Championship BBQ samples for the public at Vista, CA
We won 1st place in Ribs, 2nd in Pork, and 6th overall at the KCBS-sanctioned First Annual Vista Smokin Q Classic State Championship. Vista is a beautiful city about 10 miles inland from the seaside city of Oceanside in San Diego county. There were 27 teams who showed up including half dozen of the best from Arizona eager to win a Jack Daniels Invitational Draw should they win Grand Champion. Grand Champion honors went to our friends Bill and Dan from Tropical Heat, a couple of great guys who also, like me, work in the water utility business. Reserve was won by Vince and Alexa from Rhythm ‘n QUE from Phoenix, AZ.
Mark and I had a couple of junior helpers Jacob and Steven who are family friends enjoying their summer vacation out of school. We promptly put them to dish washing and cleaning duties and put them through their paces making boxes and seasoning the meats!
Junior team members Jacob and Steven making boxes
Everyone had a great time and the two young un’ got a taste of championship BBQ including taking a couple of walks with us!
1st Place Ribs
We had a fun time and it’s always good to see everyone and catch up on what’s happening. The Ahi Tuna and BBQ Spaghetti potluck dishes on Friday were enjoyed by many.
Seared Ahi Tuna w Maui Onion Dressing
A big thank you to our fellow CBBQA members Larry Schroeder and Dale Ginos for putting on a great event! We’re grateful that you and your helpers, judges, sponsors, hosts, and volunteers who put in so much effort to “give” back to the BBQ community and public by hosting this awesome event. Kudos for a well run and well thought out event. Thanks also to Kelly and Kathleen for officiating.
Special mention goes to Rock’s Bar-B-Que who provided the temperature control systems we use on our Weber smokers. They allow us to focus on the contest instead of constantly having to fiddle with vents to ensure constant cooking temps. John Jackson is a BBQ aficionado himself and he’s happy to help you figure what Stoker ensemble will work best for your BBQ rig.
T & H Prime Meats and Sausage who supplied us with premium contest meats is also credited with our win. Call Roberto 760-471-9192 if you want premium quality specialty meats for BBQ contests, catering, or parties
In summary, we enjoyed ourselves immensely and will be back next year. We’re headed to Maui on Tues for a week of much needed R&R. I’ll be sporting a tan when I see everyone at the triple-KCBS contest in Fairfield in two weeks. Lomi Lomi Salmon, Kahlua Pig, and Poi here I come!
Greetings , well my team also uses the WSM for contest . Way to go on the win!!! I do have two questions for you. First any suggestions you can throw my way as concerns doing thighs on the WSM , theclass I took only used those huge tow mobile pits to teach us. Second is what type of rack is in the pics that you use for doing ribs on the WSM , I would love to buy 2 of those for my set up. Our Team is comprised of 3 of my myself ,my wife Niki , and my best friend Ken Phelps. Since we started in 2007 we have managed to keep in the top 3. Contest sizes vary from 20 teams ang go up from there. I am trying to get myself and my wife back to California , she hails from Sacramento Caifornia originally. I would love to take you course. We currently use 2 of the 18 1/2″ WSMs and plan to add 2 of the new 22 1/2 ” WSMs.
Comment by Walter Brooker — August 8, 2009 @ 8:59 am
Walter:
Good to hear from you!
I do thighs on the WSM at 275 degrees for about 1:45 or so. Keep temps contanst to get a balance between too hot causing skin to pull back and too cool as not to have bit-through skin.
Rib rack is from Home Depot.
We use only two 18-inch WSM while competing.
Good luck in your contests and hope to meet you, Niki, and Ken one of these days!
Q-on,
Harry
Comment by harry — August 8, 2009 @ 11:38 am