This past weekend, Tobacco Road H-D hosted the annual “Cook Your Butt Off” Boston Butt cooking competition. It was a wet start to the competition on Friday, thanks to an intense Summer thunderstorm, but made for beautiful weather on Saturday. The six teams cooked all night Friday into Saturday to cook what they each hoped would be the winning meat. Right around lunchtime on Saturday, people were waiting with plates in hand to get a taste of some delicious BBQ. First, the 3 judge panel had to get their share to make the final decision on who would be taking home the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes. Once the hungry judges were satisfied, the floodgates were opened and everyone flocked to the different tents to judge for themselves. Everyone helped themselves to the good food and good music, courtesy of Dynamic Panic! Once again, Bobby Scott of Fat Boys BBQ was announced the 1st place BBQ winner, and this year he also claimed the title of People’s Choice! Between the meal tickets, 50/50 raffle, and other donations, over $1,500 were raised for the Duke Children’s Hospital.
The scene was set Friday with high winds and heavy rain. Shortly after all 6, 70lb boxes of Boston butts were delivered to Tobacco Road H-D, the dark skies rolled in. As cook teams were attempting to set up their tents, the wind was working just as hard to take them down. Fortunately, everyone had their set-ups tied down well enough that the wind wasn’t able to claim anyone’s tent as their own and the cooks took refuge under the dealership pavilion. By 8 pm the storm had passed and the official cook meeting was able to take place. Casey, the Tobacco Road H-D Marketing Manager and organizer of the event informed the 6 teams of the rules of the event and what to expect over the next 16 hours. At the meeting’s adjournment, the meat boxes were distributed and the cooks began their preparations into the long night.
As the day began Saturday, the teams were putting their finishing touches on their winning products. The smokey smell of meticulously prepared meat greeted folks as they strolled in. Right before high noon, the judges' cart rolled around and collected 3 samples from each of the 6 teams. Once the judges had received their portions, they began analyzing their meals based on taste, appearance, and texture. Meanwhile, the hungry crowd swarmed each of the 6 stations to decide for themselves who had the best BBQ. Like most of the others, I found myself walking around to see who had the best meat to offer. I started at the 4 R’s BBQ where I almost had my plate filled with meat, pickled onions, and slaw. While everything here was fantastic, the sauces stood out. Not only did they have the classic North Carolina sauce, but they also had a mustard-based sauce that brought a different flavor to the table. Speaking of different flavors, another standout was Slapshot BBQ with their buttered BBQ. I was immediately impressed by how much smoother this meat tasted. It had a great flavor but was just smooth and buttery. A technique I’ll have to try on my own sometime. Now, so far as the most impressive set-up, that award had to go to Pit Master Bobby Scott of Fat Boys BBQ. His impressively branded trailer and tent showed everyone that a true pro was at work. The meat was incredible but what stole the show were his smoked beans with that perfect, smokey, tangy flavor. While the Swine Shack had one of the smallest grills, they brought some of the biggest flavors. It was hard not to fill up a plate here. Mike Lamb of the Beer n’ Grill Guys certainly had it going on. His team offered more pulled than chopped BBQ with fantastic flavor and consistency. My plate was filled when Team Large threw their sampling on it. Unfortunately, I had to forgo the potato salad to keep my plate from breaking, but I heard some good things about it. This crowd in the corner was living up to their team's name because it certainly seemed like they were having a large time slingin’ BBQ for a hungry passerby.
