The Barbecue Diary – part 1

Ricky Ginsburg (former head cook of The Boca Boys)

Tuesday afternoon… I’m headed out to Albertson’s to get my Boston butt and brisket. Two blocks away and I realize I’ve got no cash. Credit card? Nah, back to the house and write a check for cash. Ok, back to the supermarket. Make friends with your local butcher, a) you’ll always get the best meat (or so he tells me) and b) you’ll always get a break on the price (or so he tells me.) I get the biggest package he’s got of Boston butt, usually around 12 pounds. Today, for some odd reason, the 2 butt package is over 17 pounds. Good, there’ll be lots of leftovers to take home. An untrimmed brisket in my part of South Florida is a rare thing to find and today is no exception. Four stores later and 20 miles of driving and I end up at the little Italian market 3 blocks from the house. 19 pounds of Black Angus untrimmed brisket for the wonderful price of $2.79 a pound. (Hey, this ain’t Texas!)

Wednesday morning… BJ’s is my best bet for ribs and chicken. Their loin backs used to be $2.49 a pound when I started competing. This bright sunny morning they’ve hit $3.99 a pound, only because it’s not a holiday weekend. The week before 4^th of July the ribs were $4.29 a pound. Who said we’re cooking cheap food? Boneless, skinless thighs or regular thighs? I think I’ll go back to the regular stuff. That boneless, skinless stuff is good for cooking at home but judges like to eat crispy skin. (Yeah, like that happens!) Grab some apple juice, foil pans, a case of water, and oh yes, an extra jar of cayenne pepper. You can never have too much cayenne.

Thursday night… Yank everything out of the closet. EZ-up tent, folding chairs, prep trays, and the most important – the air mattress and pump. It takes around 3 hours for a gang of spiders to put up enough webs on my Boca Boys sign to complete cover the letters in lace. And this sign’s been hanging in the garages for 3 months! Well, this ain’t no MIM contest but I still need to do some cleanup. My pickup truck loves barbecue contests because it’s the only time it gets washed. (You can’t expect me to sleep in a dirty bedroom.) The loading process is interrupted by the dinner bell. In preparation for a big weekend of cooking we have a special dinner… tuna fish sammiches. As I continue the loading after dinner Karen wants to know why I have to bring two bottles of scotch. Some things just can be explained. Around midnight everything (I hope) is loaded in the truck. I’ve had to trim a few extra things out since I have a helper coming with me (no not the dog) so I can’t fill the front seat. (So much for clean clothes and a radio. Hmmm, I can squeeze the radio in behind the coolers.) Tomorrow morning at 9am we’ll begin the 3-1/2 hour drive north to an FBA contest. But for now, there’s the peace and quiet and comfort of my other bed, the one without the four wheels, and my only good night’s rest of the weekend…

… to be continued.

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