Its a wrap

Thats it folks. The 2011 BBQ season for 3 Eyz BBQ is all done. We finished the year competing in 19 contests, of which we finished in the top 10 a total of 14 times!

What? Want more stats? OK, the team has now competed in 87 contests over just 5 years and have racked up a total of 220 awards with 8 Grand Championships and 8 Reserve Grand Championships.

One might think we are getting tired. Quite the opposite actually. Planning is already underway for the 2012 tour :)

Details to come........

Keystone BBQ Classic

I'm sure our regulars here appreciate my thought provoking and logical posts, which is why you keep coming back for more. So, let me apologize in advance for this one. In regard to our finish in Harrisburg this weekend, I think I said it best on BBQ Pitmasters last year.

"That just Fuc*ing sucks!"

Here's hoping for a better post after the National Championship in Arkansas next weekend. I can tell you that we are coming in hot and ready to cook up some Championship quality BBQ.

Laurel, MD Grand Champions!

3 Eyz BBQ wins the Sam's Club Regional Invitational BBQ contest in Laurel, MD and moves on to compete in the $100,000 National Championship in Bentonville, Arkansas! After a crappy score in chicken (21st), we took 1st in ribs, 8th in pork and 4th in brisket in one of the strongest fields of teams we have ever competed against.

I'd be lying if I didn't say it felt good. But now, gotta get ready for next weeks LONG road trip.

Award Ceremonies & Freudian Slips

I'm going to let you all in on one of my favorite award ceremony activities - paying attention to Freudian slips.

What are they? Well Wikipedia defines them thusly:

A "Freudian slip", is an error in speech, memory, or physical action that is interpreted as occurring due to the interference of some unconscious ("dynamically repressed") wish, conflict, or train of thought.

So how about an example? This past weekend in Hedgesville, WV I knew that Chix Swine and Bovine won the contest after their 2nd place chicken call. How? Easy, the announcer after calling the team up and waiting, said something like "geez, I really wish these repeat winners would just sit closer." Ahhem, at this point, no one was a repeat winner, because the awards just started!

How about another? This same announcer said to my teammate Chris, "its really ok if you don't want to keep coming up to take pictures...". How's that for a signal you didn't win?

Or, yet another. At the Annapolis Maryland contest we won earlier in the year, the announcer asked if we were getting tired walking up for all those awards during our 1st call of the day! A dead give away for sure.

Why does this happen? Well, I'm no psychologist, but I believe the announcers are looking ahead at the results and specifically who won. Armed with this information and the fact that there is down time while competitors walk to get awards, they try and say cute and witty comments to keep the crowds attention. And more often that not, out comes a Freudian slip!

So, enjoy your next awards ceremony and please let me know if you catch any slips!

Calibrating Competition BBQ

So a more thoughtful post today. Your a competition BBQ cook and your having trouble in a category. What do you do? Was it just the judges fault? Did you do something wrong? Or does your food just really suck? No one is going to answer those questions for you, your just going to see your name toward the bottom of the results sheet.

Well, the judges are judges and you can't change what they think or do. So, forget about them.

Did you do something wrong? Well, that for you and your team to analyze. If you did, fix it next time. If you didn't, sounds like its time for a change.

Sounds simple, just change something. Its not, because every change can be positive or negative. And if you change more than one thing, there is no way to know how each individual change impacted the overall dish. Which is why I usually only change one thing at a time. Maybe tweek a sauce, or a rub, or a marinade, or a brine. Then see how each individual change impacts the whole. That usually will get the job done, but requires patience since it may be the 1st change or the 30th that finally gets things dialed in.

Or, if you don't have patience or something is beyond tweeking slowly, just ditch it and change everything. Thats exactly what I did this past weekend. I used a completely different flavor combination, but one that I used in my very first KCBS competition ever. This got us a 6th place call in chicken and you would have thought we won the lottery.

Lets see what next week brings....

Wanted – Future teammate of 3Eyz BBQ competition team

3Eyz BBQ is looking for a full time team member. No experience or money is required, only a love of competition and BBQ. A thirst for Patron and a shunning of Political correctness is preferred but not mandatory. The Candidate will have to endure a 1-year “apprenticeship” and must be able to lift heavy objects, deal with multiple type A personalities, work in hot and/or cold environments, sleep in uncomfortable surroundings, be willing to travel, like Five Finger Death Punch, listen attentively, take criticism and not complain. Duties to include selling rub, doing dishes, changing trash, making boxes, cleaning smokers, and a variety of other support tasks. The Candidate will be mentored and gradually be taught how to cook 3Eyz style competition BBQ and responsibilities will increase over time. After the apprenticeship is successfully completed, the candidate may be asked to officially join the team.

Please submit resume to dan@3eyzbbq.com no later than September 2nd. Serious candidates only please.

Reserve Grand Champions at Bel Air, MD

3Eyz took 1st place in ribs, 3rd in pork and 6th in brisket this weekend and finished 2nd overall out of 61 teams. We have a one week break and then its time for New Holland, PA!

Thanks to Scott Walker for the pic.

A Thank You to Our Customers

3Eyz BBQ just wanted to take a moment to thank all of our customers. Our sales have been steadily increasing and we have even been sold out of rub several times! That, my friends is a good problem to have. These sales would not be possible if all of you were not using the rub and especially passing the word to your favorite retailers and friends. It always makes me smile when we pick up a new retailer due to our customers. So, whoever it was that is responsible for our newest retailer in Mount Airy, MD, please send me an email at dan@3eyzbbq.com. I have a special bonus for you :)

So, to all of you - THANK YOU!

BTW - we are finially getting close to producing our new beef rub. More details soon.

Que and Cruz

Just got back from competing at Que and Cruz in Louisa, VA. As always Bill Small puts on a top notch contest! We did good with a 7th place overall out of 61 teams with a call in ribs (4th) and a call in brisket (10th). Looking forward to hitting Easton next weekend!

**Big congrats to Big Ugly BBQ for a perfect 180 in desert!

6 In a row

Wow - this coming weekend in Frederick, MD will be 6 contests in a row. Thats a lot of work! Results are up on the website, but seems like ribs and pork are hitting, chicken is either 1st or 30th and brisket is also hit or miss. Will it all come together this weekend? Only time will tell .....

Wish us luck!

Annapolis, MD - Grand Champions!

Dan H, Chris and Tracy cooked on the new trailer for the first time, and I'm thinking we'll keep it. It is an awesome addition to the team and helped us walk as Grand Champions at the inaugural Annapolis competiition this weekend. 1st place Chicken, 1st Place ribs and 8th place in Pork and Brisket. I won't lie, it felt good to have everything click again after a dismal Salisbury, MD finish.

Next up, Roc City!

I like it!

Cooked on it for the first time and it feels VERY comfortable. Can't wait for its first comp next weekend. Here is a pic:

And it beats the sh*t out of a canopy! Thanks to Extreme BBQ Trailers for the custom build.

Trailer update

Well Kaiti and I made it back to the East Coast with our new toy, the official 3-Eyz mobile invasion unit. Made by the great folks at Extreme BBQ Trailers, this beast is sure to turn some heads at Annapolis in two weeks. Bringing it to the house today to install some e-track and finally empty my garage (Teri will be so happy). We'll have some graphics applied and it will be ready to rock n' roll! Sorry George, new sound system is also be installed, so it will be louder and more obnoxious................................


Will post some pictures later!

Salisbury, MD

A great start! 5th place ribs out of 116 teams. Pretty nice :) That is until we see the results of the other categories. I mean, when you have to turn to the second page of a results sheet, its never really a good thing. Check out the web page for those double digit numbers.... Rather than get down though, we are already plotting and scheming on how to improve in Annapolis. And with "only" 48 teams there, we have already moved up in the rankings!

Gearing up

Well 3Eyz comp season is almost here. Salisbury, MD is just a couple days away and we are all prepped and ready to roll. We are looking at about 18 competitions this season, so stay tuned!

Update

Uggghh, is it time to start competing yet? No....not yet up here in Maryland. We are busy planning our season and beginning to pay our entry fees though. The schedule is shaping up to be another busy one, but a BIT less than 2010.



Although the competition gear may still be stowed away, trust me, you all are lighting up the rub sales. We've gone out of stock twice in the last couple weeks due to high demand. I'm guessing that there is quite a bit of planning and stocking up going on across the country right now!

So, just wanted to say THANK YOU to all our customers :)

More "off season"

So what are the guys from 3eyz up to? Not much really. I know I've spent more time on the cruise forums lately than BBQ as Tracy and I will be going on our first cruise next month. Chris has getting to know his family again, and Dan Mc has cooked enough BBQ at his restaurant to think about opening a salad bar (I made this up).

Tuesday, the team will be heading for some stress relief at the Music as a Wepon Tour up in Hershey, PA. Can't go wrong with Korn, Disturbed and Sevendust.

And since Little Rock has been postponed, it looks like the off season is extended to April....now where did I put that remote control?.....