It was a picture perfect day on Sept. 11 in Grand Junction, CO as 49 teams gathered at the 2010 Pork & Hops Challenge. Skys were clear and the temperature was in the upper 70s. Competition was fierce as some of the top competition BBQ teams in the country were there to compete for a piece of the $20,000+ in prize money. The venue is one of the best of any contest in the country, located in a beautiful, grassy, tree shaded park.

We were more than a little nervous competing in this field of seasoned BBQ cooks since this was only our second time to cook on our brand new Pitmaker BBQ Vault smoker. We just picked it up in Houston two weeks before and cooked on it once at a contest in Parker,CO. We shouldn't have been nervous, though, because the insulated BBQ Vault smoker chugged right along through the chilly night. The BBQ Vault came through for us and we placed 9th in chicken, 6th in ribs, 5th in pork, 5th in brisket and 3rd overall. Congratulations to 4 Legs Up for winning Grand Champion for the 2nd year in a row, and McFrankenboo BBQ, who came all the way from Phoenix, for their Reserve Champion finish.