I've been barbecuing ribs for years now, and I'm always searching for my ideal pork supplier. My criteria, in no particular order: pasture-raised, humane, sustainable, local, meaty (no shiners!), full-flavored, uniform. I've purchased pork from many local NY farms, but I thought I'd put a few of my favorites to a taste test this past weekend. The candidates? Sir William Berkshire in Dutchess County, Flying Pigs Farm in Shushan NY, and Kinderhook Farm in Ghent NY. They were all at the tops of the scale, but the newbie to the bunch won out in this test. Who is the newbie? Pork out with me to find out! 

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I tried my hand at an overnight smoked whole brisket this week, and for a first run I was pretty happy with the results. I almost always prefer the "moist" to the "lean" sections of brisket, and while that held true here as well, I could appreciate the lean slices in this smoke. I think it sat too long in the warming cooler, but overall a solid effort in preparation for my first KCBS sanctioned competition in mid-august. If you want to take a deep dive into my notes on the smoke, read on! 

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There are a few summer holidays where I just can't survive if I don't barbecue: Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. So this Fourth I decided to smoke the first pork shoulder of the summer. It's the first time I've tried my final rub on a shoulder and I was super happy with the results. In this run I've also confirmed that 1.5 hrs per pound at 210-240 is my sweet spot in terms of cooking time. Want to geek out with me on specifics? Read on for a full run down. 

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Attention! I'm wikid close to being 100% ready for the ribs category of my next bbq competition. This Memorial Day Weekend's rib tests were the best I've produced this season. Woohoo! Read on for the low down.

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I'm getting closer to my goal of BBQ Billy's worthy competition ribs on the weber smokey mountain. Last weekend I fired up the smoker and barbecued two slabs of spares and one baby back with slight modifications to rubs and a new sauce variation. Full analysis follows! 

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Today was three things:

1. The kentucky derby (which i didn't watch), 
2. Mother's day eve (without my wife and mother of my children present),
3. A damn fine day to barbecue some loin backs (see above two points). 

Thinking way ahead to mid-august when I plan to compete again on the bbq circuit, I thought I'd try a test run on the smokey mountain with my newfound knowledge of 'cue techniques over the last couple months. Read on for a rundown of my approach this time around:

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