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I’m on a mission to prove you can rock it (or at least feel like you’re rockin it) over 40!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

BBQ Tournament

Believe it or not, I did not eat out anywhere last week. I apologize my foodie friends if you feel let down. However, I was preparing all week for a barbecue tournament with trophy and all. Five of us met in the driveway with our grills and started a Boston butt at 10 in the morning. The object was to have the most delicious pulled pork plated and presented to a panel of judges who would then pick apart our hard work and give it a score.

If you haven't done this yet, you must do it! Even if you can't grill, volunteer to be a judge. Just DO NOT EVER under any circumstances be a judge when your spouse is cooking. This never ends well. Your damned if you do and damned if you don't pick your spouses food over the other contestants. Can you tell I've been in this situation before?

The way we do it is fairly simple. For every 5 pounds of meat cooked you can invite approximately 7-8 people to come eat it. We usually have anywhere from 4 to 5 cooks and about 20 or more people to eat it. Anyone who doesn't grill brings a side dish.

Find individuals that are not related to you and not picky eaters to judge. You should have an odd number of judges to lessen the risk of a tie. Pick a meat, an average amount such as 5 pounds of meat per person, and a time you can start and when to plate. If you want to set up specific ground rules make sure everyone gets a copy before the big day (I know Justin...no Walmart BBQ sauce ever again). Then stand around and make fun of each other's cooking throughout the day while playing some baggo or cornhole. Have a couple of beers or glasses of wine, but be careful you don't let it affect your grilling skills.

When it is time to plate, send your judges somewhere to another room or to the garage to score the meat while everyone else eats and awaits the results. This is a fun all day event for the chefs and everyone seems to enjoy the competition. Great idea for a long weekend.

By the way...I didn't win, but I still had fun.

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