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!
