Canadian Pork Championship - Paris Ontario

Posted by Big Dog at 6/21/2009 2:20 PM
Categories: Competitions

You can't always be first place...


June 12-13 found the Black Pig crew at our first competition for 2009. This is our closest competition to home, it's just down the road. We were thrilled to stop by Railway City for a few party kegs to share with the teams; beer and BBQ is always a big hit.

With Big Dog and Qfan taking responsibility for several divisions independently, we thought we had a great shot at a few calls.

If you not already aware we have been testing our versions of BBQ at the winery with our focus groups.

Here's what we found;

Beef Brisket     51% in favor of Qfan,            (Big Dog's was a little too spicy for some)
Pulled Pork      53% in favor of Qfan,            (again Big Dog's was too spicy)
Chicken            51% Qfan                               (still the Big Dog's was too sweet & spicy)
Ribs                  51% Big Dog                         (Qfan's was too smoky today)

If you go to your basic stats standard deviation formula, there is a 5% margin of error 95% of the time when polling a target sample of 45 subjects (huh), OK forget that, it's been way too long since I was in school. As judging is so subjective, this was way too close to call. The biggest difference was 6 points on the pulled pork, so we went with Qfan's version. For everything else, we went with a combination; Qfan's spices for the brisket and Big Dog's flavour profile. We did both versions of the chicken and we made both ribs to be decided right before turn in.

We settled in for the long cook. As you can see our mascot, "Suzie-Q", pictured above with me was a big hit with all of the campers. We had to fend off her virtue in the middle of the night from some of those nasty pit bosses threatening to drill some wood. Notice her cool Ironspike T-shirt, complements of Railway City.


Other then some WSM 3 pin bowling,

(thanks Danielle for the reminder all weekend)

everything went rather smooth. Unfortunately, as with many teams, time became our enemy. No matter how much you practice, each piece of meat has it's own characteristics. Often people will ask how long do you cook your brisket, we say it's done when it's done. In a competition, it is painful to be reminded of that little gem.




Here is a quick photo shot of the ribs getting ready to go in, with a simple lettuce garnish.

   

Sue completed our turn in boxes with perfection which showed in our individual scores 19-20 out of 20 for appearance. Taste and texture well that was all over from fantastic to eh!

Overall we hit 8th place, hardly our best results, but that what you get some days. We knew after our last  turn in we were off and we certainly got what we deserved. Next time guy's....


Speaking of getting what they deserved, Tim Brown from Can't Stop Grilling for the Cure! took Grand Champion.  Even more impressive, Tim announced that his winnings are being donated to breast cancer research.

I can't say enough about this team, how cancer has touched their lives and what they are bring back to their community. I competed with Tim a few times and he is a great guy, but this is way over the top.

You do not hear me say this often, but a big nod from us here goes out to Tim and his crew.

Good Job Guys!

 

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