IBCA COOK OFF - FORT WORTH STOCKYARDS

BBQ, Beer, and Music joined forces for a fantastic weekend in the Fort Worth Stockyards on June 11th and 12th. The International Barbeque Cookers Association – IBCA, and the Fort Worth Police Department hosted a competition that drew some of the best cooks in the state. 85 teams gathered for the 2 day event serving up their best offerings of Brisket, Ribs, and Chickens.

Rusted Truck Ranch was fortunate enough to participate in this outstanding event. While we arrived a little later than hoped on Friday evening (around 7:30pm), it didn’t take us long to get the cook-site set up and our three meats prepped for the smoker later that evening/morning. (In competition cooking, your meats cannot be seasoned or marinated before arriving at the event). We spent some time trimming our Ribs and Brisket, and got the chickens started in their overnight marinade. Once everything was in place, it was time to relax and enjoy some Beer and Music.

The event had several performers, but we were able to catch a big part of the Jamie Richards Band set. These guys served up some classic Texas country. Jamie Richard’s vocals and song writing were strong. I really enjoyed the song “Drive” and his song “I can Party When I Need To” is currently on the Texas music charts. In addition to Jamie’s performance, the band was extremely tight.

The lead guitar spot was filled by a guy named Clay Shelburn. This guy was one of the best live guitarists I’ve seen in quite some time. He’s a natural on the guitar, and served up a variety of solos and supporting licks. His style included traditional country licks, in addition to, ripping solos that were technically superb and filled with technical and emotional expertise. After the music stopped, it was back to the site for a few winks of sleep before the early morning cooking began.

Bedtime was 12:15am, and the alarm was set for a welcoming 3:15am. Fire was the first order of business, followed by the brisket hitting the cooking surface an hour later.

Some final seasoning before brisket goes on at 4:15.

Three racks of pork spare ribs followed at 7:15am, and four half chickens finally went on around 9:30. (Cooking times are determined based on weight of meat, temperature of fire, and the desired completion time) We also juggled a pot of beans while prepping, cooking, and re-seasoning the brisket, ribs, and chicken. We used a fantastic recipe passed down by our great friend – Jamie (Vaden) Holmes.

The competition requires beans and meats to be turned in at specific times in the day. IBCA allows contestants a window of 10 minutes before and after the turn in time. For this contest, beans were due at 11:00am, chicken at 12:00pm, ribs at 1:30pm, and brisket at 3:00pm. We successfully made our deliveries in each category despite the numerous Shiner 101 and Frost beverages that were consumed. (I really enjoy the specialty line of beers from Shiner).

The awards ceremony followed around 4:30pm. While we didn’t walk with a top ten finish, we produced some good food, met some great people, and enjoyed cooking for a worthy cause. We look forward to future events with IBCA, and can’t wait for the next event at the Fort Worth Stockyards.