Pitmaster Tip of the Month
Comments Off on Pitmaster Tip of the Month“Tender, then Tasty!”
By Stephanie West, MABA Vice-President and “The Neck” Pitmaster for Team 270 Smokers
For years, I couldn’t walk out of a BBQ store without a half dozen bottles of the latest rubs and sauces. No doubt, with just a tweak of this or that (or as we jokingly say “Blues Hog plus….”), we could surely hit on just the right flavor profile to win over those 6 judges! How easily I was distracted by “hope in a bottle!”
The fact is, our time is better spent focusing on tenderness (even though it’s a mathematical contradiction with the KCBS scoring system). After 21 comps in 2015, our team is convinced that judges nationwide are much more consistent in their interpretation and scoring of “tenderness” than they are in “taste”. And they have a hard time getting beyond a lapse in “tenderness”, no matter how tasty your super special secret rub and sauce may be! Great sauce on tough meat seems like putting lipstick on a pig–a diversion that is usually fairly pointless!
We spent the last six months dialing in how to consistently render a brisket so that slices from the flat drape over our finger and the burnt ends are soft as marshmallows while having no visible fat–not an easy feat–and for the most part, leaving the flavor profile alone (sticking with the flavor rule of “offend no one”). Now, even with variation in the raw meat (marbling, weight, and thickness) from brisket to brisket, we seem to consistently nail tenderness. The result? We’ve shifted our mean brisket score up by 4 points and reduced the spread from +/- 11 pts to +/- 6 pts, meaning, we’re more competitive and more predictable. The journey isn’t done, but we’re on the right path for more calls and more cash!
Noel Kay
Comments Off on Noel KayHoward Poole
Comments Off on Howard PooleLuke Darnell / Honorary Board Member
Comments Off on Luke Darnell / Honorary Board Member
Luke has been competing in BBQ since 2013, when his team, Old Virginia Smoke, won the MABA Rookie of the Year award.? Since then, OVS has won 4 grand championships and 2 reserve championships, including the 2015 National BBQ Cup and the 2015 National Pork Champion at the Safeway BBQ Battle in Washington, D.C.? When not competing, Luke serves as a Certified Association Executive with over 15 years of association experience in the Washington, D.C. area.
Chris Hall
Comments Off on Chris HallBrian Walrath / Secretary
Comments Off on Brian Walrath / Secretary
I’m the pitmaster for Brown Liquor BBQ. I’m also a MABA and KCBS member for five years and a certified barbecue judge. My team has been competing five years and it’s become an absolute passion of mine. MABA is an organization that I strongly believe in, support, and want to see grow.
My occupation running a membership department for a trade association I feel suits me very well to take on a leadership role with MABA. I’ve worked for many types of non-profit associations for over 15 years and I have knowledge and experience in the way associations work and their purpose for the members they serve. I currently lead a membership department for a floral trade association that represents a very diverse membership that includes growers in many other countries, wholesalers, suppliers, and retail florists. I say this because I believe that MABA’s growth potential lies in getting many types of individuals and businesses involved to help grow barbecue…ALL barbecue, not just the many competition cooks but also judges, backyard enthusiasts, suppliers, manufacturers, mom and pop shops, and even other barbecue associations.
I get excited when I think about the talented and fine people in the Mid-Atlantic and vast resources and expertise we have right here that we can tap to help grow MABA. I want to see MABA be the best regional barbecue association in the nation and grow at the same pace that KCBS and barbecue in general has.
Megan Ferguson / Treasurer
Comments Off on Megan Ferguson / Treasurer
Meg’s been competing on the bbq circuit since 2009, a member of MABA since 2011, and on the MABA board since 2015. She is a co-pitmaster of the team Finn’s Finest BBQ. If you don’t know her or her husband Ferg you certainly know one of her kids – Finn, Allena, and Kellan – who can be seen at comps causing havoc, but they’re really just shiggin’ from other teams. She brings the family along to competitions with hopes to pass down her passion for this bbq lifestyle to her kids and experience the same love she has from the bbq family. She’s going into her 12th year in competitive bbq and eager to continue to learn more from her fellow pitmasters.
Professionally, Meg is a Marketing and Sales Specialist for a membership-based, non-profit educational organization focused on professional development. She plans to utilize her skills and experience to grow MABA membership with a goal of continuing to improve the programs that build our membership, provide education for rookie pro cooks, backyarders, and our youth, and improve communication within the organization. With her strong belief in our network, she is certain we can accomplish big things for MABA moving forward.
