Prairie Smoke & Spice BBQ

Jack Trip 2010 - Day 6 (Judgement Day)

2011-03-16T23:17:00.000-06:00

Turn-in day! The reason we drove 30 hours from Regina, Saskatchewan to Lynchburg, Tennesee.
5:00 AM came quickly, but I felt great.   I rolled out of the RV to find that Smokin' Jim had laid out my 6 racks of ribs on the prep table, so they were ready for me to apply the finishing touches prior to loading them on the BBQ pit.   The ribs went on and I checked on the briskets and the butts...   Both had progressed well but appeared to be ahead of schedule.   They were wrapped with foil and placed back on the pit.   We dropped the temperature down by about 20 degrees (Remember, cooking on an unfamiliar pit...) and continued the cook.

The big meats were finished ahead of schedule by a couple hours... put away in the cooler to rest and get happy. Final chicken prep took a couple hours; extra time for this contest because we had to cook both dark meat (ie thighs) and white meat (breasts this time). This is a requirement of the Jack event only. At some point, we headed over to Sugar's BBQ for the good luck Jack shot with the rest of the PNWBA crew.
Angie worked on our entry for the "Home Cookin from the Homeland" category, a seafood chowder made from fresh dungeness crab meat and BC prawns.   Mom & Jacy worked on our dessert entry.

Judging at the World Championships... A very serious affair!   The guy in the middle is our friend Perry Hopkins, organizer of the MOBC.

Photo courtesy of Michael Stevenson

The final turn-in... dessert!

This was our rib entry... Looked good enough to be featured on the Jack Daniel's BBQ website.

Turn-ins approached quickly and went by just as fast. We got all 7 categories turned in on time with just one very close call for the brisket. The crowds at this event are unlike any I've seen... 25,000 people come out to the event. With only 80 teams, you can imagine how crowded things are. It's like cooking in a fishbowl. We even had to chase a few people out of our enclosed cook site, people were coming right up to our table 15' away from the edge of our site. More than one person crossed the 'rude' line... I suspect one of them produced this photo...

The stage... look at all those Jack trophies in the background...

Finally it was time to relax and crack a cold one. (Sodee pop, that is!) I wandered around and shook a few hands, met a few teams I hadn't had a chance to visit with yet. We all took it easy; while most teams were busy packing up we just relaxed and soaked in the atmosphere. It was another beautiful afternoon and anticipation was high! We made it to the awards ceremony early and got some good seats on the floor of the Moore Country 4-H pavilion. We were very excited to hear our name called for 2nd place in the "Home Cookin'" category, Angie's seafood chowder deserved the award, it was phenomenal!
After the awards, we headed back to the site and settled in for a long night of laughs, drinks, and good times. Some of us saw the sun come up... Not me unfortunately, just can't do the all-nighters any more :-(.

Jack Trip 2010 - Day 5

2011-02-28T23:19:00.000-06:00

Friday... another beautiful day in the hollow! We all had a great sleep in the RV (well, not Jim or Darrel, the firewatchers...) We finished getting the site set up, including all the fall theme decorations, Canadian accents, and banners. I worked on the big meats.. brisket and pork butts which needed some deep tissue love in the form of injections... followed by a heavy rub. The rest of the crew hung out... did some prep for the Friday side events, baking dessert, and prepping ingredients for the Home Cookin' from the Homeland event. I also managed to get my newly purchased Jack barrel lid around the grounds to meet as many teams as possible.

We started lining up for the parade around 3:30. We got there early enough to get a spot near the front. The whole team showed up at 4 when the parade began. The parade took us through town through a crowd of thousands (dozens?) of cheering fans. We disbanded at the JD visitor centre and waited for the buses, which would take us to the top of "BBQ Hill" They treat the teams, judges, sponsors, etc to a fried chicken meal which was good but no match for the spectacular view of the sun setting over the Lynchburg town site in the valley below. Since this big pavilion is across the county line, JD is served and sometimes generously. We met some new friends, had a great time, and headed back to camp at 9:00. The big pit got fired up and the meats went on the pit around midnight. Once again Jim and Darrel manned the pits so I could get a good rest... which I needed after some wicked short term flu that almost took me out of the game early.

Jack Trip 2010 - Day 4

2011-02-07T19:41:00.000-06:00

Day 4 -Thursday. We head to Lynchburg!

First order of business was to pick up our friend Angie Quaale, 7 AM arrival at the airport in Nashville. She was right on time and despite getting very little sleep in the prior 24 hours, she was smiling and excited to be there. We headed back to the campground to pick up the rest of the family and then headed to Waffle House for breakfast - I think there are more of these joints in the South than Starbucks in the PNW.

From there we headed South... Stopping only at the Liquor Barn for... um... supplies for guests. Yeah. We pulled into Lynchburg at 11:00, and were directed straight to our spot for the weekend.

We unloaded most of the trailer, set up the canopies and tables, then headed back into the square for some souvenirs.

Next on the agenda was a tour of the distillery. All the JD sold everywhere in the world, is brewed right here in the hollow. It was a really interesting tour!

Back at the cook site, we finished setting up and said Hi to our remaining 2 crew members - BBQ buds from Manitoba who flew in to cheer us on and see "the Jack" for themselves. Darrel and Jim had huge smiles on their faces when they piled out of the rental car, they were as excited as us to be there.

We were invited, along with all the other International teams, to a southern catfish fry hosted by the JD folks and Jim Johnson, who we met the previous year in Morden, MB and who was also generous enough to pull the big red "Beckie Sue" pit for us to cook on... all the way from Memphis. For supper that night we feasted on fresh, cornmeal battered catfish, fried okra, fried pickles, fried jalapenos, etc. It was all delicious and it was a good opportunity to meet some of the teams from overseas.

Smokin' Jim, Jacy, and "itchy nose" Rob at the International team dinner

We fired up the big Oklahoma Joe pit soon after, to cook the 4 meats for a seminar being held the next morning for the International teams. Jim and Darrel came to the rescue and agreed to run the pit overnight; this gave us a chance to watch how it cooked. They stayed up most of the night and got the meats done in time. Thanks guys!

Jack Trip 2010 - Day 3

2011-01-27T23:02:00.001-06:00

Day 3 - Wednesday Oct 20 - Jacy's Birthday!
We slept in on Wednesday, up at 6 AM! We didn't have a real long drive today, about 6 hours. We wanted to get to Nashville early, lots of stuff to do. The drive through Northwest Tennessee was gorgeous and fun to drive. There were lots of hills, beautiful trees, and winding roads - even on the Interstate. It was a beautiful day. Anticipation was climbing as we approached Nashville. Our first stop was the RV rental dealership - where we picked up the motorhome that would be our home for the next 5 nights. Once that was done we headed to the Jellystone RV park to drop it off.

We hit the Kroger next - we needed to stock up on some competition supplies and food / snacks to get us through the weekend. Back to the RV again to unload... and it was time for supper. We planned on being at the airport to pick up Angie, our friend and Jack Team member from Vancouver, around 8:30. That gave us a couple hours, not really enough time to head downtown. We found Logan's Roadhouse nearby - a steakhouse chain known for a big menu, hot buttered rolls, and casual atmosphere. Perfect. We had a good meal, and before we left we heard from Angie... flights delayed, she was re-routed all over North America, multiple diversions - she wouldn't be in Nashville until the next morning.
So we dropped mom & dad off at the RV and drove downtown to check out the scene. Things didn't get too wild... checked out a couple of joints, a few tourist shops... ran into a few BBQ friends... and we were done.

Added by popular demand... Carrie in the picnic basket!

Jack Trip 2010 - Days 1 & 2

2011-01-14T23:27:00.001-06:00

Jack Trip
Day 1 & 2 - Monday Oct 18, Tues Oct 19

I worked until about 3 PM, picked up a couple things on the way home, and finished packing the trailer. Mom & Dad had arrived earlier that day. Jacy dropped off the kids and we finally rolled out of the driveway at 5:30 PM. Dad & I got into a bit of a navigational argument less than 3 miles from our house... turns out papa knows best and I shut my yap after that. We barreled right down towards Minot (had some sandwiches & snacks packed that we cleaned up after a couple hours of driving). We cruised right through Minot and arrived in Jamestown, ND after 1 AM. We forgot about the time change and had some minor delays, so we were a couple hours behind at this point.

We slept in the hotel there for 3 or 4 hours... Alarm went off at 5 and we were driving by 6:15... to start a loooong day. We stopped in Sioux Falls, SD for a great lunch (Culver's - home of the butterburger) and to meet up with Mike, a friend we met at a SD comp in June. Mike had accepted some shipments for us so we picked up some new banners and our new team attire. We got back on the road towards Kansas City where we had an order waiting for us at the Kansas City BBQ Store, right next to our supper target - Oklahoma Joe's. When it became clear we wouldn't make it before store closing (8 PM), we called ahead to see what they could do, hoping they could at least let us pay for the order next door and pick it up there. Rick Salmon... Who was working that night, graciously agreed to wait the extra 45 minutes for us to arrive, and even gave us some time to browse the inventory. We paid for our stuff at 9:05 and JUST made it into Oklahoma Joe's for supper. They closed at 9 so it was great of them to let us in... They were out of a couple things unfortunately, and we couldn't get any hot side dishes (Some of the best beans I've ever eaten were there, 13 months earlier) but we got ribs and they were awesome. We got a pitcher of Boulevard Wheat for cheap and it was a great meal. (I think we ate some slaw too).

Back on the road... pointed East towards St Louis this time. I had planned on cruising through St. Louis that night so we wouldn't have to fight morning traffic the next day. It was already close to 10 PM for a 3.5 hour drive so we weren't sure if we were going to make it. Fortunately Dad is a cruisin' machine and he pressed on. We passed through downtown SL late enough that even the lights on the famous arch had been turned off. We found a hotel about 20 minutes later and crashed.

Time for some new entries!

2011-01-03T00:30:00.002-06:00

There are lots of blog entries from 2010 that aren't written yet... May as well start with the most recent, and work our way back! Our most recent adventure was the Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbeque. This may take a few posts... Post #1: Introduction.

Jack Trip 2010

Intro

I've been cooking barbecue since 2002... at home. I started with the cheapest smoker I could find and was hooked. A few equipment upgrades followed, bigger and bigger each time until 2008 when Jacy (my wonderful, understanding, and fully supportive wife) and I purchased a fully equipped BBQ catering trailer. I mean if I'm going to spend my weekends smokin', I may as well get paid for it, right?
     Competition 'Que never entered the scene. I knew about BBQ on the Bow - 8 hours away. I had friends that attended but I just couldn't talk myself into dropping $800 to go cook & drink for the weekend. I had nooooooooo idea what I was missing :-(
      That year (2008) I got my first taste of competition... and I liked it. Regina's first event was that September and I was fortunate enough to be able to help organize it. We picked up a few ribbons that weekend and we were hooked. There was no escaping it.
       So all of a sudden... BBQ'ing at home had a purpose. Every cook had a goal, every time the smoker was fired up it was a trial of some sort. different sauces, injections, even making up three batches of rubs at a time with different types of sugar to compare the resulting bark texture. And I cooked a lot.
Our next contest was Regina again... July 2009. And wouldn't ya know it, we picked up our first Grand Championship. I couldn't believe it! Holy crap, we can hold our own! In my mind, this was the big time. The Western Canadian BBQ Championships.    But of course it's not really the big time. It's not the Royal. It's not the Jack. I knew about these events but I had only been a 'competitor' for 9 months. I began to realize that these events posed an entirely new challenge. Summer 2009 brought two more G.C's but none of these three was considered a 'qualifier' for the Jack Daniels event; but I was fortunate enough to earn an American Royal invitation. We attended, it was incredible, we came home. I still had an outstanding challenge - Lynchburg, Tennessee. I wanted it.

         That chance came on August 2 this year in Whistler, BC. We had our eyes on the prize but we made a conscious decision to enjoy our weekend in such an amazing place. We had family from 3 provinces on our team including our kids and my mom & dad. We had good friends in close proximity and we weren't going to let the competition get in the way of us enjoying ourselves. That atmosphere must have been perfect because we turned out the best brisket & pork that day that I've ever cooked. I don't think I've topped those flavours since. Our chicken turned out well, our ribs were good, we crossed our fingers and waited for the awards ceremony. Well I don't have to tell you the results, we were floored. We would be receiving an invitation to The Jack.
        There was just one problem - we were booked for a prestigious and lucrative catering job - for 600 people... The same weekend we wanted to be in Tennessee. We took that job knowing that we'd have to turn the contest down in the remote chance that we won in Whistler. Well it wasn't quite that simple LOL. With an invitation in hand we struggled for over a week with the decision. We finally decided to call our client and discuss the situation with them. Well they were very understanding and graciously offered to let us off the hook. There was still 2.5 months to go before the event. That was it! We were going to the Jack!

      What makes this event so special? A few things... The biggest is perhaps the difficulty of getting an invitation. For US teams, winning a big competition usually isn't enough. They have a limited amount of space down in the Lynchburg hollow, ("holler") so they can't invite every champion. No, winning a big event is just the first step. That gets you in the draw. There is one draw for each state. So Minnesota for example has about 5 'Qualifiers". Those 5 winners, no matter where they're from, each get a 'bung' (you know.. barrel plug) in the draw for Minnesota, and only one of them gets an invitation. Now the top teams, for the most part, end up with an invitation most of the time (when you're winning 4-6 events in a year your chances go up). But there are always a bunch of top ranked teams left out, it's the nature of the draw. This exclusivity lends the event a special touch - every team there knows they have worked hard to be there and that they're part of a special group. There are only about 65 domestic teams and 12-15 international teams. This year only two Canadian teams earned an invitation... so to be one of those teams was pretty cool. Heck, there was four German teams there and they had much further to travel than we did!

         It's billed as the World Championships, and who doesn't want to add that title to their resume? This is especially true for those teams that do catering or run a restaurant. Jack Daniel's are great hosts and they treat the teams very well. There's a fun parade through town, and they bus all the teams up to the top of "BBQ Hill" for a huge party on Friday night with a Southern buffet and free Jack cocktails. Thursday night was an awesome catfish & chicken fry for the International teams... not to mention the fried okra, fried pickles, fried jalapeno chips, etc. True Southern Hospitality!

The crowds on Saturday are unlike any I've seen before. This event is a major tourist draw so most of the people are VERY interested in what we're doing while we're turning in our entries. It's like cooking in a fishbowl. We even had to kick a few eager beavers out of our site. Enough... more details than I need to share now.
To finish off the introduction, we have so many people to thank for helping us make this trip happen... Firstly I am lucky to have an INCREDIBLE mother in law (aka mom) and BIL who watch our kids at every opportunity. During our summers this is a LOT. They go way above and beyond and there's no way we can ever adequately thank them but we try... Their help included keeping them for 10 days straight in October, much of which time both of these kidlets were sick... We have some great friends that helped us with our send-off cabaret a few weeks earlier, friends who donated their time and skills to a fantastic evening.

Thanks to our corporate supporters for helping us through the year... Butcher Boy Meats (Park St), JB's sausage Making Supplies, Savour Life magazine, Bushwakker, and Reinhardt Plumbing & Heating for lending us the 8' cargo trailer that hauled all of our gear 30 hours down South... Thanks to my Mom & Dad for tagging along to Whistler so we knew our kids would be taken care of during that crucial turn-in period, and we owe thanks to them for giving up 10 days and the use of the Dakota to take us to Tennesee. Thanks again to Justin & Cheryl, Angie & Dennis for helping us with all the gear in Whistler! Thanks to the new 2010 pit bitches Scott, Matt, and Chris for all the help in BC! As you can tell... we're a small team but we couldn't do it without all this incredible support.

Anyway, I guess that's enough of an intro... much longer than I expected it to be. More reports to follow!

100 Years of Football!

2010-08-09T18:10:00.001-06:00

We were honored this Spring to serve the season opening tailgate party to kick off the 100th year of football in Saskatchewan. This was a party held at the Saskatchewan Science Centre for team management, local dignitaries, and mayors from across Saskatchewan. 150 people enjoyed pulled pork, BBQ chicken, apple cider slaw, our famous pit beans and fresh buns. It was the night before the first game of the season so not a lot of players were hanging out but there were certainly a few familiar faces! We had a blast and may have gotten more complements on the food that night than any event prior to this one... It was an awesome day.

Cooking in beautiful Wascana Park right right between the SSC and the lake:

Some familiar faces moving through the end of the buffet line

Green all around!

2009 Competition Season

2010-05-26T23:16:00.004-06:00

Well this reflection is long overdue... With a little over a week to go until our first comp of 2010, a quick look back is in order. 2009 was a remarkable year, and honestly we may never top it. Out of 4 Canadian events - to win 3 of them and place Reserve in the 4th, well it's just plain unlikely that sort of track record can be sustained! There are a lot of good cooks up here and I have a feeling the competitors out there have been quietly cooking, scheming, and planning to come out on top in 2010! We have a pretty ambitious schedule - 9 competitions planned for this year. I don't know if we'll make all of them but we're sure going to try. I have been cooking all winter... not nearly as much competition practice as the prior winter, but enough to nail down a few things I questioned 6 months ago.

Now... looking back: I pulled all the bling out for one picture back in January. It's pretty hard to believe this is all for a first year team from Saskatchewan!!! I worked hard to gear up for 2009 and dammit I'm gonna show it off!!! <<<>>>

And here are the results:

PNWBA Year End Results:

1st Place Overall, Chicken Category
Canadian Total Point Champion

American Royal Invitational, Kansas City, MO October 2009
* Top International Team
American Royal Open, Kansas City, MO October 2009
* Top International Team

BBQ on the Bow (Alberta Championships), Calgary, AB Sept 2009
* Grand Champion
* 1st Place Ribs
* 2nd Place Brisket
* 1st Place Chicken

Manitoba Open BBQ Championships, Morden, MB August 2009
* Reserve Grand Champion
* 1st Place Ribs
* 2nd Place Pork
* 4th Place Brisket
* 1st Place Chicken

Smoke on the Water, Saskatoon, SK July 2009
* Grand Champion
* 1st Place Ribs
* 2nd Place Pork
* 1st Place Brisket
* 1st Place Chicken

Pile of Bones BBQ (Western Can. BBQ Championships) Regina, SK July 2009
* Grand Champion
* 3rd Place Ribs
* 1st Place Pork
* 1st Place Chicken
* 3rd Place Brisket

Saskatchewan's first Southern BBQ Class

2010-05-20T22:53:00.002-06:00

What an awesome weekend... seriously. The weather was beautiful and warm, our guests were enthusiastic and actually interested in what we had to say! We had two classes sold out, 25 students each. Regina is serious about BBQ! We covered all the basics of cooking the 4 competition meats - pork butt, beef brisket, pork ribs, and chicken. We talked about cookers, rubs, sauces, and slathers. We even chowed down on some of our grub. We didn't leave anyone in the "Meatal" position (Thanks Brian for that one...) but people were definitely moving a bit slower by the end of the afternoon! Students were able to take home some product (sauces, rubs, etc) from each of the instructors to get started right away. I heard from one attendee who cooked the best chicken ever the next day... All it took was indirect heat, brining, House of Q "House Rub", and Apple Butter sauce. Easy stuff.

Talking about smokers...

The meats for the weekend were provided by Butcher Boy Meats on Park St - these guys are my primary source for competition and catering and the service is second to none.

Special thanks to Savour Life Magazine for presenting the classes!

And more thanks go to JB's Sausage Making Supplies for graciously hosting the classes... A perfect venue.

Listening to questions from the group...

Finally, a big Thanks must go out to Brian Misko from Vancouver's House of Q for making the long trek across half of the country to help teach the class. It was interesting (having never cooked with one another) to discover our different philosophies and opinions on everything... live in front of a class. Fortunately it just helped us communicate that there is no single best way to do this stuff... it's really just about putting meat on the fire, with indirect heat, and waiting for the delicious results.

Tasty lookin' chicken on the Louisiana Grill

Finally, a look at the CTV news clip, which was played across Canada.

Regina's butcher

2010-05-14T07:45:00.002-06:00

This is just a good article about the butcher shop I frequent for my competition meats and a lot of meat for catering:

http://www.savourlife.ca/Articles/SugarCubes/tabid/57/Article/106/the-comeback-of-a-noble-profession.aspx

BBQ Class

2010-05-05T23:41:00.002-06:00

Interest in real BBQ is growing.... I know it. People are asking questions, people are inquiring about this crazy hobby. TLC's BBQ Pitmasters has opened all sorts of eyes and people want in! Even in the last place you'd expect it - Saskatchewan.

All winter I pondered... wondered if there would be enough interest in a true, Southern-style BBQ class. As Spring approached, I became more conviced to give it a whirl. I started scouting locations and supporters. Then I found out that a friend and fellow competitor was thinking about coming to the land of Flat, and an idea was born. Why not team up? In fact... Brian Misko of House of Q has taught this class before, has tons of experience teaching and presenting 'Q, he's the perfect candidate to lead the class. Hundreds of satisfied students can't be wrong! So lead he will, but make no mistake - 7 years of cooking low 'n slow, combined with a BBQ Competition record that leaves our team with a target on its back going into 2010... I have plenty to say and contribute. And I'm itching to do it! House of Q and Prairie Smoke & Spice are teaming up to bring our combined experience to the people of Regina.

I've always done what I could to get people cooking, to promote this 'alternate lifestyle' if you will... but this is an awesome opportunity to share this passion.

So after a week of opening registration, we have filled the first class of 25 people. A second class will be opened up tomorrow, and there are already a dozen people on the waiting list. This response is phenomenal! We are so excited to spread the word and get people excited about real BBQ! Class information is at www.prairiebbq.com/events.html

Chocolate bourbon pecan pie

2010-02-01T18:47:00.000-06:00

And now, on a completely different tangent, we present a chocolate bourbon (actually a chocolate JACK pecan pie)
This was cooked on the Traeger a couple weeks ago; 20 degrees below outside at the time.

Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue

2009-10-21T08:31:00.005-06:00

It's being held this weekend in Lynchburg, Tennesse... This is the holy grail in the competitive BBQ world... It's the most difficult Invitational competition to get into. Since they only have room for about 60 teams, they have a draw system to make sure each state is represented, and they also invite 10-14 International teams. So just winning a big BBQ competition is usually not enough to get in, you also have to get your name drawn for the state you won in. (Or just win SEVEN qualifying competitions in the same year LOL) This year they even applied the draw rules to Canada - for example, in B.C. there were two qualifying events in the past year but only one of those teams received an invitation - House of Q, friends of PS&S from Surrey, BC.

There were two events in Canada in 2009 that provided an automatic invitation - the Manitoba Open, which as a first year event just needed 15 teams to become a qualifier. The other was the Canadian National BBQ Championships held in Whistler on the August long weekend. That event was won by Smoke & Bones, a BBQ caterer and competition team from North Vancouver.

Today I will be flying into Nashville to join Smoke & Bones at Justin's gracious invitation. It is a huge honor to be competing in the Jack, and I'm going to work my butt off to make sure we do as well as possible. I'm also looking forward to being among BBQ royalty. I saw most of these teams in Kansas City but since this is a smaller venue maybe I'll get a chance to meet a few more of them.

Click here for more details on "The Jack". You will have to enter your age and country. (Pick the U.S. or the Barbecue contest won't be visible to you)

To read more about Smoke & Bones and the JACK experience please visit the blog. http://smokeandbonesbbq.blogspot.com/
Justin is on a very long BBQ road trip, first stopping at the American Royal, before sweeping through Metropolis, IL to pick up some more BBQ awards, then the Jack. After that he's headed to the Best of the Best in Douglas, GA before meandering back home through LA and TX.

American Royal: Monday. The last leg.

2009-10-08T23:29:00.003-06:00

Monday. A day I can't wait to forget.
Oy... Where do I begin??? At the beginning I guess. The day started off fine, had a little nibble at the Days Inn continental breakfast... We were anxious to get home though so we hit the road right away, we were driving by 6:30 in the rain. We stopped a couple times for gas, basically plowed straight up the interstate towards Canada. We planned on hitting Fargo for lunch at around Noon.

Until the (FIRST) incident. I was driving on I-29, other 3 passengers fast asleep, traffic was light and I had passed someone on my right... All of a sudden the truck started moving, I looked in the rear view to see the trailer swaying all over the place. I gently hit the brakes to get it under control, I figured we blew a tire... I moved over to the left side of the highway, not wanting to hit any oter cars with the out of control trailer. The next moment was a sight that will haunt me forever... I looked in the mirror just in time to see my BBQ, upside down and 10 feet in the air, tumbling slowly into the ditch. It really was as scary as it sounds.

It came to rest upside down, in the middle ditch on I-29, about 15 miles South of Fargo. There was mud jammed up the stacks, a bent shelf, and the bar used to keep the lid shut was bent. All things considered, this thing was built like a tank and it took on very little damage. All indications were that it was still towable. The ball was still lodged in the hitch coupler, and the barbell lock was still intact holding onto the ball. After a few minutes to calm down and take some pictures, we flipped the trailer onto its tires to make sure we could do it without a tow truck. We all piled back into the truck and immediately booked an appointment in Fargo to get a hidden hitch installed. We had to wait an hour and a half for the part to arrive, so we hit Granite City (upscale brew pub) for lunch. Then we hit Menards for some new parts (drawbar, hitch ball, etc). We were happy to run into Smokin' Jim there, it was a pleasant surprise on an otherwise crappy day. We chatted for a few minutes then got out of there. The hitch was installed in 30 minutes and we were on our way back to the scene of the accident. Which leads us to the SECOND incident.

We soon arrived at the scene of the CRIME... That's right, crime. We arrived to an empty ditch. Some friendly North Dakotan took it upon himself to 'relieve' my BBQ from the lonely gully between the 2 lanes of the interstate. I don't even have words to describe the feeling in my stomach. My baby was gone, along with a LOT of gear we had crammed inside - lots of hickory, my Weber Smokey Mountain, extension cords, turkey fryer, cutting boards, my duffel bag and clothing, most of the new rubs and sauces I bought in KC, you name it. So we tracked down the police on the phone, filed a report with about 3 or 4 different departments, and we got back in the truck and drove home. It was a quiet trip.
We stopped in Minot for supper... Jacy opted instead to hit Target to replace some of the gifts she bought for the kids that disappeared in the trailer. Gord wasn't hungry so he tagged along. Dad & I hit Buffalo Wings & Rings, a wing joint / sports bar. Service was fast so we picked up the other 2 less than 30 minutes later. The border crossing was uneventful and we pulled into Regina at about 2:00 AM. We were about 5 hours later than planned but we were safe and sound. Dropped Gord off, unloaded the truck at home and my head hit the pillow at 3 AM. The alarm was to go off again at 6:00, holiday over and back to work. Fortunately I napped from the U.S. to Regina so I wasn't a complete zombie the next day.

Checking out the damage...

Here's where the tongue dug into the soil and launched the pit into the air.

Examining the escape tracks, looking for tread imprints for the sheriff to inspect

One final pic. We cooked a lot of food on this BBQ in the 4 summers we had it... We used it to cook our first big cater to some of our best friends' wedding guests, we hauled it to Manitoba and Calgary this summer to win BBQ Competitions, we cooked endless rib trials on it this Spring looking for the right combinations of spice rub & sauce... We used it for just about every big catering job this summer since our generator (to run the ovens in the catering rig) has been in the shop since May. It was hauled out of the garage and into the driveway every January for a mid-winter "stick burning" BBQ feast. That storage bin you see is brand new, it was installed the night before we left for the Royal. That spare rim and tire are new too, that was a VERY difficult rim to find. I hope we see you again girl, I really do.

Sunday at the Royal

2009-10-07T23:43:00.008-06:00

Saturday night while Dad was cozied up in the zero gravity chair, I was really tired and basically ready to crash myself... So I came up with a new method of firewatching... I make sure the coal base was adequate and the fire was burning clean, I threw on a nice big hickory log, and I set my temperature probe alarm to sound off when the temperature dropped below 225. Then I grabbed a blanket and laid in the grass with my alarm. Sure enough, 45 minutes later the alarm went off. I threw another log on and laid down again. For some reason the alarm didn't work the second time but Dad woke up and stoked up the fire again. I then took the chance for a real nap in the chair, under 2 blankets with a nice pillow... Slept until 6:30 AM, then it was time to trim chicken. My chicken trimming for a contest is brutal... I mean the process is brutal. It's a 2 hour job for 24 thighs. By the end I had 18 thighs to cook, I also had a couple of bone-in breasts brining for this event.
At 8:30, the chicken was trimmed and rubbed, and Jacy & Gord showed up. Gord started taking apart camp right away, packing up the lights and everything else we wouldn't need again. Jacy still had three presentation boxes to get ready (garnish) so she started that right away.
The food on Sunday was really about as good as I can make it... All 4 meats hit the tenderness target, and the taste was bang on. THe chicken was good, although I thought the sauce was a bit light in texture and color... The ribs fell victim to some sloppy knife work, I just couldn't help nicking bones while slicing. Fortunately presentation is only worth about 1/7 of the score in KCBS rules, but of course every point still counts. The pork was good, and the brisket was pretty tasty too. I used a different sauce on Sunday for brisket and we thought it was much better. My burnt ends Sunday were excellent, It's the first time I ever turned in BE's in a brisket box , but judging by the scores I don't think they helped.

Getting pork ready for the presentation box...

We had enough time after the last category to sit down for a beer, tear down camp, and walk to the awards. We learned a very important lesson when we watched Dr. BBQ walk past us... Bring a soft cooler to the awards! They were close to 2 hours long! They announced the miscellaneous categories - vegetables, beans, potatoes, dessert. Then they announced the sausage winners. FINALLY, on to the main 4 meats. While they announced the top 20 teams in each category, we didn't hear our name. So we crossed our fingers for a decent overall result.

Ribs

After the awards ceremony, we searched around for a printout of the results, they handed out FAR fewer copies than there were teams looking for them. After 10 minutes I found the PNWBA gang as they were reading through it. We finished 248th overall - I have to say it was a little bit humbling. We are certainly not in the same class as the winners down there and never expected to finish near the top but we did expect to finish a bit higher than that. HOWEVER we did come ahead of some big name teams, we could certainly have finished worse, and we had an awesome time. There are so many good points, the finish just isn't that important. We will just have to do some more research next time!

Once we walked back to our spot, we said some quick good byes and headed out. We hit the interstate right away. Since we left in good time, we decided to pull over for some local flavor in a town North of K.C. for supper: St Joseph, MO. While it was a nice town, it was odd to see NO PEOPLE on the streets and everything closed. This was 6:30 PM on Sunday. The restaurant that sounded good on the GPS had been shut down. There were a few chain restaurants but we decided to skip those and head back to the interstate. W pulled off to a truck stop diner and proceeded to wolf down some terrible food. We exited quickly and drove up to Sioux City, IA, arriving in the rain at about 11:30. I showered, everyone else crashed right away for a well deserved sleep.

Results

2009-10-05T00:39:00.004-06:00

Quick post here... our results from the American Royal 2009:

Invitational Competition
68th overall / 119 teams.
18th place chicken.
Top international team.

Open Competition
248th overall / ~480 teams
Best meat: Chicken at 108th place.
Top international team.

More Friday pics

2009-10-05T00:34:00.001-06:00

The big brick pit at the Wood Yard.

Guest chef for the day?

Dad & Gord at one small part of a VERY BIG steel plate art display...

More Friday pics from the Royal

2009-10-05T00:29:00.001-06:00

Dad, downtown KC

Supper Friday at Gordon Beirsch brewpub

Overlooking a small sectoin of the "dark side"

Picking up firewood - oak, apple, hickory

Friday pics from the Royal

2009-10-05T00:24:00.001-06:00

Friday - American Royal trip

2009-10-05T00:08:00.003-06:00

Friday we woke up early and were out of the hotel by 8 AM…. Gord voted for Waffle House for breakfast and since it was his birthday we tagged along… It was actually pretty good. Fast, greasy, and tasty. Perfect start to a BBQ weekend.

Our next stop was the Royal, time to unload and set up camp. This was easier said than done as the wind was gusting and causing problems with the canopies…. So Dad & I left to fill the water buckets (ie weights) with water… When we came back the canopy had been damaged a bit… Still useable but it needs repairs.

With the canopies properly anchored down we were ready to get the last of our supplies… firewood. The Wood Lot was located just a mile or 2 away, so we picked out some hickory, oak, and apple, and stopped in for lunch. The owner was all to happy to give us a tour of the home made brick pit, offered us some chicken to snack on before we even went inside the building. We ordered a bit of everything, and while the service and ambience were awesome, the food was decent but nothing to write home about. The chicken was the best part; The drumsticks were tender, juicy, and with crisp skin.
After that, I was dropped back at the tent to start trimming my meats. That continued through the afternoon until it was time to head out for supper. We were celebrating, so we found a great upscale brewpub (chain) - Gordon Beirsch. Great food and good beer. It was located in downtown Kansas City, the power & light district I think. Lots going on, neat area.
We went back to the Royal and hung out for a bit, did some more rubbing, injecting, etc... then over to the Mad Cow BBQ camp for a PNWBA get together... good to hang out with the other Canadian teams for a bit and meet some of the PNW teams too. Thanks Wayne!

11 pm came quickly and we were off to camp again to get the pit fired up. With the big meats on we headed down to "The Dark Side"... the Southern section of the American Royal grounds is where the BIG, WILD, some would say INSANE parties go down... We made it over there (LONG walk) a bit after 12:30 but it was quite clear we missed the action. There was only about 20% of the people in there than there were at 11:00, judging by the overhead view of the area as most of our crew drover directly over it (overpass) at that time - apparently the whole area was like Mardi Gras. So we'll have to check it out earlier next time.

Gord hung out for the night, we each slept for a couple hours in the bone chilling cold, the breeze never really let up and the zero gravity chair wasn't the warmest vessel, even with clothes and a couple blankes. Fortunately it was warmer the next night.....

more day 2

2009-10-02T00:02:00.001-06:00

After lunch we headed to the butcher shop to pick up our briskets and pork butts. And WHAT a butcher shop. This place is family owned, we talked to the 4th and 5th generation owners. They have a 60 foot fresh meat counter, they sell EVERYTHING, from the oink to the tail. Or from the moo to the hooves if you will... They raise and slaughter their own pigs & cattle too. They invited us back to the aging lockers where all the sides of beef and whole hogs are hung... I'll save those pics for another day! Very nice folks and very welcoming.

Hand-picking briskets & pork butts for this weekend's competitions...

After that we went to check into our hotel, the Best Western I booked a month ago. I called Tuesday to cancel the first night (wednesday) since we weren't going to be here Wednesday as originally planned. I cancelled the first night, promising to check in on Thursday. "OK man, got ya!" was the response I got... Well when we checked in, they had no record of that cancellation. In fact, they charged us for Wednesday night and gave away our room for the rest of the weekend! NO ROOMS LEFT. Perhaps this is where I should mention everything going on in KC this weekend:
- American Royal
- Miley Cyrus concert
- Nascar race
- Chiefs game
- College football game
- And something else I don't remember right now. Safe to say, rooms in this town are few & far between. SO, after some negotiating, many phone calls to central reservations, and some sweet talking of the clerk, he found us a room with one queen bed. So right now, Dad is on a cot, Gord is in the recliner, Jacy is in the bed and I'm on my way.

First, the rest of the day. I did forget to mention the BBQ brisket I had across the street from the meat market... Don't remember the name of the place, just got a half pound of brisket to go. WORST BRISKET I have ever eaten. Clearly re-heated for me, slices were thin and dry, NO flavor of smoke or rub of any kind. This shit could have been boiled, I swear it was that bad. so it all hit the trash. Hoping to find a gem, I found a big rotten lump of coal.

Supper was a Kansas City institution. well, a BBQ Institution that is among the country's few top rated joints - Arthur Bryant's.
We ordered a half pound each of brisket, burnt ends, sausage, and pulled pork. Here's a pic, halfway through chowing down.

The brisket was decent, the pork was shredded and drowned in sauce, nothing to write home about. The burnt ends were bathed in sauce and loaded with flavour - fantastic food. Sausage was a bit different, I liked it but I'm not sure if anyone else did. They did have some ribs out by the time we were half done eating so we picked up a half slab. It was very overcooked, dry, thin, and the two small bones weren't edible. They should not have been served.
This sounds like a lot of complaining but the food was in fact quite good. This sides (especially beans) were awesome.
The place reeks of history, LOTS of celebrities have dined here and the old brick pit in the back has certainly seen decades of smoke.
We'll pay it another visit the next time we're in town.

After supper we just came back to the hotel... Jacy and I headed out to a Target to get a few more ingredients for the weekend. We had a quick dip in the hot tub, then everyone crashed. Well except me, just had to get online and tell our story! That's it for tonight, a big day tomorrow!

later

American Royal - day 2 (Thurs)

2009-10-01T23:40:00.001-06:00

We rolled into Kansas City a little after Noon... Lots of old warehouses, around, some very neat ones. Didn't take pictures of those ones however...

Here's our spot... We have more pavement than you can see but this is it. It includes some grass too. That's our own private porta potty
too.

We dropped off the pit and some gear so we would have room for more supplies. Met our neighbors who live about 4 hours away. They were a bit stunned to hear how far we drove but seem like great folks.

First stop for lunch: Oklahoma Joe's!!! Run by some very experienced competition cooks, our lunch was nothing short of AWESOME. We had brisket, ribs, beans, beer and... well that might be it. Oh, fries too. Everything was top notch. Brisket had great flavour, sliced thin and not dry, ribs were well seasoned with a light coat of sauce. Great smoke flavour and good tenderness. One of my best BBQ meals ever.

Some of the trophies on the way in...

Oklahoma Joes

2009-10-01T23:25:00.000-06:00

Pics of the grub at Oklahoma Joe's for lunch...

pic

2009-10-01T22:59:00.001-06:00

The four of us at supper on Wednesday...

Day 1 - American Royal (Wednesday)

2009-10-01T22:55:00.001-06:00

We left Regina right on time, 5:30 AM. I woke up at 4:00 AM to shower and finish loading the truck, and went to bed at 3:15 am the night before. I mean, who wants to sleep the night before leaving for a 3-day BBQ marathon anyway??? So i promptly fell asleep and woke up in Estevan, 2 hours down the road where we pulled into the Husky for a quick hot breakfast.

30 minutes later we pulled up to the Portal border crossing into the good 'ol USA. They poked around in the BBQ and the back of the truck, asked about 50 questions and let us go. The spooky part was when they asked "Are you the guy that called 2 days ago asking all the questions about bringing meat across the border"?? Um.. yes sir. "OK then, have a great day." With that, we were on our way.

Keying addresses into the GPS...

We mounted a new storage box on the back of the pit, LOTS of new storage space, and we filled every inch. A little bit ghetto, but the food is killer!

Chinese buffet in some small town in Southeast North Dakota. Not bad! About 50 different things, only $7.50.

Gord "Studying" the game plan for our first ever KCBS BBQ competition. I have meticulously scheduled every component of this cook... something I kind of do anyway but we really need to be on the ball for this one.

We pulled into Sioux Falls at about 9 PM, lost an hour when we crossed the border and a couple hours later than planned. Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful day. The scenery through North Dakota and South Dakota was exactly the same as Saskatchewan - dead flat, no trees. The WIND was crazy though, gusting heavy all day and blowing in the NW direction... So we were driving into this wind all day. It was not a cheap day for gas. Supper was at Texas Roadhouse, a steakhouse chain. We each had a nice steak, and they were all very good. Perfectly cooked, nicely seasoned, a great meal for a chain.

Off to Kansas City

2009-09-28T23:57:00.002-06:00

Well, where has the time gone! We will be leaving for K.C. in about 30 hours... and there's a lot to do before then. I'm not going to worry about it though, I'll get my 5.5 hours of sleep tonight, work my butt off at the office tomorrow and then it's nothing but BBQ for the next 6 days!

We have worked very hard at this little hobby this year. We are honestly a little burnt out - I never thought I would say that but with all the comps, all the catering, 2 jobs etc we are ready for a break. Jacy has been incredibly supportive, as has her family to whom we are already eternally indebted to for their endless willingness to watch our 2 precious little kids...

But enough whining, we are going to the ROYAL!!!! This is awesome, there's no other way to describe it. There are 119 teams registered for the Invitational event, held Friday-Saturday, and over 500 teams registered in the Open competition, scheduled for Saturday-Sunday. It's going to be a very long weekend indeed.

My expectations are tempered. We have been very fortunate in 2009, finishing in either the Grand Champion or Reserve Grand Champion position at all 4 events we entered. BUT this is in the Canadian prairies, not exactly a hotbed of BBQ. There are some talented cooks up here, but I'm competing against arguably 118 of the Best BBQ cooks in the world. A whole new ball game really. Instead of certified judges that have judged 1-3 competitions, I will face judges that have presided over dozens or hundreds of comps. And they are opinionated ;-)

Another factor is that this is a KCBS-sanctioned event... now KCBS is by far the largest, most respected sanctioning body out there, but things are run a bit differently. Instead of turning in meat at 60 minute intervals like we're used to with PNWBA events, we are turning in entries at 30 minute intervals. The meats are also judged in a different order. It's an entirely different schedule, and a much tighter one too. Planning, scheduling, delegation will be KEY.

Now... the logistics of turning in our entries on time: With 120 teams in the Invitational comp, and 500+ teams in the Open comp, with 70,000 spectators, this is a challenge. If our meat is 2 seconds late our entry for that meat category is disqualified. No arguments. Our cook site is about as far away from judging as possible... Just based on the map, I'm estimating it will take 10 minutes to speed walk our entries. This is with two people - one blocker to push through the crowds (Gord, who I think can be pushier and ruder than Dad if necessary), and Dad to carry the meat. This gives them 10 minutes to run, 10 to wait in line, and 10 to return. If they're late returning we'll have to send Jacy. Maybe the blocker will come back early to get ready for the next run.

And I'll have to keep my head in the game. I am giddy with excitement about going, I'm sure I will be blown away by the whole spectacle. How will I focus come crunch time? I guess we'll find out.

The bottom line... While I hope for a call in a category or two, I will be thrilled with an overall finish in the top 50%. I think we can do it.

'Que-Lapalooza

2009-09-28T23:56:00.000-06:00

As caterers and now competition cooks, we have often been asked whether we do any dinners that anyone can attend. The answer has always been "maybe one day". Well that day was last Friday, Sept 25. We hosted 'Que-Lapalooza, our first public event and a fundraiser cabaret to fund our trip to the American Royal this week. Unfortunately in the rush of things we never remembered to take any pictures! I will be begging and pleading, hopefully we can find someone with some pics to share.

We had about 100 people out, approximately 50% friends & family, 50% complete strangers. This was a great mix - it means word is getting around in this city about true Southern BBQ. We only had about 3 weeks to promote the event and promotion was somewhat limited.

We served the 4 competition meats - brisket, pork butt, chicken, and ribs. We used exactly the same rubs and sauces we serve in competition so people could get a taste of what's worked so well for us this year. We managed to find a band a few days prior, and we got great feedback about them - Festus - a Regina band specializing in Southern-inspired Rock and country. We enjoyed them a lot too.
We gave a way a couple dozen door prizes, we had some items up on a silent auction table, and we had a well stocked bar. (There will be wine next year too!)

The evening finished up a bit earlier than we planned (I guess most people really did come for the food) but it looked like everyone had a good time and we can get an early start on planning the 2010 event.

Clarification re: Bow & the "Jack"

2009-09-28T23:48:00.002-06:00

Oh yeah... It turned out they had only 22 teams, 3 short of an official "Jack" qualifying event. So we're going to have to keep at it next year if we want to go to Lynchburg ourselves!

That's twice this summer we "Just" missed it. But it's our first season, it's an exclusive event and that's what makes it so special.

As it turns out, I HAVE been invited to Lynchburg this October for the Jack Daniel's World Championships. I will beflying in to join Justin Kyllo of North Vancouver's "Smoke and Bones" BBQ Team. I met Justin in April at the Paul Kirk cooking class in Langley. He is a fellow caterer and he WON the Canadian Championships in Whistler this summer. So while I place my own BBQ ambitions on the back burner, we are going to do our best to make Canada proud! We should be hammering out some plans this weekend in Kansas City... You can learn more about Justin here: http://www.smokeandbones.ca/
Be sure to check out his blog, he has embarked on the most amazing BBQ adventure of any Canadian I've ever seen.

BBQ on the Bow, Calgary

2009-09-28T23:29:00.004-06:00

Results: 2nd place brisket, 1st place chicken, 1st place ribs, 7th place pork butt
Overall: Grand Champion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where does one begin? One of the oldest competitions in Canada, this is a mature and very well run event. I've been aware of BBQ on the Bow for years, but could never justify the time and expense to travel out there 'just for a competition'... Well, that was before I got hooked on comps in September 2008. BUT, even at the beginning of summer, I already had 3 comps scheduled (Regina, Saskatoon, Morden, MB) and wasn't sure about making the big drive to Calgary. Well all of that changed after we won in Regina. Suddenly the travel budget got a bit bigger, and I knew we could compete at the same level as the big dogs. So after a big of planning, the application form went in. Early rumours pegged this event at 30 teams, making it a qualifier for the big invitationals down Douth.

Well July passed by, August passed by, and pretty soon it was time for that drive. The 2 weekends before were both double headers (Catering + Manitoba competition, then Catering + Regina ribfest) so we were looking forward to the relaxing drive and "just" a competition this weekend. It was just Jacy and I, though we missed the kids it was nice to get away - really our first trip alone together in about 2.5 years. We took the truck and the 6 foot stickburning BBQ pit trailer. We made good time on the way down Friday, even managed to hit IKEA for the fastest browse ever - in and through the checkouts in 1 hour. (Thanks honey!) We dropped the trailer off at the cook site, then met some very fine folks for dinner & drinks. (A lot more of the later). We had the best time, we just love these people - Danielle & Vlado who flew in from Barrie, ON; Angie & Dennis (new team for 2009 but no shortage of competition experience here!) from Langley, and Brian & Corinne from House of Q (Surrey, BC). D introduced us to an awesome shooter (chocolate cake, made with Vodka & Drambuie, downed after sucking on a sugared lemon wedge). We were the first to duck out so we could hang out for a bit with our Calgary friends (former Reginans) who were graciously putting us up for the night.

The next morning, after a few pit stops for supplies, we pulled into the competition site around 11 AM. We met up with a new friend (Brent), a BBQ forum comrade, who came out to help us for the weekend. We could not have asked for a better partner! He brought the WSM, he brought a big bin full of apple wood, some Sa 'Mokin BBQ sauce, and other knick knacks. He worked his butt off and helped us achieve the great results. So we set up camp, got our meat inspected, and got down to business. Butts and briskets were rubbed and set aside, ribs were trimmed and chicken was trimmed. We entered a Santa Maria style tri-tip platter for the Chef's choice event, complete with pinquito beans, fresh pico de gallo, and toasted garlic baguettes to hold it all together. With that out of the way we could focus on our own supper... Which was a bit late but still tasty. We had some friends and family coming by to hang out for a while which was fun... Jacy worked very hard on the garnish for the next day's presentation boxes, and then Brent went back to the hotel for some shut eye.
At some point during the night there was a little accident. All we saw was the aftermath.

The cooker cruised along all night, for a home built offset stickburning pit, it worked very well. It stuck right on 250 all night, probably the easiest cook I've ever had on it. Brent made it back on time and I cruised up to the hotel room (literally steps away - awesome!) for a 4 hour nap. It was fantastic. Quick shower and I was ready to go again.
The morning was uneventful, the big meats came off on time. Once again I was frustrated by the washed out flavour of my brisket when I removed the foil and vowed to do things differently next time. Maybe I don't need to worry, it still did prett well. So we got our meats all turned in and crossed our fingers. We roamed around the site for a bit, checked out the many vendors, then packed up the camp.
Awards started on time... Was pleased to see our friends get a lot of calls, love it when that happens. We missed a call in pork but did manage to walk to the stage for 3 of the 4 meat categories, this is honestly the most excited I've ever been at a comp. The overall results were called out, I think they started at 6th place so the anticipation was THICK. My BBQ buds were jumping up and down across the way, pointing at me and giving me the thumbs up... We were certainly floating at this point but you never know how these things work out... I could have tanked pork and finished 7th overall for all I know...
Anyway, it all worked out, we got our first semi-major G.C. and to say we were stoked is a HUGE understatement. Everyone was so gracious and happy for us, I think I even shed a tear or two.
A huge thanks go out again to Brent for helping us all weekend (hope you're free in 2010 - if you're not competing yourself!) and to Jacy's family for taking the kids all weekend. Also hugs to Dustin & Leah for putting up with our stinky, tired bodies in their house!

Manitoba Open BBQ CHampionships, August 2009

2009-09-03T23:29:00.001-06:00

Results: 1st place chicken, 1st place ribs (179 score), 2nd place pork, 4th place brisket
Overall: Reserve Grand Champion

This was the first year for a full, sanctioned BBQ competition. at the Morden Corn & Apple Festival. It's the first time we attended and we're sure glad we did - who knew Manitoba had such a diverse, thriving BBQ community? I even saw a Klose pit in person for the first time - Reece's Roadside BBQ was proud to show it off and rightly so. These guys were great neighbors, enthusiastic as heck. And it's the first time I've seen someone fully asleep, standing up, leaning against a trailer, beer in hand. Almost like it was routing. Nice.

We catered an event in Regina on the Friday of this Friday/Saturday event... master scheduler I am not. We were able to pull out of Regina at 5:15 PM, leaving the ribs to be cut up and served, and leaving the beef & potatoes still cooking. The cater went pretty well, although it's as close as we've ever come to running out of food. In fact I understand the beans didn't quite make it. Fortunately there was enough beef for everyone and there were a couple racks of ribs left over in the end. I was quite mortified and never want to repeat that. All I can say is, we'll be more prepared next time for a crowd that's 85% over 50. Those 'kids' cleaned us out. BUT everyone was full and happy.

So about 10 PM, I noticed that the gas needle was just barely above empty. IN. THE. MIDDLE. OF. NOWHERE. We kept driving, Gord got on the horn with CAA to deliver us from gas. "Where are you" they said. "Driving towards Portage" was all we could answer. Apparently they don't like chasing motorists through the countryside at night??? So we had to pull over and wait. After 5 minutes we said forget it. Gord was sure there was a PetroCan at the intersection of Highways 1 and 16. Sure enough, 8 minutes later we pull in sputtering and make it to the pump. I called CAA, Gord pumped gas, and we were on the road again. It wasn't until 12:15 that we pulled into the dark, smoky parking lot. There was a big gap right in the middle of the cluster of teams, and we called that gap home for the next 16 hours.

Gord's job: Fire up the chimney, fire up the big BBQ pit. My job was to get the meat inspected and begin rubbing etc. We pre-trimmed the big meats so we'd be able to get them on ASAP. Thank goodness for incredible PNWBA head judge Angie Quaale who waited up to do our meat inspection, this weekend wouldn't have been possible otherwise.

The next 10 minutes totally blew me away... the van was literally attacked by other friends and team members, and while I was injecting butts I turned around to see the whole van unloaded. AWESOME. Next thing, the canopy is set up over me. This sort of thing seems to only happen at BBQ competitions, the community spirit is incredible. Thank you all so much for helping us get set up after a late arrival.

With the butts and brisket on, we could finally relax and talk to some of the other teams. We made it through the night with a couple hours of sleep each, more than enough to get through the next day. Turn in's were relatively uneventful, except for a butt that hit the ground. That really sucked, no choice but to pitch it. Briskets were foiled to speed up the cooking time, and there was NO bark when I opened them up. They went back on the pit for 10 minutes before slicing, then rested for about 15 more. The bark firmed up nicely, but I think they dried out a bit by doing that. I was 100% satisfied with the ribs and chicken.
Gord's mom made the trek down from Winnipeg for the day, she was a pleasure to have around and really fun. We put her in charge of the time clock and she happily obliged. Gord's MIL and FIL also came down to check things out, it was nice to see them again too. Nice to have some support so far from home!

With turn ins done, we had a 4 hour wait before awards were to be announced. So we took our time closing shop, and went to the hotel to check in and get cleaned up. Back to the competition where they were gearing up the "BBQ Ball", 200 people to be served, including sponsors and the general public who bought tickets to this fundraiser event. The awards ceremony kicked off this ball. Perry Hopkins, the grand master of the MOBC, thanked a lot of people and did some introductions, then Angie took the mike to call out the winners. Special mention goes to our good friends who got calls, Smokin' Jim, Darrel B of Burnside BBQ, newer cook Bernie of Smokin' Hawg, and Dougzapig who won first place in the sauce category.
HUGE congratulations to Winnipeg team Bad Azz for G.C! They have won this event three years in a row. This win is an automatic Jack invitation for them, and an entry into the AR Invitational for 2010. I hope we see them in Sask. in 2010.

We couldn't have been happier with our results, with a 1st in ribs (179 score), 1st in chicken, 2nd in pork, and 4th in brisket. It was good enough for Reserve GC, 3 points behind the winner. After the awards we talked with the Bad Azz team, incredibly gracious winners. I feel like I learned more in 20 minutes talking to Jim Johnson of Memphis than I learned in months of trials at home.
By then we were ready to take off. We were joined for supper by Angie Quaale, who was also quite sick of BBQ by this time. A scan of Morden indicated that the town was still full of tourists and that we'd have a tough time finding a place to eat. So we were off to Winkler instead. After touring the whole town we settled on Del Rios, a "Mexican / mennonite / Canadian" restaurant. Who can resist that combination?? In the end, it wasn't bad but nothing to blog about. So that's all 'bout that.

The only other highlight was a well deserved sleep at the Super 8, followed by a nice breakfast before we hit the highway. Well this time we were pumped about the results and talking non stop about plans for the American Royal. We completely forgot about gas AGAIN and this time we had no choice but to pull over. Fortunately a young local farmer was driving by with his family and they brought back a big can of gas about 10 minutes later. Great people, we were lucky to have so much good help this weekend. We sent them home with a big foil pack of pulled pork, hopefully they enjoyed it.

That's it!

I will need to write about 'ast weekend's Regina's Ribfest, a first time event that drew crowds by the THOUSANDS. And I'll need to write about the blown tire that turned a busy weekend into an insane weekend.

This weekend is our biggest comp ever, BBQ on the Bow. Our expectations are high but this is a very strong field of competitors. The other thing running through my mind is that we do well with inexperienced judges, but the Bow is a very well established event with a long history. Who knows how this will play out. If we are lucky enough to win, it will mean a full year to plan our trip to the Jack in 2010.

Fred came in from Michigan, this is most of his crew: Great folks, wish I could have spent more time over there.

H&S BBQ Smokers from Kipling, SK. They make these pits, and other designs too. There's a rotisserie in there. Very efficient design for the cold Canadian winters. They did very well overall, 3rd or 4th.

Great news and exciting competition this weekend

2009-08-20T08:54:00.006-06:00

We received some very exciting news this week... Team Prairie Smoke & Spice has been invited to participate in the 30th annual American Royal Invitational BBQ competition. This is truly a huge honor and we are planning on attending. Kansas City - wow. There is an open division in this one as well for anyone to participate - and everyone does. In fact, the open division draws upwards of 450 teams - they are expecting quite a few more for this 30th Anniversary of the contest in 2009.

It's held October 1-4, so it's coming up fast. http://www.arbbq.com/

So more about that - This weekend is the Manitoba Open BBQ Championships, an event that has been running for a couple years now but this is the first yeat it's a fully sanctioned, 4-meat, traditional rule contest. It's held in conjunction with the Morden Corn and Apple festival, and everything I've heard says this is a really great festival and competition. We are one of two teams attending from East of Manitoba - that means 11 or 12 teams are from that province alone. AWESOME. While we do have a few good BBQ friends there I had no idea there were so many closet BBQ'ers in that province, I am so excited to get out there and meet them. Head judge extraodinaire / BBQ Queen Angie Quaale is flying out for this one too, making this her third visit to the prairies in less than 2 months. We are lucky out here.

Saskatoon - Smoke on the Water

2009-08-11T14:54:00.001-06:00

Results: 1st place brisket, 1st place chicken, 1st place ribs, 2nd place pork butt
Overall: Grand Champion

This was the first incarnation of Smoke on the Water in Saskatoon, an event pulled together by the Saskatoon BBQ Association. This competition had everything going for it - beautiful location, thousands of spectators, great live bands, vendors, kids activities, and a All-you-can-eat-in-5-minutes rib competition. The only thing it didn't have going for it was teams. Five teams showed up, and while that makes for some great opportunities to spend some time with your fellow competitors, it's not the most competitive environment.
All 5 teams were experienced competitors though, which was great. And all 5 teams were fantastic people to hang out with - Burnside BBQ from MB has family in town so they showed up with friends in tow and they were definitely the biggest team there, I'm sure I saw 15 shirts walking around. Their 3 drums and home built pellet burner drew lots of interest from the crowd. Local team Prairie Fire Oink were our neighbors and we greatly enjoyed their company... The cooked up the best salmon I've had in my life for the Chef's Choice event. Schryers BBQ from Saskatoon were team #4, these guys have built their catering & restaurant business in only 12 months and they now own Saskatoon. Great guys and they got some BBQ skillz to boot. They hosted the rib eating comp on saturday and raised hundreds of dollars for the Children's Wish Foundation. Last but certainly not least we got the opportunity to meet Canada's Diva Q, who gave up here weekend to fly into Sask to get her first taste of competition in the West. It was truly an honor to meet her, get to know her, and pick her brains about the BBQ world. Extra congrats to her for the Chef's Choice entry that rocked the judges table, she also cruised right into the RGC position with her food. This cross-canada BBQ participation must continue... I wish it was easier for us to go to Ontario comps and vice versa, but there's that nasty 30 hour drive that always gets in the way.

I can honestly say that this was absolutely the most fun I've had at a competition. Dad was my cooking partner for the weekend and made an incredible teammate. I really enjoyed that, and I really enjoyed having my whole family out for the weekend - Special thanks to mom for watching the kids all weekend and bringing them out for the fun times of the comp. Jacy (wife) made the tightest, neatest, turn in trays I've ever seen. Wow.

Saturday the Schryers hosted the previously mentioned Rib eating competition. 15 competitors surrounded the tables, each with a big tray of spares - 3 racks in total. (cut into individual bones) Once the bell rang, we all dove in. Things got messy in a hurry. I really didn't think 3 racks would be a problem, but there's no way I could have finished them. Fortunately I got closer than anyone else though... even Diva who managed to kick my ass through most of the time period... Somehow I still came out on top. Little bones she says. Hmph. ;-)

As for the rest of the competition... The butts and brisket were done early. I mean really early. I mean 5 hours before turn in early. But that's the way it goes. Technically they were only done a couple hours before I expected them to be done, and all was fine. Once they're wrapped and into the Cambro, they just get better and better as time passes... The brisket was actually a bit overcooked, but with some creative slicing we managed to do well with our tenderness scores. I was having so much fun I forgot about chicken, we were 15 minutes late getting it started. Through the rush we ended up getting them done 10 minutes early. I really liked how the sauce set up on that chicken while it rested on the Traeger for that extra 10 minutes, so I'm going to modify the timing to include that step in the future. Ribs I thought were overcooked until I sliced them up, then it was just a matter of choosing 6 perfectly cooked bones.
Chef's Choice on this day was turned in an hour after the last meat, which was just enough time to assemble and grill our entry. I was happy with it, and I think it will do well in the future, as soon as we figure out how to work with meringue and whipped cream in the heat and humidity. The thing just didn't hold together.
We managed to pull off G.C. two contests in a row... and with my whole family there to witness it I couldn't have been happier. After we packed up we took everyone out (6 adults, 4 little kids) to celebrate. Well where do you go celebrate on a Sunday night where the kids will behave? Ugh. Montanas. While the beer was cold, the salmon was dry and tasteless. But at least it wasn't more ribs...

Regina - Pile of Bones Western Canadian BBQ Championships

2009-08-11T14:00:00.005-06:00

Results: 1st place Pork, 1st place chicken, 3rd place brisket, 3rd place ribs
Overall: Grand Champion
www.pileofbonesbbq.com

Well what a weekend... Our second competition ever. This event, in its second year, was on home turf in Regina. It was held at Rambler Park in Regina, a collection of ball diamonds surrounding a log cabin that formerly served as the Molson house, before being moved out there for use by a community organization. 17 teams showed up this year, mostly from out of province. They were encouraged by a financial incentive (aka gas credit) for the long drive. This was a great turnout for a second year event in Saskatchewan.

The Chef's challenge event this year was bunny, with each participating team given a half rabbit to cook as they pleased. First place went to Pigasus BBQ, with a very impressive Mexican theme including Frank's corn on the cob and icy Coronas. We didn't participate due to the fact that we were cooking for a 130-person wedding the same day.

New team member Gord managed to get the big meats on the cooker while we were still cleaning up after the catering job... These folks were light eaters so we took a lot of food back to the comp and served midnight beef sandwiches with slaw & potato salad. After that it was time to relax, do a little visiting, and get some sleep. We each managed to squeeze in a couple hours in the truck, then it was time to trim the ribs.

All four meats finished on schedule, actually the butts and the brisket weren't pulled off the cooker until about an hour before turn-in. I managed to prepare my own garnish this time, something I've never done before. Gord and Jacy figured it out too. I was pretty happy with all 4 meats, they all made it to the judges table in time, so it was time to relax for a few minutes and start tearing down. Sadly, Gord had to leave us to get back home and finish tearing stucco off the house... We were lucky have him as long as we did this weekend, but he missed the best part of the weekend!!

Didn't use the camera much, here are some highlights...
Camp Set up the morning of turn-ins

Slicing into the 13 lb brisket

Receiving G.C. trophies

Getting some feedback from C.J. Katz, who made a special effort to make some notes through the judging process and track down the cooks. (Judges don't know whose food they are judging, but they are sometimes able to piece it together after judging is complete)

Paul Kirk Class - Day 2

2009-07-21T23:26:00.000-06:00

Day 2, Class Day! It started out early, we were there at 5:30 to begin getting ready for the day. Here are the first tents set up in the morning light. We would be cooking all 4 competition meats - brisket, pork butt, ribs, and chicken. These meats take a long time to cook so we had to start early.
Paul also taught us how to make our own custom spice rubs, how to mix bbq sauces (there doesn't seem to be an ingredient on this Earth he hasn't used or has some knowledge on how it will work in a rub, sauce, or mop), etc. He talked about trimming meat, selecting meat, cooking meat, cutting meat,etc. We talked about sausage, we talked about everything BBQ.

The legend himself, in the flesh. The participants all learned a lot during the course of the 14-hour day, there wasn't a single question Paul wouldn't answer.

Paul explaining the finer points of sliced brisket...

I was lucky enough to be teamed up with local competitor Kevin, who cooks under the team name Porkaholics. For one day only, we were the Smokeaholics... And the Smokeaholics cleaned up, winning first place pork butt and first place brisket. Too bad our chicken and ribs tanked!

All in all, an awesome day, an incredible weekend. I had so much fun talking to all the B.C. competitors, learning from them and just chatting about BBQ. I hope to make it back to compete soon. 2010 is looking good! I will see lots of these guys in Calgary over the labour day weekend at BBQ on the Bow.

Paul Kirk trip, Day 1 continued

2009-07-21T23:09:00.000-06:00

Whistler! Made it! This was very exciting, I haven't snowboarded much in the past few years but this sure ignited the desire. Whistler is home to the Canadian BBQ Championships, held over the August long weekend, which we intend to attend in 2010.

A new joint opened up over the winter, BBQ Bob is a very successful competitor and BBQ cook, and I was hoping to meet him. That didn't happen in April but Bob managed to drive to Regina for the Pile of Bones competition so that goal was eventually met.

Just some of the awards won over the years. Bob has nailed down THREE Grand Championships so far in 2009, he's going to need more walls!

Paul Kirk Class in Langley, BC Day 1

2009-07-21T23:05:00.000-06:00

A great opportunity came up this winter, BBQ legend Paul Kirk was going to be teaching his all day Pitmaster class at the Well Seasoned Store in Langley. This event was made possible by Angie Quaale, head judge extraodinaire and a true ambassodor of BBQ in Canada.
I arrived bright and early on Saturday, and the class wasn't until Sunday so I had all day to explore.
First Stop: Granville Island market for some breakfast and food gawking.

One small section of the charcuterie display:

Had to hit the West coast BBQ mecca to check it out!

I drove up to Whistler for the afternoon, always wanted to visit but every time I've been to Vancouver there was never time. So here's a rest on the drive up:

BBQ'd Tri tip

2009-07-21T22:59:00.001-06:00

Beef Tri-tip. Maybe my favorite meat in the world. It's extremely juicy, tender without being mushy, and is so packed with beefy flavour there's no way to describe it. I always cook it in the Weber Smokey Mountain, no water pan. The fat and drippings from the meat hit the fire, adding smoke and flavour you can't duplicate anywhere.

You think this looks good? Try it thinly sliced on a warm baguette, topped with fresh pico de gallo. And there's always lots of juice to dip in! Oh man.
Too bad it's a rare find in the Canadian prairies.

Chipotle Powder!!!

2009-07-21T22:54:00.001-06:00

I do not see red jalepenos in Saskatchewan very often! These appeared in November 2008, so I scooped up a few pounds. Pictured is about 1/2 of them.They were smoked in the Weber Smokey Mountain, using just a few briquettes at a time to keep the temperature about 120, for about 12 hours. I used pecan wood. Then they were finished in the oven to complete the drying process.

Seeds and membranes removed, I wanted smoky heat, not intense killer heat!

Drying process complete:

A few runs through the coffee grinder and we have chipotle powder! Easy easy. This stuff is awesome sprinkled over anything where you want to add some smoky heat. I use it in chili, on eggs, pasta, etc.

Ribs! Ribs! Ribs!

2009-07-21T22:44:00.000-06:00

This was just an afternoon rib cook, some time during August 2008. I just wanted some nice pictures of ribs! These ones turned out pretty good I think...

A cropped version of this shot is now the back of my business cards:

Saskatoon pie on the Traeger

2009-07-21T22:42:00.000-06:00

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.
'Nuff said. The Traeger can bake a pie as well as it can smoke a rack of ribs! Stay tuned for an awesome dessert to be cooked on it this weekend for the Chef's Choice event at the Saskatoon BBQ Competition.

First Competition - Pile of Bones 2008

2009-07-21T22:30:00.003-06:00

Here are some pics from our first competition, the 2008 Western Canadian BBQ Championships (Pile of Bones BBQ), held at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.
Here's the team, Jacy and I partnered with my cousin Paula and her husband Warren, who branched out in 2009 and formed his own BBQ Team, Prairie Dog BBQ. Gainer didn't help much, he was just a 'taster'.

We had such an awesome time, and we truly got hooked on this competition thing. BBQ people are the best! The Regina Hotel Association only had about 6 weeks to pull this event together and it was a job very well executed!

Here's our Brisket turn-in box. It was pretty good brisket, but now I'm critical of the torn bark along each edge. It was good enough for second place!

Here's the team with all our ribbons. We took 2nd place in brisket, 3rd place in pork butt, and 4th place in chicken. Good enough for 3rd place overall! Yeeeeehaaaa! We were extremely happy with this outcome.

Warren managed to snag a great result and ribbon in the grilling (steak) competition as well.

Last but not least, our chicken entry. Looks better then than it does now!

Memorial Day trip to ND

2009-07-21T22:19:00.000-06:00

Took the kids down to Minot & Bismarck on US Memorial Day weekend this year. I planned on stocking up on cheap charcoal and good prices for some of my favorite BBQ sauces. I go through this stuff like crazy catering, with all the ribs, chicken, and beans. I don't like using cheap garbage BBQ sauce available in Canada. I mean I used to like Bullseye but now the stuff turns my stomach, there's so much liquid smoke in it.

Well I found lots of my favorite sauces, not just cheap but in bulk sizes too. Famous Dave's, Cattlemans, etc. And kosher salt! $1.50/box, vs. about $5.00 in Saskatchewan. They had non-iodized table salt for $.44/container, you can't even find that stuff in Regina. I used about 1/2 of this salt up making my big batches of rub.

I also took the opportunity to purchase some of my favorite commercial rubs online and had them delivered to a friend in Dickinson, ND. I like experimenting with these but I hate paying the shipping to Canada and I despise getting nailed with UPS's bogus brokerage fees.

Anyway, we had a lot of fun with the kids on this little junket but I was secretly very thrilled with all the BBQ booty! You can't even see the 20-odd bags of charcoal we brought back. Memorial day sales are the best!

rubbbbbbbbbbbb

2009-07-21T22:10:00.000-06:00

53 lbs of rub..... Took me two nights to grind certain spices, to measure everything out, and to mix it all (mixed in a big picnic cooler by hand). This was mixed in May so I didn't have to worry about mixing rubs every time a catering job came along...

This is one of my personal blends, I'm not 100% thrilled with it yet but it's darn close. It's meant for chicken and ribs and it works very well with both. It's got a sweet edge to it, but well balanced with salt, background heat, chilies, other spices, and the secret 'tang' ingredient. It's good stuff.

Ask me for a sample, but it's for slow, indirect heat. It's got too much sugar for direct grilling, the food will just burn.

My beef rub, not pictured, was mixed in a big batch too but I only filled about 3/4 of a pail. I'm talkin' about my brisket rub, which I worked on for 6 months, through about 8 iterations. I took it to Paul Kirk for evaluation... He liked it, agreed it was well balanced with good flavour that should persist through a long cook. It's not a complex rub, only about 8 ingredients, and he nailed 7 of them. The 8th he guessed was chile powder, which was not quite right. I used ancho chili powder, roasted the chilis and ground them myself. Well that's not too far off since most chile powder is something like 70% ancho. He did suggest a bitter note, once I told him the amounts of each ingredient he suggested backing off the chili a bit. So now my recipe uses 3/4 the amount of chili, and I'm happier with it too.

This brisket rub has been used in one competition, resulting in a third place finish.

First post - Test

2009-06-08T09:56:00.000-06:00

Well, it's time to start a blog. I've been toying with the idea for over a year but not sure if I wanted to make the commitment. Well, it turns out I have things I want to write but nowhere to publish them, except the silly little news page on my website. So here it is!

First post is really just to test settings & titles. More TBA