A barbecue adventure, the saga unfolds.

We don’t do much bbq chicken unless it’s smoked wings, but I had half a value pack of bone in thighs in the freezer and nothing else.

Yes, the tiny ones appear to have been chopped. Probably why it was value pack.

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I should not catch up on this thread when I'm waiting for dinner. My stomach is now growling...
 
Finally starting to get back into bbq contest mode. In the KC area things slow down mid-summer. Today I got two emails about bbq events where I’m signed up. If I can make it past the waiting list of a smaller contest, I’ll have 7 judging events by the first weekend of Nov.

Maybe we’ll get a cooler day soon and I can get my smoker out again.
 
I’ve cooked with a lot of different fuels over the years, but I’ve never used beer flavored charcoal.

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Matthew said:
I’ve cooked with a lot of different fuels over the years, but I’ve never used beer flavored charcoal.

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I was told not to use Kinsgford if I want a good taste. Under recommendation I've been using Jealous Devil. It's what I will be using for Sunday's birthday brisket. (mom, wife, daughter all have birthdays over a 4 day period)
 
EdFred said:
I was told not to use Kinsgford if I want a good taste. Under recommendation I've been using Jealous Devil. It's what I will be using for Sunday's birthday brisket. (mom, wife, daughter all have birthdays over a 4 day period)
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I don't necessarily mind the Kingsford Competition briquettes. But I prefer lump charcoal.

But beer flavored? I saw a whole pallet of that stuff at Sam's Club yesterday. I never knew that was a thing.
 
Matthew said:
I don't necessarily mind the Kingsford Competition briquettes. But I prefer lump charcoal.

But beer flavored? I saw a whole pallet of that stuff at Sam's Club yesterday. I never knew that was a thing.
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I saw some Jack Daniels charcoal (made with the barrels evidently) at the Ace Hardware the other day. I considered it ever so briefly until I saw the price, and I noped right out of that purchase.
 
EdFred said:
I saw some Jack Daniels charcoal (made with the barrels evidently) at the Ace Hardware the other day. I considered it ever so briefly until I saw the price, and I noped right out of that purchase.
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At least you'd be getting charred oak. But, yeah, you pay for the name.
 
Matthew said:
I’ve cooked with a lot of different fuels over the years, but I’ve never used beer flavored charcoal.
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That had to be invented in Wisconsin.

However, I can't imagine it's really any different. It's just a novelty. You want beer flavor, you par-boil the meat in it like a proper bratwurst should be done.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
That had to be invented in Wisconsin.

However, I can't imagine it's really any different. It's just a novelty. You want beer flavor, you par-boil the meat in it like a proper bratwurst should be done.
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I’m guessing that invention involved…beer.

Beer brats with onions and peppers are awesome. Is that called a “Sheboygan”?

Many years ago I was on a business trip to Milwaukee and my coworker and I stopped at a local watering hole for happy hour. He looked at the menu, then said to the waitress, “It’s true! You DO put cheese on anything!”
 
Matthew said:
Beer brats with onions and peppers are awesome. Is that called a “Sheboygan”?
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I think that's a "Wisconsin Philly".

Our local grocery store makes and sells their own brats and brat patties, and they do combos like you describe as well as bacon and cheese, extra beer, etc... I like the brat patties better than either normal brats or burgers because you get the extra flavor of a brat (vs a burger) but it's easier to dress it up all fancy (lettuce, tomato, sliced onion, etc...)
 
flyingcheesehead said:
I think that's a "Wisconsin Philly".

Our local grocery store makes and sells their own brats and brat patties, and they do combos like you describe as well as bacon and cheese, extra beer, etc... I like the brat patties better than either normal brats or burgers because you get the extra flavor of a brat (vs a burger) but it's easier to dress it up all fancy (lettuce, tomato, sliced onion, etc...)
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I asked because I was in a concession line a long time ago at either a Chiefs or Royals game. Guy in front of me ordered a “Sheboygan”. I hadn’t heard that before and it wasn’t on the menu board. The guy behind the counter didn’t hesitate and bunned up a brat and loaded it with grilled peppers and onions. It looked awesome. When it was my turn I just said, “Same.”
 
Matthew said:
I asked because I was in a concession line a long time ago at either a Chiefs or Royals game. Guy in front of me ordered a “Sheboygan”. I hadn’t heard that before and it wasn’t on the menu board. The guy behind the counter didn’t hesitate and bunned up a brat and loaded it with grilled peppers and onions. It looked awesome. When it was my turn I just said, “Same.”
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Interesting. Never heard it called that... And Google doesn't really have it that way either, though it might be a bit disguised because Sheboygan is the "brat capital of the world". But I do live a quick 15-minute Mooney flight from Sheboygan. Unfortunately, the airport is now restaurant-less after having a series of really good on-field restaurants.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Interesting. Never heard it called that... And Google doesn't really have it that way either, though it might be a bit disguised because Sheboygan is the "brat capital of the world". But I do live a quick 15-minute Mooney flight from Sheboygan. Unfortunately, the airport is now restaurant-less after having a series of really good on-field restaurants.
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Might just be a local thing, it’s concession code for brat.
 
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These chicken breasts were massive. Did a season salt rub plus a 57 sauce glaze cut with vinegar.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Our local grocery store makes and sells their own brats and brat patties, and they do combos like you describe as well as bacon and cheese, extra beer, etc... I like the brat patties better than either normal brats or burgers because you get the extra flavor of a brat (vs a burger) but it's easier to dress it up all fancy (lettuce, tomato, sliced onion, etc...)
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Since I stopped by to grab some brat patties yesterday... Here's the in-house brat section from my tiny local grocery store (next to a "major" crossroads, ie 4-way stop, in a town with a population density of 330 people per square mile, or 2 acres per person):

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Since it's a bit hard to read, your choices are:

Original Bratwurst
Pre-cooked original
"Dean's Award Winning Bratwurst"
Cheddar
Pepper Jack
Cheddar Jack & Bacon
Bacon, Cheddar & Onion
Bacon Mac & Cheese
Beer, Cheese & Onion
Green Pepper & Onion
Green Pepper, Onion, & Pepper Jack
Onion & Garlic
Bell Pepper & Cheddar
Jalepeno Cheddar
Jalapeno Popper
Jalapeno Bacon Ranch
Whiskey Maple Syrup
Honey Habanero
Original Chicken Brats
Bourbon Chicken & Bacon
Spicy Southwest Chicken Brats
Mushroom & Swiss

Plus...
Italian sausage
Old Fashioned Italian Sausage
Hot Italian Sausage
Hungarian sausage
Polish sausage
Garlic summer sausage

Now I'm hungry. Had the original brat patties with lettuce, onion, tomato, BBQ sauce and mustard for dinner yesterday.
 
Ahhh summer sausage, long time since I have even heard that term.

Chop some up, brown it with chopped onion, pour beaten eggs on til set, turn over, fold. You now have a German omelet.

Garnish with Heinz, of course. And some pepper, fresh ground.:D
 
Pork butts are on sale today. I picked up a 20# 2-pack. Looks like next Thursday is my first free full-day. I judge a contest tomorrow and another one next Saturday. So more Q in between on Thursday sounds about right.
 
Matthew said:
Pork butts are on sale today. I picked up a 20# 2-pack. Looks like next Thursday is my first free full-day. I judge a contest tomorrow and another one next Saturday. So more Q in between on Thursday sounds about right.
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I probably should report this on my next medical.
 
I'm thinking out loud about my first smoker experience, which was burnt beef ribs. I've been seeing a bunch of Youtube videos on beef ribs and they look really great, and beef ribs at the bbq places are good too. My question is where are they sourcing these ribs from? I can't seem to find a store locally that stocks beef ribs meaty enough to be worth it. Which is why I focus on pork ribs.
 
Heading out to judge a bbq contest in about 90 minutes. Dry here, but overcast and a few rumbles. The radar shows rain over the area of the competition, about 30-40 miles away. That’s going to mess with the cooks. I cooked in a lot of different conditions, rain is the worst. It just sucks the heat right out of the smokers. We kept our smoker under a popup tent as best we could, but when that rain moves in, it can only help so much.

I expect it to affect the ribs most, since they are cooking right now. Chicken hasn’t started yet. The briskets and pork butts are probably getting wrapped now, so they might be OK. In order to keep the heat up teams will dump a lot of extra coals into their smokers, and that messes with flavors.
 
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Sac Arrow said:
I'm thinking out loud about my first smoker experience, which was burnt beef ribs. I've been seeing a bunch of Youtube videos on beef ribs and they look really great, and beef ribs at the bbq places are good too. My question is where are they sourcing these ribs from? I can't seem to find a store locally that stocks beef ribs meaty enough to be worth it. Which is why I focus on pork ribs.
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You’ll likely have to see butcher, but if your grocery store does its own meat cutting, they may be able to hook you up.

What you’re looking for (dino ribs) are the plate short ribs. You can get away with chuck short ribs as an alternative. You can also source dino ribs online.
www.tastingtable.com

The 3 Cuts Of Beef Ribs, Explained - Tasting Table

Beef ribs can be divided into three categories depending on which area of the cow they come from: plate short ribs, chuck short ribs, and back ribs.
www.tastingtable.com www.tastingtable.com

With either of the above, you’re smoking at a real low temp; 225 - 250 is the hottest want in my opinion and you want the internal temp to get to at least 203* before you pull them off. Meat Church recommends 250* and lets them get up to 208* or so and that works fine.
www.meatchurch.com

Beef RIbs

The Texas BBQ that made me fall in love with BBQ after growing up on sweet, pork BBQ in the south. These are the King of all BBQ for me. When you are eating BBQ in Texas you are typically eating what is known as short ribs or plate ribs. AKA 123A or 3 bone beef ribs which are trimmed from the...
www.meatchurch.com www.meatchurch.com

What Costco and many groceries sells are the back ribs since those are the leftovers from prime rib roasts.
www.44steaks.com

USDA Choice Bone-In Short Ribs

Savor premium USDA Choice bone-in short ribs from 44 Farms. Order dino ribs online, raised with no antibiotics or hormones. Shop now for all-natural beef!
www.44steaks.com www.44steaks.com
 
Restaurant Depot usually had excellent plate ribs ( though I no longer live near one). Access is difficult if you don’t own a food service business, but an annual membership in KCBS (Kansas City Barbecue Society) gets you access.
 
TCABM said:
You’ll likely have to see butcher, but if your grocery store does its own meat cutting, they may be able to hook you up.

What you’re looking for (dino ribs) are the plate short ribs. You can get away with chuck short ribs as an alternative. You can also source dino ribs online.
www.tastingtable.com

The 3 Cuts Of Beef Ribs, Explained - Tasting Table

Beef ribs can be divided into three categories depending on which area of the cow they come from: plate short ribs, chuck short ribs, and back ribs.
www.tastingtable.com www.tastingtable.com

With either of the above, you’re smoking at a real low temp; 225 - 250 is the hottest want in my opinion and you want the internal temp to get to at least 203* before you pull them off. Meat Church recommends 250* and lets them get up to 208* or so and that works fine.
https://www.meatchurch.com/blogs/re....44steaks.com/products/usda-choice-short-ribs
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The LGS sells cut bone in short ribs, and I like them, but I normally braise them in the crock pot. Maybe I'll try another LGS. Stand alone butcher shops are a rarity here.
 
The contest went well, but it was pretty hot. Judges were put into the fire department garage. It was pretty muggy and no air movement.

All, in all, the entries were consistently good. The teams, 53 of them, did very well.

My table also got to judge desserts, that was a nice bonus.
 
At every contest, before judging, someone gets picked to read the judge's oath. Usually, there's someone with a milestone like 300th contest, or whatever. Today, the guy picked was a first time judge, from Italy. Before the contest was over, someone gave him a nice cowboy hat.
 
Next bbq contest for this fella to judge is Saturday. KGPH is part of the fly-in portion of the event. It’s a pretty fun downtown deal, with a good fireworks show Friday night. Local bars and restaurants have specials and there’s a homebrew contest on Saturday that’s open to the public.

Check it out:

visitexcelsior.com

BBQ & Fly-in on the River • Excelsior Springs, MO Tourism

AUGUST 14-15, 2026DOWNTOWN EXCELSIOR SPRINGS Smoke Em' If You Got Em' Whether you spell it BBQ, Barbeque or Barbecue, it's the taste of America. The BBQ & Fly-In on the River is back for year 26 in the heart of our community, DOWNTOWN EXCELSIOR SPRINGS! Mark your calendars and join…
visitexcelsior.com visitexcelsior.com
 
Matthew said:
Next bbq contest for this fella to judge is Saturday. KGPH is part of the fly-in portion of the event. It’s a pretty fun downtown deal, with a good fireworks show Friday night. Local bars and restaurants have specials and there’s a homebrew contest on Saturday that’s open to the public.

Check it out:

visitexcelsior.com

BBQ & Fly-in on the River • Excelsior Springs, MO Tourism

AUGUST 14-15, 2026DOWNTOWN EXCELSIOR SPRINGS Smoke Em' If You Got Em' Whether you spell it BBQ, Barbeque or Barbecue, it's the taste of America. The BBQ & Fly-In on the River is back for year 26 in the heart of our community, DOWNTOWN EXCELSIOR SPRINGS! Mark your calendars and join…
visitexcelsior.com visitexcelsior.com
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5.9 + a fuel stop.
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Lemme convince my wife since we already have the plane reserved.
 
TCABM said:
5.9 + a fuel stop.
8c41207071b55093b24a68a5a57abc6e.jpg


Lemme convince my wife since we already have the plane reserved.
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Last year we drove up Fri afternoon and spent the afternoon and evening in town. Sat morning I had to check in and judge until mid afternoon when we left. My wife walked around the downtown shops while I judged. There are a few wineries in the vicinity.

This year I’m just going to drive up for the contest and probably head back home afterward. I might hang out for a little bit, if the ice cream shop isn’t too busy.
 
So do the teams sell food as they go along too? Or do the spectators just get to smell?

1:45 flight for me but plane just went in for annual.
 
NealRomeoGolf said:
So do the teams sell food as they go along too? Or do the spectators just get to smell?

1:45 flight for me but plane just went in for annual.
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At most contests, no food sales. Too much health code overhead. At some, like the contest I judged a couple days ago, some teams do sell on Fri night. This contest coming up will have food trucks.

Most teams just aren’t equipped to do food sales: not enough hands and facilities to cook for the contest and the public, and no ability to easily meet commercial health code regs. Some teams do commercial catering already, so they have a full kitchen inside their trailer or they have a food truck.
 
I’ll be setting the alarm for oh-dark-thirty so I can do a couple of pork butts and a few other animal parts tomorrow. Family is coming over for dinner, and I can’t make them wait too long.
 
I just remembered it’s the first day of school tomorrow. So I’ll be smoking up the hood and sitting outside with my Irish coffee watching all the buses and minivans drive by.
 
Matthew said:
I just remembered it’s the first day of school tomorrow. So I’ll be smoking up the hood and sitting outside with my Irish coffee watching all the buses and minivans drive by.
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Hopefully some have their windows down. The glorious smell of wood smoke and bbq in the morning and sight of a happy, relaxed, person welcoming the new day with a great meal to come latter might just spark an interest in bbq in a few, and ignite a desire to work hard to be able to do the same in a few others..
 
Flatiowa said:
Hopefully some have their windows down. The glorious smell of wood smoke and bbq in the morning and sight of a happy, relaxed, person welcoming the new day with a great meal to come latter might just spark an interest in bbq in a few, and ignite a desire to work hard to be able to do the same in a few others..
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Well, I had planned on waving my fist and telling them to stay out of my yard.
 
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