© 2010 Pigheaded BBQ

April 20-21, 2007
Pork in the Park BBQ

Salisbury, MD

This was our first competition as Pigheaded BBQ. Members present were Ron, Mike, Brian and Rob. Overall, we were very happy with the results and our cooking. We ended up finishing 19th out of 62 teams and placed as high as 3rd in one category. We worked well together and our timing was fair. We turned everything in on time and was only slightly rushed on one entry. It was a very cold night, as Mike and I stayed up for most of the night tending the fires. We had some trouble with the Gurus and the temps were running a little high. As a result, the brisket and butts finished early, but held nicely in the cooler.

On Friday night, we did chef's choice and prepared Asian Shrimp, which placed 3rd . Brian and Rob cooked in the Perdue chicken category. This was their first experience in competition cooking and they placed 29th .

They say that experience is the best teacher and I feel that this held true this weekend. We should be a little better prepared for Chesapeake Bay BBQ in Stevensville, MD in July. Thanks to Sandy Fulton and everyone who worked so hard to put on this competition. They went out of their way to make everyone happy. I also want to thank the team for the experience and fun we had.

July 27-28, 2007

2nd Annual Chesapeake Bay BBQ

Stevensville, MD

Well, Stevensville was a humbling experience for us. After our top third showing in Salisbury in our first competition, maybe we were a little too cocky. At a smaller competition, we were embarrassed. We did learn a valuable lesson. Cook for the judges, not for yourself.

We experimented with our brisket entry, and we all liked it, but apparently the judges did not agree. Lesson learned, this is not the place to experiment. We did learn some valuable lessons by just observing some of the higher placed teams and we will make corrections to our approach. Never again will we take these events lightly.

Not everything was bad though. This was the first time that all five of us were at a competition, and our timing was very good. We did not have to rush anything. We also learned that everyone brings something different to the team.

Nice job guys and thanks for the experience. As usual we made some new acquaintances and saw some old friends. You can't find a nicer group of people anywhere.

September 14-15 , 2007

1st Annual Bridgeton King Pig BBQ Competition

Bridgeton, NJ

Well, our third bbq competition is in the books. We had our best finish of our short career. We finished 9th in the competition, coming away with a trophy and a small cash prize.....a first for both. We placed 5th in pork and 10th in chicken. While we were happy about our performance and our food, it seems that we are not totally in sync with the judges as of yet. We thought this was by far our best product as far as food was concerned, but I guess we have a ways to go yet.

The competition was held in Bridgeton, NJ and we want to thank the organizers and KCBS reps for hosting a great competition. The venue was very nice, set in a lakeside park. The scenery was awesome. There was ample electricity and water as well as free ice. What more could a team ask for? We had some rain Friday night and Saturday morning, but for the most part, the weather was a non-factor. All in all, I think that we are improving and we can’t wait for Dover.

October 19-20 , 2007

2nd Annual Diamond State BBQ Competition

Dover, De

Well the Diamond State BBQ Championship held in Dover, DE is in the books. This was certainly an up and down competition for us. There were 84 teams from around the country competing for a piece of the $20,000 pie as well as pride and bragging rights.

I feel that I have to divide this competition into two parts: The actual competition and the weather conditions.

Weather Conditions : In a word Nasty!! Friday started out cloudy and rainy, which lasted a good part of the day. Friday evening, however, brought a strong wind storm around 11:00PM that wrecked havoc on many of the sites. Our's was one of the hardest hit. All three of our canopies were blown over as well as the tables and one of our smokers. A good deal of time and effort was required to restore some semblance of order. Congratulations to the teams hit hard for their perseverance and fortitude in overcoming and adapting.

Competition : This was the 4th competition in our short career. While we had our ups and downs, we were content with the results. We finished 32 nd overall, out of 84 teams. We placed 15th in chicken and beat some very big names. Truthfully, we feel we cooked our best ribs yet in Dover, however, placed 39th. Not sure yet what the judges are looking for. Pulled pork was a disappointment. We placed a lowly 63rd . Our brisket has been steadily improving and the 36th place showing was somewhat a surprise to us.

To recap our fist year of competition, we feel that we've learned a lot. Our team cohesiveness has improved greatly. Our timing is good and we feel that our cooking has grown also. Chicken seems to be our most consistent entry. We've placed 7th , 13th , 10th, and 15th . Not too bad for our first year. Ribs on the other hand, have been puzzling. We feel we cooked our best ribs yet in Dover and placed 39th . Not sure how to improve in this area yet. We will do some serious rethinking this off season. Pulled pork is what we've always thought of as our strongest entry. Our scores this year haven't shown that, with the exception of our 5th place in Bridgeton. 63rd in Dover was a definite let down for us and cost us a higher overall showing. We thought we had a very good brisket in Dover, but the 36th place showed that the judges thought otherwise. Looks like it's back to the drawing board. We have enjoyed ourselves immensely and have made some great new friends, so all in all it was a successful first season. Here's to many more to come.