SmokeFest 2010

Yes friends, you read that right. Smoke Fest. Not as in tobacco smoke, but as in smoked meats. For weeks, and I mean weeks, October 9 was reserved for Smoke Fest 2010 by Matt and his buddies at work. Together there were six competitors who gathered at Dan's house (the ringleader) early in the day to do a BBQ Pitmaster-style smoke off. We wives were wrangled into being the judges, along with any children old enough to read (you know, so they could fill out the judging form. Clearly). The judging was based on presentation (25%), appearance (25%, and yes, that is different than 'presentation'), and taste (50%). It was a blind judging so only the guys knew whose ribs were whose. Like everyone else I went through the line and judged each entry individually before moving on to the next contestant. I could easily live my life without ever consuming smoked meats so there wasn't much nuance to my ratings. It was either 'love it' or 'hate it'. 'A' was really good. B and C set my mouth on fire and I didn't even bother with a second bite. D was too sweet. E was also too sweet. F was juuuuuuuuuuuuust right. I actually thought that Matt's entry was F so I was super excited, as apparently my charming husband had been flapping his gums all week to his competition that I would rate his ribs the lowest. Alas, when the numbers were tallied Matt landed in 5th place. His entry was actually C - the fire starters. Looks like we're already signed up for 2011: the year of Rib Revenge.

Do we get to judge too?


The scene: kids, dogs, and smokers as far as the eye could see. Yes, that's a recliner in their yard.


The prize: the coveted pig, complete with genuine sear marks


Matt, probably adding more chili powder


These boys mean business


Doing a little pre-judging dance


Ribs down! Disaster on the horizon, but he pulled it together to win the competition (submission A)


Making Daddy proud


An A for...effort?


The over-under. Notice the freakishly accurate description of Chef Maio


The aftermath