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Jeff Selle's invitation is awaiting your response

Jeff Selle would like to connect on LinkedIn. How would you like to respond? Jeff Selle Journalist at the Coeur d'Alene Press Confirm you know Jeff You received an invitation to connect. LinkedIn will use your email address to make suggestions to our members in features like People You May Know. Unsubscribe If you need assistance or have questions, please contact LinkedIn Customer Service. © 2014, LinkedIn Corporation. 2029 Stierlin Ct. Mountain View, CA 94043, USA

I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn

I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. - Jeff Confirm that you know Jeff Jeff Selle Journalist at the Coeur d'Alene Press Spokane, Washington Area You received an invitation to connect. LinkedIn will use your email address to make suggestions to our members in features like People You May Know. Unsubscribe Learn why we included this. If you need assistance or have questions, please contact LinkedIn Customer Service. © 2014, LinkedIn Corporation. 2029 Stierlin Ct. Mountain View, CA 94043, USA

Competition #2

The second competition was forty miles outside of Prosser, Washington at McKinley Springs Winery. The competition was part of a benefit for Veterans. In order for a competition to be a qualifier for larger competitions (like the American Royal) there needs to be atleast 25 teams. Our team volunteered to split in order to make 25 teams, so Jeff and I made up Sibling Revelry and Dad and his friend cooked as Rub Em' Raw.
We quickly learned that competition is a lot of work but more fun than we could have imagined.
A typical schedule for a competition starts in the late afternoon the first night. After setting up camp for a couple of hours, officials come by to inspect your meat, fire extinguisher, and washing stations to make sure you don't kill the judges and then the prep starts. In the Pacific Northwest BBQ Association (PNWBA), the turn in order is pork, brisket, chicken, and then ribs. So naturally the first thing to be prepped is the pork followed by the brisket. At around 11 or 12 at night, the pork and brisket go on the smoker. You would think that one could get some sleep at that point, but it never happens. The next thing to be prepped is the ribs as they take about four hours to cook. We start that around 7 AM on the second day. The first turn in is at 11 AM and the last is 2 PM. We usually clean up a bit until the awards ceremony at around 5 or 6 and then we take down the camp and try to stay awake on the drive home. Ask any pitmaster if he/she regrets any of it . . .
We were very excited to have placed 13th overall and got 5th place ribs. The most fun I have ever had . . . until Coeur d'Alene.

Drumsticks

My previous post mentioned the frustrations of chicken thighs, namely the time-consuming preperation, but drumsticks are my new best friend. I just rubbed em' (raw) and threw them on. One hour at 175 brought them to an internal temp of 190, then I sauced them and let them smoke another fifteen minutes. If you are feeding a lot of people, DO DRUMSTICKS.

Competition #1

Shortly after the birth of this blog, the wheels were in motion to start a BBQ team. A few months of tireless work by myself, my brother Jeff, and my Dad, started a hobby that has since grown to something bigger than we had initially imagined. Today team "Rub Em' Raw" has gained sponsorship by Tim's Special Cut Meat, been featured in The Spokesman Review-Jeff even got interviewed on KVNI. If you know anything about Jeff, you know he could sell salt to a slug. So, as usual, he put in hours of research and networking time to get us an opportunity to rub elbows with Harry Soo at the Boise Music Festival July 24th. Contributing years of experience, two Weber Smoky Mountain Grills, and two Weber Performer Grills, Jeff is a huge asset to any team and we're lucky to have him.
My Dad, who will forever be prepared for any situation ever, has purchased a COM190, which he promptly modified to the envy of every Traeger owner that has laid eyes on it. A commercial smoker has to be towed and an equally modified motor home does just that as well as give us a kitchen and all the comforts of home for competition. Dad possesses the experience of Jeff and I combined and, needless to say, makes BBQing gourmet cuts look effortless.
Our first experience cooking together was at a Pacific Northwest BBQ Association class and competition. Some of the top competitors in the Northwest were kind enough to share some (very little) of their secrets to prepare us for competitions. After cooking all day, our products were judged by newly certified PNWBA judges. Jeff took grand champion and Dad took first in pork butt. We were hooked and optimistic.




Jeff on his Weber Smoky Mountain the day after the class . . .


Dad on the COM190 the day after the class . . .



The experience was great, but nothing like the competitions to come . . .

Brisket Success

Today I cooked a brisket flat with great results. I've been looking for a brisket with the point on it for some time but for some reason the grocery stores in Salt Lake do not carry them. But despite the small size (4lbs) of this flat, it turned out moist and tender. The bark was very thin which meant the burnt ends weren't as good, but the in-laws loved it and so did Caity and I. While the brisket rested I did plain peppers, bacon wrapped peppers stuffed with cream cheese, and chicken thighs. It was worth the work and the sleep deprivation to make a great meal. Next project: Prosser and Spokane for competitions. Thanks to Jeff for showing me how to make the peppers and Dad for sharing his award-winning brisket recipe with me.

Best Ribs so far

Since we had such good results with whole spare ribs in Coeur d'alene, I decided to trim them after they were cooked this time. My theory is that they stay more moist that way because these were the best ribs I've cooked (granted I've only cooked around a dozen). The texture was perfect and I used two different seasonings on each side which got some compliments from our guests! People ate the ribs more than the salmon so I take that as a good sign. I'll be out of town this weekend but look forward to next week when I do brisket.

Too much food

This weekend I did pork, apples, corn, and salmon. Luckily I have people who will eat it because Caity and I can't! Tonight I'm doing ribs and salmon so I'm getting some good practice.



This was my best pork butt yet thanks to Dad and Jeff.

Apple Dessert

I was surprised a few months ago when I smoked a whole apple and it turned out really good. Just poke a hole in the top and cook at 250-300 degrees for a half hour. Tonight we tried them with cinnamon and cream cheese frosting and cinnamon and vanilla ice cream. Next time we'll put some granola or nuts on top. It's nothing much but it's a good starting point. I'm also working on an apple crisp. More to come . . .

Coeur d' Alene BBQ class

Had a great weekend with my Dad and brother taking a BBQ class on Saturday and cooking a ton on Sunday. I learned a ton and now I need to practice. Thanks to Jeff and Dad for all their work and advice. I'll post more on this later.

Bacon and Hashbrowns

We tried some breakfast on the smoker and it turned out pretty well. The potatoes were especially good- just potato shavings and olive oil. More breakfast projects will come . . .

Chicken Thighs

I've been reluctant to try chicken thighs because I've never liked them and I didn't think that anyone else would. On the other hand, I need to practice the preperation and cooking for competition. So I tried them and they were surprisingly good. I'd like to improve some things, but I am shocked they turned out so well the first time. Thighs are cheap and really good for lots of people, but preparation is time consuming-I spent four hours preparing and cooking these (a time I hope to reduce as I get better at prep).

Super Bowl Sunday

For the Super Bowl I took the smoker to my brother-in-law's house and grilled up a storm. Salmon, chicken, pineapple, apples, burgers, and brats was more than enough to feed everyone! I have never done fruit on the smoker and it turned out to be easy and really good, so smoke em' if you got em'.

Pork Shoulder

This weekend I did a bone-in pork shoulder and it turned out ok. I injected it with apple juice and some spices, marinated it in a mixture of mustard and honey and rub over night and smoked it for nine hours. It was good for my first time, although I could have smoked it longer because I couldn't pull all of it. So I pulled some of it and mixed it with bbq sauce and sliced some of it.