Another BIG Contest Weekend Coming Up...
Simply looking at the 'Contest Hot Spot' section of the
website would show that there are only three scheduled contests
left in Illinois for 2008. Those are simply the contests
who are members of ILBBQS, when in fact, there are at least five
scheduled contests that we know of coming up in the state!
Of
the three highly visible contests on the homepage, two of them
are happening simultaneously in Central and Southern Illinois.
The
Central Illinois Braggin' Rights Contest in Arthur, Illinois
is a long standing contest put on by George Fritz, and has
become a premier event to wrap the year's barbeque season...not
to mention being one of the first qualifiers for next year's
national events! Teaming with quality teams from all over
the Midwest, I think this contest even has an extremely high
number of CBJs who flock to the event each year...if you're
not already signed up, there's still time!
Though a standing tradition for several years now, the contest
down in Metropolis, Illinois is a first year
KCBS
sanctioned event who is looking to draw teams from both the
Midwest as well as down South. Money and prizes have been
reported to be pretty high as teams from all over are signing up
to take part in this super event. Word has been
sent in that all is on track to be an excellent contest, but
they are looking for a few more CBJs to round out the expected
line-up.
SO,
whether you're looking for a contest to cook in, or a contest to
lend your judging experience to, the weekend of October 10th &
11th offers plenty of opportunity! For additional
information, check out the 'Contest & Events' page of the
Illinois BBQ Society website!
Battle for Bullet Smoker Supremacy - 'The Long Cook Showdown'
~ Presented by
The Backyard Barbeque Store - Wilmette, Illinois
~ As reviewed by
Chuck McGhee of
Cast & Que BBQ Team
Recently at the
HolySmoke Backyard BBQ contest the ILBBQS had a battle of
the bullet smokers. The
Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) competed against the
ProQ Excel 20 in the battle. The cookers were compared side
by side and each cooker was used to cook chicken wings and
fatties. I had the privilege of cooking on both these cookers.
I am not experienced with this type of smoker; the closest I
have used to either of these is a modified Brinkmann Bullet
Smoker (ECB).
I cooked 4 pork butts on each cooker. Both
cookers were loaded with Royal Oak lump charcoal some cherry
chunks were used for smoke wood. I lit each cooker using 1/3 of
a chimney of briquettes using the Minion Method. I started out
with hot tap water in both water pans.
Both cookers came up to
200 ̊ quickly. I put the meat in the cookers and after some
thermometer issues I realized the
WSM
was at 275 ̊, so I closed
the vent that was in the wind and closed one of the other vents
down halfway. The
ProQ had a hard time getting above 200 ̊ after loading the
meat, so I stirred the coals and tossed in a few more handfuls
of lump. After making the adjustments to the
WSM
it settled in
at 225 ̊. After stirring the coals and adding charcoal the
ProQ
came up to 230 ̊with all vents open all the way. Both
cookers were stable. The
WSM
temperature hardly varied thru out
the day. Several hours into the cook I did have to close a
second vent on the
WSM
leaving one fully open. At approximately
5 hours into the cook the
ProQ’s water pan was nearly empty. I
added water to both cookers at this time. The
WSM
temp remained
constant thru the cook while the
ProQ
varied from 200 ̊ to 250 ̊. I had to add fuel to the
ProQ
twice during the cook. I added fuel to the
WSM
once. I
expected the larger
ProQ to use more fuel, but it did not seem
have any more capacity for fuel than the
WSM.
Once the butts hit between 160 ̊ and 170 ̊ internally I wrapped
them in foil, this is the same method I use when cooking in my
offset, stick burner. It was shortly after this I decided I
need to increase the heat to get some of the butts done to work
with my schedule. At this point the
ProQ
was still at 250 ̊ with all vents open. I opened a vent on
the
WSM
to halfway; I now had one vent fully open and one vent
half way open. The
WSM
climbed to and held 300 ̊ which was in
the range I was looking for. I could not get the
ProQ
to above 250 ̊.
Both cookers worked well. It was easier to control the
temperature with the
WSM. The
ProQ
cooker is large for a bullet smoker, with the original legs
the unit feel slightly unstable.
ProQ
has reportedly addressed this issue and is sending out
replacement legs. Some of the sections on the
ProQ didn’t fit
together well. It was too difficult to get the body sections
apart to place or remove meat from the bottom rack without
disturbing the cooker. The sections were hard to separate even
after the cooker had cooled off. I assembled the sections in a
different order and the fit was improved. The access doors in
the
ProQ worked to added water and charcoal, but they are kind
of small and couldn’t be opened without gloves. The
WSMstill
appeared to be a better product. The
WSM
sections fit together
well. The access door on the
WSM
could be removed without the
use of gloves which was nice.
Overall both these cookers are nice and I enjoyed cooking on
them. They both turned out good BBQ and were easy to operate.
To
contact
Chuck with questions, please feel free to write to
pitmaster@castandque.com.
Kansas
City Barbeque Society Solicits
Board Nominations for the 2009 Election
These are exciting times for
KCBS, and for barbeque. Our favorite food group,
culinary technique, and sport have captured the
imagination of the public. Barbeque is America’s hot new
food, and
KCBS is America's BBQ Expert!
Kansas City Barbeque Society is experiencing rapid
growth, as it emerges as the premier authority on outdoor
cooking and barbeque.
KCBS needs committed individuals, to serve our
membership, who have a passion for barbeque, are
experienced in outdoor cooking, have event, contest, and
judging experience, as well as a strong desire to serve in
a demanding volunteer position. Along with these
qualifications, a strong candidate for the Kansas City
Barbeque Society board may also have experience in
Marketing/Public Relations, Finance/Accounting,
Technology/Programming, or Legal experience. We have great
opportunities which will require devoted and dedicated
board members who desire to devote their time and efforts
working hard for the organization. Again this year, our
members are asked to nominate members for the four (4)
positions available on this year’s ballot to each serve a
three (3) year term.
Nominations for the
KCBS Board of Directors will begin on the 1st day of
October, 2008 and will close on the 31st day of October,
2008. All members of KCBS, in good standing are eligible
for candidacy.
Any member may be nominated by another member or by self
nomination. Please provide the following:
name,
address,
phone number, and
e-mail address
of each nominee being submitted for candidacy.
Each candidate nominated must accept the nomination for
their name to appear on the ballot. The candidates will be
required by the 10th day of November, 2008 to provide to
the
KCBS office, a current photograph, a statement of
qualifications, a biography and general campaign platform,
and their answers to the election questionnaire. This
information will be publicized in the Bullsheet, on the
KCBS website, and the electronic voting website. The
submission may be modified one time following initial
publication.
The election voting shall begin January 2. 2009 and
conclude on January 16, 2009. The results will be
announced at the
KCBS Annual Banquet January 17, 2009. The newly
elected members shall begin their term at the February
KCBS Board meeting. All board members are required to
serve on Board Committees and be an active member of the
Board by attending monthly board meetings and
participating in
KCBS events. Each Board Member is expected to promote
the mission and the ideals of KCBS.
Nominations may be mailed to
KCBS at 11514 Hickman Mills Drive, Kansas City,
Missouri
or by email to:
mwhitebook@kcbs.us and
awinn@kcbs.us.
Though not an
Illinois event, here are the results from the recent Racine
contest where a lot of ILBBQS members competed. Thanks to
Dann B. for sending the results!
