Time to let the pig out of the bag...

[Luckylies]

Fine Swine?

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ooh I like!

[Bueno]

I'm thrilled!

See, it could also relate to the fact that you're a lady (the "Fine") part. Think of a sexy lookin' pig in heels as your logo.

[Luckylies]

Wow.. Awesome Emma.. We will be rooting for you.. What exactly are you cooking.. Shoulder or ribs, or what?  I want to hear more about this, do you have all the details.. Team names.. "Bright Lights Pig City"  Do something playing on the Big Apple.. "Pig Apple Players".. New York City or New Pork City or New Pork Piggy, I dont know..  I find the name of the teams so funny..  I think people pick team names the way they name porn movies.. They take movies and add pig names instead of sex.. Like the Hogfather, or Porkanators, or Hog Wars.

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So here's the thing, I wont know what I'm cooking, each day there'll be a short cook, medium cook and long cook. I be facing off against two other teams. They just throw your meat at you and give you a turn in time. I think some of this stuff is going to be pretty cuttting edge.. I'm working on a 5 hr brisket right now. I'm making a point of standardizing my recipes so that my team members can actually do some somthin' other than baking in the reno sun...

We're allowed to bring 5 extra ingredients other than the 100 or so pantry staples. One of them will be gefilte fish

[Luckylies]

Congratulations!!!!

The Virtual Weber Bullet has a forum section devoted to competition:

http://tvwbb.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/frm/f/7980069052

From what I have read in the past they have been very generous with their suggestions. What are the categories (pork ribs, beef brisket, chicken.....)?

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Need help?

Try these websites

BBQ Forum

Kansas City BBQ Society

Jerry & Linda from Pig Daddy's teach classes in judging BBQ contests.

I believe their email is pigdaddy@pigdaddysbarbecue.com

They are as gregarious & generous as anyone you'll ever meet and as far as helping you with a NY bad ass name, anybody who has a menu item called "Mother Trucker" would probably have no trouble helping you with that.

If you're willing to NY Times register, they were written up here.

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These websites are really helping with my learning curve!

Today is 5 hr brisket, more sauce testing, more rub testing. As you can see, I'm taking this from a part test kitchen mode (my other job) and part gung-ho ninja bbq mode-- both of which I specialize in. I'm working at my dad's house for the next few weeks as, it's bigger, cooler, and the smoker is on the same level as the apt (mine is five flights down--and up) It's a sweet apt and the kitchen is 1,000000000 times nicer than mine. For example, right now I have 5 briskets, 2 shoulders, 2 butts,7 lbs chicken thighs, 5 racks of ribs, and a whole chicken divided between the freezer and the fridge- I just couldn't do that at my place.

I've decided on a team name Notorious P.I.G. For a while it was in contest with Piggie smalls and Blue state bbq...but it seems most people think it funny and cute, and says a little about me. I'm still looking for teammates, and it's really not as easy as you'd think, most people have real lives and responsibilities other than winning 'cue comps. I think everything will work out though.

I'm going to try to post pictures of my setup to give you guys an idea what I'm working with.

Please keep the ideas coming tips, techniques anything!!!!

[Daniel]

right now I have 5 briskets, 2 shoulders, 2 butts,7 lbs chicken thighs, 5 racks of ribs, and a whole chicken

Yah.. Thats a nice little stash you got over there..

Love the name.. Notorious P.I.G.. Love Piggy Smalls too.. "Piggy smalls is the illiest".. Looking forward to seeing this set up you have over there..

Edited August 5, 2006 by Daniel (log)

[docsconz]

This is indeed very cool, Emma and I wish you the best of luck.

"Notorious P.I.G." is a great name, although I loved "Fine Swine" as well.

How is it that you got selected for this show in the first place? I would love to hear what was involved.

[Allen]

I was going to suggest the name...

BBQ: NY

With the same font, color and graphics as the CSI television series.

[Bueno]

Notorious P.I.G is a great name!

Now if there's a 2Pork Shakur in the competition, you can restart the old East-Coast/West-Coast hip-hop rivalrie of the 90's!

[woodburner]

I'm in the camp of

Crib Pig for a team name or

The Pig Crib, as bbq joint name

woodburner

[Sneakeater]

Notorious P.I.G. is the greatest possible name.

Maybe Piggie Smalls could be your nomme de grille.

[markovitch]

please don't defile the names of the 2 greatest hip hop artists the world has ever known. i'm begging you.

If you want to make a hip hop reference, at least poke fun at an artist who makes puns.

[Sneakeater]

I think Christopher Wallace would have been very surprised to hear that Notorious B.I.G. and Biggie Smalls were two of the greatest hip hop artists the world has ever known.

[Daniel]

I think he was also referring to 2Pork Shakur..Which by the way I still find hysterical.. I think Biggie would be into it.. He did "spread the butter lyrics over hominy grit" But, 2Pac I dont think dined on the swine..

Edited August 7, 2006 by Daniel (log)

[Luckylies]

Today is 5 hr brisket, more sauce testing, more rub testing. As you can see, I'm taking this from a part test kitchen mode

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Oh, well this turned out terrible. Really effin bad. I think I started too hot (300f) even though I used injections and then foil. Beef jerkey. I saved some to flavor beans or whatever but it was so tough and inedible it was a true failure. I had never made a bad brisket before, I'm glad to know at least my standart technique is solid. I'll be trying the quick brisket again, though. I'm thinking 250F for two hours then in the bag (foil) with juice at 350 for three. Crisp on the grill. This could still suck but I've gotta learn somehow, and nobody's giving up the competition secrets too easily.

This is indeed very cool, Emma and I wish you the best of luck.

"Notorious P.I.G." is a great name, although I loved "Fine Swine" as well.

How is it that you got selected for this show in the first place? I would love to hear what was involved.

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I got selected to the show when one of the producers thought I would add something funny and convinced me to let him send a tape to the casting company. I guess I got in by the skin of my teeth. Every wildcard last year lost. I dont want to go down like that, but I'm really having a hard time getting a team together. My old collegues from Cafe Gray are all still working their butts off, and everybody eithout a summer job has no clue about bbq at all. All I really need are cooks who know something about food, as I'm now standardizing the recipes, it's tough, and it's alot of time and money to let slide through my fingers without at least making a real serious commitment. I'm going for the experiance---but I'm also going to win.

please don't defile the names of the 2 greatest hip hop artists the world has ever known.  i'm begging you. 

If you want to make a hip hop reference, at least poke fun at an artist who makes puns.

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Not poking fun...sampling.

[markovitch]

I think he was also referring to 2Pork Shakur..Which by the way I still find hysterical.. I think Biggie would be into it.. He did "spread the butter lyrics over hominy grit" But, 2Pac I dont think dined on the swine..

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well, Method Man said that, but it was on a Biggie Track.

please don't defile the names of the 2 greatest hip hop artists the world has ever known. i'm begging you.

If you want to make a hip hop reference, at least poke fun at an artist who makes puns.

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Not poking fun...sampling.

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[woodburner]

If your using a WSM to cook brisket in 5 hours, best thing to do is pull out the water pan, and cook it direct, over live coals. Cook over direct heat until 165ºf wrap in foil, add beef stock, some salt and pepper with some butter to the foil packet, unwrap at about 195º and continue cooking direct until 205ºf. Should not dry out using that method, since that's how they basically cook it on live coal pits most parts of Texas, sans the foil.

woodburner

[Luckylies]

If your using a WSM to cook brisket in 5 hours, best thing to do is pull out the water pan, and cook it direct, over live coals. Cook over direct heat until 165ºf wrap in foil, add beef stock, some salt and pepper with some butter to the foil packet, unwrap at about 195º and continue cooking direct until 205ºf. Should not dry out using that method, since that's how they basically cook it on live coal pits most parts of Texas, sans the foil.

woodburner

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That's practically what I did!!!! I smoked at 300f at the top grate until 165, wrapped, added liquid and smoke/braised until it hit 195 then I unwrapped it to try to re-crust it. it was terrible. it never 'sagged' or relaxed there was just no conversion. it went strainght from meat to jerkey. Also I injected this one first and trimmed it.

Could the trimming have been the problem? I never trim, but I know that at competitions nobody serves their meat with lots of fat on it. Perhaps I over-trimmed.

I'm going to try again, but this time no trimming, and I'm going to ramp the heat up from 250. Think that'll work?

[lcdm]

Sorry to hear about your brisket troubles, wish I could help but I have trouble making brisket the low and slow way. Did make some really great chicken, used thighs and wings, smoked for a couple hours using apple and cherry wood (no water pan, temps were around 325-350) finished off last half hour with a chipolte raspberry glaze.

I have never seen this show so I googeled around, in one episode they made the participants make their own grills out of cinder blocks.

[woodburner]

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[Luckylies]

In all honesty I'm not sure what went wrong, last time. Did you have the water pan out? I would not trim anything off, and cook fat side toward the fire, during the initial cook. Are you cooking just the Flat end of the brisket? Bottom line is that 5 hours is a short amount of time as you already know and will be difficult to produce a decent product, in my opinion.

woodburner

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I may have trimmed it too much. I'm also going to cut down to just the flat now. And try again.

[Amy M-T]

You are going to have a terrific time filming this show! Chris Lilly (the host) and John Markus (producer) are top-notch. My dad judged one of the episodes last year.

The National Barbecue News forum is a great group of helpful people. There are some forum members in the NYC area so perhaps you could get some personal assistance.

There are also a number of barbecue teams in the area. You could check on the New England Barbecue Society and perhaps get some local names of people who might want to be on your team. Another option is to look for people who are already in Nevada or California.

Good luck!

Amy Mills Tunnicliffe

[Bobby 2 Shakes]

And don't miss Bobby Flay's throwdown Thursday night. Butch Lupinetti from Butch's Smack Your Lips BBQ is going to be on. From the looks of him, I wonder if he's related to that serial-killer looking maplejack from the Quebec No Reservations episode. He certainly seems to have the menacing psychotic-sounding outburst thing mastered.

[Luckylies]

I've got a team!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll be meeting my team (two Kansas city boys, I went to Culinary school with) in Reno in less than two weeks!!!! Damn I'm excited, and nervous! wheeeeeeeee....

still no dice on the brisket.... but thighs are good, and butt.

[lcdm]

I've got a team!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll be meeting my team (two Kansas city boys, I went to Culinary school with) in Reno in less than two weeks!!!! Damn I'm excited, and nervous! wheeeeeeeee....

still no dice on the brisket.... but thighs are good, and butt.

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Thats great to hear. Maybe you should experiment (if you haven't already) with some less common things (meatloaf, fish, cheese, veggies, dessert).

I'm very excited for you, good luck!

[Luckylies]

I did some meatloaf over the weekend... it was excellent, and perfectly glazed Shoulders in the smoker now (for a friends wedding party) wagu beef sometime later in the week...