It's A Wrap, Jack...

It is just about time to wrap up this "thread" regarding our trip to "The Jack" this year... WOW - as I look back at our posts on this blog, what an tremendous experience my family & I have been living!! This has truly been "da bomb" (according to Reid & Caleigh)...

We have had such a good time with this that we have decided we will keep this blog going... Mostly BBQ in nature, but not too "serious" in content... So make certain to mark this blog... With "BBQ season" basically winding down for us now until next March, there may not always be as much "excitement" as there has been as of late... But around the "Hoochie House", things are rarely dull...

In a nutshell, it was a fantastic journey that we will never forget... I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I hope we get the opportunity to go back someday... I feel there was some "unfinished business" we left on the table in Lynchburg that we would someday like to go back and "clean up"...

But I'd also hope other BBQ cooks from our area of the country also get the chance to go someday as well... To our knowledge, we were the very first team to ever represent Utah at "The Jack" in the 21 years of it's existence... And we want to see that continue... Competition BBQ is relatively new in this area of the world - and in 4 short years, we are already developing the kind of talent in this area that can compete at this level... And I don't think it will be very long at all before we see a team out of this area that will be a legitimate "big dog" in competition BBQ...


I'd also be lying if I didn't admit that I felt we had done much better than our scores reflected... And that we were disappointed that we didn't bring home any "hardware" this time around... We truly felt we had cooked "lights out"... In looking at our scores, at least there was consolation in the fact that we really did impress 4-5 of the 6 judges in each of 4 meat categories... And impressed them enough to see a slew of "8's" and "9's" from them (a "9" is the highest score possible)... But there was always at least 1 judge we just didn't impress enough... I am certain that when you are judging 60 of the better/best teams in the country that it is tough - and perhaps even "little things" become "bigger things" - and/or the subjective aspect (i.e., personal taste preference) of BBQ judging comes a little more into play... If you get to go to The Jack and hope to take a "walk" on the stage, you most definitely have to learn how to "please all of the people all of the time..." We are most definitely up for that challenge... (Click on the image of our brisket turn-in for a better close-up view...)

In closing, we were proud to represent the state of Utah at The Jack this year... There was definitely some "luck" in getting invited - but we feel it also took a little more than just "luck" for us to have gotten there, too... We want to thank so many of you who have wished us well and/or who have supported us with your emails and phone calls over the past few weeks... We also want to thank so many of you who have been following our blog who actually stopped by at The Jack to say "Hi" and wish us well... I have a debt of gratitude as well to my brother-in-law, Guy Davis, who helped me out a lot as I was just learning to BBQ... To Bill Milroy (Texas Rib Rangers), Donny Teal (Buffalo BBQ), and Rod Gray & Johnny Trigg (Pellet Envy & Smokin' Triggers) for all that they have shared/taught me in classes over the past several years... I have truly learned from some of the very best... And especially to my close friend, Ed Roith, for his support and mentoring...

My many thanks also to my BBQ "family" for the warm friendship and camaraderie they continually extend to my family and me... These "wild & crazy" people who have a passion for the "low & slow" come from all walks of life - doctors, lawyers, teachers, truck drivers, nurses, carpenters, computer programmers, you name it... They are great folks - and my "family" continues to grow wherever I go each year...

My special thanks to John Garlinghouse with Seaboard Foods - and to Christy with Paradise Meats in Kansas City - for the championship meats they provided me with this year at The Jack... And to my close friend, Bob Murphy - aka "Souperman" - who has bailed me out more than once this past year with his support and occasional use of his restaurant facilities!

And I can't forget Ori Hoffer with Park City Television, and Ann Johnson with KPCW radio station, for their wonderful interest and local media coverage with or efforts!

And last but not least, my many thanks to my wife, Venssa - to our 3 wonderful children - and to our family/friends/patients in Park City, Salt Lake City, and literally from all over the world - that have somehow come to see me as a "champ" of sorts...

A man could not be any more fortunate than I have found myself to be!...

The Jack - Part Four - No "Kiss" - But Lots of Hugs...

Our overnight cook on Friday was rather "unremarkable" for the most part... Just a long night... With my Stump's smoker, I rarely have to check on meats throughout the night - that is, at least when I am cooking at home for family/friends. But when cooking for a competition - well, the ol' adrenaline is generally "flowing", and it was definitely flowing at The Jack. Venssa and the kids were all pretty much asleep by midnight... Venssa & our oldest son went back to the hotel, but my younger son and daughter decided to stay with me that night at the camper... They slept quite well, but I probably didn't get more than 2 total hours of sleep that night... And that was in 20-30 minutes increments here and there... Nothing was going wrong, mind you... I was just a little "wound-up"...

A light rain began again at around 4 AM - contrary to the weather forecast from earlier Friday evening... Not anywhere near as heavy a rain as it had been early Friday morning - but just enough to create a little "mud & mess" again... While it would stop by daylight, Saturday remained overcast and cool throughout the day...

Venssa and eldest son returned to the site at around 8 AM, just in time to help get the chicken going... My pork butts and briskets were well on their way to being done, and my ribs were coming along quite nicely... Life was good...

On Friday night, we had found out they were moving the turn-in times back 30 minutes compared to a "standard" KCBS competition... I had already typed up my cooking "schedule" (in & out times, resting times, prep for turn-ins, etc) based on the "standard" times... No problem, though... I had my "schedule" saved on my laptop computer... Venssa would simply make the time adjustments for Saturday, and re-print the schedule back at the hotel before coming out to the competition site...

Yeah... Right... No problem... Especially for "clear" and "rested" minds... Which Venssa and I were running just a little short on when she returned back to the hotel late Friday night... She got part of the "schedule" adjusted properly - but either due to a computer "glitch" or human error, the final 2 hours of my cooking schedule on Saturday was still just like the original...


We got through our first turn-in - chicken - with
no problem... And it looked gorgeous... At The Jack, you have to prepare both white and dark meats, and enough for 7 servings... This is a departure from the traditional KCBS cook, where we can cook either dark or white meat (most cooks will cook thighs) and we only have to have 6 servings... So getting a combination of both meats, providing 7 servings minimum, and making it look real nice in the turn-in box was a "challenge"... But Venssa, as usual, worked her magic - and we felt we had a "home run" right off the bat... (Click on photo for a better view)

But it was somewhere during getting our ribs ready for the next turn-in that I began to realize that something with our re-worked/re-printed "schedule" was not quite right... It had me doing certain things long before they were due to happen... I said something to Venssa, and our 2 weary minds finally figured out that the last 2 hours of the schedule were still incorrect!... Luckily we caught the error, made our adjustments with a pencil, and got back "on track"...


Our ribs were just fantastic in our opinion... A good friend of mine - John Garlinghouse with Seaboard Foods - had obtained some drop-dead St. Louis cut ribs especially for me to use at The Jack... These ribs were the nicest we had seen all competition season, so we were stoked before they ever hit the smoker... We smoked them to perfection, and after cutting into the first rack and tasting them, we looked no further (we cooked 3 racks)... Turn-in #2 went down without a hitch... (Click on photo for a better view)

I need to stop for a minute here, and for both the "novice and the "pro" talk about "turn-ins" at The Jack... We have specific 10 minute turn-in "windows" for each meat... Typically chicken is first, followed by ribs, pulled pork, and finally brisket... At this event, chicken was due in between 12:25 - 12:35 PM, ribs between 12:55 - 1:05 PM, pulled pork between 1:25 - 1:35 PM, and beef brisket between 1:55 - 2:05 PM... Show up to get into the turn-in line exactly 1 second too late - and you are disqualified... Period... End of discussion... And/or drop your turn-in box on the way to turn-in (and yes, that does happen)??... Well, you can generally kiss your "appearance" score goodbye... Bottom line, you have to be on time - and be very careful on the way to turn-in...

Now - this is generally not a big problem at most competitions we have cooked at... Yes, it is not uncommon to have some of the public strolling about in the "lanes" between the cooking sites... But generally it is not a problem...


Welcome to The Jack, baby... There were upwards of 20,000+ people at The Jack by the time turn-in's began at 12:25 PM... And while the entire Jack Daniel's event was rather "spread out" over Wiseman Park, the "lanes" between the cooking sites more or less resembled a sidewalk in Manhattan at lunchtime! We learned from a "veteran" that we needed to have a "blocker" (or two) to clear a path for the turn-in "runner", armed with a loud voice or a horn - and a soft "nudge" if necessary to get our meats through the crowds and to the judges on time and in good shape. Our sons, Dylan and Reid, put some of their newly acquired football skills to good use - and made certain Venssa arrived safe and sound for each turn-in.

The 3rd turn-in was pulled pork, and it is generally the one that takes us the longest to get ready... Pulling and slicing the pork goes pretty fast - it is always getting it to look "just right" that can take extra time. We used some great pork butts from Seaboard Meats and Paradise Meats (out of Kansas City.)

Finally, it was time to slice the brisket and get it ready for the final turn-in. Brisket is somewhat like "Christmas" in that you never really know what you are going to get until you "open the box"... You just hope that Santa Claus knows you have been a good little boy that year! Santa was very good to us at The Jack, and we ended up with two great briskets... One was just a tad bit more juicy/tender with a better smoke ring, so we went with that one for our turn-in...

Venssa and the boys were just a little later than usual in getting back from the brisket turn-in... Naturally, my mind began to race that something had happened right here at the end of the cook - she didn't get into the turn-in line in time, or maybe dropped the box... It turned out they had just stopped to talk with another team after the final turn-in... Needless to say, I was quite relieved when I finally saw them back at the camper and knew everything had made it to the judges...

We went into The Jack feeling/hoping that we would do "okay"... But in all honesty, when we finished the cook, Venssa and I both looked at each other and felt we had just turned-in one of our best cooks ever... We felt we had "nailed it" for certain...

We took a few minutes to "collapse" following the final turn-in. Several good friends called (including one all the way from Japan), and we actually had several people who read this blog stop by as well to wish us well, too. What a surprise/pleasure that was! The walkways between the teams were literally jammed with people. Our children took out big trays of leftover BBQ into the crowds - and they were devoured within a few minutes.

We were "bone tired", but we knew we needed to get started with the clean-up... The Awards Ceremonies were to begin at 5 PM, and we knew it would be dark (and cold) if we didn't get a lot accomplished before 4:30 PM... But despite what our minds and good sense were telling us, our bodies were definitely dictating something else!


We got about 1/2 of our clean-up completed, and then made our way down to the Awards Pavilion around 4:30 PM - only to find it was already 99% full (a Jack "rookie" mistake for certain)... We finally found seats at the very back of the pavilion and settled in with high expectations... There were the customary opening remarks and acknowledgments... A men's acapella choir that sang a song or two... The presentation of the Muriel Roith award to the outstanding woman in organized BBQ in 2009... And an award for the best decorated cooking site at The Jack...

Finally, the food awards began... We waited anxiously as we went through the "Top 10" for BBQ Sauce (we came in 14th, which we were very thrilled about), "Cook's Choice" (domestic teams only - a smoked prime rib won that one), and "Home Cooking from the Homeland" (international teams only)...

Then we got to the meat awards... Top 10 places in chicken... And no "call" or "walk" to the stage for Hoochie-Que... Hmmmm...

Top 10 places in ribs... No "call" or "walk" to the stage... Hmmmm...

Top 10 places in pulled pork... Again, no "call" or "walk"... Sheez...

Top 10 places in brisket... Surely we were going to snag something here... Sadly, no "call" or "walk" there, either...

As the Awards concluded, there were lots of "whoops and hollars" by the winning teams - and a lot of backslaps and handshakes as we all said "good-bye" to each other... As I walked through the Pavilion to pick up my final scores, I felt rather "dazed"... But as I looked around, I noticed I was far from being alone... I saw quite a few "big name" teams standing around afterward with that same "daze" in their eyes, too... I am certain they all felt they had "nailed it", also... Only to go home most empty-handed... It was kinda like that first date with that really cute girl girl who thanks you for a great time - but then leaves you out on her front porch without so much as a little peck on the cheek as she heads into her house...


We finished packing up in the cold and dark, ate a yucky Wendy's burger (I really wasn't hungry, despite not having eaten anything all day other than tasting the Que we were turning in), and got back to the hotel around 10:30 PM. I slipped out of my dirty clothes, mumbled "goodnight" to Venssa and our children, and fell into bed. But before I could fall asleep - which wouldn't take long that night - I was "ambushed" for a group hug by my kids. We tickled and laughed and hugged each other - and before you knew it, any "disappointment" I had felt from that day disappeared... I fell asleep that night with my head held high, and a smile in my heart...

The Jack - Part Three - The "Big Show"

The Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue is held in Wiseman Park just behind the courthouse and town square in Lynchburg. It is a beautiful park with a nice open dining area where they hosted the check-in and cooks meeting, a large open pavilion where the judging and awards were held, a set of tennis courts where "bung toss" and "butt bowling" events for the public were held, two ball parks where they hosted a "country dog contest" and an amateur "backyard BBQ contest", and a small horse racing track where many of the Invitational and International teams had their sites. There was also another area of the park where various public vendors were positioned, along with some of the other invitational teams with the larger trailers and RV's.

We arrived with our "toy hauler" on Wednesday morning, and at the time there were maybe only 4-5 other teams that had arrived. We were located next to the "horse track", and just adjacent to the "International Village" which was on the field inside the race track.

After getting "settled in" on Wednesday, I returned to Nashville late that afternoon to pick up the rest of the family that had flown in. After a busy "touristy" day in Nashville (tour of the Grand Ol' Opry and visit to the Country Music Museum), we returned to the competition site late Thursday afternoon to find the park nearly full with competition teams and vendors, all abuzz with energy and excitement. It hit me at that moment that we indeed were finally at "The Big Show". The atmosphere was quite "lively", as several teams hosted "pot luck dinners" for their neighbors. We enjoyed a great fried catfish / fried okra / banana pudding meal hosted by some of our neighbors across from us (BadAzz Barbecue) who were there from Canada. There were plenty of "libations" and laughter to be found everywhere that night!!

The actual competition and other ancillary events began on Friday. We arrived from our hotel in Manchester (about 45 minutes away) at around 9 AM and finished setting up our canopies and site. It had been raining since earlier that morning - so things were a little muddy and damp to say the least. Thank goodness, however, we were in an area that drained pretty well compared to the sites of some of the other teams. The "BBQ Gods" smiled on us, though, and the rain and clouds departed around 1 PM. We ended up enjoying cool and clear weather the remainder of the day.

We devoured a most fabulous lunch at Miss Mary Bobo's (we sat "family style" with the "4 Legs Up" team from Kansas - last year's Jack Grand Champions - and had a great time), and then officially "checked in" at the Dining pavilion at Wiswman Park. We then went back to finish our set-up, and then attended the mandatory "cooks meeting" at 2 PM.

At around 4 PM, many of the teams donned their "festive attire", grabbed their team banners and flags, and began lining up for the traditional parade through the town square and to the Jack Daniel's visitor center a few blocks away. The local high school band led the parade, and all the teams tossed strings of multi-colored beads to the crowds as we paraded in front of them a la Mardis Gras style. It was quite the hoot!!

At the Jack Daniel's Visitors Center, there were buses awaiting the teams to take them up to a dinner hosted by Jack Daniel's at "BBQ Hill"... Food, an open bar, and a live band awaited the teams at a beautiful open facility that overlooks the Lynchburg "hollow". Unfortunately, children under 21 were not allowed to make the trek up to "BBQ Hill", so after the parade I took our kids to go get something to eat while Venssa went up with the others to get some photos. While I would have liked to have made the trip up, I was actually glad I didn't get to go, as it gave me some much needed time to start prepping some of my meats. I would find that several teams had left members behind for that very reason!

By around 7 PM Friday night, you began to see various teams returning and soon heard/smelled their smokers "firing up!" While there was still some jovial conversation to be heard, there was a very different "feel" to things on Friday night. The curtains were finally going up - the "actors" were taking their places on stage - and the show was about to begin. I don't remember being nervous - but I do remember feeling a little "edgy" and "ready" to be finally donning my apron, grabbing a hunk of meat, and "getting this on"!

(Make certain to not only view our slide show, but watch the You Tube video of the parade - we are in there!!)

The Jack - Part Two - The Teams

The 21st Annual Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue hosted 63 domestic Invitational teams and 18 International teams at this year's competition. The 63 domestic teams represented the "best of the best" out of a KCBS membership that totals nearly 10,000 worldwide and based on the results of over 300 KCBS sanctioned competitions held during the past year. The competition also included last year's grand champion at The Jack (4 Legs Up - KS) and the winners of the other "premier" barbecue events held each year across the US such as the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Barbecue, the Memphis is May Championship, and the open division of the American Royal Barbecue in Kansas City. The International teams that were invited this year represented the countries of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

As is often the case with competition barbecue events, the team names are generally quite witty and/or humorous, and the sites where the teams cook can be quite quite a "production" and colorful. The teams also arrive in everything from large million dollar Prevosts or Blue Bird RV's down to a simple flat bed trailer and pop-up canopies being hauled by an older pick-up truck.

Regardless of how we got there - or how "simple" or "fancy" our team sites were - the relationship among the cooks at this competition was "tight" and friendly. There was a deep and sincere mutual respect for the accomplishments that had brought all of us together - and while many of us arrived as "strangers" to each other, we all left as "good friends".

The Jack provided each team with a nice banner to display at each team's site. Below are photos of some of the teams that were close-by to where we cooked at the Jack this year.