It’s basting time for Sweet Swine O’ Mine’s Whole Hog Entry in the 2012 Arlington BBQ FallFest. Photo by Kate Louderback
In just a few weeks, the sweet, tangy scent of barbeque will drift over Arlington as the 17th Annual Arlington BBQ FallFest gets underway in Douglass Street Park on October 18-19. Over 40 teams from across the mid-South will compete in two divisions, Pro and Challenger, for trophies, cash prizes, and–maybe most importantly–bragging rights.
Across the country, barbeque contests are serious business—the Arlington BBQ FallFest is sanctioned by the Memphis BBQ Network (MBN), which means that the judges have been certified by the organization and that certain guidelines are met. The team application this year includes five pages of “Official Rules and Regulations” ranging from the weight of a whole hog entry (85 lb. minimum), to type of fuel used (wood and charcoal only), to whether garnish is allowed on the “blind box” rib entries (no). At each competition, teams earn points toward “Team of the Year” and an invitation to the MBN Championship in March.
In case you’re wondering, around here, barbeque contests are all about the pig. Pro teams can choose to compete in Whole Hog, Shoulder, and/or Ribs. The Challenger division, for teams and head cooks who have not previously participated at the Pro level, consists of two categories, Ribs and Pulled Pork.
The Arlington BBQ FallFest, like most competitions, includes ancillary contests which are affectionately called “Anything But Pork”, and can range from traditional BBQ accompaniments of sauce and beans to the more exotic desserts and seafood. With judging for these categories on Friday night, they are a fun preview to the main event on Saturday.
And some of the top teams in the MBN have 38002 connections. Last month, I sat down with members of Sweet Swine O’ Mine and FN’A BBQ to learn more about competing and judging.
Arlington residents Chris and Malou Culver joined established Pro team Sweet Swine O’ Mine (SSOM) in 2009, when the previous hog cook moved to Mississippi. The couple had been Ambassadors for that year’s Memphis in May World Championship BBQ Contest, and had several friends on the team.
Chris, who by day is Director of Industrial Sales for an electrical equipment supplier, had no experience in competitive barbeque cooking. “We set up in our cove, cooked all night, and in the morning he told me that he thought I had it down,” Chris laughs.
Since then, he’s taken that basic knowledge and improved on it. As the hog cook, Chris is responsible for turning roughly 150 pounds of raw, unprepared hog into mouth-watering deliciousness that will ultimately be judged bite by bite. In 24 hours. With only wood or charcoal. And usually in a parking lot or field.
For Chris, it starts with the meat. As a Pro division team, SSOM benefits from having a meat sponsor that furnishes all of its pork. He uses a grass fed Duroc hog, which is a premium breed known for its high percentage of intramuscular fat (marbling), which Chris feels gives his hog more flavor.
Cooking a hog for competition is more of a marathon than a sprint. First comes an official meat inspection, during which the meat is checked that it has been properly refrigerated and not pre-cooked, sauced, spiced, marinated, or treated in any way. After that, the team spends a couple of hours butchering and trimming the hog, and then flavoring it before placing it on the grill.
Chris explains that for a 9:45am Saturday morning “turn-in” (more about that later), the team would have the meat inspected Friday morning and start prepping afterwards, about 10:00am, to get it in the cooker by noon. He will then check the meat every few hours—all day and night—to have it at the peak of readiness about 30-45 minutes before judging.
In the Pro division, all teams have two different preliminary scores: “blind box”—meat arranged in a provided container and delivered to the judges tent, where it is evaluated by three to four judges on appearance, taste, and tenderness. This is immediately followed by 15-minute “onsite” visits by three different judges.
Chris explains that as soon as the blind box is prepared for turn in, the team goes to work cleaning, polishing, and garnishing the site to make it as appealing as possible. Garnishing and presentation are Malou’s specialty, and teams typically pull out all the stops for this critical step. China, silver, placemats, flowers, table decorations —the works—all add to the atmosphere.
On-site judges are required to see the meat on the grill before tasting and the cook delivers a detailed presentation of the cooking methods, flavors, and secrets used.
A quick five minutes to reset, and the next onsite judge arrives for a repeat presentation. Meanwhile, remember that many teams compete in more than one category, so while Chris is focused on his on-site judges, his teammates are busy with cooking the ribs.
The top three entries in each category proceed to finals. Chris laughs that when the finalist notification arrives, the team “high-fives and gets back to work.” The final round consists of another on-site judging presentation, this time by a group of four judges, although each scores independently. Preliminary scores are discarded, so the pressure is on.
In addition to prizes in the three categories, each competition awards Grand Champion status to the team with the top score across the categories. Or, as Chris puts it, “the single best bite of barbeque they had that day.”
Sweet Swine O’ Mine knows all about Grand Champions—the team won that recognition at the 2013 Memphis in May World Championship BBQ Contest for its Shoulder entry, earning it national recognition and an invitation to compete in “The Jack” (Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational) on October 26th and in the seven-team, $50,000 winner-take-all Kingsford Challenge this November in New York.
But don’t worry . . . they’ll be at Arlington. Chris and Malou wouldn’t miss it—he says that even after winning Memphis in May, A-town is his personal favorite: “it’s about the food, neighbors, town friends . . . and the passion of cooking barbeque.”
In the barbeque world, firefighter Bill Scott, a nine-year veteran of the Arlington Fire Department, and his wife Karen, Marketing Director for Malco Theaters are known for organizing one of the top teams in the Challenger Division, FN’A BBQ. Bill doubles as the rib cook and Karen handles finances and logistics for the team. Arlington residents Jack and Claudia Woods, Michelle Mynatt help round out the team, with Jack as the pulled pork specialist.
Like many team members, the Scotts started out helping with a neighbor’s team and then “got bit” with the barbeque bug about eight years ago. In addition to cooking for competitions, Bill helps mentor younger teams.
But don’t be fooled into thinking that just because they aren’t called “pro”, the Challenger teams are any less serious about their “Q”. While entry fees and meat bills are generally lower (a whole hog can easily set a Pro team back $300), Challenger division still requires hefty investments of money and time.
One of the things Bill has seen with barbeque competitions is the growing importance of having a scientific approach to flavor, quipping that cooking has come a long way from setting up a tent and grill and having a good time.
His goal is to build a “flavor profile” with his rubs, injections, and sauces that includes transitioning from salty to sweet and timing how far ahead to make them so that the flavors develop. Even the type of wood used will make a difference. Apple wood, for example, leaves a much-desired visible “smoke ring” in the meat.
As with the Pro division, Challenger teams first submit their ribs and pulled pork entries in a “blind box” to a panel of judges. Only the three finalists, however, are judged onsite to determine the winner.
Bill admits that his background as a firefighter helps with an understanding of the effects of weather, temperature, and humidity when cooking outside in a changing environment.
“It’s a lot of work to get the flavors in the right place,” Bill explains. “And it’s easy to mess something up. A simple mistake can throw you off. But there’s nothing you’d rather be doing.”
And so far, the team’s work has paid off. FN’A BBQ is currently in third place in the MBN Challenger Team of the Year standings and has won two Grand Championships so far this year.
If you go . . .
Arlington BBQ FallFest, Oct. 18-19, Douglass Street Park
Friday Night is Community Night—come and enjoy Grand Theft Audio onstage from 6:30 pm – 10:30 pm (FREE!). The Arlington Chamber of Commerce will be selling BBQ sandwich meals, including beans, slaw, and a drink. Cost is $10.
