Both Neil and I were lucky enough to attend the 31st American Royal this year as part of the British BBQ Society team. We had a team of seven this year wtith representatives of four Pit Masters teams in attendance along with BBBQS boss Toby of course.
As in 2009 we flew out to KC a few days before the competition in order to get “acclimatised” or in other words for a week of partying in what is one of my favourite cities. The great thing about KC is it’s friendly, almost not like a city at all but there’s still everything you could want there including a mass of BBQ shops and restaurants.
So we spent the first three days scouring the shops for swag during the day and hitting the Power and Light district for lots of Boulevard beer and Buffalo wings by night. Apart from having the world’s most useless Sat Nav, it all went off without a hitch. I’ve got to take this opportunity to thank the guys over at the Kansas City BBQ Store for being so helpful and friendly.
Obvioulsy, being in Kansas City, we had to eat at Oklahmoa Joe’s. For me this is the best BBQ restaurant in the world, period. I resisted going for a whole rack of ribs and tucked into the legendary Z-Man sandwich instead – sliced brisket, provolone cheese and onion rings on a Kaiser bun. Only one word can describe this – Jawgasm!
As an extra bonus we were given a full tour of the kitchen which was a great experience. There’s a great write up of the visit over on BBQ Fanatics, thanks to Cuan and Ben for writing such a great article. Ben has also posted a video on Youtube of us being shown how to pull pork. So we’ve nicked it and embedded it here.
So by the weekend it was time to get down to the serious business of cooking the Royal. Of course first we had to hook up with all our American friends as well as sharing a drink or two with some new friends. I got the chance to spend some time with Jimmy Brod from Everglades Seasoning (formerly Smoking Cracker) who kindly showed me around my dream barbecue, a Spicewine cabinet smoker. I also managed to do plenty of shigging from Diva Q and Big T’s.
But soon Toby was cracking the whip and we were off. At the Royal we cook both the invitational and open competitions which means we are cooking two nights consecutively. Add into the mix, supporting the Royal tour and Neil off to compete in the poker competition and a busy weekend ensues. As in 2009 we were cooking on an FEC 100 pellet smoker, kindly supplied to us by BBQ legend “Fast” Eddy Maurin and yet again we got support from Stuart Powell of Cookshack as well. These guys make it possible for us to compete in the US by loaning us equipment and sourcing meat for us.
The competition weekend was a bit of a blur for me, especially given that I caught a nasty American cold and felt like crap all day on Sunday. The team did really well though, with a best placing of 21st in Brisket at the invitational. A second succesful trip to Kansas City for me, particularly when I got home and took stock of all the swag I brought back – even if I did have to get a second case for Neil to bring back for me.
