQ Guru is a company based in Warminster Pennsylvania. They design and manufacture high quality smokers and power draft controls. We use one of their Caldera Tall Boy smokers with a Guru fan and control set up. We are able to load our cooker with fuel, light it off, then relax and get some shut-eye as the Guru system stays on duty all night long and maintains the cooker chamber at whatever temperature we ask it to.

Their system is great, and the power draft systems are very reliable and adaptable to most cookers on the market today. In addition to high quality equipment and a complete line of accessories, Fred, Bob, Kenny and the rest of the Guru gang offer customer support that is second to none. Whether it is by phone, e mail or in person, these fellows will work hard to make sure you are getting the full potential out of your equipment and will stand behind everything that they sell.

If you watched the Pitmaster TV show you saw BBQ Bob respond to a customer’s site to assist with a problem at a contest they were both cooking. I have had personal experience in the contest setting where the Guru guys will help to answer a question or solve a problem if the need arises. In short they are a great company and we are very fortunate and proud to have them as one of our sponsors.

If you see us at a contest, stop in anytime and check out the Caldera Tall Boy in action. We’d be happy to answer any question that you might have on our experience with our unit and its performance.

Check out their website for a complete list of products offered.

800-288-GURU (4878)

The BBQ Guru
357 Ivyland Road
Warminster, PA 18974-2205
Email: info@TheBbqGuru.com
http://www.thebbqguru.com/

At Last!

The new web site is here!


After months of painstaking work on someone else’s part, (thanks Brian) we are pleased to announce the release of the newly remodeled “who are those guys?” web-site.

http://www.watgbbq.com/


The site contains numerous upgrades and new features which include contest photos and recipes, as well as past news and contest results from the team. My book, Startin the Fire will also be available on the site, just click on book or buy the book.


Brian Milito, team webmaster, has taken the last three years worth of info and made into a very user friendly environment that we hope you will bookmark and visit from time to time. You will also find many useful links to other BBQ sites as well as links to articles and reviews I have written for other publications. (in case you haven’t gotten enough of my drivel on the site)


Brian has also created a Facebook page for both the WATG? team and the Startin the Fire book. If you are currently a Facebook user, we ask that you become a fan of both. If you’re not already on FB, you might give it some thought, it is a great way to stay connected with folks and reconnect with old friends. Its also a great place to waste an hour a day!


Anyway, stop by the new site and give it a looksee when you have a minute, we’ll be glad you did!