It started with a trip to Iceland to create my Bacon Guru Uncured Bacon using Ribs Within Seasonings and pork bellies from a farm in Iceland. I was on Icelandic radio to talk Bacon and Burgers, on TV when The United Church of Bacon Married 2 sheep, on the internet news the day of the festival, and in the Sunday paper food section this past week.

Then I came home on Tuesday night, slept Wednesday, and got ready for Double Competition Grilling/BBQ. We cooked 4 great entries for grilling and won the Grilling Championship! Wendy led us through Pizza (7th), Ribs Within Triple B and Bacon Guru Bacon led us through Bacon wrapped (4th) and Rib Eye (6th), and Rub4All helped my apple dessert (cookie) win 4th place. Four top tens and we  took the grand. We didn’t fair so well in the BBQ Comp but it didn’t matter.

Next up is The Kosher BBQ Contest, Havin a Grilla, in Wynnwood, PA. Our Kosher Team “Shiva Que” will be looking for its first Grand Championship after 2 Reserve Grands, 1 3rd place and 1 fifth place. We will be using “Bubbe’s Secret Seasonings” for the first time in Competition.

http://www.ribswithin.com/ribs-within-bacon-special/

5 pounds of all natural, uncured, applewood smoked bacon delivered to your door for just $75* shipping included! (* in the northeast, additional shipping charges apply to outside Northeast region)
Ribs Within Bacon has won reserve champion at the Bacon World Food Championships in 2013, and 2016 Charcuterie Masters 1st Place Bacon. We go for the tittle again this year on Feb 25, 2017.

We are off until July…
Keep that Fire Burning!
Doug

Since it is the season for giving thanks, I would like say thank you for the people who made this year tolerable: Wendy H, Luke E, Laurie L, Rob W, Barry H, Steve S, Randy S and of course my ultra-patient wife Laura. Because with out you folks, none of this would have happened.
And of course my sponsors Yale Appliance in Dorchester and Framingham, MA, and Ergo Chef Knives, you guys rock!
I am also thankful for all you supporters who purchased Ribs Within Rubs and Bacon. You are the heart and soul of Ribs Within! Tell your friends!

So, with 2016 bearing down on us, I say “Bring it On”! This new year will bring a new found optimism, and a Grand Championship, or two…Ya Gotta Believe……..LGM

Not Just Blowing Smoke,
DK

Another contest of note, in Aug, we competed in the Southern New England Kosher BBQ Contest. We ended up 5th in chicken 2nd in beef rib, and 2nd in Brisket for a Reserve Grand Championship. It was so much fun that we are doing it again Oct 17-18 in Atlanta at The Atlanta Kosher BBQ Contest! We will be showing off Bonsey’s new Team.

How it all began…One day, near the end of September 2013, I was having a rough day. It was very late and I was tired but couldn’t sleep. I was in a terrible hotel room, it was pouring outside and I was unhappy.

THEN, I got an email saying I had qualified for the Bacon World Championships part of the World Food Championships in Las Vegas in early November. I had never been to Las Vegas before, and I love to cook bacon in competition so it was great. My mood changed immediately. The room still smelled and it was still pouring, but I was smiling for sure.

Over the next 4 weeks, we practiced and did tested out recipe possibilities. We ate at least 25lbs of Wright’s Bacon – the contest sponsor. We used it in so many different ways I can’t remember them all. But we finally honed in on the 2 that we used in the competition itself, then we practiced those a few times to be sure. Finally it was Vegas time.

We packed a cooler of stuff to be sent to Vegas with the BBQ Guru, and we jammed our suitcases full of supplies and clothes. Then we flew out to begin our contest.

More details of the actual contest will follow, but my wife Laura and I rocked the house, and brought home the bacon to prove it.

“http://http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20140101/NJNEWS10/301010003/Hillsborough-s-Ribs-Within-takes-home-bacon?nclick_check=1″

I have been cooking for a while now, 12 years in fact, and I had never been to The American Royal, the World Series of BBQ, in Kansas City, MO as myself. You see, in order to cook there, you have to had won a Grand Championship somewhere that year. In 2006, I won my first contest and a paperwork snafu cost me my invitation. It took 6 years to win again. 60 contests between wins. Painful. I had multiple Reserve Grands, and countless 3rd places, but no wins until Hudson Valley Ribfest, New Paltz, NY in Mid Aug 2012. It meant we got to go to the American Royal…in 2103. 1 whole year later. So not only did I dream about it for 6 years, but 1 more year knowing but not going.

So we had all sorts of little things go wrong on our 2400 mile journey, but when we look back, we can say we did a great job. And someday, not this year, I will go back. And it won’t be 6 years from now!

For a contest on the first weekend of Summer, I drove Tuesday 6/18 from NJ to Auburn Hills, MI. My friend and co-worker Clint shared with the driving. Our boss came along for the ride. On Wed, I did a catering job for 175 people for Clint’s father’s company, Accurate Gauge. Thursday I worked my day job in Lake Orion, and cooked dinner for 25 people at the owner of my company’s house. Friday I setup for a contest in Auburn Hills, MI. I cooked the comp solo, no teammates, except for Clint and his awesome wife Cheryl doing my boxes…I took 2nd in Chicken, 5th Brisket, 4th overall. Pretty good for being by myself. I hung out with Motley Que Crew, had a blast – we will see them again at the Royal!

Next was the NJ State Championship in N Wildwood, NJ 7/12-14. This year we started packing early and were ready to roll early when I reached for a jar of BBQ sauce and thew out my back. That’s right, after all the travel and all the cooking, a little jar of sauce hurt me. I went to the chiropractor, and he helped a little but said it would be a difficult weekend. I strapped on some ice and got into the rig and didn’t stop for 2.5 hours. We got there and it was drizzling. Within 5 minutes it started to downpour. We had 3.5″ of rain in the next 4 hours. We were stuck in the rig with no food or drink for 4 hours. It finally cleared and didn’t rain again all weekend. To get around I used a walking stick like Moses, It was painful but funny at the same time. All Sat and Sunday I was 1/2 hour behind on my cooking, struggling to stay focused. After each turn-in, I was losing steam bigtime. After the brisket, I collapsed for about an hour and tried to regroup. My team got me a ride to the awards because I couldn’t walk that far.Well, they certainly made me walk a lot. 3rd place Chicken, 4th Place Ribs, 9th place Pork, 28th place Brisket and Reserve Grand Champion, 2nd overall. It ended up being a great day. Next up is New Paltz, I keep you posted as we try to defend our crown…

Pig Island, Governor’s Island, NYC Sept 1 – We received 4 whole pigs from Jimmy Carbone, of Jimmy No 43. We carved out the shoulders and hams for pulled pork, and smoked the bellies for BACON. We served 1000 portions of pulled pork over Bok Choy, and 900 tequila Mango pork belly shooters. It was a great event on a picture perfect afternoon.

BBQ & Blues in the Park, Mt Holly, NJ Sept 8-9 – KCBS BBQ contest in South Jersey. Despite a heavy rain that fell all day and night Friday, the cook went smoothly for us and we took a 3^rd in Chicken and a 1^st in Brisket for a 3^rd overall. If not for some mediocre ribs, we could have won the grand.

Meatopia West, Eat Real Festival, Oakland, CA Sept 21-22 – Ribs Within went west, as we cooked Lamb shoulder over Bok Choy to 800 people on Friday night and cooked in a Bare Bones contest featuring, pork ribs, beef ribs and lamb ribs against Chris Lilly and 7 of the top cookers from the Bay Area and beyond. We finished in the middle, but we had a blast anyway!

JK and DK

The Best BBQ Chef Competition, New London, CT Sept 29-30 – Another KCBS contest, our last of the year. It was a dreary, cold, rainy weekend from the minute we got there to the minute we left. We cooked like we were hung over from travel, as we finished 9^th out of 18, in a really touch field, that included 10 teams who had won a contest and 5 who had Jack Daniels appearances. 8^th in chicken and 6^th in brisket is all we could manage.

And with that we ended our year – wet, tired, and really happy for what we achieved.  We got more consistent and really got it rolling. We ended up 243 in the country out of 6300 teams in KCBS. 212 in chicken, 264 in Brisket, 316 in ribs and 317 in Pork.

We look forward to a GREAT 2013…

Smokem’ if you gottem’

Doug

It was about 6PM before we started our prep, 2 hours after we should have been finished prepping! But Jonathan and I buckled down and worked. 2 hours, 2 beers, 2 shots of tequila later, we finished our prep. Chicken, Ribs, Pork, and Brisket all looking pretty and ready to RUB – because “You gotta Rub It to Win It”.

We rubbed our meats like we always do. We started our grills on time, and they both locked in right away. We got our big meats in the smokers right on time. They ran all night perfectly. The meats cooked like they wanted to be cooked. Big meats followed the plan, and ribs and then chicken each followed as they should. Jonathan and I were just cruising along until turn in time. Chicken went in first and we thought is was great. Well cooked, flavorful, juicy. we thought we were in the club. Next came ribs and we really struggled to pick the best 6. We chose 7 and sent them off , never knowing how they will score. The Pork was perfect in both texture and taste. It looked beautiful in the box. Finally the brisket was really taste, but I couldn’t figure out which slices to turn in. We chose 7 slices and put in our pieces without even tasting them. And just like that we were done cooking and had to start cleaning up.

Awards came and we were forced to sit in the front because it was shady. They called 10th down to 1st in chicken and Ribs Within was not called. I was very dejected because I thought that was our best product. Ribs were next 10 to 2 and still nothing, and told Jonathan I was going to quit and never cook again. Then they called Ribs Within 1st place Ribs. I jumped out of my seat and screamed really loud. Happiness is the word. I have never won anything but Chicken before, Ribs -WOW. I was psyched, and then they called pork 10-2, again with nothing. Then,  Ribs Within 1st in Pork. Again I jumped and screamed. More like WHOOPED. Finally brisket, and we got 3rd place, and another jump and scream. Wendy, Jonathan, and I all looked at each other thinking -We could win this thing! They called 10 to 3rd overall, and no call – which is good in this case – Reserve Grand Champ…Not Us…and we broke out the jumps and screams one last time, but bigger, as Ribs Within won our first Grand Championship in 6 years and our first fully sanctioned KCBS win. It was truly a great moment. We packed out trophies and rolled home very very happy campers.

Then 2 days later, it was off to Vancouver for a well deserved vacation with my wife. I will post some pictures in my next post. The salmon was the best ever. Period. and the Oysters…the freakin’ oysters.

Keep on Smokin’

Doug