Jack Trip 2010 - Day 6 (Judgement Day)

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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!