When it comes to registering for competitions, our calendar must be built quickly. As soon as each competition season ends, we must plan the next one while considering our goals, budget, availability, etc. As a general rule, participation spots for events fill up very quickly and, for this reason, we must make a decision quickly.
This season, we did a lot of research on the competitions that were accessible to us based on their reputation and the divisions we wanted to join. Obviously, with the pandemic context of the last few years, several competitions that we could have participated in before were now cancelled, so our options were more limited.
Our goals for 2022
Compared to participants from Quebec, those from the United States have a certain advantage, since there are competitions in several regions of their country, and this, frequently. To realize this, we only have to think of people from Texas, for example, who can practically compete in a BBQ competition per week.
So, in order to stay competitive on the circuit, we have to travel several hundred kilometers, because this season we have chosen to only participate in competitions located in the United States. With the current inflation, we have made the decision to join a maximum of 10 events located a maximum of 500 km from our place of residence.
When planning our season, however, we quickly realized that the number of competitions we were aiming for was not achievable. That's when we decided to cover more mileage and, by the same token, to face different teams, from different regions and to test our flavor profiles elsewhere to reach our quota.
Of the possibilities we had, we settled on the Smoke in the Grove event in southern Pennsylvania. The main reasons for this choice were: 1) there were two Pro Master Series events during the event; 2) the event had a solid reputation; and 3) there would be nearly 100 teams, both amateur and professional, on site. Of these teams, there would even be several that were internationally renowned and from the East Coast of the United States (the #2 and #3 ranked teams internationally, among others, would be participating!).
The preparation
We prepared for this competition in the same way as for other competitions, that is, we developed our itinerary, then took care of the logistics and planning of our schedule.
Then, about two weeks before the event, we planned the route to take, taking into account the location of the customs post to cross, places to get our meats and personal products, gas stations, etc.
What we bring
Before going any further, it is important to understand that we, the Canadian teams, have certain constraints compared to the American teams. For the competitions in which we participate, we must provide our meat, unless otherwise advised. Therefore, when we cross American land customs, we are required to transport, per vehicle, a maximum of 50 lbs of meat in its original packaging, if it is not prohibited to import the meat in question (at the moment, for example, it is prohibited to transport chicken because of the avian flu).
So, generally, for our competitions we carry brisket and pork shoulders. High marbling brisket and very good quality pork shoulders are generally two meats that are difficult to find in stores in the United States. For this reason, we prefer to buy these products directly from suppliers and retailers in Quebec.
We try not to leave anything to chance. Before crossing the border, we review our recipes and make sure we have all the spices and sauces, and all the products needed for our cooking. We check all the equipment in our competition trailer, the condition of our rolling stock, our personal effects, etc.
If, along the way, we notice that we need other meats or products, we stop at the shops that we have previously identified in our itinerary to choose the best foods/products.
The competition
Once we arrived, the competition began. In the case of Smoke in the Grove in Pennsylvania, the competition process proved to be challenging for us. Since we had had a lot of success in the amateur divisions in recent years and had some success in our first two pro competitions of the season, we were counting on our cooking and flavor profiles to deliver some interesting results during the event.
On the first day, we got 2nd place in the “People’s Choice Chicken Wings” category. That was looking good! But… the first Pro Master Series competition was a shock for us. The results were not what we expected and that’s when we realized that nothing comes easy and that we have to work very hard to achieve a level of excellence similar to the champion teams on the circuit.
On the second day, we relied on the same flavor profiles, with a few minor tweaks, and… BOOM! We won 4th place for our ribs and got results we were more happy with in the other categories.
In summary
When we made the decision to compete at the professional level, we were very aware of the challenges and constraints we would face. This is part of the overall challenges we must overcome and we firmly believe that we will reach heights that no other Quebec or Canadian team has reached. To succeed on the professional circuit, we must adapt and perfect our cooking and flavor profiles, from competition to competition.
The Smoke in the Grove in Pennsylvania was a 1,200 mile round trip, or about 24-25 hours of driving, including multiple stops. Would we do it again? Definitely! It was such a rewarding experience!
Josée & Patrick
Cyclone BBQ