Moe Cason Barbeque at the 2016 Horse Town Brew n’ Que Festival

It was time to rise and shine for an early morning drive to Norco, CA for the 2016 Horsetown Brew n’ Que Festival. We had the pleasure of covering my good friend, Moe Cason. You might know him from a show called BBQ Pitmasters, where he competed and also judged along with Myron Mixon and Tuffy Stone. Unfortunately, I could not actually see him until the end of the competition since I was selected as a judge for the competition. KCBS-sanctioned competitions have strict rules in which a judge may not enter a team’s site until after all judging is complete. Instead, I dropped the hubby off so he could video and photograph Moe in action. I waved to Moe from the car and went to the judging tent.

Here’s the great day my hubby had with Moe Cason:

Ron Moruzzi lent his smokers and equipment to use for the competition since Moe flew in for the competition.

Love the sign on this smoker, “Bone Lick’n Good”.

Moe prepping his Cornish game hens for the Chicken competition. Yes, you can use Cornish game hens for this category.

Moe adding his spice rub to the Cornish game hens.

Moe checking the temperature of his meats.

Moe getting his game plan ready as he waits for his meats to get to that perfect temperature.

Moe basting his pork ribs.

Cornish game hen drumsticks ready for the smoker.

Moe working on his turn-in boxes.

Cornish game hens are ready.

Pork ribs on the smoker.

Moe boxing his pork ribs for turn-in.

Moe separating the money muscle from the pork.

Time to sauce up the pork.

Pork is ready for turn-in. Look at that beautiful smoke ring on the sliced loin!

Moe slicing up the brisket. Look at the beautiful smoke ring!

Moe taking photos with his fans. The hubby said there were fans coming around all day long. He puts down what he’s doing to talk to his fans and take photos with them. He is the nicest guy in BBQ! Although, if you are a fan and out of courtesy, I would wait to meet any team or pitmaster until after the last turn-in. Moe is a one-man team so it is helpful to keep his focus on his meats. BBQ competitions are a sport and keep in mind, most of these pitmasters are running on little or no sleep to make sure their smokers are up to temperature and checking that their meats are not stalling.

After the judging was over, I made my way over to Moe’s pit to see my friend. Since he lives in Iowa, I don’t get to see him very often. I can’t wait to see him again at the World Food Championships in Orange Beach, AL.

For more information:

Horse Town Brew N’ Que Festival