And So It Begins...
I smoked meat twice this weekend. Chicken thighs on Friday night, pulled pork on Sunday. But these smokes were different. They officially marked the beginning of my Five Year Plan (FYP). You are correct, sir. I have a five year plan that culminates with competing in the American Royal Open Meats cook off. You might fancy me a dork for such ambitions, but I figure I deserve it. The last 5 years have been filled with all types of lofty goals that are serious in nature, and the next few seem to have a number of those as well. So we need something light and fun. And delicious. Like meat.
So, here it is. My FYP...
Currently - Smoke as much meat as possible. I started a journal in a 5 subject notebook to chronicle the developments. I have sections for pork, chicken, brisket, ribs and rub. The way I see it, meat smoking is part science. The right mix of spices. The right timing. You have to make the controllable variables work to your advantage. you can't make the same mistakes over and over again. So, I am now taking copious notes each time I smoke in order to master the science of smoking.
Spring 2008 - Study meat. Take the KCBS Certified Judges course. Upgrade my equipment. I'm still smoking on my rookie setup. Stacy got it for $4 at a garage sale, and it's been great to start out with. However, the Brinkman Smoke'N'Grill isn't ideal for large cuts of meat. You can't really regulate its temp that well, and it's small. Now, I don't need anything huge. Right now I'm thinking about going for the Weber Smoky Mountain cooker, but I might change my mind over the next 8 months or so.
Spring 2008 - Spring 2010 - Smoke as much as possible. Get a team together. I figure my Meat Day partner and my father-in-law would both be on my smoking team. We would probably want to pick up another person or two. If you are interested, you should let me know. It would also be nice to find some generous soul or corporation to sponsor us, but probably not necessary.
Fall 2010 - Enter a smaller competition. Just to get our feet wet and get our stuff in order.
Spring 2011 - Enter another smaller competition, followed by the Great Lenexa BBQ in June. Lenexa serves as the State Championship for Kansas, so it would be a good cook to get involved in.
Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 - Another competition smoke.
June 2012 - Our return to Lenexa. It will be the last hurrah before we set sail for The Royal. By this time we should be a well-oiled machine. Ready to rumble. Ready to roll.
You never get anywhere without a plan. Thus, my FYP. Perhaps one of the best plans ever, at least when you consider the end result. You can rest assured of frequent updates to the plan in this space.
Fair Dinkum
So, here it is. My FYP...
Currently - Smoke as much meat as possible. I started a journal in a 5 subject notebook to chronicle the developments. I have sections for pork, chicken, brisket, ribs and rub. The way I see it, meat smoking is part science. The right mix of spices. The right timing. You have to make the controllable variables work to your advantage. you can't make the same mistakes over and over again. So, I am now taking copious notes each time I smoke in order to master the science of smoking.
Spring 2008 - Study meat. Take the KCBS Certified Judges course. Upgrade my equipment. I'm still smoking on my rookie setup. Stacy got it for $4 at a garage sale, and it's been great to start out with. However, the Brinkman Smoke'N'Grill isn't ideal for large cuts of meat. You can't really regulate its temp that well, and it's small. Now, I don't need anything huge. Right now I'm thinking about going for the Weber Smoky Mountain cooker, but I might change my mind over the next 8 months or so.
Spring 2008 - Spring 2010 - Smoke as much as possible. Get a team together. I figure my Meat Day partner and my father-in-law would both be on my smoking team. We would probably want to pick up another person or two. If you are interested, you should let me know. It would also be nice to find some generous soul or corporation to sponsor us, but probably not necessary.
Fall 2010 - Enter a smaller competition. Just to get our feet wet and get our stuff in order.
Spring 2011 - Enter another smaller competition, followed by the Great Lenexa BBQ in June. Lenexa serves as the State Championship for Kansas, so it would be a good cook to get involved in.
Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 - Another competition smoke.
June 2012 - Our return to Lenexa. It will be the last hurrah before we set sail for The Royal. By this time we should be a well-oiled machine. Ready to rumble. Ready to roll.
You never get anywhere without a plan. Thus, my FYP. Perhaps one of the best plans ever, at least when you consider the end result. You can rest assured of frequent updates to the plan in this space.
Fair Dinkum