October 4, 2008 Hello BBQ Gang! Buckle your seatbelts folks, here's what's going on in the world of the Illinois BBQ Society... ~ Another BIG Contest Weekend Coming Up... ~ Battle for Bullet Smoker Supremacy - 'The Long Cook Showdown' ~ Kansas City Barbeque Society Solicits Board Nominations for the 2009 Election ~ Racine Zoo-B-Que Results ~ Upcoming Non-Sanctioned/Backyard Contests... ~ Upcoming KCBS Contests... ~ Free Contest Entries Available... ~ Upcoming Classes... For additional information on these stories, and more, be sure to visit the Illinois BBQ Society online at http://www.ILBBQS.com . x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x This eNewsletter brought to you by: The Backyard Barbeque Store ~ Wilmette, Illinois At The Backyard Barbecue Store, our passion is bringing you the very best in barbecue grills and accessories, gas logs and fireplace accessories, patio furniture and products for all of your entertaining needs. If you are interested in an "Outdoor Kitchen" you need look no further. We can help you find the right equipment to fit your needs and can assist you in finding a contractor to build it. We like to think that we can help you find the grill that is right for you, the furniture for you to sit on while you are grilling and even the wine to pair with your meal. And if you need some pointers on using that grill, sign up for one of our grill classes and treat yourself to a wonderful evening full of good food, wine and recipes. Online: http://www.backyardbbqstore.com x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x 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. *************************************** Racine Zoo-B-Que Results 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! Top Ten Overall 1) Cancersuckschicago.com 2) Porkrastinators 3) Iowa Smokey D's BBQ 4) Captain Ron's Brew'n Q 5) Dr. Porkinstein 6) Church of Swinetology 7) Farmboy BBQ 8) Smokey Joel Cubby Bear 9) KRE Smokers 10) Q U Smokin Krewe Chicken 1) Farmboy BBQ 2) Iowa Smokey D's BBQ 3) Smoke Hunters 4) Church of Swinetology 5) It's The Pitts 6) Captain Rons Brew'n Q 7) Ma & Pa Kettle 8) Porkrastinators 9) Smokey Joel/Cubby Bear 10) Cancersuckschicago.com Ribs 1) Captain Ron's Brew'n Q 2) Smokey Joel/Cubby Bear 3) Cancersuckschicago.com 4) Church of Swinetology 5) Ma & Pa Kettle 6) Logjammin' BBQ 7) Pappa Hog and the Piglets 8) Dr. Porkenstein 9) Porkrastinators 10) Rib Rockets Pork 1) Cancersuckschicago.com 2) Brew B Q 3) 2 Skinny Cooks 4) Bear Cat Smokers 5) Porkrastinators 6) Cream City Smokers 7) Q U Smokin Krewe 8) Rib Rockets 9) Pigs without Blankets 10) Farmboy BBQ Brisket 1) Doctor Porkenstein 2) Porkrastinators 3) Iowa Smokey D's BBQ 4) Windy City Smokers 5) Cancersuckschicago.com 6) KRE Smokers 7) Church of Swinetology 8) Pigs Without Blankets 9) It's The Pits 10) Pappa Hog and the Piglets Sausage 1) Slug Bug BBQ 2) Pigs Without Blankets 3) Porkrastinators 4) Burnt Food Dude 5) Bear Cat Smokers 6) It's The Pits 7) 2 Skinny Cooks 8) When Pigs Fly 9) Smoke On The Water 10) Smokaholics Dessert 1) Slug Bug BBQ 2) Fat Boys BBQ 3) 2 Skinny Cooks 4) Smoke On The Water 5) Pigs Without Blankets 6) When Pigs Fly 7) Tar Kettle Cookers 8) Bear Cat Smokers 9) Burnt Food Dude 10) Logjammin' BBQ *************************************** Upcoming 2008 Non-Sanctioned/Backyard Contests... (All info & web addresses are posted on http://www.ILBBQS.com -> Contests/Events) ~ October 5, 2008 - Maschhoff Family Pork Farm's Post Oak Pig Roast - Contact: Julie Maschhoff, 7475 State Route 127, Carlyle, IL 62231 - Phone: 618-594-2125 - E-mail: juliem@pigsrus.net **NOTE** This contest is only open to 'local' teams...those teams from Marion, Clinton, and Washington Counties in Illinois. ~ October 11-12, 2008 - The Crossings / Depot BBQ Cook-Off - Contact: Patrick, Mt. Vernon, IL - Phone: 618-316-4711 *************************************** Upcoming 2008 KCBS Contests... (All info & web addresses are posted on http://www.ILBBQS.com -> Contests/Events) ~ October 10-11, 2008 - Central Illinois Bragging Rights - Contact: George Fritz, 136 S. Vine Street, Arthur, IL 61911 - Phone: 217-543-2181 - E-mail: bbq@arthuril.com ~ October 10-11, 2008 - Super City Blues & Ques, Contact: Priscilla Abell, 106 W. 5th Street, Metropolis, IL 62960, Phone: 618-524-1696 Fax: 618-524-2582, Email: metropolisparks@verizon.net ~ October 17-18, 2008 - Barn Burner BBQ @ Lamb's Farm - Contact: Claudia Stevens, 14245 W. Rockland Rd, Libertyville, IL 60048 - Phone: 847-990-3750 ~ Fax: 847-362-0742 - E-mail: crs@lambsfarm.org *************************************** 2008 Free Pass Contest Entries (See http://www.ILBBQS.com/freepass for additional information.) Elk Grove Pass Given at Des Plaines, Illinois Elk Grove Pass Given at Westmont, Illinois Salem Pass Given at Mt. Vernon, Illinois Salem Pass Given at Alma, Illinois Carbondale Pass Given at Salem, Illinois *************************************** 2009 Free Pass Contest Entries (See http://www.ILBBQS.com/freepass for additional information.) Westmont Pass Given at Salem, Illinois Elk Grove Pass Given at Taylorville, Illinois 2008 Elk Grove Pass Given at Mt. Vernon, Illinois 2008 Elk Grove Pass Given at Carbondale, Illinois 2008 Mt. Vernon Pass Given at Salem, Illinois 2008 Salem Pass Given at Elk Grove, Illinois 2009 *************************************** Upcoming Certified BBQ Judge's and Certified Table Captain's Classes... (All info posted on http://www.ILBBQS.com -> BBQ Classes) ~ None Scheduled (That we know of...if you know of an upcoming class, let us know!) *************************************** Upcoming BBQ Cooking Classes... (All info posted on http://www.ILBBQS.com -> BBQ Classes) ~ None Scheduled (That we know of...if you know of an upcoming class, let us know!) *************************************** These stories, and more, can be found online at http://www.ILBBQS.com . Most of the stories online have active links for ease of finding more information...be sure to visit the website for your full ILBBQS experience! If you have a BBQ related news item you would like to share with the group, be sure to send it in! There is an easy-to-use 'Submit News' button on our website at http://www.ILBBQS.com ...use it often! As always, if you have any pictures, stories, news items, comments, suggestions, questions, or ideas, let me know! Carpe 'Que, Jim Rhino