As some of you MAY know, Doug and I did a PORK LOIN test cook, at our house; well, it paid off at our first competition since the test cook – 4 PLACE IN PORK LOIN! What do I mean by test cook? We strategically applied four different flavor profiles to four different pork loins. We used standard 5 lb. pork loins, which the Georgia Barbecue Association requires. The flavor profiles included various rubs, sauces, and injections. Upon gathering about a dozen friends and family (NONE of which are certified barbecue judges)- we gave them a crash course in GBA judging rules. We set up our garage as a mock…
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Barbecue at the Fire Ant Festival 2018
It was not the weekend we were hoping for at the Fire Ant Barbecue Festival 2018. Unable to get a call for our barbecue pork, loin, or ribs, we finished 24 out of 42 teams competing. This was our first competition with our new Stump Smoker. The new gravity-fed smoker worked great and kept a consistent temperature for over 14 hours straight. However, our timing was a bit off. We felt our loin was the most tender entry we have ever submitted; even scoring as the best on the table by one judge, and second-best by two other judges; however, it could not compete with Rescue Smokers first place loin. …
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Smokin J’s Barbeque Welcomes Dixie Crystals
Smokin J’s Barbeque welcomes Dixie Crystals as a sponsor to our barbecue family. In professional barbecue competitions, especially in the south, we use a lot of brown sugar and Dixie Crystals are helping us out by providing coupons for us to purchase their pure cane brown sugar, which is a non-GMO product and provides consistently delicious results. They have a wide variety of products: Sugar Shakers Dark Brown Sugar Steviacane Powdered Sugar Free-flowing Sugar Granulated Sugar Light Brown Sugar Why Smokin J’s Barbeque Uses Dixie Crystals Our style of barbecue is on the sweet side; therefore, using a quality brown sugar is crucial to our success. When heated, the…
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Leftover Competition Pork in this Goulash Stew
A goulash is typically a stew made with some sort of protein and seasoned with spices, then cooked for an extended amount of time. Smokin J’s Barbeque keeps the trimmings off our competition meat, for the exception of the fat; bring them home and store them in the deep freezer. Recently, I found TWO, two-gallon zip lock bags in the deep freezer. Frustrated, I decided to develop my own goulash recipe and use one of those 2-gallon bags as my protein. Trim the Meat After thawing the meat, overnight in the refrigerator; I had to trim any remaining fat off the meat. It is difficult to remove ALL the fat.…
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Judging in the Georgia Barbecue Association
If you like lip-licking, delicious barbecue prepared by some of the best competitive pitmasters in the country, then you should consider judging barbecue in the Georgia Barbecue Association. Smokin J’s Barbeque is not only a professional cook team in the GBA, but we are also certified judges, for the association. We learned a tremendous amount during our training, which helped elevate our cooking game. Several opportunities are approaching if you want to become a judge in the GBA. Prerequisites for Being a Judge You probably should love barbecue – lol! Like family-friendly events! Can dedicate a few weekends a year to enjoying fellowship with other barbecue connoisseurs. Class attendees…
