I get that too. But there can only be one. Gotta admit, though some of your flavor mixes, such as the Asian, seem interesting. BTW, the night you mentioned your "cowboy rice" I made it the next day. My kid really liked it.
It was okay....but I don't think I got the right mix/proportions of spices down.

Stewie, I just may enter one of those competitions.

If you're serious about entering contests, be prepared. Most contests nationwide are sanctioned by the KC BBQ Society. You need to prepare ribs, pork butt, brisket, chicken. Sausage is usually an option that doesn't count in the overall score. Often times the contest will supply the contestants with a brisket that they have to prepare. This is scored separately, too. You never know what you're going to get as far as quality/cookability. You may want to hang around a BBQ contest before you actually enter to see what it's all about. And ask judges what exactly it is they're looking for. Or better yet, go to a judging class. You'll learn alot.

Interesting info Stewie thanks.

Seems, per that, I don't BBQ enough to even qualify. I mainly do ribs.
Other than that I cook cross-culturally many different things. If I wanted to though I could learn quickly.

Yeah, it's a big leap going from the back yard to competing. We're pretty serious about it, but not as serious as some. We have about $2000 tied up in smokers/grills. Some teams easily have $25K or more. Usually the pros (restaurant owners and caterers) have the big rigs. Lately, we've stood up pretty well against the big boys, but there's a limit to how much time/money we're willing to spend. The really competitive teams will easily cook $500+ worth of meat to get the ONE PERFECT rib, butt, brisket.

I got some new pans for the kitchen this week. I'm loving them.

If you could give me some more tips to perfect that cowboy rice...I'd appreciate. Like how much Worcestshire Sauce, type of rice etc.

Wolfgang Puck is a hell of a salesman.

Actually I bought some Calphalon pans after Christmas - their low end line. But then my wife checked Consumer Reports and for less money we could buy another, lesser known pan that performed better than Calphalon's most expensive pan set.

So we decided to buy the Kirkland Signature pans for $150. Unfortunately those pans went up to $225 before we had a chance to get to Costco. But they're $175 on ebay.

Long story but good advice. If you want a $900 quality set of pans for $200 you should get the Kirkland Signature set. Heh.

Sorry but Phobia wins after 41 years experience from the mid-west. Plus he had my family fighting (literally for them) and I won because I paid the bill..........

Thread over..................................................

I just use a long-grain white rice and I sprinkle the Worcestershire sauce on the rice after it has been frying for a while until it starts bubbling and steaming up through the rice on the bottom of the wok.

I'm not a quantity cooker. I almost never use measurements.

Non-stick set? I've found that the private label stuff is just as good. I bought a 10" sautee pan from HSN or QVC (don't remember) and it's a heck of alot better than my expensive Meyer cookware. The Meyer stuff is about worn out. I still use a set of SS and copper pans that my mom had. That stuff is indestructible.

The best fry pan I own cost me $10 at Sams.

I've got some of the high-dollar Calphalon stuff, Pampered Chef, etc... but I always reach for the Sams pan. I ****ing love that thing.

The pans are not really a weakness for me... now it's really good cutlery. A good knife is unbeatable.

I just got a Chinese cleaver, a Nakiri and a small paring knife around Christmas time... love those things.

Yeah, non-stick. Best value ever, IMO. We had a set from QVC previously - it lasted about 5 years before the non-stick stuff was worn out.

http://www0.epinions.com/hmgd-Cookwa...e_14_Piece_Set

Since they got away from teflon and now have non-stick/ceramic coatings the non-stick should last for years. My Meyer stuff was pre-ceramic and it's showing its age.

My weakness when we started BBQ contests was chicken. Virtual Weber Bullet was one of the first sites that I read religiously. Here's a link to a video on how to butterfly a chicken (the rest of the site is awesome and very helpful). I always buy whole chickens now because they're easier. Of course, in competition you'll only do well using the dark meat. But for family get togethers you can't beat fresh whole chickens for taste and economy.

The video link is on the right side of the page when it opens. It may be old news for some, but not everyone knows everything.

http://virtualweberbullet.com/butterflychicken.html