Slap Yo Daddy at Arizona BBQ State Championship, Scottsdale, AZ
58 teams were shoehorned into a dirt lot by the waterfront in upscale Scottsdale amid the Maserati and luxury car dealers and high-rise condos for the first annual Arizona BBQ Festival and State Championship. Teams as far as Ohio, Washington, and Texas showed up for this one. We didn’t have to worry because with Mike Reimann and Tom Duncan from AZBBQ Association running the show, everything was well planned and executed. There were lots of sponsors and participation from local chefs and restaurants. Viking Range was there too, and I was invited onto their grand stage to do a rib cooking demo during the 3 pm slot.
3 pm cooking demo on Grand Viking Products Stage by Harry
In addition to the rib demo, I able to serve my signature Seared Ahi Tuna w Maui Onion Dressing together with some Asian-inspired Coleslaw which was tossed with a Thai-Chili Lime Vinaigrette. The crowd loved the ribs with the tangy coleslaw and Ahi appetizer. Due to popular request, I’ve posted the vinaigrette recipe on my Slap Yo Daddy BBQ Recipe page. A big thanks goes to Phil from AZBBQ who helped cook the 16 slabs of demo ribs while I was busy cooking the contest.
This contest was the first time we had a real chef-in-training join us as an assistant cook. Celine who is actually French-born and is a student at the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, but now living in the US, was a great help. Hopefully, she picked up some BBQ secrets from us during her Saturday stint as part of our team. She also helped with my Viking rib demo.
Celine, our guest chef from the Le Cordon Blue in Scottsdale
At the awards ceremony, we found out we finished 1st in Chicken, 2nd in Ribs, and 3rd overall. Not bad considering I screwed up my brisket (undercooked) which came in mid-pack. Congrats to Vince and Alexa from Rhythm and Que for GC and Brent and Kim from QN4U for Reserve. Many thanks go to Mike and Tom for organizing this fun event and to all the judges, officials, volunteers, sponsors, and hosts. We’ll sure be back next year!
A big thanks also go to our sponsors: Rocks BBQ Systems, T&H Meat and Sausage, TheSlabs.com, Cajun Bandit, Smokin Guns, and Butchers BBQ.
Thanks to our helpers: Celine, Peter, Brian, Pete