Tag Archive: 3 Eyz BBQ

  1. First Annual Colonial BBQ Competition, New Castle, DE

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    by Mark Stallard, Slower Lower BBQ

    Word started spreading in July 2015 while we were at the BBQ contest in North Wildwood last year that Sandy Fulton was looking to get a new contest going in Battery Park in Old New Castle, Delaware.  Our team Slower Lower BBQ being a Delaware team, are always looking to get on board with any KCBS contests in Delaware.  But this one had us especially excited for a couple of additional reasons.  First, Old New Castle is where my teammate, Mike Jarrell and I first started grilling and BBQing together.  We were neighbors about 25 years ago in this small town and have been close friends since.  Second, I and my teammate Ron Kalmbacher live about 10 minutes from Old New Castle, so this would be right in our backyard.  It’s a win-win, right?

    As the contest neared, Mike and I found out we had to work that Friday morning, so Ron stepped up and got all of our gear to the park and managed to get everything setup for us before Mike and I arrived around noon.  First order of business was to crack an adult beverage and go around and say hi to our BBQ family.  The competition grounds were in a grassy, beautifully shady area of the park and the weather was absolutely perfect.  As many of the teams in the Mid-Atlantic will likely remember, the weather so far this year had been miserable, cold and wet.  I think this was one of the first dry, sunny weekends of the season.  Fortunately for us (or perhaps unfortunately) we had managed to not schedule any contests between Harrington in April (where it had rained, sleeted AND snowed) and this contest in June, so we bypassed a lot of that misery.  But we had not managed to get in any cooks in between.

    Once everything was settled, we trekked over to Jessop’s Tavern for lunch.  This was an old haunt of mine and Mike’s (it used to be called The Green Frog) when we lived here, so it was great to be back.  Not to mention they have a stellar beer selection!  Then back to the park and it was time to start trimming and prepping the big meats for the overnight cook, along with a little cornhole to pass the time before we fired up the smoker.  Being so close to home, we certainly had our share of friends and family that stopped by to hang out Friday night and this likely attributed to me having more than my fair share of said adult beverages.  Finally, the smoker got fired up and big meats on around midnight and it was time to retire to the RV for a couple hours of sleep.

    Picture of MABA good luck shot
    The traditional Saturday morning good luck MABA shot!

    Saturday morning, a little worse for wear and tear, we got the rest of our meats on and everything went through with relative ease and no major events.  More friends stopped by in the morning, we got all of our turn-ins to the judges on time and hoped for the best.  During and after turn-ins, we had live entertainment from local Blues favorites The Bullets and Doctor Harmonica & Rocket 88.  The event organizer had advertised a charitable donation of $5 entry to the contest grounds for the public along with (unbeknownst to many teams) $1 samples of BBQ from the teams.  Right after turn-ins, I decided to start selling and we quickly had a line of what must have been 50-100 people; but I couldn’t see the end of the line, so I’m guessing.  It was great, because we made our money back on meat costs and sold almost all of our left overs.  However, this part was poorly organized and lot of the public left dissatisfied since they were expecting to eat some award winning BBQ and most teams did not participate since they were unaware of this part of the contest.  It was a great idea however and I would like to see the organizer get more consensus from the teams and `maybe charge $2-3 instead.

    Awards time finally came around and as Sandy called out the top 10 finishes in each category, there were no Slower Lower BBQ calls for us this weekend.  It was a big weekend for 3 Eyz BBQ though with 3 first place calls and a GC to finish out the contest.  Sauce This BBQ won the RGC and Pigheaded BBQ managed a big 3rd place finish along with Delaware State Champions.  Poor finish aside, we head a great time at the Colonial BBQ in Old New Castle and look forward to another chance to redeem ourselves next year.

    Picture of Delaware MABA State Cup Champs Pigheaded BBQ!
    Delaware  State Champs Pigheaded BBQ!

    First place winners:
    Chicken – 3 Eyz BBQ
    Ribs –3 Eyz BBQ
    Pork –3 Eyz BBQ
    Brisket –Sauce This BBQ

    Grand Champion –3 Eyz BBQ
    Reserve Grand Champion –Sauce This BBQ

    Check out the full competition results here.

  2. Don’t Forget the Pitmaster

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    by Dan Hixon, Pitmaster for 3 Eyz BBQ – 2012 KCBS Team of the Year and 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015 Mid Atlantic Barbecue Association Team of the Year

    3 Eyz logoCompetition BBQ is all about finding the right flavor profile, the best new sauce, a rub that complements that sauce and an injection that’s going to give your food an edge. And lets not forget the shiny new smokers and a trailer to haul everything. Add in a premium cooler and your good to go, right? Wrong.

    Many forget the most important part of the cook and that is themselves. You need to be on your game mentally and physically in order to make those critical  decisions on Saturday morning. In order to do that you need some “gas” left in the tank. Everybody is different, but for the most part that means metering out your energy expenditure. Here are some tips:

    -Make sure you eat enough and often. Wear a fitbit and just see how many steps you take. Its incredible. You need to eat to keep up with that calorie burn.

    -Make sure you drink a lot, especially when its warm. And not just water. Add in some Gatorade as well as water doesn’t replace everything you sweat out.

    -Limit alcohol as it will dehydrate you further. Better to drink at night when its cooler if you really want to enjoy a couple beverages.

    -Add in a protein shake on Friday and you tell me if you feel the difference come Saturday.

    -Be honest with what you can and can’t do. Remember you still need to get home safe after the comp is over. Add a teammate in order to help with the workload if need be.

    -Sit your butt down occasionally. That chair time helps you have fresh legs come turn ins.

    -Make sure your setup is organized. No reason to walk from the cooker, past 2 tables to wrap, then dodge 3 coolers to get back to the smoker. Be organized and efficient.

    The list can go on and on, but I believe these are the most important things. I also think contests are won and lost in those critical moments during turn ins and it is best to be as fresh as possible in order to make smart decisions. So, if you see me sitting in a chair drinking a protein shake, now you know why! Good luck and see you on the competition trail.

    Image of Dan HixonDan
    3 Eyz BBQ

  3. Contest Review, BBQ Jamboree – Fredericksburg, VA

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    By Brian Walrath, MABA Secretary and Pitmaster for Brown Liquor BBQ

    Fredericksburg has quickly grown into one of the marquee events on the east coast for KCBS competition barbecue.  Contest organizers, James Sharon and Jeremy Bullock do a great job for the teams and have grown this event every year since their first in 2010.  This year would again be the most teams for this event as 72 top notch teams would battle it out for the $12,500 purse!  And, this event is the official MABA state cup for the state of Virginia – extra incentive for teams from the Commonwealth!

    The weather forecasts for Friday and Saturday were to be laced with periods of thunderstorms and some rain.  Friday afternoon was mostly a beautiful day with mild temps, but the storm we were promised by weather forecasters came to fruition and about 2pm or so, we were hit with a big thunderstorm and a good soaking of rain for about a half hour.  Teams dried out from the rain blast and settled in.

    image of Luke Darnell in his president's jacket
    MABA “El Presidente” Luke Darnell, Pitmaster of Old Virginia Smoke!

    The cooks meeting went as most do, but this one would be interrupted by a special presentation.  Jerry and Roxanne from Redneck Scientific presented newly minted MABA President Luke Darnell with the new president’s jacket and sash bearing the title, “El Presidente.”  Thanks to previous President Mike Fay, for several years of service building and running MABA into the great organization it is today!

    Speaking of Mike Fay, he spearheaded a couple of noteworthy events and cooking challenges.  The “Cheesy Beer Challenge” was first – teams wanting to participate, brought a case of inexpensive, or “cheesy” beer (under $20) and the winner of the chicken category would be awarded all the beer!  Second was the Whiskey-A-Go-Go – this would be for the highest brisket entry and entry into that was a bottle of good whiskey.  Congratulations to Aporkalypse Now for winning all the beer and to 270 Smokers for winning all the whiskey!  One last thanks to Mike for also organizing a MABA potluck dinner after the cook’s meeting.  Many delicious offerings were brought and shared and the group had a nice time eating and drinking together!

    One last thunderstorm after turn-ins and before awards would pass through and wreak havoc on teams who didn’t quite finish their packing.  Awards came and saw 3 Eyz BBQ taking the grand champion position, congrats to Dan and Rick for a great cook.  Don and Sandy Wallace from Life is Good But BBQ is Better would land their best finish to date with an impressive reserve grand champion AND the Virginia State Cup…way to go everyone who heard their name on this day in a deep and tough field!

    GC winners 3 Eyz BBQ and RGC winners Life is Good But BBQ is Better!
    GC winners 3 Eyz BBQ and RGC winners Life is Good But BBQ is Better!

    First place winners:
    Chicken – 3 Eyz BBQ
    Ribs – 270 Smokers
    Pork – Life is Good But BBQ is Better
    Brisket – 3 Eyz BBQ

    Grand Champion – 3 Eyz BBQ
    Reserve Grand Champion – Life is Good But BBQ is Better

    Check out the full competition results here.