Gastro Hounds: What is Good in Life? BBQ

Not all nourishment is consumed. For better or for worse, we are more complex than yeast cells. Humans require that which nurtures the soul, though there are times when all one wants is to just consume sugar and fart CO2. The past 2 months have been like that. I would make and excellent yeast cell.
Attending to matters of hearth and home has consumed much of my time of late but I’ve kept busy. At the top of my list of was to take part in the Guys Can Cook Too competition. Last year’s disappointment of having to back out at the last moment still rankled. I needed to face that demon, slay it, and dance on its corpse singing “hallelujah!”.
This year’s plan was the same as last year’s: pulled pork that would be paired with my Char B Q sauce. Instead of the usual cole slaw accompaniment, I went with a balsamic onion marmalade. I liked the sweet/sour play of the marmalade but it also adhered better to the portion.
The competition was set for May 14th, which allowed for a dry run opportunity to allow me to dial in my sauce and the smoking of the meat. The dry run was a success and I set myself busy to being preparing for an event that would require a minimum of 400 1-2 oz servings. I would smoke just over 40 pounds of pork shoulder and produce about a gallon of Char B Q sauce for the event. I gave the pork shoulder the full competition treatment: a generous coating of my dry rub, a flavor injection consisting of a mixture of apple juice and dry rub, and while cooking, an occasional vinegar mop of apple juice, lemon juice and a touch of vinegar. Gastro Pup was to be my sous chef and our main goal was to have fun, enjoying some prime daddy/daughter time. That soon went out the window as the event picked up steam and we began to get a steady stream of positive feedback. After a couple of other guests came back and made a big deal about how they were voting for us, well then we were all in and got serious about our task. At our busiest, we dished out 375 servings in just over an hour, and never kept anyone waiting. The most difficult challenge would be plating. My research on the event showed that one should be prepared to serve up to 600 servings within a 3 hour window. My research would prove correct. We were plating servings (and getting votes) right up to the end, others ran out early - some painfully so. At the end of the day, we didn’t win, but the exposure and the incredible amount of positive feedback was fantastic. Couldn’t have wished for better. We accomplished what we set out to do. No small feat in that I was working on 2.5 hours sleep after having worried my smokers all night. Gastro Pup was quite tired too, her Friday evening having been a night of some energy expenditure.
And now a word on some of the food the professional s brought:
1. Charlie Palmer of Dry Creek Kitchen was there doing caviar on warm blini and crème fraiche.
2. John Ash & Co. turned out killer rabbit tourine – my fave the for the night.
3. Johnny Garlic’s was there doing pulled pork, wouldn’t ya know. We kicked their butts! They kept their roast pork hot in braising liquid which totally changed the character of the meat. Epic fail!
4. Oyster Girls shucking some tasty bivalves. Best thing: our table was 5 feet from theirs. Nice!
5. The many wineries pouring some very nice offerings.
6. The culinary crew of Santa Rosa Junior College how not only saw to it that we had everything we needed but also put out a very nice buffet for those taking part. They must have known, because I didn’t realize that I hadn’t eaten in 24 hours.

Another nice aspect was the involvement of kids in the competition. A special youth category was established and next to us was a boy who would go on to win the youth category with a very fresh and lively crevice. The entire event was so well organized and executed; I’m conflicted about whether I want to take part in next year’s competition or just buy my ticket and soak up the fun. It’s that good, so definitely put this on your calendar.