Kosher Blog

BS”D

You should be matzliach! Smoking a whole brisket on a Webber? Admittedly, I’ve tasted some fine BBQ from Webbers, but it ain’t easy to fit a brisket on and still have room for coals and smokewood to the sides. I’m very jealous, though. Tell me how it turns out.

BS”D

After reading the handbook, I’m unclear about when outdoor cooking can begin. The cookers will be out there Saturday night, but will the rabbi be available all night for temidis? The implication is that outdoor cooking won’t begin until Sunday morning, but that provides only a minimal time for cooking the ribs, and not enough time for the brisket, which would mean indoor precooking in a normal oven in the shul, which could be problematic if there were many teams, even though it can begin as early as Thursday. If I were a team member, I’d want to see some clarification. Ideally, of course,one could get the packer-cut brisket on the smoker by about a couple of hours after Shabbos, so by 1:30 pm Sunday, it will be pretty nicely done.

Craig: I had your exact concerns, originally. The purists may balk at it, but in reality no “barbecuing” is going to be going taking place, at least not for the briskets. Because of the time restrictions, the teams are actually grilling or roasting (possibly smoke-roasting) their briskets - although I understand that some of the teams do pre-cook their briskets in the shul kitchen.

There have been teams that were annoyed by that, but the focus of the competition has always been to enjoy yourself, the festival and to cook the best food you can. It’s a celebration of the Jewish-Memphis culture and community.

It seems that even in BBQ-country, kosher BBQ is a rarity. :)

Craig: Although I think that smoking a whole brisket in a Weber kettle grill is an impossibility, I was informed that I could start cooking as early as I wanted, once the grills were out. I didn’t even think about the Rabbi needing to be there overnight, so I guess it’s really not an option.

There should be more than enough time during the morning to smoke a few slabs of ribs, though. I want to practice my recipes, but I’m having a hard time buying back-ribs in NYC. They keep insisting I buy the rib-roast, too.

BS”D

First of all, maybe the rabbi or his representative will be available all night, in which case maybe you could smoke a brisket, at least a small one, perhaps beginning in the wee hours- I just defrosted a 7 pounder, well under my normal 12, but I can have it ready for Shabbos without staying up all night, and have enough meat for a meal for my family. But of course, if outdoor cooking begins at 7am, forget about even smoking a small one for the duration of the cooking. But if the ovens are available, I’d go for it for some precooking and finishing on the smoke. As to slabs of back ribs, why not go for it with the standing rib roasts, then cut the eye roast out leaving plentiful meat on the ribs? Then order a few standing rib roasts from the shul and do the same! They’ll love the extra-meaty bones, and you can probably haul the eye meat back with you and have a few decent meals out of the deal. Expensive, yes, but you’re already paying $125 for the team’s entry, and transportation and room in Memphis. What’s a couple hundred bucks more?

Because I care so deeply about the success of my kosherblog posting friends, I am personally offering Jabbett my services as a taste tester for any and all BBQ trial runs that he conducts at his home.

Am I a hero? No… hero is too strong a word - I’m just a guy.

From reading the rules, it looks like only the judges get to eat the BBQ, everyone else has to buy food from the sisterhood. Am I reading right? Otherwise I may look for an excuse to go down to TN in October.

Craig: The shul has access to good back ribs - it’s here in NYC that I’m having problems. You can choose quantity of briskets and ribs, not specific cuts. It’s my first time entering - let me get the lay of the land this year, and for the 20th annual BBQ I can blow them away.

Howard: Ay, there’s the rub (pun intended). Jabbett has conceded the meat cookery to me and declared that the boy from Beantown will handle our BBQ bean entry. :)

JDMDad: The Sisterhood is the only one who can sell food, but any team can give away food. Also, I understand that the Sisterhood’s food is pretty darn good.

Beans? Now I just feel teased…

As a native Memphian (stuck in the North East), I can tell you it’s worth the trip. The Sisterhood sells great BBQ chicken, and pulled BBQ beef sandwiches. They blow Dougies’ away! It’s fun to watch people after Shabbos grabbing one of the 40 + grills inside the Shul. Memphis is a great town, you should check out Beale St.
and take a trolley ride downtown which gives you a nice view of the Mississippi river.

To all you would-be contestants: You must arrange for an evening prior to the Sunday competition…either Thurs or Sat.evenings…At this time, you will prepare your brisket, ribs or beans for cooking on Sunday, the day of the competition..Cooking begins on Sunday 8:30a.m. or earlier, you should have enough time to complete your cooking prior to the judging…I have participated in 18 of the contests..lots of fun, a lot to experience, and Southern hospitality in Memphis…Elvis lives! Y’all come!

For those closer to the midwest, Gross Schechter Day School’s 15th Annual Totally Kosher Rib Burn Off takes place on Monday, September 3rd at the school in Pepper Pike (Cleveland), Ohio. Over 2,000 people attend. There are about 15 rib teams, as well as chicken, hot dogs, wings, veggies, desserts, etc., games and rides for the kids. All parts of the community participate, including Reform, Conservative and Orthodox shuls. All pre-cooking is done at the school; all grills and utentsils are owned by the school. The event is under the supervision of the school’s Rabbi/Headmaster. You can go the school’s web site (www.grossschechter.org) and look for the Rib Burn Off (RBO) link or call them at 216-763-1400 for more info.

B”H

As another former Memphian stuck in the northeast, all this talk about ASBEE’s BBQ contest is making me hungry!!! :) Wish I could join y’all this year. Regards to Dr. Weinstein and everyone in Mphs. who remembers me and Adam!

wow this sound awsome im deff going to try and make it this year to check it out and root for the kosherblog team but i am alittle disapointed that you cant start saterday night cuz i actully smoked a 10lb brisket it took 12 hours and was incredible it had the pink ring around the edge so they just have to change up the rules for next year maybe you can do it any ways not for the compt. just to give out to the crowd and then that would get the public opinion you need to adjust the cooking time they give you just a though!

We here at our little Shul are very excited to have you all coming to Memphis for our 19th BBQ. Not bad from a few guys out in the parking lot cooking briskets and beef ribs. This year looks to be the biggest, with as many as 40 teams, so the cometition is that much more heated. I know that you guys and the team from Nashville have been practicing. That team is led by the former BarBQue Evangelist, Michael Attias, who spent many years in the BBQ business and couldn’t understand how he did not place in his first year of competition. However his team’s Booth, did win an award, so don’t forget that Booth (not necessarily a Sukkah) is also a part of the cometition as is your team’s name. We look forward to having many of you down either to compete or just schmooz, so that we can show you Southern Hospitality.

I’m not exactly sure how we can manage to bring decorations for a booth on the plane.
Since I’ve never attended this (or any) competition before, I’m viewing this event as learning the ropes before my entry into the 20th annual BBQ. :)

You could ship some things, if you like, UPS or our local favorite FedEx. You’ll be provided a table and a couple of chairs, along with the 2 grills, so anything else you’re on your own for. We’ll work on getting some pictures of booths from past years to give you an idea. Some groups are pretty sparce and “let their cooking do the talking” and some are very elaborate (though their cooking may be suspect) LOL! ;)

Does anyone know for certain if cooking is permitted during the prep time or is that just for seasoning/marinating? Otherwise the briskets will be quite a challenge (mine often fall in the 18-20 hour range)

Questions aside, this looks like an awful lot of fun for the small band of kosher lovers of authentic Q.

It does look like fun, and I was sorely tempted. I even found out I could rent a bike somewhat cheaply in Nashville during the same weekend. But my with the kids in school, and a trip planned in May, I could’t justify it enough. Hopefully next year!

http://jdmdad.blogspot.com/2007/08/playing-what-if-can-sometime-really.html

On a barely related note, I got a Rival “Crockpit” BBQ relatively cheap at a Labor Day sale/clearance. Hope to try to do some indoor BBQ with it, they have a nice looking BBQ brisket receipe in their book, and my wife has a brisket sitting in the freezer that needs some attention. :-)

Teams are given free access and use to the Shuls Fleishig kitchen during prep times. Pre-cooking is allowed, but it can get a bit crowded in the kitchen. The entire social hall is available for prep space, so there is plenty of room for preparing your rubs, sauces etc., but you might be fighting for oven room.

Thought I’d give ya’ll an example of some of the past team names, to get you thinkin.
Cafe Au Jew
Shofar Sho Good
MooShooJoo
Alte Cookers
Shtetle Kettle
Steering Cowmittee
Tent of Meating
Fresh Meat (Jewish singles group)
Kippa Kookin