Posts Tagged ‘American Royal’

Baxter’s Original, finest wood products available!!!

Posted: May 5, 2013 in BBQ, Product Review, Team Spotlight
Tags: American Royal, Barbecue, Barbeque, BBQ, BBQ News, BBQ Pitmasters, BBQ Rubs, BBQ Sauce, BBQ wood, burn, Charcoal, Chicken, Competition BBQ, Cook, cooking tips, facebook, FBA, fire, Florida, Florida BBQ, Food, Grand Champion, Hogs Gone Wild BBQ, Let'sTalk Hog, Meat, Pork, Results, Ribs, Spare Ribs, Spice, wood

Wood…..most folks are not into wood for much more then throwing a log into the fireplace to keep warm during the winter. Many do not even care what type of wood they are burning for heat, just that it is a good burn. Well, BBQ‘ers are a bit more selective with the types of wood they like to use. I remember when I started BBQing, I was using, like what most folks will do, whatever type of wood was available in my area. In Florida, that means Oak wood, and lots of it. I would always be scrounging around for whatever wood I could pick up, at times I felt like a storm hunter, looking for downed trees after a big storm went through my area. This worked okay, for a while, but I soon realized I needed another layer of flavors on my products, that I just was not getting from my local wood. I needed a variety of wood, properly dried, that would compliment the products I produced on my cooker. So, I did what came natural, for me, I went on-line. A couple years ago, a good friend of Let’s Talk Hog, came to visit from Canada, Wilfred Reinke, (Fred) many folks know him as the Oshawa Ogre. Fred came down for a visit, during Pigfest here in Lakeland, Fl two years ago, and he told me about Baxter’s Original, in Georgia. Fred stopped in and visited with Michael Baxter, and his family, during his drive down to Florida. Fred was thoroughly impressed, not only with Michael’s products, but also in his passion to offer only the best products to his customers.

Fred & Micheal, hanging out by Micheal's double barrel smoker.

Fred & Michael, hanging out by Michael’s double barrel smoker.

I decided to get in touch with Michael, and using his products has greatly effected my results. Where I was just trying to utilize any type of wood I could pick up, Baxter Original, offers only the best quality wood, from all different types of hardwood and fruit woods. One of the things that sets Baxter’s apart from the other wood providers is, Baxter’s only air dries their products. Many wood providers try to speed up the drying process by kiln drying their products, not Baxter’s. At Baxter’s they place their wood on racks and force constant airflow around the wood. This allows the wood to dry in a natural time frame which preserves all of the natural sugars in the wood which helps to provide the most flavor. By forcing air around the wood they can ensure that the wood dries completely so you never receive wet wood.

At the shop of Baxter’s Original.

Top quality wood, from Baxter’s Original.

If you are looking for a variety of wood Baxter’s can offer you that. They offer many what I would call base wood; Hickory, Oak, Almond, Pecan & Maple. I like to start with one of these woods, then add extra flavor by using some fruit wood, it depends on what I’m cooking, as to which fruit wood I use. Baxter’s offers all types of fruit wood, to satisfy your needs; Apple Cherry & Peach. They offer these woods in a variety of cuts, premium smoker wood chunks, smoker wood chips, and whole logs. I have personally used the chunks in a gravity feed cooker, my stumps, and in a stick burner, my Lang 36. I have not had any negative issues using either cooker. All I got out of the wood I used was, wonderful wood flavor, exactly what I was looking for.

A variety of wood chunks offered at the Baxter's showroom.

A variety of wood chunks & chips offered at the Baxter’s showroom.

Baxter’s Original is a popular source for wood, amongst professional BBQ cooks. Baxter’s is used by many winning teams, such as Rescue Smokers, Holy Smokes, Wooly Bully Mafia, Git-R-Smoked, Q-Fused BBQ & my team Hogs Gone Wild BBQ. Beside the fact that Baxter’s puts out quality wood, that keeps these and many other teams winning, Baxter’s knows what the teams are looking for in their wood, because Michael Baxter has a BBQ team of his own. So to say that Baxter’s Original knows how to cater to BBQ teams, is an understatement. In my opinion, it would be in the best interest of any BBQ team, or even backyard cook, looking to up your game and flavor profiles, get some Baxter’s Original wood. Ordering is very easy on the Baxter’s web-site: click here

Orders ready to go out from Baxter’s Original world headquarters.

My peach wood order, and hickory chips. GREAT stuff!!!

I would like to personally thank Michael Baxter for taking time to sit down with Let’s Talk Hog, and grant us a short interview. I enjoyed learning more about Baxter’s Original, I hope you will too.

LTH: Michael, if you could please, give us a brief history of Baxter’s Original, when and how did Baxter’s Original get started?

Baxter’s: Baxter’s Original started in November 2009, in my barn, in Fitzgerald, Ga. We sold our first bag of wood chips on Ebay, and lost $1 in the deal, due to shipping fees. We now have a physical store front and a real wood shop, with myself and to other employees.

The location for Baxter’s Original shop is:

Address:

115 10 Mile Road

Fitzgerald, Ga 31750

Phone: 770-846-4537

Hours:

Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:
Sunday:

9am to 5pm
9am to 5pm
9am to 5pm
9am to 5pm
9am to 5pm
10am to 2pm
Closed

Baxter’s Original offers more then just wood, stop in and take a look.

LTH: Who is involved with the running of Baxter’s Original?

Baxter’s: I own the business, and operate as President. Matt Green is out Production and Store Manager. Aaron Smith is our Director of Marketing.

Michael receiving an award from former Pres. & First Lady Carter.

LTH: I know, first hand, that you offer great wood to BBQ teams, are there other types of customers that help make up your customer base?

Baxter’s: Although we have a special place in out hearts for all the Pro Competition Teams out there using and promoting our products, out real customer base is the backyard chef. The guys/gals that may only grill/smoke twice a month, but when they do, they want the best products possible. We love getting an email or phone call from a customer that just had the best cook of their life, and attributes us to part of that. That’s what really keeps us going.

LTH: What is the name of your Professional BBQ team, and who are the members of your team?

Baxter’s: Our Competition BBQ Team is called-Aunt Mary’s BBQ Brigade. The team is made up of Myself, My Father, Aaron Smith & my Brother David.

LTH: Where did you get the name of your BBQ Team?

Baxter’s: Our team name is a tribute to my late Great Aunt, Mary E. Baxter. She was our family matriarch and the single most positive influence in my life. She always told me to pursue my passions and to do it with integrity and zeal, she is missed. I can’t start a fire without remembering her with a smile, she was 92.

Aunt Mary’s BBQ Brigade Competition set up.

LTH: What are some highlights of your BBQ team, memorable calls you have received?

Baxter’s: We did 7 competitions in 2012, with the largest competition being the Smoke on the Suwanee, in Live Oak, Fl. We got an 8th place chicken call there, with 83 teams. We had a 3 call day, at Pigs and Wings in Perry, Fl. We have competed in 3 competitions in 2013, with several calls, and hopefully more to come.

LTH: What is one thing on your BBQ bucket list?

Baxter’s: The first thing on my BBQ Bucket list is to win our first Grand Championship, hell, a Reserve Grand Championship would be nice right now….

LTH: What is on the horizon for Baxter’s Original, what are some goals you may have?

Baxter’s: We have been growing leaps and bounds over the last 2 years, and we do not see it slowing down anytime soon. Most recently we have been working to add more restaurant business to our books, and now we supply some of the best BBQ joints on the East Coast. I think we will see a lot more action in this area over the next year or two.

LTH: Where can folks go to get your fine products?

Baxter’s: Please visit our web-site at: www.baxtersoriginal.com or feel free to stop by our showroom.

Thanks Michael for the interview, and all you do for BBQ.

Micheal doing what he loves, with his Stumps Smoker.

Michael doing what he loves, with his Stumps Smoker.

The BBQ Roamer

Posted: March 31, 2013 in BBQ, Editorial
Tags: All Racked Up, American Royal, Barbecue, Barbeque, BBQ, BBQ Pitmasters, BBQ Rubs, BBQ Sauce, Chicken, Competition BBQ, Cook, cooking tips, facebook, FBA, Florida, Florida BBQ, Food, Grand Champion, Jack Daniel, KCBS, Lakeland, Lakeland Florida, Meat, Pork, Results, Ribs, Rooftop, Spare Ribs, Unknown BBQ, Whiskey Bent BBQ

One of my first attempts doing a Pork Butt, old school Char-broiler.

I have been asked many time, “how did you get involved with BBQ?” I don’t know if it is how, as much as why… Some folks are just born with BBQ in their blood, their family has being cooking Q for generations. Others get involved with the socializing aspect of BBQ, just hanging out with some buddies and figure, “let’s take this party on the road”. Still others, like myself, start off in the backyard with the family, and with the encouragement of friends and family decide to enter a competition, and
get totally sweep up in the excitement of the competition.
No matter how we got involved with competition BBQ, I think we all have a couple of things in common, we all enjoy the spirit of competition, we all love cooking BBQ (kinda tired of eating BBQ though lol) and we all have, what I call a need to roam. I can only speak for myself of course, but I have a family and my regular job that keeps me very busy, and I have to find time to “schedule” BBQ into my life. I am very lucky, as I have a very understanding and supportive family, and they allow me time to engage in my favorite hobby, but after a while the backyard becomes very small, and unable to fulfill your BBQ desires. Soon you start to expand your BBQ domain and enter a local competition, that goes well, and if you are very lucky, get the thrill of having your name called during the awards ceremony, now you are hooked. Willing to travel to compete, your comfort zone just went from your backyard, to city wide, county wide, state wide & and for some folks, nation wide. To me the desire to compete is a big part of doing competitions, but the excitement of traveling to new locations, seeing new things, and of course meeting new people, that is a huge part of the competition BBQ scene. The cooking portion of the competitions is the art of BBQ, but the travel, and meeting folks is the life of BBQ!!!

Too many good friends to list and show all, below are just a few pics of friends and BBQ family.

HWG Cook Team, 2013

HGW set up at Eagle Lake.

You know what you are going to cook at each competition, before you get there, but you do not know who you will meet, what your site looks like, exactly what the venue will be like, sometimes these things do not reach our expectations, but for the most part, we are happy with the out come. At times our “regular” lives over run any individuality we may try to express, but getting out on the highway, jumping on that plane or just breaking away from the ordinary routine, helps add some spice to life. For me, change is what keeps my heart beating, helps the blood surging, I love it. I am waiting, not very patently, mind you, for our next competition. We had a very good time at our last competition in Eagle Lake, FL. Jim Elser (Pitmaster from Sweet Smoke Q) and his team did a great job. We got a great call in ribs, third place. What fun it is to hear your name called, but I have also had it go the other way, no calls at all, what a bummer that is, but then you start to think of the great time you had there, the hard work you put into it, the money you paid………yep, even more of a bummer!!! lol Kidding aside, I do love to hear our name call, but being there and competing on the level that today’s BBQ is at, is really an incredible feat on it’s own. Then getting to meet the fine folks involved with competition BBQ, is always a great thrill.

A very old chicken practice for me. Toothpicks? Really??

I’m like many, we do a lot of practice cooks at home, between competitions. When I started out, I had my family who were so eager to be my little Ginny-pigs, and try out as much BBQ as I could cook up for them, but now after doing this for a couple years now, it seems like everyone is busy when I want to do a cook. So, I have to hit the streets with my BBQ, getting friends and extended family, that I haven’t over used yet, to eat some BBQ. Honestly, my family is always there for me, with open hearts…..and empty stomachs. I would not have even started this team if it was not for y’all, thanks!!! (See what you guys started?) Getting back to the
practice cooks, I enjoy doing them, then getting to write about them after I have finished, it is a great way to keep up my skills, both as a cook and a writer. I have two primary grills that I cook on, first is a Lang 36 patio, I just picked this cooker up a couple months ago, and I am very happy with it.
My second grill is a GMG (Green Mountain Grill), a pellet smoker. I love turning on my cookers, the smells from the competitions come rushing back as soon as that smoke hits the air. Thanks to Chad Ward from Whiskey Bent BBQ, I have had a GMG at every competition I have done, but to me the smell and sounds created from the GMG are part of the competition, in the middle of the night, when it is finally quite around the competition site, except for a couple of Karaoke freaks going all hours of the night…that’s another story, listening to the auger feeding the pellets into the fire box, and the wonderful aroma created by the woods within the pellets, the smell of the meat cooking.

Practice makes perfect!!!

I truly enjoy that experience, and by getting a small feeling of that here at home, helps me feel connected to what I love to do, in a small way. I really wish I could do more competitions, if it were up to me, I would be at everyone of them, but as I said earlier, BBQ still has to be scheduled around the “regular life”. Not to mention, doing a BBQ competition is not the cheapest thing in the world. You have your fees for getting into the venue to compete, meat costs, spices, gas(that’s a big one now), equipment, entertainment & drinking cost. With the prices of meats going through the roof many teams are drawing back on catering due to the high cost of meat and gas. Pulling my trailer will really eat up the gas. If I have a customer for BBQ, I try to set up a home or office delivery only, much easier on the pocket. Another thing many teams are doing to try and off set cost is taking on a team sponsor, this has been something some teams have some for years, but now a days, most teams have, or are looking to have team sponsors. Many sponsors are will to help with the cost of doing competition BBQ, and others are able to offer products, for no cost, but help to offset some BBQ expenses. We have been fortunate to be able to work with Pitmaster BBQ Sauce (formally known as Rooftop BBQ sauce) as a team sponsor, they have a great sauce. Andy Allen and his Rooftop BBQ team are BBQ competitors as well, so they understands what a team needs at the competition, and also knows the flavor profiles that the teams are looking for. That is why their sauce is great, on it’s own, for the competitions, or for home. Go to greenmountaingrills.com to find a GMG dealer that carries Pitmaster BBQ Sauce.

We have been lucky enough to get hooked up with a great wood company, Baxter’s Original. Mike Baxter is also a BBQ guy, and knows exactly what teams are looking for in quality of wood. I have dealt with other wood providers, in the past, and I can honestly say, the quality of wood offered by Baxter’s Original is the best quality I have seen, and the customer service is tops. Please check out Baxter’s website, where they offer all types of BBQ necessaries. www.baxtersoriginal.com

We here at Hogs Gone Wild BBQ team are very pleased with being chosen to have a sponsorship association with Oakridge BBQ. We have used a couple Oakridge products in the past, and loved them. We have started using their products in all four of our competition turn-ins, and have had great results. We are looking forward to a long term relationship with the Oakridge BBQ family. Do yourself a favor and take a look at www.oakridgebbq.com to pick up some of the best rubs on the market.

If you would like to combine everything into one order, and check out some of the best products available to BBQ with, please check out our latest sponsors at pitmastersdepot.com Jay with Pit Masters Depot, is still working on his web-site, so if you would like to order anything from them, including GMG products, please contact me, and I will let you know how to get what you need. Jay is adding plenty of products to their innovatory, and will truly be a one stop shopping destination for all BBQ’ers.

I will be announcing a new sponsor here in the next week or two, we are very excited about this sponsor. All I can say, at this moment is, if you want to take your pork to the next level, this will help you get there!!! A truly amazing product!!!!

There are so many folks, I could not even think of listing them all here, BBQ folks are the salt of the
earth, and at times, refer to one another as family. I know, by personal experience, that when you are
out at a competition site, you may have forgotten something, or a piece of equipment has failed, do not
panic, many folks will be glad to step up and give you a hand, I have done it myself. Now I’m not
saying you should show up empty handed and expect everyone to pitch in and give you everything for
your cook, someone may just put you out on your ear if you try that, but I am saying that BBQ folks
like to help. Helping, isn’t that what we are all here to do? Look at all the relief efforts BBQ folks have
organized and executed, just recently for the tornado victims throughout the U.S.A., there were BBQ
folks lined up to help. Having a good time, sharing life with those you care about, and making the most
of the short time we have here, and for me BBQ is one big way I can achieve what I am looking for in
life, happiness. After all, in the end, all we have are memories; make as many as you can.

Keeping up with the “Super Teams”

Posted: March 16, 2013 in BBQ, BBQ Cooking Techniques, BBQ News, Editorial
Tags: American Royal, Barbecue, Barbeque, BBQ, BBQ Pitmasters, BBQ Rubs, BBQ Sauce, Big Poppa, Chicken, Competition BBQ, Cook, cooking tips, Dana, facebook, FBA, Florida, Florida BBQ, Food, Grand Champion, Jack Daniel, Janet Hillis, KCBS, Lakeland Florida, London, Meat, Pork, Ribs, Rooftop, Spare Ribs, Spice

It has been a while since I have just sat do and wrote about, BBQ and all that means to me. I have been busy, like the most of us, keeping up with, real life duties, ie, Family, Job & Life as a whole. After a while the competition scene, gets put on the back burner, literally. Unless you are one of the lucky few that can do competition BBQ for a living, this is something that happens to all teams, from time to time. When this happens to a team, it puts you off your game. It is no secret, the teams that consistently win, compete the most. Sure there are times where a surprise team will come in, and take the competition, on any given weekend, but for the most part, the winning teams are going to be the seasoned professional.

Living here in Florida, definitely has it’s advantages, when it comes to cooking BBQ. Minus a hurricane, or two, we can pretty much BBQ year around. The FBA (Florida Barbecue Association) competition schedule starts by the second week of January, and runs well into December. The biggest break is normally during the middle of summer, July & August, just too hot to be spending a long amount of time outside. Throw in a couple of KCBS (Kansas City Barbecue Society) events, a Sam’s club event, and even shoot across the border into Georgia, and try out a GBA (Georgia Barbecue Association) or an MBN (Memphis Barbecue Network) and there is a BBQ competition darn near every weekend of the year. Folks up north are just digging their cookers out of the snow, and FBA teams already have 3-4 competitions in for the year. It would be save to say, the competition here is very tough, and some of the best teams in the nation cook here in Florida, but not all of us are lucky enough to get after it every weekend. How can we close the gap, and be able to compete with these teams? Teams like mine, that usually hit the scores in about the middle of the field at many competitions, have to try and make up ground by practice cooks, by judging competitions and by attending the occasional class put on by a BBQ expert. All are great ways to make up a little ground on the super teams. Nothing will make up for real world experience, but practice and more practice will help to keep pace with the other teams.

Practice cook for chicken

Getting the Lang ready for a parctice cook, using some Kebroak Lump

Getting the Lang ready for a practice cook, using some Kebroak Lump

Practice Pork!!!

Practice cooks will help a team on many levels. It helps to try out those flavor profiles, and to get down the cooking times for each category. Getting familiar with the cooker that you will be competing on helps, and we even go as far as practicing boxing as we would for turn-in. I really enjoy doing practice cooks, and it really helps my confidence level, going into a competition. The one problem I have is, finding volunteers to eat all the BBQ. When I started BBQ I never thought this would be a problem, but after years of forcing BBQ on my family, to critique, they go running for the hills at the first sign of smoke. I’m glad I have a lot of folks at my real job who are still BBQ fans. My wife gladly helps me pack all the BBQ up, to take to work and offer up to all my friends.

In my opinion, judging is a great way to up your BBQ awareness. You will get the best bang for your buck through judging. If the competition you will be judging is a local one, all you have to do (once your a certified judge) is show up and eat some BBQ. Normally a judge will need to contact the event organizer to get on the list to judge, but judging is a good time, and great information that many cook teams will not experience. I have heard many cook teams ask, “What the hell was that judge thinking?”. What better what to find out then by setting at the table while food is being judged. While the actual judging is going on, judges are not allowed to commit on the entries, but after all scores have been recorded, judges are free to discuss the entries they have sampled. So not only has the judge experienced what 5-6 other teams have turned in, but they also get to participate in a discussion on what the judges liked or did not like about these entries. I have been privileged enough to judge at a few competitions, and I can honestly say, I have learned something at each judging. I think each cook team should really try to judge at least one competition, if only to experience the other side of competition BBQ, that most teams do not see. I also think judges should try to cook with a cook team, if possible. Great knowledge comes from experience, so get out there and experience as much BBQ as you can!!! It will not only be beneficial to you and your team, but to the sport of BBQ as a whole.

FBA judging at Grant, FL

Judging FBA in Haines City, FL

One very popular way for many teams to help them keep up with or over take the competition is by taking BBQ classes given by BBQ experts. This has been an option that has been growing in popularity over the past 5+ years. Many BBQ professionals have recognized that there is a great market for their skills, and classes are filling up across the country. Classes have seen cook teams travel from out of state & even from out of the country, to attend their, not to mention putting out hundreds of dollars. I am a fan of these classes, and have been to one organized class from; Dana and Janet Hillis, of Big Papa‘s Country Kitchen. For more information, on Dana’s class, please visit the FBA sight HERE contact information is listed in the competition schedule under; Big Papa’s Competition BBQ School – Naples, FL.

I have known Dana & Janet Hillis, for a couple of years now, from the BBQ circuit. I saw them walking to the stage, a lot, before we were able to meet personally. We were lucky enough to set up next to them at a competition in Sebring, FL a couple years ago, and they were very welcoming, and helpful. Us being the new team, Dana & Janet were happy to lend a hand, and give advice. Dana was so excited to try out and give us his opinion on our food, and it really helped, we got three calls that competition, and came very close to getting a GC, (tanked one category). I knew that if Dana ever came out with a class, I would take it. We took Dana’s first class in the summer of 2012, and we had a great time. My team has not won a GC since taking Dana’s class, but it has kept us competitive in a very talented field of BBQ cooks, around the Central Florida area. So, look around for a class that best suits you, and sign up for it. They do vary in price a bit, I have seen some that run about $150 for a one day class to $700-$800 for a two day class. Most classes will give a discount for folks who would like to bring their spouse to the class, as well. Many classes offer a fine dinner, cooked by your host, and plenty of goodies in your team bag. Sponsors are happy to give some sample products for folks in the classes to try out, because they know these are folks that are going to be doing BBQ for a long time, and could be a future long term customer. Another plus for taking a class is, not only do you get to see what a true Pitmaster does to compete in BBQ, but there is opportunity to meet some other great BBQ folks, who are there to take the class. A lot of discussion about procedures and other secrets, are normally shared during these classes, even amongst the students. I know we had a great time at the class we took, and will do it again. I also feel that we learned a lot during the class, and it was money well spent.

A few of Dana’s awards are a great back drop for his class.

Tables set up, and ready for students, at Big Papa’s Country Kitchen, cooking class.

Dana, giving some hands on experience to my wife, Biggi.

These are in my opinion, three ways to up your game as a professional BBQ cook team. I know there are more schools out there, and a few that are on-line or CD classes. I hope to be able to check them out, one day, and be able to render an opinion on them as well, but for now this is all the first hand experiences I have.

It is not easy to keep up with the “super” teams, and it is even more difficult to know just, “what the hell was that judge was thinking?”. I have heard it many times on the competition trail, it has a lot to do with luck, and that is very true, to a point. Luck does play a part in, which tables your entries land on, and which judges are at that table, and even which competitor’s entries are at the same table as your entry. Those are things you, as a cook team can not control, but what you can control is, the quality of BBQ you choose to turn in at any given contest. You and you alone will decide what your flavor profile should be, if your entry is cook to your liking, how you want to arrange your box for turn-in, sauce or no sauce, these are examples of things with in your realm of circumstances that you can control at a BBQ competition. The best thing we can do as cooks is to make the most informed decisions that we can make, this will help us with our performance at a BBQ competition. The best way to make a sound informed decision is by educating our selves as much as possible. Please go out and get involved with competition BBQ, if you can’t cook on a given weekend, go judge an event. Volunteer some time to a organization in your area, I know they would love the help. This is all good stuff to help our sport grow, and when competition BBQ grows, it’s good for all of us. I think I will take some of my own advice, time for a brisket practice cook. Thanks all and God bless!!!

Grilling Evolution: Part 3; The Finale

Posted: December 18, 2012 in BBQ, BBQ Cooking Techniques, Editorial, Team Spotlight
Tags: American Royal, Bandiola Spice, Barbecue, Barbeque, BBQ, BBQ Pitmasters, BBQ Rubs, BBQ Sauce, Biggi, Chicken, chicken wings, Competition, Competition BBQ, Cook, cooking tips, facebook, Florida, Florida BBQ, Food, Grand Champion, Hogs Gone Wild, Lakeland, Lakeland Florida, Meat, Pizza, Pork, Results, Ribs, Sebring, Sebring Florida, Spare Ribs, Unknown BBQ, Whiskey Bent BBQ

Hogs Gone Wild was scheduled to compete in its first professional barbeque competition in Sebring, Florida. I had gone over the schedule many times in my mind; drive to Sebring, cook some great barbeque, win a big trophy, then drive home, easy right? Wrong! The one thing about that fantasy was that there were 29 other teams there with the same scenario running through their minds as well, and only one team that could realize their fantasy. I wish I could tell you that it was our team who took home the GC, but like I said we
are dealing with reality here. I think my team did a GREAT job, especially for our first competition.

Our set up, with my old ’81 F150. Haines City, FL

HGW in Sebring, FL

Overall, the entire experience was a good one for us. That’s not to say there weren’t some hectic moments for my team, especially for me. Those moments materialized as soon as we arrived on our site. I drive a 1981 Ford F150, not much to look at, but the original straight 6 engine has only 109,000 miles. It is a very reliable vehicle, and the manual transmission makes it a good towing vehicle. We arrived in Sebring with no problems, got our site assignment, backed the smoker in, unhooked it, then went to unload the truck, well, the tailgate was stuck. The handle finally broke, and we were unable to lower the tailgate. What timing! This could be a problem. Sure, we could unload everything over the side without lowering the tailgate, except for my Green Mountain Grill, that would be very difficult to unload with the tailgate up, and even harder to reload after the competition ends. We tried for a while with no success. When all else failed, it was time to get out the hammer that I had in my tool box. I beat the tailgate into submission. What a stress relief!

Chicken at Sebring, FL

Finally, we had everything unloaded and set up, our work had just begun. We had to get our large cuts of meat on the GMG for overnight cooking, but first it was time for us to have dinner. What does a barbeque team eat at a barbeque contest? Well, pizza, of course. The last thing we wanted was more barbeque, we have been eating it non-stop for months, and just can’t take anymore. I love
cooking barbeque, but I do not think my family will ever request barbeque at birthday parties anymore. We brought along some frozen pizza, and cooked them up on the grill. Too bad there’s no category for pizza because they came out great. It could have just been that

Pizza on the GMG

we were just hungry, but I was just happy to have a hot meal, and a cold (adult) beverage to enjoy. We had planned on vending our barbeque at this event, but that did not work out well. The barbeque event did not bring in the crowd we had been told to expect. However, the folks that did eat our barbeque loved it! That made it all worth while. To me, there is no greater reward than to have someone enjoy your food. I spent a great deal of time and effort to prepare and cook this food, and for someone to 1) pay me for it , and 2) tell me that it is the best barbeque they have ever had—that’s my trophy. The few dollars we took in vending I think all went for iced tea and lemonade at the event. The weather was not bad, it was warm, but not hot. Our biggest complaint was about the thousands of love bugs. If you have spent time in Florida around March and October, you know what I am referring to—love bug season. Love bugs do not hurt anything, they are just quite pesky, getting into everything. We were feeling them crawling on us for days after the event ended.

Chicken turn-in, Sebring

Ribs turn-in, Sebring

Overall, our team had some obstacles to overcome, and I feel we did a fine job doing just that. There were only three of us at this event,
Biggi (my wife), Sue (my co-worker/team mate) and me. We safely set up, and did what we set out to do—turn in competition-level barbeque. Just completing and turning in all four categories on time is a major accomplishment. Think about it, you have four different meats, each prepared in different ways. They all have different cook times, different seasonings, and different techniques for turn-in appearance. All four meats have only a 10-minute window to turn-in for judging. So, you have to be very good at planning and executing your plan in order to make turn-in time. If you are late, your product will not get judged, all that effort would be for nothing. If your product is not done, you will be disqualified. I heard horror stories about teams who, having just turned in their product, see a FBA representative walking toward them holding a turn-in box. Your heart just drops, and a sick feeling comes over you. All you can do is hope they walk past your site. After all your efforts, to get disqualified, that’s got to hurt! I’m happy to say we got everything turned in without any disqualifications. We placed 19th out of 30 teams, with an overall score of 691, which was about 60 points off the first place team—not bad for the first time out. I did get to hear our name being called, but it was only that they need me to move my truck, not quite what I had in mind.

Pork turn-in, Sebring…WTH were we thinking?

Brisket turn-in, Sebring…thick cut.

I went over everything in my mind before arriving on site, but my execution just wasn’t there. There were times we found ourselves confused as to what we wanted to do, and in which order to do them. When it came to building our boxes, at times we were just standing there staring at the box and each other, not quite sure what we wanted to do. All this showed in our turn-ins. We were not happy with the barbeque we put out at this competition. I knew I needed to get some prospective on
where I want our team to go again, and look at what we could do to improve our next outing. I needed to get a good understanding of what the judges are looking for. Our taste scores weren’t too bad, and our tenderness and appearance needed some work. So, I decided to judge at the FBA’s Mulberry, FL, event. I feel that judging is a good way to keep up this what the judges are looking for, and it gives me a chance to look at what other teams are turning in. I recommend that anyone looking to start a barbeque competition team get
involved with judging. It is an inexpensive way to get an inside look at what the judges want and like, plus you get to eat some really good barbeque. Mulberry is always a good event, bringing in some of the top teams in the FBA. I knew this would be a good opportunity for me to check out some good product. I was chosen to judge the backyard portion of the event, and I was not disappointed. Some of the backyard entries were as good as some of the pros—these folks can cook some “Q.” Not only did the Mulberry event help me see where our product stands compared to other competitors, it also gave me a chance to relax and remember what it is all about—having a good time.

Ribs resting at Bartow, FL

After judging at Mulberry, I went into our next competition with a renewed outlook. I was almost dreading the Sebring competition, only because my nerves were just that bad. I wanted everything just right, which ended up stressing us all, and that effected our product. We decided to do the Backyard competition at the 3rd Annual Bartow Bluegrass & BBQ in Bartow, FL. We also again decided to vend our products, which went well for us at Bartow. We all just felt more comfortable, and things went much smoother for us. Biggi, Sue, and I were there again, but this time we also had the help of our son, TJ, and Sue’s son, Jay. Our sons ran the vending side of the house, and we ran the cooking and competition side. We all worked hard, and we put out some good product. Overall this was a very
good event for all of us.
Up to this time I’d had only some on-line interaction with other teams, but that changed during this event, I was able to put faces with the teams. Funny thing, many folks are remembered more by their team names than their given name. At this event, we made some new friends, and were able to catch up with friends we met in the past. We do not have any, what I would consider, “old friends” yet, we are still the newbies in this group. It is nice to meet people who are so welcoming. We actually had time to do some visiting with fellow barbeque teams. Shawn from Boca BBQ stopped by a few times, and we talked some shop. I had
a great time talking with the guys from Beachneck BBQ, real friendly folks. I got down to talk to Chad from Whiskey Bent BBQ for a short time, they were quite busy keeping the crowd happy with some of their outstanding chicken wings. Many teams were settling in for the night when I noticed a light show going on in the middle of the woods, I had to go check this out. For a moment I felt like I was in a bad Wi-Fi show, then something unexpected happened. Is that…it can’t be…it is, it’s Michael Jackson. I found myself at The Team Unknown
site, they had a full light and sound system show going on. There was one guy from Th e Smoking Guns BBQ) who was putting on a hilarious show that I’m sure would make Michael Jackson rethink becoming a dancer. Today cooking barbeque, tomorrow, “Dancing With The Stars?” Probably not, but it was good for a laugh.

Some barbeque enthusiasts came by to visit, some were interested in talking about starting their own team and had questions about how we got started. Talk about flipping things around in a short period of time; it was less then a year ago when I was on the other side of the fence, asking the questions, and dreaming about starting my team. I did take time out and was happy to talk to these folks, I also gave the advice I received when I was starting my team—just go for it! We were pleased with our turn-ins, we especially felt good about our ribs. They came out quite nice. I got a better knife, which helped me cut the product easier and with better results. Biggi was really on her game building our boxes; we got much higher scores on appearance, which really helped pump up our overall scores. I need to work on our flavor profile, and we need to get a consistent taste that will speak to the judges every time we do a competition. If we can have a consistent cook in each category, the overall results will fall into place. It is nice to do well, even win a category, but it is
nicer to win the Grand Champion or Reserve Grand Champion—that, after all, is the ultimate goal of each competing team. We made all of our turn-ins, and spent the remainder of the afternoon cleaning up, and anxiously waiting for the results. As I said before, I just wanted to hear our name called, just once!

Chicken turn-in, Bartow, they look very dark in the picture.

Ribs turn-in, Bartow

We made our way to the awards. My stomach was in knots, I know we were competing in the backyard division but, to us, it could have been the Super Bowl. It was a defining moment, this will let us know whether or not we are on the right path, or if we just wasting our time. The organizers took the stage, took care of some business, then were ready to announce the Backyard winners. The Bartow competition only announced the top three teams for each category, each of which received a trophy. First up, chicken, I was not happy with our chicken, the flavor was good, but the skin was not bite through, and I was right we did not get a call. Next up, ribs. This was it, I was on the edge of my seat, but I did not want to let anyone see it. I knew if we did not get a call here, it was not going to happen. But it did—we were called for our ribs! We took 2nd place and got a trophy. When they called our name, I don’t think my legs worked at first. We just all stared at each other not quite sure if we had heard correctly. We decided to go to the stage together, what a great feeling! So many folks in the crowd knew what this meant to us, and really gave us a great cheer. We had done it, at that moment, everything I had been working toward came to a climax. This was it, we achieved what we had set out to do—produce award winning
barbeque. All the time spent out at my old smoker that I received from my family all those years ago, all the books, all the research, everything, has lead me to this moment, and it was all worth it! We did not get another call that day, but I was happy with
our results, for the moment. Chad and his Whiskey Bent BBQ team got Grand Champion for the pro division. They had a great
cook, scoring an overall 756. I was finally able to congratulate Chad on his team’s great win, but all Chad could do was congratulate me for our call; what sportsmanship. This guy just won the biggest award offered that day, Grand Champion, and all he could do is talk to me about what a great job MY team did. Chad has been a great mentor to me through out this journey, and I owe more to him then I think he realizes, Thanks, Brother!

Pork turn-in, Bartow, still looking for a good style.

Brisket turn-in, Bartow

At the end of each competition, the Florida BBQ Association provides each team with a score sheet, which gives teams feedback. It records and breaks down the scores for each category by table where it was judged. This way you can see what score each judge gave each of your entries, the rankings for each category, and an overall ranking. I went to get our score sheet, with expectations of our team placing somewhere in the middle of the pack of 16 teams for our division. Well, much to my surprise, I was wrong. Normally the sanctioning body personnel hand out awards for the Grand Champion(G.C.), and the Reserve Grand Champion (R.G.C) in the backyard
division, but this event, they only recognized the G.C. No one knew who got R.G.C. What a surprise when I got our score sheet in my hands—we were awarded R.G.C.! I could not believe it, the first thing I thought was there must be some mistake; there were teams that took home three trophies yet we placed ahead of them overall. As I was stated before, if you have a consistent cook in all categories, you will have good overall results. Along with our second place ribs, we also had 4th place in both pork and brisket, and 5th in chicken,
we ended with an overall score of 722—not bad at all. We were all extremely pleased.

I do not even remember the drive home, my head was so high in the clouds. We did it, I kept thinking, we did it. The special spot in my home I had reserved for a trophy is finally occupied, and we are all saying to each other, “We now have ‘award-winning barbeque,’ how great is that?” When I started down this road, I had no idea how much was involved in making award-winning barbeque. I, like many of
my friends thought, “Oh just throw some meat on the grill and let it go.” There is so much more to it then that, but it is also a more rewarding experience then I ever expected. I know now, barbeque will be a presence in my life from now on. I will be competing as much as possible, and hopefully adding to our trophy collection. Whether or not we ever get a call again, no one can deny that Hogs
Gone Wild BBQ, makes “Award-Winning BBQ.”

2nd place ribs!!!

Grilling Evolution: Part 2; Getting Your BBQ Team Off the Ground…

Posted: December 13, 2012 in BBQ, BBQ News, Editorial
Tags: American Royal, Bandiola, Bandiola Spice, Barbecue, Barbeque, BBQ, BBQ Pitmasters, BBQ Rubs, BBQ Sauce, Chicken, Competition BBQ, Cook, cooking tips, facebook, Florida, Florida BBQ, Food, Grand Champion, KCBS, Lakeland, Lakeland Florida, Meat, Pork, Ribs, Spare Ribs, Spice, Whiskey Bent BBQ

Starting a professional barbeque team was something that seemed to be a non-achievable dream, something that I played around with in my mind sometimes, like while at work, home, watching TV, while the wife is talking to me (sorry dear), sleeping, day dreaming … well, you get the idea. I spent a lot of time thinking about doing this. That is the way I am, I enjoy planning and problem solving, which may also be, in part, another reason I enjoy the sport of competition barbeque. It does take a lot of planning to execute and there are always problems to resolve, but I do like a good challenge.
This competition thing just seemed to be out of my range, especially when I saw teams that were competing using huge smokers, bringing supplies on over-sized trailers, and don’t even get me started on the tricked-out trucks these teams used. These folks have invested a lot of time, and money, into competition barbeque. I knew I was not able, financially, to obligate to barbeque at that level, so my solution was to find a partner. I knew it had to be someone who shared the same interest in barbeque, like I had, but there just are as many fanatics in the everyday world. Most everyone enjoys grilling on some level, but I’m talking about being crazy insane about barbeque—very hard to find someone like that. My friends and family would avoid me simply because they knew, if I started talking to them, that the conversation will end up on the subject of barbeque. No one had the same love for barbeque like I had, so I found the next best thing—someone with the same entrepreneurial spirit like I had. That person,was my friend, Suzie Stilp. Suzie and I had been investors in another venture that, let’s just say, did not end well. This will be different, everything will be in our control, and we are not afraid to take our time in allowing our efforts to grow into something we can not only enjoy, but also help become something we can have for our future. Up to this point it has really been about fun. We are putting minimal amounts of money out of pocket but we’re getting a lot in return. The returns, for now, are mostly in the form of camaraderie and finding our way into the sport of competition barbeque. I was always looking at equipment on-line—a great way to find and price smokers. We knew we needed a good smoker; the small box store purchase has seen its last day, I used it so much that there was a hole in the bottom of the firebox. I came across a local vendor that had a smoker he made out of an old 500 gallon propane tank. This was a bit large for us, but the vendor said he has a friend who has one just like it, but it was only a 250 gallon tank, and that it was for sale.

Breaking in my new cooker.

Suzie and I went to look at the smoker that week and we bought it. The smoker was in a bit of a sad state—it had rust, the tires on the trailer needed to be replaced, and it just needed a good overall cleaning. All these problems could be easily remedied. I knew that we had a good smoker and that it would meet our needs. I know a lot of folks do not like stick burners, but I think having a variety of cookers is the best way for us to go. This cooker has a lot of positive features I wanted in my first cooker: It has three, full-sized pull out racks, two fire boxes, attachable tables at each end of smoker, and a cage that runs the length of the trailer for carrying supplies. All these things, combined with the
right price, and we had our first professional smoker. Now that we had this “big” smoker, what were we going to do with it? How would
this smoker work for us? Competitions seemed to be the logical next step. Going out and vending barbeque could have been what we chose to do, but we both had a strong desire to put out competition-level barbeque, showcasing what we can do by competing with other great barbeque teams.

The first thing we needed to do was product development—we needed to get people to try our stuff and let us know what they thought. This again is where friends and family came into play, and they are usually willing participants in taste-testing, at least for a few months. I made many adjustments to my rub and sauces during this time. Apologies to everyone who tested my earlier products—it was necessary for me to test it out so that I could find the best products. The rub, sauces, and cooking did improve, and soon folks were coming and asking when I was going to cook again because they wanted some good barbeque. Wow, that was exciting; people actually enjoyed my products. We were onto something here. Now that I was getting good reviews from my friends and family, I wanted to put my products up against other barbeque teams—it was time to do a competition. When I checked the Florida Barbecue
Association (FBA) web site, for a possible first event for us I found something better.

HGW set up at 2010 FBA Fun Cook

HGW cookers at 2010 Fun Cook.

The FBA was hosting their annual Fun Cook in Clermont, Florida, on September 3-5, 2010. During that event, the FBA was also hosting a “no holds barred” barbeque cooking school, which would be geared toward cook teams within the FBA who are just starting out or want to improve their scores. I thought this would be the perfect start for my team. The cook school was going to be run by Pitmasters who have all won Grand Championships in the past, and they would be sharing competition “secrets” during this school. All teams in the school participate in classroom instruction and were to cook in all categories for a competition, which would be judged by students taking another class to become FBA certified judges. What a great idea. The event was well-planned and executed by the FBA. This was a good opportunity for us and a good way to evaluate where we were as a team without putting out a large chunk of change. To have my food blind-judged, just like in a true competition, would be a great way to hear untainted feedback. Family and friends sometimes consider your feelings when asked how they like your cooking. I was sold, and I signed up. Hogs Gone Wild BBQ was going to make its first appearance at the FBA’s “no holds barred” cooking school. The FBA supplied a syllabus for the class, with a list of suggested items to bring for the “competition.” We had most of everything listed, except for somewhere to sleep. I thought who’s going to be sleeping? We’ll be fine. Right? Wrong! More on that later; on to packing. We got up early on September 3rd and packed the truck, trailer, and car with everything we thought we would need for the next couple of days. Come to find out we took many items that we never even touched—we had everything but the kitchen sink; this time, though, we needed the sink. Finally we hit the road. It’s only about a one hour drive north to Clermont. We found our site with no problems and set up camp. Classes started at noon; by that time I was ready to get inside to some A/C. In Florida, the weather during first week of September is hot and humid. The classes were informal yet highly informative. The instructors relayed a lot of information to us in a short time, they answered many questions I had about cooking at a barbeque competition without me even having to ask. One concern I had was: How can there be enough time to prep all your meats? I was surprised by the answer. Now this information pertains only to FBA rules. If you are cooking in an event sponsored by any other barbeque association please read and know their rules before you compete. For the FBA, you can trim all your meats for the competition before your meat
inspection. All original labeling, most importantly the USDA seal, must accompany the meat, and you must maintain the proper temperature to store the meat. The meat may not be marinated or seasoned in any way before the inspection. Had I known this before
the Fun Cook, I think my stress level would have been much lower. One of the first rules of running a barbeque competition team is to read and learn the rules of the association sponsoring the event in which you plan to compete. Another important piece of information learned for this event was if you plan to use the power source provided by the event organizer, come prepared. I thought I would just show up with my 110V power cable and everything will be fine. Well, this event was being held at an RV resort and the sites were
set up for an adaptor coming off an RV trailer, (30amp) much like the plug used to hook up your washer and dryer. However, my washer and dryer were still at home, with my kitchen sink that I did not pack. Fortunately, a friend of ours, Jeff Cottier, decided to join our team for this event. Jeff knew what we needed and he was off to get it. After checking all the hardware stores and RV dealers in the area, Jeff found “the last adapter in town,” as the shop keeper put it. We were thrilled to have power, it would have been a tough weekend with out fans. We worked non-stop from the time we arrived Friday afternoon, until well past midnight. Between setting up camp, figuring out the electricity issue, battling the camp site’s fire ants, fighting off mosquitoes, dealing with the heat, prepping ALL
our meats and, oh yeah, going to classes, we had a little bit going on. One thing you should always plan on is to expect the unexpected. There will always be issues to overcome. Part of having a successful team is working together to overcome obstacles, I feel like my team won this category hands down. We had to have our large cuts of meat on by Friday night, so they will be ready for turn-in on
Saturday morning. The GMG is a lifesaver for this, just put the meat on, set the temperature, be sure it’s full of pellets and your good to go. After getting the large cuts on, and finishing the prep work on the others, we were looking for some down time. Like I said before, we thought of everything except a place to get some sleep. My wife and I thought we would just get some rest in our car. Well, I am not the smallest guy in the world, so I paid a big price for that decision. I had to keep the windows closed due to the fact that the slightest
crack in the window would let in hundreds of mosquitoes; so it got stifling hot inside our car. I did not want to run the car all night, for obvious reasons, (yes, I’m cheap). To say the least that was a long sleepless night. I can remember at one point saying to myself, “Well what the hell am I doing here? I can pack up what I have, go home get into my comfortable bed and end this. I can sell the smoker, and all the equipment on eBay, and make some money.” Then I looked in the backseat of my car, and saw my wife sleeping there, knowing
that she was there because this is something I wanted; she was willing to go through this for me. Well, I decided right then that I would not give up. I wanted to complete this competition more now then ever before; then, I can collapse.

My first attempt at competition style chicken. (Yes that is a toothpick…)

Chad Ward helping me out at the funcook 2010.

I had always heard how friendly folks are in the barbeque world, but I had no idea just how true a statement that is. Everyone was so welcoming and willing to give a hand or advice. It was truly inspiring. Sue, Jeff, and I work together in our “real jobs.” The environment there is more of a dog-eat-dog mentality. It took us time to really understand that these folks were being genuine. One team that really went all out to help us is Whiskey Bent BBQ and Pitmaster Chad Ward. I’d been talking with Chad for a while on-line. The team of Whiskey Bent BBQ is well on their way to becoming one of the premiere barbeque teams in the country. Chad let us use one of Whiskey Bent’s Green Mountain grills. He assisted with some cooking and setting up turn-in boxes. Chad also helped calm me down several times when my nerves got the best of me. Before the sun came up on turn-in day we had all showered, pumped up our caffeine levels, and got down to business. Ribs had to go on; we needed to finish getting the chicken ready to go on; and the pork and brisket were ready to come off. One thing we had to do that none of us had ever done, was build turn-in boxes. Chad really help us out by building the boxes (I have since found out that these are the first and only turn-in boxes Chad has ever made) we were all just a
bit freaked out by the timing issue. I think there were a few nails chewed off. We made one turn-in by less than one minute. What a relief when all our turn-ins were completed! We all felt good about the products we made, and thought we would do OK in the judging. All I kept saying was, “please don’t let us come in DAL (dead ass last).”

Chicken Funcook 2010

Our team had some free time before “graduation,” and decided we would not stay a 2nd night. Although we had a great time, we were all tired and needed a good night’s sleep. So we packed up and headed to the graduation. One more piece of advice is to wear closed-toe shoes, at all times. I knew better, but I was hot and was not thinking of what could happen. While on the way to graduation I slipped and almost fell down, in the process of catching myself, I ripped half the nail off my big toe, not good! I had to wrap it up fast and get into the awards. This was the only time I did not mind not getting a call. Well that’s not entirely true, not getting a call was a bit of a let down. I did feel a little better when I saw the score sheet. We got 21st overall out of about 40 teams, with our pork entry coming in at 13th. Our overall score was 701, and I achieved my goal of not ending up “DAL,” not too bad. I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank one other member of my team my wife, Birgit; or as she is known and prefers—Biggi, her German nickname. Biggi was a reluctant member of my team; barbeque was just not her thing. But Biggi, Sue, and Jeff really stepped up their game and did a great job. I could not have asked for a better team. Next on the calendar is our first real competition, held October 1-2, 2010, in Sebring, Florida. This will also be a FBA event. Normally I would be looking to do a backyard category for some more experience. Sebring does not offer a backyard category this year, and I just do not want to wait any longer. Hogs Gone Wild BBQ will be making its competition barbeque debut at the Sebring, Florida, Barbeque Festival. Please look for the out come of Hogs Gone Wild BBQ in our competition debut, the best is yet to come.

Chicken turn-in funcook

Ribs, Funcook 2010

Pork, Funcook 2010

The First brisket I EVER cooked, Funcook 2010.

Southern Pines Blues & BBQ with the 2012 The FBA Triple Crown Championship – Perry, FL: RESULTS

Posted: December 9, 2012 in BBQ, BBQ News, Competition Results
Tags: American Royal, Bandiola Spice, Barbecue, Barbeque, BBQ, BBQ Pitmasters, BBQ Rubs, BBQ Sauce, Chicken, Competition BBQ, Cook, cooking tips, facebook, FBA, Florida, Florida BBQ, Food, Getta Grip BBQ, Grand Champion, KCBS, Lakeland, Lakeland Florida, Las Vegas, Meat, Pork, Results, Ribs, Spare Ribs, Spice, Swamp Boys BBQ, Tampa Florida, Terry, Unknown BBQ, Vegas

What a great weekend to end the competition year in the FBA. An invitational event & and an open event, being run simultaneously, with the best teams in the FBA, going head to head, and in the end it was Swamp Boys taking home the FBA Triple Crown!!!! Rob “Rub” Bagby, has had an incredible run in the FBA, the last few months, earning GC’s in 5 of his last 6 competitions (in the FBA, Rob has been scoring well in KCBS also), including the invitational this weekend. Great job, to a great team, congratulations Swamp Boys BBQ!!! Be sure to check out Rob’s upcoming BBQ class, he will be teaming up with the guys from 3 Eyzs BBQ, you DON”T want to miss this one!!! For information on this great class, Click here

Terry Mckay and team Git-R-Smoked, have yet another great competition here, heading home with an impressive RGC!!! Terry and crew are ALWAYS in the front of the pack at any competition they go to, not to mention, they are really nice folks also!!! Terry earned runner up in the triple crown, but also for the FBA TOTY event, congratulations Terry, another great year for you and the entire team!!!! Please check out Terry and his wonderful graphics business at: Custom Graphics & Signs

Hardware Unknown BBQ earned this weekend, the whiskey is a sponsor.

A big shout out to our friends at Unknown BBQ, what a year these guys have had!!! Tearing it up, all year in the FBA, and a very successful trip to the World Food Championship. They end the year off by nailing down a strong third place in the invitational event this past weekend!!! Great job Unknown BBQ!!!!

One last acknowledgment to our friends from Q-Fused BBQ and their first place pork call in the invitational. They beat out some of the BEST pork cookers in the business!!! Congratulations to Dwight & Will, that must have been some terrific pork, well done!!!! Please check out Q-Fused on Facebook at: Q-Fused BBQ Team

The OPEN competition from Perry, FL this weekend, also was packed with very talented BBQ teams. many of the teams competing in the invitational, also competed in the open, so it was a tough group. The GC when to: Cook’s Portable Smokehouse, now I have to admit, I do not know much about this team, I have heard their name before, I just have not had the opportunity to met them. It looks like they had a very constant cook, and with scores like that, I’m sure we will be hearing from them again.

The RGC in the OPEN goes to, our good friends Dana “Big Papa” & Janet Hillis. Team Big Papa’s Country Kitchen has had a great year as well. A very big year in the FBA, earning numerous GC”s and ending the year as the FBA’s Team of the Year!!!! Great job guys!!!! Dana & Janet also had a great year outside the FBA, with most notably, earning RGC in the BBQ category at the World Food Championship!!!! I have attended Dana & Janet’s cooking school, and invite everyone to do the same, it was a good time, with good folks. Most of all, there was some great BBQ information shared there. For more information e-mail Dana Hillis at: bigpapabbq@gmail.com

Big Papa & Janet

Grand Champion: Swamp Boys

Reserve: Git-R-Smoked

Rank	Team	Total	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
1	Swamp Boys	771.98331	198.6000	192.3833	189.3333	191.6667
2	Git-R-Smoked	768.34996	191.3000	189.1000	191.0000	196.9500
3	Unknown BBQ	765.28331	184.8667	191.2667	196.5000	192.6500
4	Chatham Artillery BBQ	763.39997	195.7500	184.0167	190.0667	193.5667
5	Big Papa’s Country Kitchen	761.95000	196.4500	187.2667	191.7167	186.5167
6	Bub-Ba-Q	761.74998	193.3500	192.3667	188.6333	187.4000
7	Great Lakes BBQ Feed Company	761.30000	188.1500	190.9333	191.6833	190.5333
8	Suwannee River Smokers	760.43334	188.6000	188.6167	194.3500	188.8667
9	Munchees Smokehouse	759.99998	191.7000	186.9667	193.6167	187.7167
10	Sweet Smoke Barbecue	759.70000	193.8333	189.0667	192.6667	184.1333
11	Budmeisters	759.41665	194.3167	179.4500	197.8833	187.7667
12	B & T BBQ Cook Team	758.68333	191.2500	189.6000	195.0500	182.7833
13	Lang BBQ Smokers	757.68333	194.3000	191.6833	192.2667	179.4333
14	U Rub Me Raw	755.04999	192.2167	185.5333	191.5000	185.8000
15	Getta Grip BBQ	753.18332	188.6667	179.1667	192.9500	192.4000
16	Forrest’s Fine Foods	751.69998	182.7167	177.7667	195.0333	196.1833
17	Q-Fused	750.98331	191.2833	177.9500	198.5833	183.1667
18	Hot Wachula’s	749.89999	188.1500	183.1167	194.2667	184.3667
19	Heavenly Hawgs BBQ	749.09999	187.9500	189.2833	191.5333	180.3333
20	LJ Smokin	748.21667	187.7333	189.3667	187.9167	183.2000
21	Wooley Bully BBQ Mafia	748.04999	184.8167	187.6167	182.2167	193.4000
22	Uncle Kenny’s BBQ	747.26666	194.3333	186.0000	183.9000	183.0333
23	Smokinwilly Squealers	746.76666	183.1500	186.5167	187.9667	189.1333
24	Cook’s Portable Smokehouse	742.68332	181.0833	190.3000	186.0167	185.2833
25	Team Waterdog	734.70000	191.5000	183.1833	193.6333	166.3833
26	Big Kahuna BBQ	732.99998	188.4000	191.2333	174.5833	178.7833
27	Trippsmoke	730.15000	189.5500	182.0167	186.5167	172.0667
28	The Ross Team	727.96665	188.4167	185.7667	185.2000	168.5833
29	Jacks Old South	719.31667	181.7333	187.3500	181.2167	169.0167
30	Smokey Butts	716.31667	178.5500	172.7333	186.5333	178.5000
31	Second Star BBQ	553.76668	0.0000	188.4167	181.9667	183.3833

Chicken

Rank	Team	Score
1	Swamp Boys	198.59998
2	Big Papa’s Country Kitchen	196.44999
3	Chatham Artillery BBQ	195.74999
4	Uncle Kenny’s BBQ	194.33333
5	Budmeisters	194.31668
6	Lang BBQ Smokers	194.30000
7	Sweet Smoke Barbecue	193.83333
8	Bub-Ba-Q	193.34999
9	U Rub Me Raw	192.21666
10	Munchees Smokehouse	191.69999

Ribs

Rank	Team	Score
1	Swamp Boys	192.38333
2	Bub-Ba-Q	192.36666
3	Lang BBQ Smokers	191.68333
4	Unknown BBQ	191.26667
5	Big Kahuna BBQ	191.23333
6	Great Lakes BBQ Feed Company	190.93334
7	Cook’s Portable Smokehouse	190.30000
8	B & T BBQ Cook Team	189.60001
9	LJ Smokin	189.36666
10	Heavenly Hawgs BBQ	189.28333

Pork

Rank	Team	Score
1	Q-Fused	198.58332
2	Budmeisters	197.88332
3	Unknown BBQ	196.49998
4	B & T BBQ Cook Team	195.04999
5	Forrest’s Fine Foods	195.03334
6	Suwannee River Smokers	194.35000
7	Hot Wachula’s	194.26665
8	Team Waterdog	193.63333
9	Munchees Smokehouse	193.61666
10	Getta Grip BBQ	192.94999

Brisket

Rank	Team	Score
1	Git-R-Smoked	196.94998
2	Forrest’s Fine Foods	196.18332
3	Chatham Artillery BBQ	193.56666
4	Wooley Bully BBQ Mafia	193.39999
5	Unknown BBQ	192.64999
6	Getta Grip BBQ	192.40000
7	Swamp Boys	191.66667
8	Great Lakes BBQ Feed Company	190.53333
9	Smokinwilly Squealers	189.13334
10	Suwannee River Smokers	188.86668

THE OPEN: PRO DIVISION!!!

Grand Champion: Cook’s Portable Smokehouse

Reserve: Big Papa’s Country Kitchen

Rank	Team	Total	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
1	Cook’s Portable Smokehouse	759.56666	192.6833	184.1667	189.3333	193.3833
2	Big Papa’s Country Kitchen	757.18332	188.1667	188.6667	194.3000	186.0500
3	Lang BBQ Smokers	755.85001	191.6500	192.1167	181.8000	190.2833
4	Haulin’ Butt BBQ	753.76667	185.0834	187.4167	189.8500	191.4167
5	Smokin’ Your Butt	753.13332	185.1667	189.8167	188.3667	189.7833
6	Budmeisters	752.74999	183.6833	186.9833	197.8667	184.2167
7	LJ Smokin’	752.36667	183.9667	184.8167	192.6000	190.9833
8	Forrest’s Fine Foods	752.06669	184.3667	192.3833	187.1667	188.1500
9	Uncle Kenny’s BBQ	751.55000	181.2167	193.1000	192.2333	185.0000
10	Wooley Bully BBQ Mafia	751.29997	181.6833	191.9000	191.4167	186.3000
11	Glenn Bob’s BBQ	749.06666	190.0667	181.2000	185.3667	192.4333
12	Hot Wachula	747.09999	192.6333	190.0167	181.5000	182.9500
13	Bub-Ba-Q	745.75000	187.2333	187.6833	187.6667	183.1667
14	Chatham Artillery BBQ	745.01665	179.9667	193.3167	183.9167	187.8167
15	Getta Grip BBQ	744.59999	187.6833	187.8833	180.6167	188.4167
16	U Rub Me Raw	744.35001	185.1667	192.1333	181.5333	185.5167
17	Jacks Old South	744.03335	184.1333	190.2500	181.9833	187.6667
18	Sweet Smoke Q	743.71666	192.9333	185.1167	186.2833	179.3833
19	Smokinwillys Squealers	743.53333	188.5833	176.5000	191.7000	186.7500
20	Blue Butt Farms	741.18333	184.6167	189.8000	191.4833	175.2833
21	Great Lakes BBQ & Feed Company	735.38334	186.1667	176.0000	191.0000	182.2167
22	Smokey Butts	732.51668	180.8500	180.4833	187.7000	183.4833
23	Sweet Rack Rib Shack	728.11666	179.6000	185.2333	188.6167	174.6667
24	Git-R-Smoked	726.56666	179.2167	184.5833	182.4833	180.2833
25	Pork Rindz	724.63335	189.5667	177.8667	175.6500	181.5500
26	Second Star BBQ	723.59999	189.7500	191.4833	168.1500	174.2167
27	Aunt Mary’s BBQ Brigade	719.86667	180.3500	176.9333	182.1333	180.4500
28	ET’s BBQ	717.95000	181.0167	190.3000	179.6333	167.0000
29	JB’s BBQ	716.66665	181.5833	179.7500	175.0833	180.2500
30	Barn Goddess BBQ	705.86665	183.5167	173.9167	175.4333	173.0000
31	Smokin’ Gillboys	704.90000	177.0167	175.3833	170.1000	182.4000
32	Smoke Shack BBQ	664.85000	176.9000	159.9167	171.1000	156.9333
33	Tombstone BBQ	654.88332	169.3000	158.0500	178.6000	148.9333

Chicken

Rank	Team	Score
1	Sweet Smoke Q	192.93333
2	Cook’s Portable Smokehouse	192.68333
3	Hot Wachula	192.63332
4	Lang BBQ Smokers	191.65001
5	Glenn Bob’s BBQ	190.06666
6	Second Star BBQ	189.75000
7	Pork Rindz	189.56667
8	Smokinwillys Squealers	188.58332
9	Big Papa’s Country Kitchen	188.16666
10	Getta Grip BBQ	187.68334

Ribs

Rank	Team	Score
1	Chatham Artillery BBQ	193.31665
2	Uncle Kenny’s BBQ	193.10000
3	Forrest’s Fine Foods	192.38334
4	U Rub Me Raw	192.13334
5	Lang BBQ Smokers	192.11667
6	Wooley Bully BBQ Mafia	191.89999
7	Second Star BBQ	191.48332
8	ET’s BBQ	190.29999
9	Jacks Old South	190.25000
10	Hot Wachula	190.01667

Pork

Rank	Team	Score
1	Budmeisters	197.86666
2	Big Papa’s Country Kitchen	194.29999
3	LJ Smokin’	192.60000
4	Uncle Kenny’s BBQ	192.23332
5	Smokinwillys Squealers	191.70001
6	Blue Butt Farms	191.48334
7	Wooley Bully BBQ Mafia	191.41666
8	Great Lakes BBQ & Feed Company	191.00000
9	Haulin’ Butt BBQ	189.84999
10	Cook’s Portable Smokehouse	189.33333

Brisket

Rank	Team	Score
1	Cook’s Portable Smokehouse	193.38333
2	Glenn Bob’s BBQ	192.43332
3	Haulin’ Butt BBQ	191.41666
4	LJ Smokin’	190.98334
5	Lang BBQ Smokers	190.28333
6	Smokin’ Your Butt	189.78332
7	Getta Grip BBQ	188.41666
8	Forrest’s Fine Foods	188.15001
9	Chatham Artillery BBQ	187.81666
10	Jacks Old South	187.66668

33rd Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue: RESULTS

Posted: October 7, 2012 in BBQ, BBQ News, Competition Results
Tags: American Royal, Barbecue, Barbeque, BBQ, BBQ Pitmasters, Competition BBQ

154 teams took part in the invitational at the American Royal, World Series of Barbecue. There are a few surprises (in my opinion) in the results.

Looking forward to seeing results from tomorrows open competition, there will be over 400 teams competing in the open, talk about a crap shoot.

Contest Results:

Grand Champion: Big Poppa Smokers
Reserve Champion: Iowa’s Smokey D’s BBQ

Overall:
1. Big Poppa Smokers – 692.5716
2. Iowa’s Smokey D’s BBQ – 688.0000
3. Hog Tide Bar-B-Que – 687.4284
4. There’s No Place Like Sm – 686.2858
5. Swine Assassins – 686.2856
6. Huminie’s Hogalicious BB – 686.2856
7. Bayou Boogie BBQ – 684.5714
8. Buffalo’s BBQ – 684.5712
9. Big T’z Q Cru – 683.9996
10. Meadow Valley BBQ – 683.4286
11. Little Pig Town – 683.4284
12. Wild Blue – 683.4284
13. QUAU – 683.4282
14. Moo Cow – 682.2858
15. Jay Willies Whiskey Pit – 681.1426
16. R Butts R Smokin – 680.5712
17. JP Custom Smoke – 680.5712
18. Bam Bam’s BBQ – 680.0002
19. Great Grills O Fire – 679.9992
20. A Boy & His BBQ – 679.4278
21. Swiggin’ Pig – 678.8574
22. Deguello BBQ – 678.8572
23. Dizzy Pig – 678.8570
24. Smoke On This – 678.8568
25. Firefighting BBQ Team – 678.2858
26. Southern Exposure – 678.2854
27. 3 Eyz BBQ – 677.7140
28. Hardway Barbecue – 677.1432
29. Shiggin & Grinnin – 677.1428
30. Able Acres BBQ – 677.1426
31. Smoke On Wheels – 677.1426
32. Gilly’s BBQ – 676.5712
33. Iowa Outlaws BBQ – 676.5710
34. Smokin’ Triggers – 675.9998
35. Pellet Envy – 675.9998
36. Smokers Purgatory – 675.4288
37. Hambones By The Fire – 674.2856
38. 4 Legs Up BBQ – 674.2854
39. Chix, Swine & Bovine BBQ – 673.7140
40. ASAP – 672.5714
41. iBQ’N – 672.5710
42. Woodhouse Barbecue – 672.5710
43. Burnt Finger BBQ – 672.0002
44. TippyCanoe BBQ Crew – 671.9998
45. Pit Bulls Up In Smoke – 671.9998
46. Buffalo Meatheads – 671.4284
47. Lady Bug Cookers – 670.8568
48. Blazin’ Blues – 670.2858
49. The Smokehouse Mafia – 669.7146
50. Shake ‘n Bake BBQ – 669.7138
51. ZBQ – 669.7136
52. Ponderosa BBQ – 669.1430
53. Sweet Beaver BBQ – 669.1426
54. Munchin Hogs @ The Hilto – 669.1424
55. BBQ-Brethren.com – 668.5716
56. TheSlabs.com – 668.5712
57. Pelletheads.com – 668.0000
58. Q Pig BBQ – 667.9998
59. Gooney Creek BBQ – 667.9998
60. Butcher BBQ – 667.9998
61. B&B BBQ and Catering, ll – 667.9994
62. Circle R Cookers – 667.4288
63. Burnin’ Down The Hog – 667.4282
64. Wild Bunch Butt Burners – 666.8574
65. House Of Q – 666.8570
66. Inhognito – 666.8568
67. The American Dream Bar-B – 666.2856
68. Cool Smoke – 665.7146
69. 4 Smokin’ Butts – 665.1430
70. Smokers Wild – 665.1426
71. Wildcatters Q Crew – 665.1426
72. Killer Hogs – 664.5708
73. Backdraft BBQ – 663.9998
74. Blazen BBQ – 663.4286
75. Velvet Smoke BBQ – 663.4286
76. Lotta Bull BBQ – 663.4284
77. SmokinN The Dark – 663.4280
78. Q’n Canucks – 663.4280
79. Serial Griller – 663.4278
80. Caveman Cuisine – 662.8570
81. Jack’s Old South – 662.2852
82. GoneHoggin.com – 661.7142
83. Hog-It-Up BBQ – 661.1432
84. Prairie Smoke & Spice BB – 661.1426
85. Jiggy Piggy – 661.1426
86. IAB 30 BBQ – 660.0000
87. Trash Can Cookers – 659.4282
88. This Is How We Que It – 659.4282
89. PM Cookers – 659.4280
90. Webber’s Old West BBQ – 658.8570
91. Bunch Of Swines – 658.8570
92. Finn’s Finest BBQ – 658.8568
93. Yellow River BBQ – 657.7146
94. Sticks-n-Chicks BBQ – 657.7144
95. Beer Meets Grill – 657.7138
96. Hogs On The Sauce – 657.1426
97. Master Of Disaster – 657.1424
98. Ghost River Smoke-A-Holi – 656.5716
99. CNB BBQ – 656.0002
100. Phat Jacks – 656.0000
101. Political Pork – 655.9998
102. Smoky Dog – 655.4278
103. Smokey Bears BBQ – 654.8568
104. One2bbq – 654.2858
105. It’ll Do BBQ – 653.7144
106. Four Men And A Pig – 653.7140
107. 3 Woodys BBQ – 653.7140
108. Roughnecks BBQ – 653.7136
109. Local Smokin’ Gurus – 653.7136
110. Tattoo Bob’s Bar-B-Q – 653.1430
111. Dead Pigs Tell No Tales – 652.5716
112. Holla N’ Swalla – 652.5712
113. Ripple-Que – 652.5708
114. Movin The Chains BBQ – 652.0000
115. Hot Meat Smokers – 651.9998
116. Burnin Bob’s Butts n Bon – 651.4286
117. Burnt At Both Endz – 649.7138
118. Two Old Men And A Grill – 649.1432
119. Texas Pepper Jelly – 649.1428
120. Bare Bones BBQ Team – 649.1420
121. Nickle Boys BBQ – 648.5714
122. Wine Country Q – 648.5708
123. Lost Gonzo Too BBQ – 646.2856
124. Four Q – 646.2852
125. Motley Que Crew – 646.2852
126. Too Ashamed To Name Comp – 646.2850
127. Pig Newton – 645.7138
128. Tex Wasabi’s All-Stars – 645.1428
129. Verti-Bray BBQ – 644.5712
130. B@T BBQ Cook Team – 644.5706
131. Orange Maple Too – 643.9994
132. Park Avenue Pork – 643.9992
133. Big O’s BBQ – 643.4284
134. The Smoking Hills – 643.4280
135. Lords Of The Grill – 642.8572
136. Slap Yo Daddy BBQ – 641.7142
137. S&S BBQ – 641.1428
138. Rubbed, Smoked and Sauce – 640.5708
139. Dukes Pepper Co. – 639.9994
140. Xtreme Texas Cookers – 639.4288
141. Spitfire – 639.4286
142. Pork Pullin Plowboys – 639.4280
143. IQUE – 637.7144
144. QSS Smokin’ – 637.1426
145. El Fuego Fiasco – 637.1424
146. Bush Kitchen – 634.8566
147. Rocky Bluff BBQ – 633.7146
148. Butcher’s Daughter BBQ – 633.7142
149. Sizzlin Bones BBQ – 633.1422
150. Rock Bottom BBQ – 632.5712
151. Canadian Bakin’ BBQ Team – 631.4280
152. Blowin Smoke – 613.1432
153. Family Thing Cookers – 554.2856
154. Mama And Papa Joe’s BBQ – 511.9998

Chicken:
1. QUAU – 179.4286
2. Bayou Boogie BBQ – 178.8572
3. Bunch Of Swines – 178.2858
4. BBQ-Brethren.com – 177.7144
5. Hog-It-Up BBQ – 177.1430
6. Blazen BBQ – 176.5714
7. Iowa’s Smokey D’s BBQ – 176.5714
8. Smokers Purgatory – 176.0000
9. Huminie’s Hogalicious BB – 176.0000
10. Swine Assassins – 176.0000
11. Bam Bam’s BBQ – 175.4288
12. Dizzy Pig – 174.8572
13. Hardway Barbecue – 174.8572
14. Beer Meets Grill – 174.8572
15. Deguello BBQ – 174.2858
16. R Butts R Smokin – 174.2856
17. 3 Eyz BBQ – 174.2856
18. Great Grills O Fire – 173.7142
19. 4 Smokin’ Butts – 173.1430
20. Jiggy Piggy – 173.1428
21. Rubbed, Smoked and Sauce – 173.1428
22. Southern Exposure – 173.1428
23. Firefighting BBQ Team – 173.1426
24. Moo Cow – 172.5716
25. Shiggin & Grinnin – 172.5716
26. Pelletheads.com – 172.5714
27. Smoky Dog – 172.5712
28. Finn’s Finest BBQ – 172.0000
29. 4 Legs Up BBQ – 172.0000
30. Gooney Creek BBQ – 172.0000
31. Roughnecks BBQ – 171.9998
32. There’s No Place Like Sm – 171.9998
33. The Smokehouse Mafia – 171.4288
34. Meadow Valley BBQ – 171.4286
35. El Fuego Fiasco – 171.4286
36. Verti-Bray BBQ – 171.4286
37. Rocky Bluff BBQ – 170.8574
38. Hambones By The Fire – 170.8572
39. Smoke On Wheels – 170.8570
40. Q Pig BBQ – 170.8570
41. Ponderosa BBQ – 170.2860
42. Jack’s Old South – 170.2858
43. Smokin’ Triggers – 170.2856
44. Jay Willies Whiskey Pit – 170.2856
45. Swiggin’ Pig – 170.2856
46. Prairie Smoke & Spice BB – 170.2856
47. Lost Gonzo Too BBQ – 170.2856
48. Woodhouse Barbecue – 170.2856
49. Big T’z Q Cru – 170.2856
50. Two Old Men And A Grill – 169.7144
51. Four Q – 169.7144
52. PM Cookers – 169.7144
53. One2bbq – 169.7144
54. Movin The Chains BBQ – 169.7142
55. Smokers Wild – 169.7142
56. Burnt At Both Endz – 169.7142
57. SmokinN The Dark – 169.7142
58. Hog Tide Bar-B-Que – 169.7140
59. Dead Pigs Tell No Tales – 169.1432
60. Yellow River BBQ – 169.1430
61. Local Smokin’ Gurus – 169.1428
62. Backdraft BBQ – 169.1426
63. Munchin Hogs @ The Hilto – 168.5714
64. Slap Yo Daddy BBQ – 168.5714
65. Gilly’s BBQ – 168.5714
66. GoneHoggin.com – 168.5714
67. Lady Bug Cookers – 168.5712
68. Serial Griller – 168.5710
69. IAB 30 BBQ – 168.0000
70. Tattoo Bob’s Bar-B-Q – 168.0000
71. Big Poppa Smokers – 168.0000
72. Inhognito – 167.9998
73. Caveman Cuisine – 167.4286
74. Smokey Bears BBQ – 167.4286
75. Blazin’ Blues – 167.4286
76. Wildcatters Q Crew – 167.4286
77. Motley Que Crew – 167.4284
78. CNB BBQ – 167.4284
79. Velvet Smoke BBQ – 167.4284
80. Master Of Disaster – 167.4284
81. iBQ’N – 166.8572
82. ASAP – 166.8572
83. Tex Wasabi’s All-Stars – 166.8572
84. Butcher BBQ – 166.8572
85. Big O’s BBQ – 166.8570
86. Buffalo’s BBQ – 166.8570
87. Sweet Beaver BBQ – 166.8570
88. 3 Woodys BBQ – 166.8570
89. This Is How We Que It – 166.8570
90. Smoke On This – 166.2858
91. Wild Blue – 166.2858
92. Cool Smoke – 166.2858
93. Buffalo Meatheads – 166.2856
94. Mama And Papa Joe’s BBQ – 166.2856
95. Park Avenue Pork – 166.2856
96. Webber’s Old West BBQ – 166.2856
97. Burnt Finger BBQ – 166.2856
98. A Boy & His BBQ – 166.2854
99. Burnin’ Down The Hog – 165.7142
100. Nickle Boys BBQ – 165.1430
101. Burnin Bob’s Butts n Bon – 165.1430
102. Able Acres BBQ – 165.1428
103. TippyCanoe BBQ Crew – 165.1428
104. Holla N’ Swalla – 165.1428
105. Pit Bulls Up In Smoke – 165.1428
106. Little Pig Town – 165.1426
107. House Of Q – 165.1426
108. Too Ashamed To Name Comp – 165.1426
109. Xtreme Texas Cookers – 164.5714
110. Shake ‘n Bake BBQ – 164.5714
111. Bare Bones BBQ Team – 164.5714
112. Butcher’s Daughter BBQ – 164.5714
113. Q’n Canucks – 164.5714
114. Iowa Outlaws BBQ – 164.5714
115. JP Custom Smoke – 164.5710
116. Killer Hogs – 163.9998
117. Chix, Swine & Bovine BBQ – 163.4286
118. Pork Pullin Plowboys – 163.4286
119. Circle R Cookers – 163.4284
120. Four Men And A Pig – 163.4282
121. Lords Of The Grill – 162.8572
122. Ghost River Smoke-A-Holi – 162.8572
123. Spitfire – 162.8570
124. Trash Can Cookers – 162.2856
125. Pellet Envy – 162.2854
126. Bush Kitchen – 161.7142
127. B@T BBQ Cook Team – 161.1428
128. Canadian Bakin’ BBQ Team – 161.1428
129. B&B BBQ and Catering, ll – 161.1426
130. The Smoking Hills – 161.1426
131. Phat Jacks – 160.5716
132. ZBQ – 160.5714
133. Lotta Bull BBQ – 160.5714
134. Sticks-n-Chicks BBQ – 160.5714
135. Orange Maple Too – 159.9998
136. Wild Bunch Butt Burners – 159.9998
137. Texas Pepper Jelly – 159.4286
138. The American Dream Bar-B – 158.8572
139. Political Pork – 158.8572
140. Rock Bottom BBQ – 158.8570
141. Hogs On The Sauce – 158.8570
142. Dukes Pepper Co. – 158.8568
143. Pig Newton – 158.2856
144. TheSlabs.com – 158.2854
145. It’ll Do BBQ – 157.1428
146. Sizzlin Bones BBQ – 156.5712
147. Hot Meat Smokers – 155.9998
148. Ripple-Que – 155.9998
149. S&S BBQ – 154.8572
150. Blowin Smoke – 154.2858
151. Wine Country Q – 153.7142
152. IQUE – 151.4288
153. QSS Smokin’ – 151.4288
154. Family Thing Cookers – 141.7142

Ribs:
1. Bayou Boogie BBQ – 180.0000
2. Smokers Purgatory – 177.7144
3. Pelletheads.com – 176.5716
4. Big Poppa Smokers – 176.5716
5. ZBQ – 176.5714
6. Swiggin’ Pig – 176.5714
7. CNB BBQ – 176.0000
8. Meadow Valley BBQ – 175.4286
9. Iowa’s Smokey D’s BBQ – 175.4286
10. Gilly’s BBQ – 174.2860
11. Huminie’s Hogalicious BB – 174.2858
12. Buffalo’s BBQ – 174.2858
13. Blazin’ Blues – 173.7144
14. TheSlabs.com – 173.7144
15. Swine Assassins – 173.1428
16. Nickle Boys BBQ – 173.1428
17. Jay Willies Whiskey Pit – 172.5714
18. Hardway Barbecue – 172.0000
19. Tattoo Bob’s Bar-B-Q – 172.0000
20. Little Pig Town – 172.0000
21. Pit Bulls Up In Smoke – 171.4286
22. Q Pig BBQ – 171.4286
23. Iowa Outlaws BBQ – 171.4286
24. Moo Cow – 171.4286
25. This Is How We Que It – 171.4284
26. Serial Griller – 170.8572
27. iBQ’N – 170.8570
28. QUAU – 170.2858
29. A Boy & His BBQ – 170.2858
30. Lotta Bull BBQ – 170.2856
31. Smoke On This – 170.2856
32. Great Grills O Fire – 170.2854
33. Southern Exposure – 169.7144
34. Inhognito – 169.7142
35. Hambones By The Fire – 169.7142
36. Big T’z Q Cru – 169.7142
37. Ponderosa BBQ – 169.1430
38. 4 Legs Up BBQ – 169.1428
39. Circle R Cookers – 168.5716
40. Buffalo Meatheads – 168.5714
41. GoneHoggin.com – 168.5714
42. Shiggin & Grinnin – 168.5714
43. Sweet Beaver BBQ – 168.5714
44. R Butts R Smokin – 168.5714
45. Finn’s Finest BBQ – 168.0002
46. There’s No Place Like Sm – 168.0002
47. Roughnecks BBQ – 168.0000
48. Hog Tide Bar-B-Que – 168.0000
49. Burnt At Both Endz – 168.0000
50. Xtreme Texas Cookers – 168.0000
51. Smokin’ Triggers – 167.4286
52. Q’n Canucks – 167.4286
53. Woodhouse Barbecue – 167.4284
54. Pellet Envy – 166.8572
55. TippyCanoe BBQ Crew – 166.8572
56. 3 Eyz BBQ – 166.8572
57. JP Custom Smoke – 166.8572
58. Bam Bam’s BBQ – 166.8570
59. Chix, Swine & Bovine BBQ – 166.8570
60. Sticks-n-Chicks BBQ – 166.2860
61. Burnt Finger BBQ – 166.2858
62. Wildcatters Q Crew – 166.2858
63. Smokers Wild – 166.2858
64. B@T BBQ Cook Team – 166.2856
65. Four Men And A Pig – 165.7144
66. ASAP – 165.7144
67. Hot Meat Smokers – 165.7144
68. Trash Can Cookers – 165.7142
69. Yellow River BBQ – 165.1430
70. Phat Jacks – 165.1430
71. Able Acres BBQ – 165.1428
72. Ripple-Que – 165.1428
73. Bare Bones BBQ Team – 165.1428
74. Burnin’ Down The Hog – 165.1426
75. Deguello BBQ – 164.5716
76. Slap Yo Daddy BBQ – 164.5716
77. Ghost River Smoke-A-Holi – 164.5714
78. Dukes Pepper Co. – 164.5714
79. Political Pork – 164.5714
80. Dizzy Pig – 164.5712
81. Smoke On Wheels – 164.0002
82. Backdraft BBQ – 164.0002
83. Wine Country Q – 163.9998
84. Wild Bunch Butt Burners – 163.4288
85. Caveman Cuisine – 163.4286
86. Local Smokin’ Gurus – 163.4286
87. Gooney Creek BBQ – 163.4284
88. Blazen BBQ – 162.8572
89. BBQ-Brethren.com – 162.8572
90. The American Dream Bar-B – 162.8570
91. Munchin Hogs @ The Hilto – 162.8570
92. SmokinN The Dark – 162.8570
93. Rocky Bluff BBQ – 162.8570
94. Wild Blue – 162.8570
95. Texas Pepper Jelly – 162.2858
96. Cool Smoke – 162.2858
97. Shake ‘n Bake BBQ – 162.2856
98. B&B BBQ and Catering, ll – 162.2856
99. Hog-It-Up BBQ – 161.7144
100. The Smokehouse Mafia – 161.7142
101. QSS Smokin’ – 161.7140
102. Orange Maple Too – 161.1428
103. Movin The Chains BBQ – 160.5716
104. Tex Wasabi’s All-Stars – 160.5716
105. Sizzlin Bones BBQ – 160.5714
106. S&S BBQ – 160.5714
107. Holla N’ Swalla – 160.5712
108. Killer Hogs – 160.5712
109. Firefighting BBQ Team – 160.0002
110. Pork Pullin Plowboys – 160.0000
111. Pig Newton – 160.0000
112. Dead Pigs Tell No Tales – 160.0000
113. Butcher BBQ – 159.9998
114. Jack’s Old South – 159.9996
115. Jiggy Piggy – 159.4288
116. Rock Bottom BBQ – 159.4288
117. Motley Que Crew – 159.4286
118. Lady Bug Cookers – 159.4284
119. Smokey Bears BBQ – 159.4282
120. 4 Smokin’ Butts – 158.8572
121. Lords Of The Grill – 158.8572
122. Velvet Smoke BBQ – 158.8572
123. Burnin Bob’s Butts n Bon – 158.8570
124. PM Cookers – 158.8570
125. House Of Q – 158.2858
126. 3 Woodys BBQ – 158.2856
127. IAB 30 BBQ – 157.1430
128. Big O’s BBQ – 156.5716
129. Webber’s Old West BBQ – 156.5716
130. Hogs On The Sauce – 156.5714
131. Prairie Smoke & Spice BB – 156.5714
132. Lost Gonzo Too BBQ – 156.5714
133. IQUE – 156.5712
134. Master Of Disaster – 156.0000
135. Bunch Of Swines – 155.4286
136. Verti-Bray BBQ – 155.4286
137. Beer Meets Grill – 155.4284
138. Smoky Dog – 155.4284
139. The Smoking Hills – 154.8572
140. El Fuego Fiasco – 154.8568
141. Bush Kitchen – 154.2856
142. One2bbq – 153.7146
143. It’ll Do BBQ – 153.7144
144. Canadian Bakin’ BBQ Team – 153.7142
145. Rubbed, Smoked and Sauce – 153.1428
146. Two Old Men And A Grill – 151.4284
147. Four Q – 151.4284
148. Blowin Smoke – 150.8574
149. Too Ashamed To Name Comp – 150.8570
150. Park Avenue Pork – 150.2854
151. Butcher’s Daughter BBQ – 146.8570
152. Spitfire – 143.4290
153. Family Thing Cookers – 138.8572
154. Mama And Papa Joe’s BBQ – 20.0000

Pork:
1. B&B BBQ and Catering, ll – 177.7142
2. Wild Blue – 177.7142
3. Moo Cow – 177.1428
4. Little Pig Town – 176.5716
5. Able Acres BBQ – 176.0000
6. Burnt Finger BBQ – 176.0000
7. Wild Bunch Butt Burners – 175.4286
8. 4 Legs Up BBQ – 175.4284
9. There’s No Place Like Sm – 174.2858
10. It’ll Do BBQ – 174.2858
11. Buffalo’s BBQ – 174.2856
12. Prairie Smoke & Spice BB – 174.2856
13. Smoke On This – 174.2856
14. Spitfire – 173.7142
15. Swine Assassins – 173.7142
16. Hardway Barbecue – 173.1430
17. House Of Q – 173.1428
18. Shake ‘n Bake BBQ – 172.5712
19. R Butts R Smokin – 172.0000
20. Burnin’ Down The Hog – 172.0000
21. Jay Willies Whiskey Pit – 172.0000
22. Pellet Envy – 172.0000
23. Backdraft BBQ – 172.0000
24. The American Dream Bar-B – 172.0000
25. Deguello BBQ – 171.9998
26. Iowa Outlaws BBQ – 171.9998
27. Political Pork – 171.9998
28. Circle R Cookers – 171.4288
29. Buffalo Meatheads – 171.4286
30. Webber’s Old West BBQ – 171.4284
31. TheSlabs.com – 171.4284
32. JP Custom Smoke – 170.8572
33. S&S BBQ – 170.8572
34. Hog Tide Bar-B-Que – 170.8572
35. Bam Bam’s BBQ – 170.8572
36. Jack’s Old South – 170.8570
37. Smokey Bears BBQ – 170.8570
38. Big T’z Q Cru – 170.8570
39. Sweet Beaver BBQ – 170.8570
40. Bunch Of Swines – 170.2858
41. Firefighting BBQ Team – 170.2858
42. The Smokehouse Mafia – 170.2858
43. Burnin Bob’s Butts n Bon – 170.2856
44. Q’n Canucks – 170.2854
45. TippyCanoe BBQ Crew – 169.7142
46. Big Poppa Smokers – 169.7142
47. Meadow Valley BBQ – 169.7142
48. Smoky Dog – 169.7142
49. Inhognito – 169.1428
50. Munchin Hogs @ The Hilto – 169.1428
51. IAB 30 BBQ – 169.1428
52. Caveman Cuisine – 168.5714
53. Lady Bug Cookers – 168.0000
54. GoneHoggin.com – 168.0000
55. Trash Can Cookers – 168.0000
56. Dizzy Pig – 168.0000
57. Iowa’s Smokey D’s BBQ – 168.0000
58. Smokin’ Triggers – 167.9998
59. Orange Maple Too – 167.9998
60. Smoke On Wheels – 167.9998
61. Gilly’s BBQ – 167.9998
62. Chix, Swine & Bovine BBQ – 167.9998
63. 4 Smokin’ Butts – 167.4286
64. Four Q – 167.4284
65. A Boy & His BBQ – 167.4282
66. ASAP – 166.8570
67. Killer Hogs – 166.8570
68. Park Avenue Pork – 166.8570
69. Phat Jacks – 166.8570
70. Holla N’ Swalla – 166.2858
71. Hogs On The Sauce – 166.2856
72. Local Smokin’ Gurus – 166.2856
73. Huminie’s Hogalicious BB – 166.2856
74. Blazen BBQ – 165.7144
75. Sticks-n-Chicks BBQ – 165.7144
76. Smokers Purgatory – 165.7144
77. Shiggin & Grinnin – 165.7142
78. Hambones By The Fire – 165.7142
79. Pit Bulls Up In Smoke – 165.7142
80. The Smoking Hills – 165.7140
81. Velvet Smoke BBQ – 165.1430
82. Smokers Wild – 165.1428
83. Rubbed, Smoked and Sauce – 165.1426
84. Jiggy Piggy – 165.1426
85. Burnt At Both Endz – 165.1426
86. Great Grills O Fire – 165.1426
87. Dukes Pepper Co. – 164.5714
88. 3 Woodys BBQ – 164.5714
89. Beer Meets Grill – 164.5714
90. Master Of Disaster – 164.5712
91. Too Ashamed To Name Comp – 164.5712
92. SmokinN The Dark – 164.5712
93. Wine Country Q – 164.5712
94. Bush Kitchen – 164.5712
95. Serial Griller – 164.5712
96. Pig Newton – 164.5712
97. Swiggin’ Pig – 164.0002
98. Q Pig BBQ – 164.0000
99. Hog-It-Up BBQ – 164.0000
100. Wildcatters Q Crew – 163.9998
101. Sizzlin Bones BBQ – 163.9998
102. Southern Exposure – 163.9998
103. ZBQ – 163.9996
104. Butcher BBQ – 163.4286
105. Lotta Bull BBQ – 163.4286
106. Lords Of The Grill – 163.4284
107. Nickle Boys BBQ – 162.8572
108. IQUE – 162.8572
109. QUAU – 162.8570
110. Woodhouse Barbecue – 162.8570
111. Mama And Papa Joe’s BBQ – 162.8570
112. BBQ-Brethren.com – 162.2856
113. iBQ’N – 162.2854
114. Two Old Men And A Grill – 161.7144
115. 3 Eyz BBQ – 161.7140
116. Blazin’ Blues – 161.1428
117. Ripple-Que – 161.1426
118. Rocky Bluff BBQ – 160.5716
119. Tattoo Bob’s Bar-B-Q – 160.5716
120. QSS Smokin’ – 160.5714
121. Movin The Chains BBQ – 160.5714
122. PM Cookers – 160.5712
123. Pelletheads.com – 160.0002
124. Butcher’s Daughter BBQ – 160.0000
125. Finn’s Finest BBQ – 159.9998
126. Yellow River BBQ – 159.9998
127. Slap Yo Daddy BBQ – 159.9998
128. This Is How We Que It – 159.4286
129. Cool Smoke – 159.4286
130. Ponderosa BBQ – 159.4284
131. Roughnecks BBQ – 158.8570
132. Texas Pepper Jelly – 158.8570
133. Blowin Smoke – 158.2856
134. Big O’s BBQ – 158.2856
135. Dead Pigs Tell No Tales – 158.2856
136. Four Men And A Pig – 157.7142
137. Gooney Creek BBQ – 157.1428
138. Hot Meat Smokers – 157.1428
139. Ghost River Smoke-A-Holi – 157.1428
140. El Fuego Fiasco – 156.5712
141. CNB BBQ – 156.0002
142. Pork Pullin Plowboys – 155.4284
143. Bare Bones BBQ Team – 155.4282
144. B@T BBQ Cook Team – 155.4282
145. One2bbq – 154.8568
146. Xtreme Texas Cookers – 154.2858
147. Bayou Boogie BBQ – 154.2856
148. Motley Que Crew – 154.2854
149. Canadian Bakin’ BBQ Team – 153.7140
150. Lost Gonzo Too BBQ – 152.5716
151. Tex Wasabi’s All-Stars – 151.4284
152. Verti-Bray BBQ – 150.8570
153. Rock Bottom BBQ – 146.8570
154. Family Thing Cookers – 143.4286

Brisket:
1. Hog Tide Bar-B-Que – 178.8572
2. JP Custom Smoke – 178.2858
3. Big Poppa Smokers – 178.2858
4. Cool Smoke – 177.7144
5. Butcher BBQ – 177.7142
6. Wild Blue – 176.5714
7. One2bbq – 176.0000
8. Gooney Creek BBQ – 175.4286
9. Hogs On The Sauce – 175.4286
10. Chix, Swine & Bovine BBQ – 175.4286
11. A Boy & His BBQ – 175.4284
12. Firefighting BBQ Team – 174.8572
13. 3 Eyz BBQ – 174.8572
14. Pellet Envy – 174.8572
15. Lady Bug Cookers – 174.8572
16. Smoke On Wheels – 174.2856
17. ASAP – 173.1428
18. Hot Meat Smokers – 173.1428
19. Big T’z Q Cru – 173.1428
20. Killer Hogs – 173.1428
21. iBQ’N – 172.5714
22. The American Dream Bar-B – 172.5714
23. Ghost River Smoke-A-Holi – 172.0002
24. Woodhouse Barbecue – 172.0000
25. Velvet Smoke BBQ – 172.0000
26. There’s No Place Like Sm – 172.0000
27. Bayou Boogie BBQ – 171.4286
28. Dizzy Pig – 171.4286
29. Southern Exposure – 171.4284
30. Great Grills O Fire – 170.8570
31. Able Acres BBQ – 170.8570
32. QUAU – 170.8568
33. Smokin’ Triggers – 170.2858
34. House Of Q – 170.2858
35. Ripple-Que – 170.2856
36. TippyCanoe BBQ Crew – 170.2856
37. Ponderosa BBQ – 170.2856
38. Shake ‘n Bake BBQ – 170.2856
39. Shiggin & Grinnin – 170.2856
40. PM Cookers – 170.2854
41. Little Pig Town – 169.7142
42. Pit Bulls Up In Smoke – 169.7142
43. Huminie’s Hogalicious BB – 169.7142
44. Master Of Disaster – 169.1428
45. Lotta Bull BBQ – 169.1428
46. Buffalo’s BBQ – 169.1428
47. Texas Pepper Jelly – 168.5714
48. It’ll Do BBQ – 168.5714
49. Iowa Outlaws BBQ – 168.5712
50. ZBQ – 168.5712
51. Munchin Hogs @ The Hilto – 168.5712
52. Swiggin’ Pig – 168.0002
53. Wild Bunch Butt Burners – 168.0002
54. Hambones By The Fire – 168.0000
55. Blazin’ Blues – 168.0000
56. Iowa’s Smokey D’s BBQ – 168.0000
57. Deguello BBQ – 168.0000
58. Smoke On This – 167.9998
59. Wildcatters Q Crew – 167.4284
60. Rock Bottom BBQ – 167.4284
61. Four Men And A Pig – 166.8572
62. IQUE – 166.8572
63. Meadow Valley BBQ – 166.8572
64. Bam Bam’s BBQ – 166.8572
65. Lost Gonzo Too BBQ – 166.8570
66. B&B BBQ and Catering, ll – 166.8570
67. Verti-Bray BBQ – 166.8570
68. Two Old Men And A Grill – 166.2860
69. The Smokehouse Mafia – 166.2858
70. Jay Willies Whiskey Pit – 166.2856
71. Tex Wasabi’s All-Stars – 166.2856
72. SmokinN The Dark – 166.2856
73. Wine Country Q – 166.2856
74. BBQ-Brethren.com – 165.7144
75. Too Ashamed To Name Comp – 165.7142
76. IAB 30 BBQ – 165.7142
77. 4 Smokin’ Butts – 165.7142
78. R Butts R Smokin – 165.7142
79. Gilly’s BBQ – 165.7140
80. TheSlabs.com – 165.1430
81. Buffalo Meatheads – 165.1428
82. Motley Que Crew – 165.1428
83. Dead Pigs Tell No Tales – 165.1428
84. Sticks-n-Chicks BBQ – 165.1426
85. Webber’s Old West BBQ – 164.5714
86. Burnin’ Down The Hog – 164.5714
87. Circle R Cookers – 164.0000
88. 3 Woodys BBQ – 164.0000
89. Smokers Wild – 163.9998
90. Bare Bones BBQ Team – 163.9996
91. Burnt Finger BBQ – 163.4288
92. Yellow River BBQ – 163.4288
93. Swine Assassins – 163.4286
94. QSS Smokin’ – 163.4284
95. Phat Jacks – 163.4284
96. Jiggy Piggy – 163.4284
97. Caveman Cuisine – 163.4284
98. Trash Can Cookers – 163.4284
99. Mama And Papa Joe’s BBQ – 162.8572
100. Sweet Beaver BBQ – 162.8572
101. Canadian Bakin’ BBQ Team – 162.8570
102. Pig Newton – 162.8570
103. Beer Meets Grill – 162.8568
104. Butcher’s Daughter BBQ – 162.2858
105. The Smoking Hills – 161.7142
106. Q Pig BBQ – 161.7142
107. Big O’s BBQ – 161.7142
108. This Is How We Que It – 161.7142
109. B@T BBQ Cook Team – 161.7140
110. Moo Cow – 161.1428
111. Movin The Chains BBQ – 161.1428
112. Jack’s Old South – 161.1428
113. Q’n Canucks – 161.1426
114. Political Pork – 160.5714
115. Holla N’ Swalla – 160.5714
116. Park Avenue Pork – 160.5712
117. Pork Pullin Plowboys – 160.5710
118. Prairie Smoke & Spice BB – 160.0000
119. Inhognito – 160.0000
120. Serial Griller – 159.4284
121. Spitfire – 159.4284
122. Backdraft BBQ – 158.8570
123. Finn’s Finest BBQ – 158.8568
124. Pelletheads.com – 158.8568
125. Hog-It-Up BBQ – 158.2858
126. Blazen BBQ – 158.2856
127. Lords Of The Grill – 157.7144
128. 4 Legs Up BBQ – 157.7142
129. Four Q – 157.7140
130. Smoky Dog – 157.7140
131. Smokey Bears BBQ – 157.1430
132. Hardway Barbecue – 157.1430
133. Burnin Bob’s Butts n Bon – 157.1430
134. CNB BBQ – 156.5716
135. GoneHoggin.com – 156.5714
136. Smokers Purgatory – 156.0000
137. S&S BBQ – 154.8570
138. Orange Maple Too – 154.8570
139. Roughnecks BBQ – 154.8568
140. Bunch Of Swines – 154.8568
141. Local Smokin’ Gurus – 154.8566
142. El Fuego Fiasco – 154.2858
143. Bush Kitchen – 154.2856
144. Xtreme Texas Cookers – 152.5716
145. Tattoo Bob’s Bar-B-Q – 152.5714
146. Dukes Pepper Co. – 151.9998
147. Sizzlin Bones BBQ – 151.9998
148. Blowin Smoke – 149.7144
149. Rubbed, Smoked and Sauce – 149.1426
150. Slap Yo Daddy BBQ – 148.5714
151. Nickle Boys BBQ – 147.4284
152. Burnt At Both Endz – 146.8570
153. Rocky Bluff BBQ – 139.4286
154. Family Thing Cookers – 130.2856

26th Annual American Royal Invitational Contest Qualification Criteria Announced

Posted: August 5, 2012 in BBQ News
Tags: American Royal, Barbecue, Barbeque, BBQ, BBQ Pitmasters, Chicken, Competition BBQ, FBA, Flordia barbecue, Florida BBQ, Jack Daniel, Kansas City, Kansas City Missouri, KC Masterpiece, KCBS, Results, Sam's Club, Spare Ribs, United States

26th Annual American Royal Invitational Contest Qualification Criteria Announced

August 3, 2012

26^th Annual American Royal Invitational Contest

Qualification Criteria

A new system has been instituted for qualifying Invitational Teams in 2012-2013. Qualifying criteria must be submitted to the American Royal within 7 business days of the qualifying contest by the contest organizers and each Grand Champion team in order for the team to be invited to participate in the Invitational contest.

The forms and any accompanying information may be emailed (BBQ@AmericanRoyal.com), faxed (816-221-8189), or sent standard mail to: Invitational Contest – American Royal World Series of Barbecue® 1701 American Royal Court, Kansas City, MO 64102

QUALIFICATION CRITERIA SUMMARY FOR US TEAMS

Qualifying Period: August 1, 2012-July 31, 2013 – All exceptions must be approved in advance by the American Royal.

Invitations:

Only Grand Champions are invited. No pass downs will be accepted. Invitations will be extended to the qualified team name/head cook combination. Should the team name or head cook change after qualifying, the team MUST enter the American Royal Invitational under the qualifying combination. Should the same head cook have qualified with more than one team, he/she may enter the KC Masterpiece American Royal Invitational Contest only one time.

An invitation will be mailed from the American Royal to the qualifiers upon receipt of the enclosed forms and requested documentation. If an Invitational team would like to also compete in the Open Contest, it is MANDATORY for that team to complete the Open Application ahead of time so a space can be reserved.

Qualifying Contest Criteria:

Contests MUST have at least 15 competing teams the first year and 25 competing teams each subsequent year.
State proclamations will no longer be required. In lieu of a state proclamation, all contests MUST be sanctioned by an American Royal approved sanctioning body. Qualifying contests MUST be open to all contestants.
A state with only one contest MUST have a minimum of 15 competing teams to be considered, and MUST be sanctioned by an American Royal approved sanctioning body. Qualifying contests must be open to all contestants.
Contest categories submitted for judging MUST include beef, pork, and poultry to be considered a qualifier. To be considered a “competing team,” for the qualifying contest, teams MUST submit entries for ALL contest categories required to be the Grand Champion or overall winner of that event.
The American Royal reserves the right to request contest results for authentication from contest organizer, to include judging results and total number of teams competing in the event.

Sanctioning Body Criteria:

The sanctioning body must have a physical address.
The sanctioning body must be a registered business within the state of its physical address, whether for-profit or otherwise, and must provide a state certificate of good standing.
The sanctioning body must have printed rules, including disciplinary action for rules violations.
The sanctioning body must be able to provide printed, complete, contest results, including tabulated judging details and number of teams competing.
The sanctioning body must sanction a minimum of ten (10) BBQ competitions in the qualifying period.
The sanctioning body must cooperate with the American Royal for the purpose of certifying contest winners for Invitational Contest qualification.

Automatic Entries Go To:

*Grand Champion of previous year’s American Royal Open Contest
*Grand Champions of previous five (5) year’s American Royal/KC Masterpiece Invitational Contest
*Grand Champion of previous year’s Annual Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue
*Grand Champion of current year’s Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Contest *Grand Champion of current year’s Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo World Championship Bar-B-Que Contest

Betting on Porker Face BBQ; a team spotlight

Posted: May 28, 2012 in BBQ, Team Spotlight
Tags: American Royal, Barbecue, Barbeque, BBQ, BBQ Sauce, Chicken, Competition BBQ, cooking tips, Florida BBQ, KCBS, Meat, Pork, Results, Rooftop, Swamp Boys BBQ

I remember the first time I met Stephen Lupe, pitmaster from Porker Face BBQ. We were at the FBA (Florida Barbecue Association) end of the year party, hosted by Rob Bagby. I was still cooking in the backyard division, but Stephen was building a foundation for his team in the pro ranks. Stephen and I had a great conversation, and I knew right away that he is very intense about competition BBQ. The first competition that we competed against one another in, was the FBA event in Sebring, FL. Porker Face BBQ had a great cook, and an overall top 10 finish. Porker Face BBQ did his cooking then on WSM’s, and did very well with them. Now Porker Face BBQ has added a Stump’s Stretch to their line up of cookers, and I am sure they will do very well with it.

Porker Face BBQ’s Stump’s Stretch.

Stephen and the entire Porker Face BBQ team are an up and coming team in the pro ranks, and are always in the running for taking GC (Grand Champion) at any event they enter. I will be competing against them again in two weeks (June 8 & 9, 2012) in Cocoa, FL. It will be a tough competition, but I am sure Stephen and team will be coming with their best game face on….or in their case, their porker face on!!!

Poker Face BBQ Packed up, and ready to head out to another competition.

Now without further ado, my interview with Stephen Lupe from Porker Face BBQ:

LTH: What is you team name, where are you located and who makes up your team?

PFBBQ: We are Porker Face BBQ from Cape Coral, FL. The team consists of my wife Theresa, my Dad Mark, my Kids Abbigail and Gabriel and myself Steve.

LTH: How many competitions have you competed in to date? Any GC or RGC awards?

PFBBQ: We have competed in 21 contest total, between KCBS (Kansas City Barbecue Society) and FBA. We have won 2 RGCs (Reserve Grand Champion). One was in Martin County last year and the other was in Punta Gorda this year, both FBA events.

LTH: How did you get started in BBQ?

PFBBQ: I have been BBQing since I moved to Missouri at 16. When I moved there I thought BBQing was getting a bunch of chicken legs and grilling them with some sauce thrown all over them, but I soon learned otherwise. I bought a smoker at 16 and have been doing it since.

Poker Face BBQ’s take at FBA’s 2012 Punta Gorda contest

LTH: What made you decide to do BBQ competitions?

PFBBQ: I am a paramedic, and I was invited to cook in some public safety rib cook-off’s. I did and we started winning. I had been to pro cook-off’s as a spectator, and I started talking to a friend of mine, and I thought well we are winning here maybe we could try to cook pro. We entered a contest, it was the great southern tailgate BBQ, in Amelia Island, and just hoped we didn’t finish last. Our first contest we finished like 15th place overall, and we have been addicted since.

LTH: What, in your opinion, has been your best call?

PFBBQ: I would have to say 2nd place brisket at this years FBA’s Ziggy Dick’s cook-off.

LTH: What is your favorite category?

PFBBQ: Brisket

LTH: What competition, above all others, would you like to compete in?

PFBBQ: I would love to go to the American Royal.

LTH: What is one piece of advice that you could give to a team just starting in competition BBQ?

PFBBQ: I would say to them, be patient, there is definitely a learning curve. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Also, have fun, nothing bums me out more then when people stop doing this for fun and take it too seriously.

LTH: What is one thing, you do to your chicken turn-in, that you would consider a must do, by all teams?

PFBBQ: Use $50 bills as a garnish. Chicken is a hard category, there is so much similarity to what is turned in.

Practice brisket for Porker Face BBQ

LTH: Brisket is one category that has many teams scratching their heads, any tips (without giving up the farm) would you have for brisket?

PFBBQ: I’ll give up the farm, I have no secrets, anyone who has been next to me at a competition can tell you that. I think that helping the new teams out should be a big part of BBQ. First I use Wagyu briskets from Snake River Farms. Our scores went up tremendously since we switched to these briskets. Also, I inject my briskets with Butchers beef injection. I separate the point and the flat. I pan cook them, and sauce them with Rooftop BBQ Sauce, and au jus. In the past I didn’t sauce my brisket, but our scores went up after we stared doing it.

LTH: I know that you are also a judge, what are a few things you look for as a BBQ judge?

PFBBQ: That’s a really hard question to answer; First off I like it when a team takes some time on presentation. I can tell you that presentation is a huge part of a team’s score. If you just throw some pork into a box, then your going to get bad scores. We eat with our eyes first, so if it looks good, there is a better chance that you will get higher scores.

LTH: From a judges’ stand point, you look for the flavor of the meat, and how well that meat entry has been cooked. In your opinion, which is more important, taste or tenderness?

PFBBQ: They are completely equal, in my mind.

LTH: What is on your BBQ bucket list?

PFBBQ: To do a whole hog and to cook at the Royal.

LTH: Does your team have any sponsors, are you looking to take on a sponsor?

PFBBQ: Yes, we are sponsored, by the best BBQ sauce in the WORLD Rooftop BBQ Sauce We would gladly take on more sponsors.

Practice ribs for Porker Face BBQ

LTH: What is your upcoming schedule?

PFBBQ: We are doing the FBA event in Cocoa, FL in a couple of weeks. Then for the rest of the year, we have all FBA events, starting with “The Fun Cook” the weekend of August 31, Grant, FL the weekend of September 28, Mulberry, FL the weekend of October 12, Zephyrhills, FL the weekend of October 26, Melbourne, FL on November 9-10 and we finish off the year with Sebring, FL the weekend of November 30.

I would like to thank Stephen and the entire Porker Face BBQ for participating in this interview. I would like to wish them luck for all their future competitions. We will see y’all in Cocoa, FL in a couple of weeks!!!

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