HavaBBQ 2011...Part One

We had a great weekend that started by taking off on Thursday afternoon.  We realized we wouldn't make early check-in but we would be there first thing Friday morning.  We met up of friends from R&R, McFrankenboo, and IAB30 at Barley's, wanted something to eat but the kitchen closed at 9pm.  Toto, we're not in Las Vegas anymore.  lol  We ended up at Denny's. 

Early check in got off to a slightly late start but we found our spot and set up quickly.  The event was held at a great location at a park right on the water.  Grass area was level and easy to get into.  There were ten teams from Nevada and 4 of them were on our row. 

Friday was really enjoyable and relaxed.  We visited with other teams, met new people, Timm enjoys talking with people about BBQ and the axe handles on the pit are great conversation starters. 

We even hooked up with one of Crystal's craft friends, Kathy and her hubby, David that moved to Havasu a few years ago.  We enjoyed the music of Chuck E Bumps for a while as well.  The boys drove in after work Friday night to help with this event.  We really enjoyed having them there and the extra hands were welcomed.  We did manage to get a couple of hours sleep before starting about 3am. 

Rock Springs AZ Competition

Trailhound Smokers decided to compete in the Rock Springs BBQ competition at the last minute...well 4 days. That's last minute for us around here, our events are normally more planned out than that. However, IMBBQA.com offered up half the entry fee to the first team to respond and we took advantage of it.

This time around Cassy, our mascot and my dad came with us. It was really nice to spend some quality time with Dad...and he enjoys BBQ and intrigued by the whole competition thing. After a couple of stops, we were the last team to arrive. We set up next to our friends with R&R BBQ, got meat inspected, hit the cook's meeting, and got our site set up. Timm was itching to get things going.

Plans called for the pits to fire up at 3am with meat going on shortly after for the long cooks of brisket and pork. Although the weather was pleasant, the night was chilly. We can't wait till it warms up a bit more for contests...it will make night shifts and make-shift sleeping much more comfortable. The newly insulated firebox on the pit worked really well as was much more efficient, using less wood than before.

This was the first sanctioned contest for the Barbeque Championship Series, although Mike and his crew are experts at hosting BBQ events. They did a fabulous job...as always. This contest also featured a Tailgate Contest to see who's booth had the best food, theme, and spirit. Congrats to McFrankenboo for winning 1st place in the Tailgate portion of the contest! Erin is a spunky, spirited and enthusiastic person...of course, Shamus helps too.

Our goal was to place mid-pack in the list of 27 teams. We were shocked and astounded when we received 3 calls...4th in chicken, 5th in pork, and 7th in ribs. We were even more excited and shocked when we place 3rd overall! WOW! Who da thunk it?! Holy cow, that's a big trophy. There was even prize money to boot. Big thanks to R&R BBQ for their guidance and friendship. With their help, they really need to take credit for the pork entry.  P.S....We love our East Texas Smoker.

Thanks goes out to my Dad for selling taster's choice. He really seemed to enjoy chatting with folks and several people came back for 2nd and 3rds. Fortunately, we recovered out meat costs with this which was a goal of ours.

There are folks we'd like to thank and give credit. Mike and the AZBBQ team for another great event. Rock Springs Cafe for hosting the event. Intermountain BBQ Association (IMBBQA) for offering up 50% of entry fees. R&R BBQ (Rod and Roger) for their friendship, mentoring, and guidance. My dad for coming with us, selling taster's choice, and for being an all around great guy. My cousin, Karen and her family in Chino Valley for letting us crash at their place on Saturday night.