20th Annual ASBEE/Kroger BBQ
I can’t think of a more appropriate press release for the July 4th weekend:
On September 7, 2008, Anshei Sphard-Beth El Emeth Congregation (ASBEE), a Memphis, TN Orthodox congregation, will host the 20th annual ASBEE-Kroger Kosher BBQ Cooking Contest and Festival. The festival will take place from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. on the grounds of the synagogue, and features teams from Memphis and around the country vying for top honors in the world’s largest kosher BBQ contest. Prizes are awarded for the best beef ribs, beef brisket, beans, team name and team booth. It’s a major family event which includes children’s rides and games, food for sale by the ASBEE Sisterhood gourmet cookers, the ASBEE-Grizzlies 3-on-3 basketball tournament and the 6th annual pickle eating contest. Last year, the festival hosted 40 teams and more than 2,000 attendees. For details on team and event registration, sponsorship opportunities and general information, go to www.asbeekosherbbq.org, or contact the synagogue at 901-682-1611.
As you know, I competed in the ASBEE BBQ last year, and I’m going back this year. It’s all about thousands of people coming together for fun and Kosher BBQ. This year is a special one for the ASBEE BBQ and I encourage all the BBQ enthusiasts out there to come out and compete. Teams should be in Memphis starting September 4th, for orientation and meat selection. Shabbos accommodations will be available for any Shomer-Shabbos contestants. I’ll answer any questions posted in the comments, or you can contact ASBEE directly at the website or phone number above. Let’s make the world’s largest kosher BBQ contest even bigger!
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2007 Simply Manischewitz Cookoff
On Tuesday, I attended the Finals for the 2007 Simply Manischewitz Cookoff, here in NY. Thousands of entries were whittled down to 6 contestants from across the country:
- Evan Levy from Danville,CA, Southwestern Potato Kugel
- Joy Devor from Far Rockaway, NY, Fantastic Flounder Rolls
- Joe Carver from Philadelphia, PA, Falafel Pizza
- Julie Hession from Las Vegas, NV, Beef Tenderloin with Marsala Mushroom Sauce
- Greg Fontenot from The Woodlands, TX, Chicken in Balsamic Cherry Sauce
- Tracy Rapp from Memphis, TN, Southern Smothered Burgers
Continue reading 2007 Simply Manischewitz Cookoff »
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BBQ Brisket at the ASBEE Competition
I had this final bit of coverage of the ASBEE BBQ Competition that I was holding on to, but today seems like a brisket-day, so here it is. The BBQ Railroad team, from the Baron Hirsch Men’s Club were the winners in the brisket category. Here were their responses (through David Schlesinger) to my post-game questionnaire:
Continue reading BBQ Brisket at the ASBEE Competition »
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An Interview with a BBQ Champion
Continuing my follow-up coverage of the ASBEE BBQ, here’s a transcript of an e-mail interview I did with this Barney Abis - the pit-boss of The Meat Machers - this year’s ASBEE/BBQ Grand Champions. Barney and his teammate Steve Pepper came in first in the Ribs category.
Tell us about your team. How long have you been cooking together? Have you won before?
I have entered this contest the last 4 or 5 years. I do it for the fun of it. In fact, some years I have not even entered my meat into the judging. Too many friends coming by to nosh. One year I placed in beans, but I don’t remember if it was 1st or 2nd and I could never duplicate the recipe if I tried. A lot of improvising. My winning entry this year was ribs. This is my first time cooking with Steve Pepper. We have been friends since we were children. Since my partner from last year joined his son’s team, I asked Steve if he wanted to do the BBQ. The rest is now the stuff of legend. Incidentally, my partner from last year placed 2nd in ribs - I taught him everything he knows!
Describe your winning entry. How did you come up with the recipe?
Again, my recipe was improvised. Nothing written down and nothing measured. My method for beef ribs involves first scoring the back lengthwise and removing the membrane and then rubbing down with a dry rub, squeezing a little lemon over them and adding a little vinegar and sealing in a 2 gallon zip lock bag. This is done two or three days before the actual contest. This tenderizes the meat some. I then individually wrap each slab in aluminum foil and put on the BBQ grill for about 3 hours along with some water soaked hickory wood smoking on the coals, rotate them about every 30 to 45 minutes. When they are almost falling off of the bone I take them off of the grill, pitch the foil and fat, and rub them down with a rub that is primarily dark brown sugar with cumin, red pepper or chili powder, garlic powder, and whatever else looks interesting to throw in. The combination of sweet and spicy is good. I then put the ribs directly on the grill to glaze them. After only 5 or 10 minutes I take them off and slather some sauce on them. I use any decent commercial sauce and add the dry rub mentioned above to the sauce. This year we also added some honey. I then let the sauce cook on for a few minutes and they are ready to go. I have made them many times and have never done it the same way twice I am sure.
Does your team BBQ together throughout the year?
I don’t BBQ with friends during the year, however, I make the ribs on most of the traditional American holidays, July 4th, Labor Day, Memorial Day etc. I just enjoy cooking them out by the pool. My friends and mishpachah love these ribs as in Memphis we are in the land of treif and beef ribs are hard to come by. Beef ribs are more Texas style bbq. Memphis is definitely pork.
What does competing at the ASBEE BBQ mean to you?
Competing at the ASBEE means a couple of things to me. Camaraderie, fun, a few L’Chayims, and supporting our shul. It is nice because the entire Jewish community in Memphis comes together.
Any BBQ secrets, tips, advice?
My secret to bbq besides slow cooking is have fun, a few shots of single malt scotch and don’t take it too seriously.
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Photos from the ASBEE BBQ
It has taken me much longer than I had planned to get these photos up, but here they are: My BBQ Photos.
As a bonus, here’s BBQ coverage from other sources:
A quick word on the Weingarts - David and Katherine quietly came from Virginia to ‘observe’ the BBQ. Over Shabbos they were adopted by the ASBEE Community. We became friends, and they became honorary members of my team. You can see the “I (heart) NY” pins I stuck on them. When the BBQ committee was short one judge for the ‘ribs and beans’ category, Katherine got drafted. Aren’t you jealous? They’re planning to come back to compete, next year.
Also, here’s the list of the winning teams at the BBQ:
- Best Beans - The Cattle Menshes
- Best Ribs - The Meat Machers
- Best Brisket - The Baron Hirsch Men’s Club / BBQ Railroad
- Best Booth - Memphis Area Jewish Young Couples / Harry Potroast and the Sorcerer’s Sauce
- Best Name - Kollel Torah Metzion / Abe & Sarah’s Bed & Brisket
- Grand Champion - The Meat Machers
My favorite team name? Beans Make You Sphard.
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The BBQ is over…
The winners of the 2007 ASBEE-Kroger Kosher BBQ Competition were announced at 3:15pm. I didn’t win. I didn’t place. That’s OK, because I had an amazing time. I made many friends - the ASBEE community is comprised of some of the friendliest, most welcoming people I have ever met. This weekend, I discovered that my self-taught, NY-style BBQ is at least as good as BBQ that you’ll find in Memphis, Tennessee - and I tasted lots of that delicious BBQ today. Hopefully, this won’t be the last they hear of me. Incidentally, my team of one was called ‘I flew in from Brooklyn, NY for this BBQ and boy are my arms tired’. We’re looking for recruits for next year. I’ll be back home tomorrow night, and I’ll work on getting some of my photos up as soon as I can.
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Live-blogging from Memphis
As I write this, teams around me are preparing their briskets, ribs and beans. Luckily, ASBEE has wireless internet. Last minute adjustments are being made, tasting and seasoning is going on all around. The cooking starts at 6:00am tomorrow - don’t expect any live-blogging tomorrow. My beans are done and in the cooler. My rib-glaze is done and in the cooler. I’m eating some of the left-over ingredients (pineapple), in lieu of dinner. Wish me luck….
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Update From Memphis, #3
I have a few hours free before Shabbos, so I’ll tell you a little more about what’s going on here. As a side note, I did what will likely be my last bit of sightseeing in Memphis (The Mississippi River Museum and The Memphis Cotton Museum). I also took a few minutes to stop by the kosher aisles at the local Kroger - the major sponsor of the BBQ.
There were no BBQ related activities today, but I’ll elaborate more on what happened last night. (Again, when I get home, I’ll provide photos to make it all clear.) When registering for the BBQ, everyone had to submit an ingredient list that covered all the ingredients you need, for all your recipes. (The categories to compete in are brisket, ribs and BBQ beans, in case you forgot.) The $125 application fee covered the purchase of all your ingredients - minus the meat. Upon entering the shul social hall, each team’s supplies and ingredients were set out on tables. First order of business was to insure that all your ingredients were present. A community table contains some of the more common ingredients (spices, sauces, juices, etc.) and each team is expected to take from that to fulfill their needs. Any shortages or missing items are reported to a volunteer, and it’s on to meat selection.
Teams can pre-order as many briskets and rib racks as they want when they sign up. On orientation night, a team representative lines up at the outdoor, walk-in cooler, where they will get a chance to choose which briskets or ribs they want. As I said, meat isn’t included in the application fee, so at this point teams pay the shul for the meat they have chosen.
Cooking is not required on orientation night, but many teams do. The most common preparation that takes place is the marinating or dry-rubbing of meat. I threw together my dry-rub, covered my brisket and ribs with it, then sealed them in foil and put them back in the cooler, with a team-name tag.
I wasn’t expecting to do any cooking last night, but I got caught up in the frenzy. Unfortunately, the shul kitchen doesn’t expand when more teams apply to compete - and this year has the largest number of teams, ever. Fortunately, many people are working on tasks that don’t require cooking, so they can work out in the shul social hall. I put together some of the ingredients for my grill-glaze. I’ll combine the components tomorrow night and finish their cooking. Before signing up, I was concerned that I wouldn’t know the right-way to prepare/cook for the competition - not anymore. Every method was represented. Some people were pre-cooking their meat, so they could just put a char on it on the day of the event. Some were slathering meat in marinades or dry-rubbing (I was one of them) and leaving them raw. Whatever preparing was done, at the end of the night every team wrapped their product in foil and put it back in the cooler.
I get a lot of questions about the BBQ-beans category. Each team is given a large can of Bush’s Vegetarian Baked Beans. The trick is to improve the beans by adding things - spices, seasonings, fruits, vegetables, whatever. You’re just trying to offer the judges the best baked-beans they even tasted.
There’s so much more to discuss, but it will have to wait for my next posts. I’ll leave you with a question - I seem to be marking myself as a fanatic, by traveling from NY to Memphis, just to cook in a BBQ competition. Are there more nuts like me out there? Would you come out here to compete? Next year will be the 20th annual BBQ, nudge, nudge. Thanks to all my supporters out there and have a good Shabbos.
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Update From Memphis
I wish I could post some pictures for you, but my laptop doesn’t have the software for photo-editing. I’ll work on it when I get home. Sorry.
Anyway, my first full day in Memphis has come to an end. I started my day with some sightseeing (Graceland, The Peabody Ducks, The Rock & Soul Museum and the Belz Museum of Asian & Judaic Art). At 6:00pm, there was a BBQ Orientation, followed by our first cooking session. Before I go on, I need to clarify that I am working this competition alone - unfortunately, Jabbett wasn’t able to make it. Let me also explain that working this competition alone is sheer lunacy. Especially on your first time competing. I am so overwhelmed. As long as we’re all clear on that. (I won’t start whining here - the BBQ staff read this ;-) )
By 9:30pm I had selected my meat, insured that I had all my ingredients, put my dry rub on my meat and stored it in the fridge, and done a small part of my food prep. I still have much work to do. I’ll go into more detail when this weekend is over - right now I need to catch some Z’s.
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Greetings from Memphis!
The 19th-annual ASBEE/Kroger Kosher BBQ Competition takes place this Sunday, and I’m in Memphis to cover the action! I will be competing as well, so wish me luck. Stay tuned for updates….
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