While parts of the country are still thawing from the long winter, we Californians are already out cooking real barbecue. Barbecue author and contest champion Ray Lampe will be teaching his competition secrets this weekeend in San Jose.

If you don’t own a smoker, or are flying in and can’t bring your equipment, other attendees from the California BBQ Association may be able to share space on theirs.

Classes start at noon on Saturday March 10, 20007 and continue through the night to simulate an actual contest timeline. See Eggs By The Bay or DrBBQ.com for more details.

Pulled pork (top) and brisket (bottom)

Pork ribs (top) and chicken (bottom)

The Four Q BBQ team finished its rookie year of competition this past weekend at the Beachside Barbecue contest in the San Diego suburb of Imperial Beach. Following the contest rules set by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, ten teams each submitted entries in four categories: chicken, pork ribs, pork shoulder, and beef brisket. Four Q took top honors in pulled pork, second in brisket, third in chicken, and missed taking second place overall (known in contest jargon as “Reserve Grand Champion”) by a scant four point margin.

It’s been a great year of learning, teamwork, and camaraderie. For that, I’d like to thank my food blogging teammates Big Mista from The Survival Gourmet, Big Lu of The BBQ Junkie and Sylvie from Soul Fusion Kitchen. I’d also like to recognize James Beard Award nominated authors Mike Mills and Amy Mills-Tunnicliffe and their inspiring book about life on the BBQ contest circuit, Peace, Love, & Barbecue. I interviewed the authors, and reviewed the book earlier this year.

Prior to this season, I’d only read about the contest circuit and witnessed the 2000 Memphis in May event as a spectator. I can now say we’ve notched some good results in a handful of contests and note with pride that our rookie team has walked to the awards podium in each contest this year:

BBQ’n at the Autry contest (Los Angeles, CA): fourth place in ribs.
Silent Valley BBQ contest (Banning, CA): second place in brisket, fourth in chicken, fourth in ribs.

Each contest presented different cooking challenges, and that’s part of the fun. Because cooking starts the night before judging, overnight weather conditions greatly affect the fire in the smoker. At the Autry contest in April, we faced temperatures in the high 30 degree range, but no wind. The Banning contest was held on a high desert mountaintop campground at 3500 feet of elevation. The very dry air and altitude made it difficult to keep temperatures low enough, and the meat cooked much faster than expected. At this weekend’s contest just steps away from the beach, overnight temperatures in the high 40’s were below the dewpoint. At 100% relative humidity, water collected on every surface. This wet, cold air combined with a steady breeze made it difficult to hold cooking temperatures hot enough.

If you’ve thought about competing, there’s a number of ways to go about it. Some folks jump right into competition. Others take a more measured approach by assisting teams that’ll take them under their wing. Some take a sanctioned judging class to learn the judging criteria first. Online forums at the California Barbecue Association, Kansas City Barbecue Society, and the BBQ Brethren are places to make your interest known, and find a contest near you. In any case, it takes time and dedication to dial in your cooking technique to meet judges’ expectations, and a substantial amount of smoking equipment to prepare four kinds of meats. For our team, pooling equipment, dividing effort, and good teamwork make solid results possible.

Best of luck if you choose to compete, and say hi to our ragtag team of bloggers if you run into us at your next contest!

Like a dog named Tripod, the Four Q BBQ team’s hobbling to San Diego one man short for the last barbecue contest of our rookie season. We’ll miss the BBQ Junkie and Mrs. Junkie, who’re expecting their first baby. Mazel tov!

The remaining teammates will compete at the California State Championships (no pressure). Come on down and root for us! Saturday morning is the best time for spectators to see the outcome, but please respect the time crunch just before entries are are submitted for judging. Teams begin cooking on Friday evening (usually about 6pm). If you care to see how meats are prepared, that’s a more relaxed time to chat with competitors.

As with any contest, competitors can’t give samples to the general public. I know of at least two solid barbecue restaurant / caterers in San Diego County, so let’s hope the event organizers have secured their services to feed the crowd.

If you’d like to compete, visit the California Barbecue Association.

When: November 10-11, 2006
Contact: Gene Goycochea 619-429-1234, by e-mail: gene@cbbqa.com
Event Information: Imperial Beach Chamber of Commerce 619-424-3151
Where: 800 block of Seacoast Drive at the beach

Imagine the world’s biggest gourmet food store filled with every food curiosity gleaned from all corners of the globe, and you’ve got the Fancy Food Show. This post is part one of my belated report from the show floor, and features several audio podcasts of my interviews with vendors.

Need olive oil? Try a hundred varieties from all over the world and meet the people who make them. Cheeses? UK and American cheesemakers had their own pavilions, never mind cheesemakers from the rest of the world. Hot sauces and prepared salsas? I sampled and sweated my way through several dozen varieties at a special tasting pavilion.

Pickled asparagus? Exotic spices? Minted water? Yerba maté lattes? Weatherproof backpacker’s chocolate? Venezuelan beaver cheese? This is where gourmet shops, high end supermarkets, specialty retailers and the media find out about new “fancy” food items, whatever that means.

Invented by an outdoorsman who wanted chocolate on hot weather hikes, Backpacker’s Gourmet Chocolate is a fudge-like chocolate bar sealed in coloful wax, and has survived 120° F desert heat. Click here to hear the story of its invention.

Nirmala’s Kitchen displayed spices and specialty seasonings gathered from its founder’s travels around the globe. Nirmala Narine’s upcoming cookbook documents street foods from exotic locales. Look for an interview with Nirmala in the near future.

Taking a convenient, if preprocessed approach to spicing one’s food is Flavormagic. Spice blend sheets are applied to food with the help of a plastic backing, which is peeled off prior to cooking. While I can see the benefits of this product, it completely sucks the joy out of parroting Emeril. “Bam?” I think not.

Many vendors produce products under private label to their clients in addition to selling under their own brand. Williams & Bennett displayed cookies, pretzels and other chocolate creations. Above: chocolate covered Oreo cookies screened to look like high end truffles. Below: Oreos and pretzels covered in chocolate

Dozens of chocolatiers showed their products, and I spoke with several of them to ask about their products for Valentine’s Day. Moonstruck Chocolates displayed specialized in adorable animal shaped chocolates. Above: Barnyard animals. Below: Baby piglets

Click to listen to an interview with Angie Galimanis of Moonstruck Chocolates. She shares her thoughts on Godiva, the 800 pound gorilla of luxury chocolate’s move into the ultra high end of the handmade truffle market. Below: More of Moonstruck’s whimsical truffles.

Click here to listen to Justin Taft of Neuhaus Chocolates. He spoke with me about the seasonal nature of chocolate sales in the US, and also about the growing high end segment of single estate chocolates. Like single malt scotch distillers, artisan growers produce cacao beans with distinct flavors unique to that grower’s land. Soil, climate, altitude, even the shade under which the trees grow all contribute unique flavors and aromas to the final product made with beans from a single estate.