It is a beautiful day in Santa Rosa, California. The weather is perfect to enjoy barbeque and a glass of local wine. Ms. Goofy and I will partake in the grape but will have to wait till after our judging duties. Today there are 26 teams competing in the KCBS sanctioned contest. The four meat categories will be represented but there will be two auxiliary categories. This will be lamb and pork belly. Did somebody mention pork belly? Now this will be my kind of category. The pork belly turn in at our table included a crostini covered with “BLT” toppings with a cheese stuffed pepper, braised belly, and a pizza with spicy Asian flavored pork belly. This was very tough to judge because I loved them all.
Wine Country Big Q is held at a private High School in the
foothills of Santa Rosa . This venue
is beautiful with a view of the valley. There is plenty of room to browse the
different booths offering wine and food. Local vintners have booths set up to
sample their different offerings of wine.
A custom chuck wagon
made for a unique and fun grill. ‘Vic Chicks’ were offering Tri-tip cooked in a
custom smoker that originated from “Trader Vic’s”. The ‘Clampers’ were even
represented today. I never associated E. Clampus Vitus with wine but what do I
know.
Today’s Grand Champion was the team of ‘R & R’ barbeque.
Congratulation! This was another great day of barbeque. A couple of glasses of
fermented grape was the icing on the cake. Thanks to Judy Groverman Walker for
putting together a wonderful event. We are looking forward to next year.
‘AND NOW FOR
SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT”
‘The Bacon Takedown’ will be held today at 2:00 pm in San Francisco at the Public Works. This will be an opportunity for you to be a judge in a cooking competition. Bacon is the main ingredient. Bacon tamales, bacon candy, bacon sushi and anything you can imagine will be offered. Your admission ticket will allow you to sample all the entries. You know Ms. Goofy and I will be there.
Bacon Takedown
Public Works
161 Erie St.
San Francisco, Ca. 94102
Looks like a lot of delicious fun.
ReplyDeleteZoomie it was a delicious weekend.
ReplyDeleteGolly this post makes me hungry! Great weather/great food.Winner-winner pork belly dinner!
ReplyDeleteI saw a picture of a bacon burger, made entirely from ground bacon. Urp.
ReplyDeleteGreg, The BaconTakedown the next day was another food extravaganza. Stay tuned.
ReplyDeleteCookiecrumb, I may have saw the same picture on the World Wise Web. Was it from a restaurant from down south? We have made a mixture of beef and bacon with stellar results.
Chilebrown, I have been reading your blog. I think you have a great "taste" in most of your foods. I was very interested in your making bacon. I was also wondering if you still use your Smokenator 1000 and if you have used it to smoke bacon yet.
ReplyDeleteHello Jes Warner, I just made some bacon and will have a post soon. I did not use the Smokenator 1000 this time. The Smokenator would of worked perfectly fine but i had a big batch.
ReplyDeleteYes, I still use the Smokenator 1000.
Jes Warner, Do I smell a virtual challenge? I will cook a rack of pork ribs on the Smokenator 1000 versus your rack of ribs.
ReplyDeleteI read a lot of grumbling among competitors that they have to make their sauces and glazes so sweet.
ReplyDeleteDo you find this to be the case in your judging?
Greg,I know that there are different tastes for different regions. You do not see vinegar sauces here on the West Coast. We are taught to judge the meat.It is a meat contest.The sauce should compliment and not overpower. We all have our preferences. I personally do not like super sweet sauces. Competitors grumble and cuss at us judges all the time unless they win.
ReplyDeleteChilebrown, I would love to have a virtual cookoff with you but I have only a Brinkman gas grill and a E.C.B smoker. The smoker i can't seem to keep control of temp. I should be getting my new Weber Charcoal grill today and I will soon order my Smokenator 1000. I can't wait. I'm as giddy as a school girl.
ReplyDelete