Comments Off on Shenandoah Valley BBQ Fest Woodstock, VA
By Mark Gibbs, Pitmaster of Checkered Flag 500 BBQ
Autumnfest is in the books for 2017! This contest, which is a staple in the MABA schedule kicked it up another notch this year with the addition of harness racing for the weekend. The team in Woodstock, VA also added in some serious craft beer and craft whiskey tastings to the vending line up this year. The weather was perfect and it was a great weekend for BBQ!
Thirty teams came together to compete for a nice prize fund and bragging rights. Past Autumnfest champion Jay Reeder of 4:20Q brought home top honors in Chicken. 2016 Champion, 3Eyz BBQ with Dan Hixon came across the finish line with a top call in Ribs. Aporkalypse Now took home top Pork honors and Smack That Butt BBQ won the brisket category.
Rockin’ Robyn’s BBQ took home the GC this year with 3Eyz BBQ doing a great job defending their title from last year with the RGC. Pig Pen BBQ earned top honors in the People’s Choice competition for the millionth time at Autumnfest! Once again they showed some great sportsmanship by donating the proceeds from their win back to the community to feed folks on Thanksgiving! These guys help make BBQ great for sure.
We are all looking forward to the 2018 installment of this great competition!
Comments Off on Currituck Heritage Festival, Powells Point, NC
by Luke Darnell, MABA President and Pitmaster for Old Virginia Smoke
Ride Em Bronco! BBQ and Bulls in Currituck a BLAST
Instead of a hurricane, 25 teams descended onto the Outer Banks for Currituck Heritage Bulls and BBQ Contest in Currituck, NC.
The sites were fantastic, with water and power at every site, and the organizers took care of dinner on Friday and breakfast on Saturday morning.
The competition was fierce as well, with Checkered Flag 500 taking Grand Champion, followed by Buttman and Rubbin finishing as Reserve Grand Champion.
But the greatest winner of the day was MABBQA.. MABA gained George DiMartz from Twisted Pair out of Raleigh, NC as a member! George is a fantastic human, who showed up at 9:30 on Friday night to be the 25th team. George was rewarded with his first ever 1st place in a category in pork.
George also gave us this fantastic video from later in the evening at the Rodeo. (He may have been tricked by the MABBQA President.)
Comments Off on Smithfield BBQ Classic, Smithfield, VA
by Brian Walrath, MABA Board Member and Pitmaster for Brown Liquor BBQ
When Arlie Bragg promotes an event and gets Sterling “Big Poppa” Ball and Tuffy Stone involved to be hosts, it’s a pretty big deal event. Now put that event in the hometown of hog, the parish of pig, the city of swine…Smithfield, VA, and you’ve got something special! In fact, Smithfield’s presence was huge, being the title sponsor and contributing meat to the competition teams. Texas may know a little something about beef but when it comes to pork, Virginia is where it’s at! To sweeten a nice purse of $10,600, Sterling Ball kicked in a spot to this year’s King of the Smokers (KOS) event in California later this year. Not only did this bring out the big guns of the Mid-Atlantic, it also attracted marquee teams from all over the country.
The setting in Smithfield was a nice flat open park and shortly after teams got settled in, it was time for an early cook’s meeting. Another feature making this a truly unique event was that each team got a cooler with their competition meats. Snake River Farms provided the brisket, Springer Mountain Farms the chicken, and all the pork was Smithfield! And just like that, teams swiftly moved back to their sites to start trimming and preparing their meats for the competition cook.
Now, word around the water cooler is that there was to be a pretty kick ass pot luck dinner featuring some entrees being prepared by Tuffy and Big Poppa themselves. But on this weekend I had the honor and privilege of helping out pitmaster Mark Gibbs of Checkered Flag 500 BBQ. We discovered a local gem called Captain Chuck-A-Muck’s Sandbar and Grill. More than just a hokey name, this waterfront treasure had great cocktails and killer seafood!
Fast foward to day two. When the dust settled and the winner declared, it was Pavone Brothers BBQ who bested the competition on this day and took home the big check and perhaps more important…an invitation to compete in California at KOS!!!
Comments Off on 13th Annual Recovery Fest/8th Annual BBQ State Championship, Richmond, VA
Submitted by “The Chairman of the Board”
The Lucky #13 edition of the McShin Foundation RecoveryFest is in the books for 2017.Each year this organization rolls out the red carpet for our BBQ brethern with a big dose of southern hospitality and a contest that runs like clockwork.Honesty Liller and her staff do a great job mixing competition bbq and the great work that they do at McShin.Speakers from all around Virginia stopped by and shared stories of recovery success and brought news on what is happening to help those that need it the most.Thank you McShin for what you do for our friends and family that struggle with addiction.
The BBQ contest weekend was perfect from a weather standpoint.It was cool all weekend and we had no rain!The smokers were lit and 35 teams were cooking.Those whacky kids from Easton, Maryland…Sauce This BBQ brought home the Gold with a GC while Rockin’ Robyn’s BBQ out of Forest Hill, MD scored the RGC. Wolf’sRevenge, Checkered Flag 500 BBQ and Simply Q rounded out the top 5 overall.
Top Chicken honors were brought home by E.O.D. WreckinQ with the GC’s close in at second.Sauce This BBQ took home the big trophy in Ribs and most folks knew the run was on!Rockin’ Robyn’s BBQ won the Pork category and Checkered Flag 500 BBQ took home top Brisket honors.
This competition is a a staple on the Mid-Atlantic circuit and we thank McShin for their continued support of the sport that we love.I recommend getting this contest on the schedule if you have not been there in the past!
Results:
Chicken – E.O.D. WreckinQ
Ribs –Sauce This
Pork –Rockin Robyns BBQ
Brisket – Checkered Flag 500 BBQ
Comments Off on The Road Warrior: Lessons from the Edge
By Mike Fay, Pitmaster of Aporkalypse Now
More and more competition teams are moving into trailers and, as with anything changing from one style to another, closes one set of problems and opens up another. We have been traveling with the trailer for the last three years and over that span we have come to rely on a number of trailer-specific products. Here are reviews of two that we have found very useful (we are not, have not, never have been, or will be associated with these particular manufacturers).
TPMS (Tire Pressure Management System)
A tire pressure management system monitors the pressure and temperature in your tires. Sounds simple, right? In truth, it really is. While there are a number of systems on the market, the system that we have been using for the last three years is manufactured by Truck Systems Technologies. Not only does it monitor pressure but it also monitors temperature via sensors that screw under the valve stems and report to a small radio remote unit on your dash. This system monitors your tire pressure and temperature in real time and alerts you to over/under pressure or temperature situations before they become critical. A trailer TPMS allows you the time to pull over and stop in the case of the deflating tire before it gets to the point of shredding and ruining the second tire on the side. After using the system for three years and being alerted for things from leaky valve stems to nails in tires it has always alerted us before the situation became critical. A TPMS system costs less than the price of two tires. That’s pretty inexpensive when you’re sitting on the side of the road with a double blow out watching traffic go by at 90 miles an hour. TPMS is worth it in piece of mind if nothing else.
Here Is a more detailed description of how the system works from the TST website:
A sensor screws onto the existing valve stem of each tire monitored while the receiver remains within your view in your vehicle. Each sensor has its own individual code that is easily entered into the monitor. This way, the monitor will only recognize and report data from your sensors and no other vehicle’s system. The monitor then highlights a tire and reports tire temperature and pressure. It will rotate around the electronic diagram on the screen and it will report temperature and pressure of each tire monitored approximately every two minutes. The system will immediately focus and report data and alarms will sound and icons will flash on the screen in the event of gradual tire deflation, rapid tire deflation, or elevated tire temperature. The sensors transmit tire pressure and tire temperature to the monitor every two minutes unless a gradual tire deflation, rapid tire deflation, or elevated tire temperature event is encountered. In such a circumstance, the reporting is continuous until tire pressure or tire temperature returns to a normal range. The system reports in PSI, KPa, Fahrenheit, or Celsius at the discretion of the system owner. The system is accurate to 0.73+/- PSI. The sensor operating range of temperature is -40 through 257 degrees Fahrenheit or -40 through 125 degrees centigrade. Our sensors are operational in heavy rains, snow, high humidity, and wet or icy road conditions. The monitor can adhere to a dashboard AC vent using the bracket provided or you can adhere the monitor to your dash board using Velcro to hold it in place. Most users prefer to Velcro the monitor in place. Also, the 507 system includes a specially designed, windshield-mountable, suction-cup mounting bracket.
SYGIC Truck navigation app
As those of us with trailers know, the common GPS apps available for our phones such as Waze, Google maps, Apple maps, Garmin, etc., are all geared for four-wheel passenger vehicles. Many roads, parkways etc. in our travels with trailers are unavailable to us. There is nothing worse than being on a road heading for a competition or catering gig and seeing a sign for a 9’6” bridge clearance ahead with your 10’5” trailer in tow. While there are a number of stand-alone GPS units available for RVs and trucks, most of these run in the $300 to $400 range. As of this year, Sygic has released an app for Android and iPhone that accommodates both RVs and trucks.
The app has all the features of the more popular navigation apps with the exception that you can toggle between truck, RV, and car. One of the nice features of the app is that it can be run offline as the maps for any particular State are downloaded as needed so you are not constantly chewing up data. The downside is, of course, it takes up a lot of space on your phone or tablet but since space is cheap it’s not a bad trade-off. Not only do you get real-time navigation but real-time traffic is also available as it’s powered by the Tom-Tom system.
To get started you download the app and then set the parameters for your truck and trailer: weight, number of axles, total length and height. The app will then navigate you based on those parameters, avoiding roads incompatible with your configuration. The nice thing about this app versus a standalone RV GPS unit is that you can toggle between having a trailer and not having a trailer.
We have used the app to navigate us up in New England and down through the eastern seaboard and so far, we haven’t ended up anywhere we shouldn’t be. The app does have its quirks; it’s obvious the voice system was not designed with English as its first language so you may find some of the grammar and pronunciations different. We have experienced a few crashes where the app has simply gone away but re-initializing it brought us right back on track.
If you drive a trailer or an RV and don’t want to spend the money for a dedicated GPS unit, this app is not a bad alternative.
Comments Off on Interview With the Champs – Dave Pavone of Pavone Brothers BBQ
by Brian Walrath, MABA Board Member and Pitmaster for Brown Liquor BBQ
A handful of years ago, when I was new to this competition barbecue thing, my wife’s school was undergoing a renovation. She noticed the name, V.F. Pavone General Contracting and saw a sticker on one of the trucks that said, “Pavone Brothers BBQ Competiton team.” Being the social butterfly that she is, she inquired about the barbecue team and asked if they knew her husband and his team of misfits. Shortly after this meeting, I was in Frederick, MD at the now defunct Swinetastic competition (man, I miss that competition…it was a good one!). Remembering this conversation between my wife and the construction crew, I saw a kick ass looking porch trailer and a nice fellow hanging out sipping his coffee. This is when I met Dave Pavone and he gave me a tour of his trailer that day and we started a friendship that has carried through over the years!
Dave has been on a heater lately and peaking at the right time. He hit the jackpot in Smithfield, VA at the Smithfield BBQ Classic among some of the best teams, not only in MABA-land, but the nation! Big Poppa Sterling Ball was in attendance and awarded a free entry into the King of the Smoker event in California later this year! Dave agreed to answer a few questions for the newsletter. Congrats Uncle Dave and keep kicking butt!
Question:
Congrats on winning the in Smithfield. Describe winning that contest?
Dave Pavone, Pavone Brothers BBQ:
We did not think we won it. We heard all the calls, there were many teams with multiple calls. I get nervous at awards…not as bad as turn in but damn close. Not sure why because I know it’s history after the last turn in, you just do not know what calls you may get. We shoot for a top 10 place at every comp. guess we did ok.
I got to tell you it’s a rush bigger than all others.
Q:
This contest win included a trip to compete in California at Sterling “Big Poppa Smoker” Ball’s King of the Smoker. Will you be heading out west?
DP, PBBBQ:
YES. When that was put on the table, I told Mike my cook partner that we wanted that. And we went after it. That one prize to me is huge. KOS is a comp I would never be able to cook, it’s a comp that I have always wanted to go to.
By all means my team and I will be at KOS. I am honored to be able to cook with that caliber of pitmasters, no matter where I fall in the outcome.
Q:
Did you feel like you had an especially good cook worthy of winning?
DP, PBBBQ:
We knew we had a good cook. We knew we have been haunted by chicken in the second half of the year, so we took extra time with the others and tweaked the chicken. Still no chicken call…still working on it
Q:
Let’s talk about Pavone Brothers BBQ…tell us where your from, about your team name, your team, and your competition set up.
DP, PBBBQ:
Pavone Brothers BBQ started in Bristow, Va. And was supposed to be all the brothers together so the name worked. Well plans change.
My Brother Vince cooked with me for the first couple of years, then he pulled out to retire into a restaurant…yeah I know I know, so does he now LOL! My little brother Roy was around for morale support and Brother Rick was the judge of taste.
All good things evolve and now my team is Jayne Pavone, my wife and box runner, when she is here.
Shelby, my Granddaughter and bell ringer for the runner. And the guy that made this year different, Mike Rollins. Mike wanted to learn to cook Competition BBQ and I needed someone to help. Help he has. Mainly keeping me from changing items that already works…yes at box time. I am super bad about that. Just a let’s do this LOL.
My set up has really change since the start. We started in pickup trucks with a Char Grill and ugly drum smokers, then we went to a landscape trailer and two Backwoods, then a porch trailer, then a Class C RV with a Jambo (best cooker out there), and as of this year, a Class A Newmar toy hauler with a Jambo behind it. Who knows, maybe an enclosed is next in the line of changes.
Those of you that know me know I love my toys.
Q:
How long have you been competing?
DP, PBBBQ:
Pavone Brothers started competing in 2009 with our first comp Que and Cruz, and a call in our second comp in Front Royal sealed my addiction to competition BBQ.
Q:
What’s the best part about competition barbecue?
DP, PBBBQ:
Friends Family and Fun
Q:
What’s the worst part about competition barbecue?
DP, PBBBQ:
The only thing I can think of is I do not like the politics. Mainly because I say what I think and I am told I’m kind of blunt. But that’s just how I am.
Q:
Ok, I always ask our winning pitmasters this…what’s the one tip you have for those teams to help them break through and win their first GC or up their game in competition BBQ?
DP, PBBBQ:
First HAVE FUN!!!
Second have more fun!!! Stay with your plan do not change your path at the last minute (I am still learning, thanks Mike, not that Dan Hixon hasn’t said that for 5 years or better)! Cook from your heart and put it in the box, the judges will notice. Practice a lot. I cook every weekend. Sometimes just chicken sometimes a whole comp. keep practicing.
Q:
What’s in store for the rest of the year for Pavone Brothers?
DP, PBBBQ:
Some of our favorite comps are coming up:
Sep 9 Recovery Fest in Richmond, VA
Sep 22 Lemoyne, PA
Oct 6 Que N Cruz Louisa, VA
Oct 13 Woodstock, VA
Oct 20 Boo Que (they took the B out no more BOO B)
Boo Que will be Mike’s first whole cook I am watching and supporting him in this, time to see If I tought him well!!
Q:
What makes Pavone Brothers BBQ special?
DP, PBBBQ:
It’s all about family, friends, and fun
Q:
Anything else to add before we sign off?
DP, PBBBQ:
I like to help other teams trying to get started. I have cooked and learned from many pitmasters. John Atkins was the first to help me. Then my two mentors Dan Hixon and Tuffy Stone, everybody needs someone they can call and ask questions. And I keep learning.
New teams and young teams should ask questions. People will answer them, we like to share.
Comments Off on FAQue – Get to Know Delaware Team Big D’s BBQ
By Amy Overbey, MABA Board Member, the Princess of Poultry, and Co-Pitmaster of Team Meat Coma
WHO IS ON THE TEAM AND WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
David Deal (Big D) from Wilmington, Delaware
John Brown (Johnny B) from Lewes, Delaware
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN COMPETING?
Our first competition was in Dover in October 2008 where we finished middle of the pack. The following year we competed in Dover again (Nor’easter/pitmaster episode) where we finished again middle of the pack but with a first place chicken, we were hopelessly hooked forever.
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH YOUR TEAM NAME/LOGO?
We originally competed as The Delaware Blue Hogs, however since Dave owned and operated Big D’s BBQ in Marshallton Delaware we decided to change our name to help promote the business. Of course this was risky, because if we sucked at it ……well you get the idea. The current logo is used at the BBQ business, however we are currently redesigning it to better serve both the business and the team.
WHAT SMOKER(S) DO YOU COOK ON?
We have used everything from a weber kettle to Drum smokers and competed for several years with a Backwoods Competitor. We have been using a Peoria Custom Cooker stick burner since 2013 because we love the flavor that stick burners provide and we have no interest in getting any sleep at a comp…..LOL
IF YOU COULD ADD A 5TH CATEGORY, AND IT CAN BE ANYTHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
There’s only two of us on the team…we think 4 is enough, but a category where other people come in at the end of the comp and clean up and pack up our stuff for a possible award would be fine with us.
WHERE IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO COOK (CAN BE A FAVORITE COMP, BUT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE, CAN BE ANYWHERE)?
So, our favorite place to cook would be any place we get to feed people whether it be family or friends or events etc. It seems most BBQ people we know just love to see smiles on the faces of people and at least for us that’s a huge reason we enjoy cooking. As for favorite competition, while they are all pretty good, we really enjoy the New Holland Summerfest and look forward to it every year. This year we have been fortunate enough to be invited to “The Jack” and of course we hope that will become one of our favorites as well…lol!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BEVERAGE AT A COMPETITION?
Dave likes Yuengling and John is boring and drinks Water or iced tea (please don’t take his BBQ man card!)
ANY COMPETITION SUPERSTITIONS OR SOMETHING YOU CANNOT DO WITHOUT AT A COMPETITION?
No real superstitions, however we do have a music playlist that must be at every comp that most people would think is a strange mix. Everything from Bob Segar, to Weird Al to the Jerky Boys and even includes some 70’s TV theme songs…..don’t judge us!
WHAT IS YOUR GO TO FOOD AFTER A COMPETITION?
Anything not BBQ…..Chinese is good!
IF YOU WEREN’T COMPETING ALL WEEKEND, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING INSTEAD?
Thinking and talking about competin…as you know it’s a sickness. We are both in our 50’s and have been competing in some form or fashion since we were in our early 20’s…Bass fishing in the 80’s ,90’s and early 2000’s and now this, because Dave saw an ad in the paper about a BBQ Competition in Dover, Delaware…it’s ridiculous, but we wouldn’t want to do anything else.
Comments Off on What is Maryland Street Corn? Check This Out!
Maryland Street Corn (Crabby Corn)
by Team Meat Coma
Corn. It’s great, right? Right. Do you know what’s even better? Grilled Corn! Do you know what’s better than that? Smoked corn!!! If you haven’t had smoked corn, just stop reading right now and go smoke some corn…I’ll wait.
…
Oh, you’re back. See, we told ya! So smokey and delicious. We have stopped boiling or steaming corn altogether here at TMC Headquarters (our house). The extra flavor you get from the coals and wood is totally worth it. It only takes about 20 minutes grilled or about an hour and a half smoked. If we’re grilling dinner we’ll throw in some corn, but if the smoker is fired up for some BBQ, dagnabbit…we are going to smoke some corn! But, I digress. We are Team Meat Coma and the word “meat” isn’t in corn. So, we had to add some to it. “How did you do that?” you might ask yourself. Well, we took the idea of Mexican Street Corn (look it up if you haven’t tried it, it’s also delicious), and put our own spin on it. Since we live in Maryland, it only made sense to add crabmeat! Crab and corn go together like Forrest and Jenny, so you know it has to be good. So here’s our recipe for Maryland Street Corn (or Crabby Corn for short).
Choose your method
Grilled corn:
Soak 6 ears of corn, in the husk, in water for 10 minutes.
Rotate in quarters, 5 minutes per side, over medium high direct heat.
(Optional) Husk the corn and return to grill to get a little char. 2-3 minutes per side.
Smoked corn:
Soak 6 ears of corn, in the husk, in water for 10 minutes.
Smoke it for 1.5 hours at 225*-250*. (no need to rotate this one)
Remove husk.
Boiled corn:
I don’t even know you. Buy a grill/smoker.
Combine:
1/4 cup mayo
1.5 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup finely shredded cheddar
In a separate bowl:
Toss 8 oz crabmeat with 1 tsp Old Bay
Spread the mayo mixture over all 6 ears of corn making sure you cover the entire ear.
Roll the ears of corn (now covered in the mayo mixture) in the crabmeat
Finally, garnish the top of each ear with some additional cheese and chopped parsley.
Comments Off on Tip From the Pros – Jacks Old South BBQ Team
By Stephanie West, MABA Vice-President and “The Neck” Pitmaster for Team 270 Smokers
Tracy Mixon and Bill Wheeler came to the world of competitive bbq by different paths, however what they value in the BBQ world is the same. Listen to their story & hear their own tips for pitmasters in the MABA Tip of the Month, as told to Stephanie West of team 270 Smokers.
