This was our first time competing in the Otter River Tailgate.  It was a lovely competition, and we look forward to doing it again.

This was David's Kids Q chicken entry.  He made the recipe up himself.  The secret ingredient in the glaze was Swedish Fish!  No kidding!  They came in 2nd place!

Brookline Fire Department's annual Tailgate is our favorite competition of the year.  The people are so nice!  The location is pretty close to home,; and the pace is relaxed.  I had to miss it because of a family reunion, but it didn't seem right for the team to skip it so Chuck and Cris represented.  This is usually where David competes in a Kids Q, but he is also away.

No photos to share, but the categories were pizza, beef, mystery box, dessert, wings and ribs.  Our scores were about average.  

Harvard Fall Festival
Harvard MA
September 12-13, 2015

Trebuchets and barbecue, what could be better?

The grilling categories today were boneless chicken, shrimp, fatties and dessert.  When turning in the chicken, we took a wrong turn and got in late - our first DQ!  Oh well, it happens to some of the best, and now it's happened to us.  If you turn in your box late, it can't be judged so that ruined any chance of getting a good overall score today.  The chicken was juicy, too.  Cris is so good at shrimp.  It came in 8th place.  I thought the fatties were delicious.  I stuffed jalapenos with cheese and wrapped them in sausage and wrapped that in bacon and smoked the works.  They have become our new favorite appetizer when friends come over.  We also made smores cheese cakes that were pretty and delicious!

If you've never visited us while we're competing, I invite you to do so.  Here is what it looks like.  Sleeping tent in the background, shade tent and smokers.  To the right, out of the picture, is our prep tent and tables.

We've taken to playing a new game while we work called YouTube Roulette. One of us picks a song, and we play it on YouTube.  Then we have to pick a song that gets listed in the suggestions below the video.  It's amazing what paths that can take you down!

We thought we handed in some pretty good stuff for KCBS this time, but the judges didn't agree.  We're determined to judge a few times next year to get a better sense of what other competitors are putting out as products because we're stymied as to how to get over this bump.

The season ended on a high note:  look what we brought home!  The Pit Fiends were 3rd Place Tailgating Team of the Year!  I couldn't believe it.  We are very proud and are determined to uphold this or better for next year, too!

Krazy Days
Middleborough MA
August 8, 2015

Chuck and Cris went down for this event again and this time participated in the people's choice where Chuck's wings came in 2nd place!  

Brookline Tailgate
Brookline NH
July 18-19, 2015

The song goes, "Some days are diamonds.  Some days are stone."  This was a stone day.  We couldn't catch much of a break in the grilling competition today.  Cris carried the team with his coconut shrimp which came in 5th place!  We burnt the pizza.  I moved away from the blue cheese and browned butter, and topped my steaks with an olive compound butter instead.  It was very poorly received.  One thing I've heard from other competitors is that judges can sometimes balk at meat that isn't well done.  BBQ judges are used to meat cooked a long time, so it is always presented fully cooked.  I've been turning in medium rare steaks, which are perfect from my perspective (and that of my 7 year old daughter), but the judges aren't liking it.  2016 will be the year of the well-done steak, I guess.  Our desserts were cheese cake tartlets.  Chuck got a near perfect score on appearance, but 2 out of the 6 judges found the flavor only mediocre.  The other 4 loved it, but averages can suck.

One of the people's choice categories was fascinating this year.  It was a mystery category.  The meat turned out to be a whole turkey!  We were given a basket with these ingredients: Craisins, Shock Top beer, mint vinegar, pepper oil and Swedish Fish!  We cooked the beer, craisins, candy and vinegar down to make a glaze and coated the turkey with the oil to help browning.  The oil and vinegar where the hardest ingredients as they both had a weird, funky, flavor.  I think we put in a good product anyway. 

This was David's second Kids Q.  He replicated his lamb burgers, but mixed some ground bacon into the burger to help keep it juicy and topped it with feta cheese.  They certainly were more juicy, but they didn't do as well.  He came in 6th this time which really bummed him out.  The comment was that the judges couldn't identify what kind of meat it was so I guess the bacon wasn't a great idea because it detracted from the lamb too much. He did make friends with a fellow competitor and they bummed around together most of the weekend, and that is the real point of BBQ.

I thought our wings and ribs were smashing, but the judges really disagreed.  Sometimes I just don't get what they're looking for.  I taste our competitors, and I think we stand up to their product, and yet we fared worse.  Well, no where to go but up.

We're still learning how to make the best bbq box garnish.  We don't care for the parsley putting green, and discovered this method with green leaf lettuce.  Here's a link YouTube video by Redneck Scientific demonstrating how to make this box.  You'll note his looks a lot better than mine.

Brookline Fire Department Tailgate
Brookline NH
July 19-20, 2014

We always have fun at Brookline.  It’s one of the best organized competitions we attend each year.  This year the grilling categories were pizza, shrimp, steak and dessert.  We have yet to master pizza on the grill.  It’s always a little over done.  Chuck made a steak and caramelized onion pizza.  It made a great dinner.  Cris is a master at shrimp and made a coconut shrimp this time.  I made a brown-butter basted ribeye with blue cheese.  I’m not very good at steak at home, but this was a perfect medium rare.  I garnished it with grilled potatoes.  I thought it was awesome.  It came in 5th place.  We tried the chimichangas again for dessert, but this time they didn’t perform, although they were lovely.

I tried my ginger hot wings this time.  I knew it was a risk with the New England judge’s palate, but my hot wing sauce is awesome.  It proved too spicy, I fear.  Cris’s ribs came in 5th place, thought!  Hurray!

This was David’s first try at the Kids Q.  The category was burgers.  He created a Moroccan lamb burger based off of a lamb meatball recipe he’s had before.  He even made his own pita bread and tomato chutney.  The burger came in 5th place!  He was thrilled.

Brookline BBQ Competition
Brookline, NH
July 20-21, 2013

Brookline hosted a grilling competition this year, too.  We really love them.  We throw caution to the wind and experiment.  Unfortunately, the judges don’t always appreciate our attempts.  The categories were pizza, shrimp, steak and dessert.  Cris and I were on our own for the weekend, but we got everything cooked and turned in so we consider it a success.  We tried a fancy caramelized onion pizza, but it didn’t look pretty.  Cris grilled up a bacon-wrapped, crab-stuffed shrimp that earned 2nd place!  I tried a roulade for the steak, but I wasn’t happy with how the cheese filling came out.  I tried a grilled polenta and plum dessert, but it didn’t come out right.  It was too difficult to pull off well under pressure, and not sweet enough.

Day 2 was the tailgate.  Again we got everything turned in, including people’s choice wings and pork.  We won again!  The wings came in 3rd place and our people’s choice wings came in 2nd.  That actually earned us our first purse.  We were so excited!

Brookline Tailgate Competition
Brookline, NH
July 21-22, 2012

We were so anxious for the season to start.  We finished 6th out of 28 in wings.  We love the folks at Brookline.  Everyone is so friendly, and this event is so organized.  It’s a pleasure to come here.

Brookline Tailgate Competition
Brookline, NH
July 30-31, 2011

Our very first competition!  This is a tailgate.  A tailgate competition is wings and ribs.  There is also a Kids Q (have to consider that for when the kids get older), and two people’s choice competitions: pulled pork and wings.

Highlights: Our wings came in 9th out of 36 teams, our first shout out.  Not bad for first timers.