Just Trust the Process

This past weekend I crossed yet another item off on my Bucket List:?competing in a BBQ contest.

When we moved to Tennessee in 2014, I wanted to learn how to smoke meat since I had 26 acres of oak and hickory trees on my property and no neighbors to be bothered by the smoke.?I read all I could about it on?YouTube?and watched every BBQ competition show I could find on TV.?It took a while, but I figured out some good recipes for brisket, pulled pork, and ribs.?My family seemed to enjoy the food and most of the fun for me was smoking it, so it was a perfect match.?I always wondered what it would be like to compete.?Then, a couple of months ago, I saw an ad for the?Burns BBQ Bash.?Since that’s not too far from where I live in Vanleer, I signed up.

I borrowed my neighbor’s trailer, packed up my smoker, firewood, trailer for making coals, coolers, umbrellas, rubs, sauces, and two racks of ribs, 7 chicken thighs, and a 12 lb. Boston butt.?When I arrived, it was plain to see I was an amateur.?Of the 26 BBQ teams, I was the only one working alone and my cook site looked like something you’d see in a homeless camp.?I was a bit intimidated, but I figured that it was better to look like a beginner as there would be no pressure.

By 6PM on Friday evening, the judges came around to inspect the meat we were planning to cook.?We couldn’t put any rub or injection on it until they inspected.?As soon as they were done, I injected the butt (the butt really isn’t the hog’s ass, it’s actually a shoulder) and rubbed the ribs.?Most of the competitors lit up their smokers, but for me it was too early.?I kept telling myself, “Just trust the process, you’re using the same smoker and wood you use at home.”

Around 8PM, everyone else lit their smokers.?And many of the competitors were busy getting “lit” themselves.?Around midnight, a couple of drunk rednecks cooking across from me let their Traeger pellet grill get out of control, and it caught fire, almost burning up their tent.?People were loading up their butts into the smoker.?I was tempted, but I kept telling myself, “Just trust the process, you’re using the same smoker and wood you use at home.”

At 2AM, I started my fire.?At 2:45, I put on the butt.?They take about 10 hours to slow cook at 275 degrees.?By daylight, some of the competitors were already putting on their ribs.?I was tempted, but I kept telling myself, “Just trust the process, you’re using the same smoker and wood you use at home.”

At 8AM, I put on my ribs and prepped the chicken thighs.?It was getting hot outside and my umbrellas weren’t doing a great job of keeping my cook site shaded.?I also wrapped the butt in foil as it had hit 170 degrees.?People were cutting up lettuce and parsley to garnish their Styrofoam turn-in boxes.?I had never done that before, but since I had limited cooler space, I thought I’d wait a while before prepping the boxes.

At 10:30, I wrapped the ribs in foil and put the chicken on.?So far, so good.?The fire temp was perfect, and I had plenty of wood left.?The venue opened and crowds began coming around.

At noon, I pulled the foil from the butt and put on a glaze.?I took the ribs out of the foil and mopped them with BBQ sauce and rub.?Then I put my turn-in boxes together.?It was hard work, making sure the parsley was neatly arranged in the box, but they looked respectable.

At 1PM, it was turn-in time for the chicken.?I made the deadline easily and turned it in.?Then I pulled the ribs and cut them.?There had to be six portions in the box.?Six ribs barely fit, but it worked.?I made sure to pick the best of the two racks.?This was the hardest part.?Sweat was dripping in my eyes and flies kept trying to land on the ribs.?I made turn-in with a few minutes to spare, then pulled the butt.?The meat fell apart which is exactly what I wanted.?I plated it and turned it in at 2PM.

Then I waited.?And waited.?It was hot and humid.?I figured I wouldn’t place in the top 5 so I opted to load up and head home.?It was a fun experience, but I wasn’t sure I’d do it again.

I felt that way all day Sunday too.

But this morning I woke up and had an email with the results.?Believe it or not, I placed 4?overall in ribs!?My chicken and pork didn’t make the top 5 but they were not in the bottom 5 either.?And when I really thought about, the biggest lesson I learned was, it was “just trust the process, you’re using the same smoker and wood you use at home.”

I signed up for another contest in October, but this is a very expensive hobby.?I think I’ll just do it now and again for fun, but really glad I did it.?And that’s my lesson this week for you: “just trust the process, you’re using the same smoker and wood you use at home.”

If you’re good at something, and you’ve got a track record of success, just stick with what you already know.?Trust your process and everything else will take care of itself.

Hope that helps!

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