We're Backkkk.....

Back in 2009, we launched this blog to chronicle our initial journey the Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue Competition - aka "The Jack.". Billed as the "World Championship of Barbecue", this epicurean "Superbowl" is held in the sleepy little hollow of Lynchburg, TN (pop.361) the 4th Saturday in October each year. It just so happens that Lynchburg is also home to the world renowned Jack Daniels distillery - the primary sponsor and namesake behind this culinary extravaganza.

Each year, tens of thousands of competition BBQ teams from across the United States (and around the world) spend countless hours and weekends competing in sanctioned BBQ events. These teams vie not only for Grand Championships & serious prize money (sometimes as much as $100K) - but perhaps even more importantly, they are all hoping by the end of the "BBQ season" to grab one of the 60 highly coveted spots to cook against an elite group of teams for the title of "world's best" (the "Jack" is by invitation only).

We competed in the 2009 Jack, and finished in the "middle of the pack" - an accomplishment we were certainly proud of. And after more or less taking the year off in 2010, "Hoochie-Que" is ramping up to make another run at a coveted invitation to the Jack in 2011.

So, after over a year of "neglect", we are "dusting off" this little ol' blog to once again share with family, friends, and other BBQ cooks/fans our experiences as we start our journey hopefully towards another invitation to the "Jack" in October 2011.

Also - and especially if you are new to this blog - make certain to read back through the "Blog Archive" to re-visit our experiences and trip to the Jack back in 2009! Some pretty good writing, memories & photos if I do say so myself!

Thanks - and we hope to see you in Lynchburg on October!

"Hoochie"
March 26, 2011

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

WestX BBQ Championship Results


Just a quick update from the WestX BBQ comp down in St. George this past weekend.

Hoochie-Que had a 4th place in chicken, 9th place in ribs, and a 2nd place in brisket to grab 4th place overall in the event – and just 1 point out of 3rd place. Considering this was our first competition of the year, and that we have not cooked competitively in nearly a year, we were more than pleased with our results! Some excellent teams from Utah, Texas, and California grabbed the top 3 positions – but we were hot on their heels…

Our next stop will be in Boulder City, NV for the Best Dam BBQ competition...
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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Darn the Luck...


Well, despite the best of intentions - and yes, Mom, I did go get my flu shot this year - I came down with the flu and a 102 degree fever the Wednesday before we were due to head to Santa Fe to compete in the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour event. We had been in Dallas the week before at a dental meeting, and perhaps I picked up the "bug" there and/or while on the plane trip... Regardless, we were more than bummed to miss out on this event!! There were some great teams/friends there - some of the best in competition BBQ - that I was looking forward to seeing again and competing against - Johnny & Trish Trigg with Smokin' Triggers, Vince & Alexa with Rhythm N Que, Glenn with IAB 30 BBQ, Garry with The Smoke Ring, Sweet Peppers, and Carcass Cookers among others. "Strange" and unfamiliar names to the general public I know - but great teams and wonderful people well-known to those of us on the competition BBQ circuit.

So now our next opportunity to get "off & running" for the 2011 season will be the WestX Western Festival & BBQ competition to be held in St. George, UT on May 13-14. This competition, while smaller than the one in Santa Fe, will still feature some great talent including one of the best & hottest teams in Utah right now (R&R BBQ), along with a national "celebrity" BBQ team - Harry Soo & Slap Yo Daddy BBQ from California. It will be a great event, and we are ready to get out there and get our feet wet. It will also be good to get that first competition of the year behind us, too, and there are always "butterflies" at the start of the year.
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Sunday, March 27, 2011

A New Season, A New Journey...


Well, after a great BBQ season in 2009 - and taking some time off in 2010 to focus a little more on work, kids, a new BBQ association and associated website (www.IMBBQA.com), working with some new smokers, etc. - I am sitting here this morning, dusting off this ol' blog so that we can once again share with friends & others our "trials & tribulations" as we start down the road hopefully towards another invitation to "The Jack"...

It won't be easy... It never is... Every year tens of thousands of teams across the US vie for one of the 60 coveted invitations to Lynchburg. There are some great new teams out there right now, too - including several in Utah & the Intermountain West - that will make things tough. And of course, things are always dynamic - new sauces, rubs, injections, techniques.

So as we enter into a new competition season, I am excited. But I would be lying if I didn't admit there are plenty of butterflies in my stomach as well! Competition BBQ is definitely an "on any given day" sport of sorts. You have to have some skill - but a little bit of luck certainly comes in handy, too.

We will kick off this season with a rather tough competition in Santa Fe, NM on April 22-23 - the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour, where we will compete against 30 of the country's premier BBQ teams. Nothing like jumping right into the fire! The bad news for us as well is that many of these teams have already been out there competing. Due to the length of our winter, we don't generally get going out here until May unless you drive 12-14 hours to comps in AZ & CA. And this year, well, that just hasn't been possible for us. And in fact, generally Santa Fe would have not been on our radar - but it is a great comp, and a chance to cook with some of the best.

We are looking forward to this season - and unlike our last "visit" with this blog, this time around we hope to share a lot more of what goes on in trying to get to the Jack. We hope you will enjoy!
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