The 2010  smoke on the ridge BBQ competition was AWESOME. Two days of straight rain and wind and all the BBQ you could get! Starting at 8 AM Friday morning, competitors from the Pro division started rolling in and getting setup for the competition. Teams from all over including Wyoming and Idaho came to compete, and showoff their talent to the judges.

The Pigs Meat was 1 of 2 teams that did not have an RV or trailer of sorts. We were not able to keep a tent up for most of the day due to severe wind, so we had struggles with getting our prep work done. We managed to get everything cut and ready to cook, and had fire in the box by midnight. Mike stayed up the whole night and tended the brisket that went on at 2:30 and the ribs that went on at 4:00. Papa Graves was up tending the fire as well making sure that we were able to maintain the temperature. Beau Slept right through his alarm clock  at 2 AM didn’t wake up till 6, and felt like a big cheater but there wasn’t tons for him to do anyways.

Starting the morning off we got the chicken ready to go on, and spritzed the ribs, shoulders, and brisket each time we opened the lids to keep them moist. The weather really cooperated with us and stayed mostly dry throughout the morning and early afternoon. By 11 AM friends and family came out to see how things were going, and Cabela’s got busier and busier by the minute. We had many people that came around asking what the event was and how things worked. Lots of people wanted to sample because they could smell the meat and smoke, but we were not able to give out samples due to the event being held at Cabela’s

Starting at 1:00 PM we had our first turn in which was chicken. We debated back and forth on what to do with the skins because the fat did not render down like we wanted, so we chose and went skinless which ended up being a great choice. Each turn in was a half an hour apart, it went ribs at 1:30, Pork at 2:00 and brisket at 2:30. The Ribs and Brisket did not turn out like we were wanted but we boxed it and hoped for the best.

After all the turn in were over it was a sigh of relief for The Pigs Meat team. We had a lot of fun during those three hours. It was a great adrenaline rush, and test of talent to get it all boxed and presented correctly. We were able to talk with family and friends and really calm down from the stressful morning. Mother Nature had not had enough and around 4:00 came the torrential downpour which forced us to clean up very quickly. Our Great friend John stuck through it with us and helped get everything cleaned up and put away before we went into the awards ceremony.

4:45 came around and we walked into the awards ceremony and grabbed our seats. The whole entire room smelled like smoke and we weren’t sure what caused that

The awards ceremony began first with the kids Que division, then the Backyard division. Then came the pro division, there were 16 teams that competed and the awards were presented in the following fashion: 10 – 5th place received ribbons and prize money, 4th -1st received prize money and a trophy,  first category . . . Chicken! We had never cooked just thighs before, it had always been whole chickens and had no clue how we were going to place. “10th place Tubby’s Smokin Que . . . 9th place Richards Roundup . . . 8th place
THE PIGS MEAT!!!” We were so excited to place in a category that we had little confidence in, and up against some of the best BBQ in the state.

The other categories we did not score as high as we were hoping, but we still did not come in last in any of them, so being our first event we felt pretty good about it. After the awards we thanked everyone, and said our goodbyes. As we walked out the front door of Cabela’s we saw the sun for the first time in 2 days, it was a breath of fresh air and kept our spirits high about whole competition.

We were able to meet some really good people, including the Smoking Burtons who were our neighbors as well as a great information source with this being our first competition. We are excited to prepare for our next event, and hope to meet more great people of the BBQ world.

The Pigs Meat was without one of its members for this event (Wayne) . . . his comical personality and confidence was very much missed. Our prayers are with him and his family at this time, and we are excited to have him with us for the next competition.

Thanks again to all of our Loved ones and friends who came out and supported us. A special thanks to John wells for all of his help Saturday, and those fine folks who showed up with Hot COCOA at just the right time Friday night!!!

Below are the final results for the overall and each category:

Overall

1. BBQ Heaven
2. Dragon Smoke
3. Pitmaster
4. Smokin Hot Sistah’s
5. HQO
6. Tubby’s Smokin Que
7. Guppa D’s
8. Smokin Mormon
9. Tumble Weed BBQ
10. Back Country BBQ
11. Smokin Burtons
12. Richards Roundup
13. Utah Smoke
14. The Pigs Meat *
15. So Low
16. Sweet Savour

Chicken

1. HQO
2. BBQ Heaven
3. Utah Smoke
4. Dragon Smoke
5. Guppa D’s
6. Pitmaster
7. Smokin Hot Sistah’s
8. The Pigs Meat *
   
9. Richards Roundup
10. Tubby’s Smokin Que
11. Tumble Weed BBQ
12. Smokin Mormon
13. Back Country BBQ
14. Smokin Burtons
15. So Low
16. Sweet Savour

Ribs

1. BBQ Heaven
2. HQO
3. Dragon Smoke
4. Smokin Mormon
5. Smokin Burtons
6. Tubby’s Smokin Que
7. Tumble Weed BBQ
8. Pitmaster
9. Guppa D’s
10. Back Country BBQ
11. Smokin Hot Sistah’s
12. The Pigs Meat *
    
13. So Low
14. Utah Smoke
15. Sweet Savour
16. Richards Roundup

Pork

1. BBQ Heaven
2. Dragon Smoke
3. Tubby’s Smokin Que
4. Back Country BBQ
5. Pitmaster
6. Tumble Weed BBQ
7. Smokin Hot Sistah’s
8. Smokin Burtons
9. Smokin Mormon
10. Guppa D’s
11. The Pigs Meat *
    
12. Richards Roundup
13. Utah Smoke
14. HQO
15. So Low
16. Sweet Savour

Brisket

1. BBQ Heaven
2. Smokin Hot Sistah’s
3. Pitmaster
4. So Low
5. Dragon Smoke
6. Guppa D’s
7. Smokin Mormon
8. Tubby’s Smokin Que
9. Richards Roundup
10. Tumble Weed BBQ
11. HQO
12. Back Country BBQ
13. Smokin Burtons
14. The Pigs Meat *
    
15. Utah Smoke
16. Sweet Savour