Jack Daniel's 18th Annual Invitation Barbecue Championship

The organizers of the Jack Daniel's BBQ Championship Cook-off in Lynchburg, TN have drawn for this year's competitors for the world's most prestigious bbq cook-off. Contestants are limited to a maximum of 50, so many, many good teams will not be among the competitors. Here's the list of 2006 contestants: Click here

Some of our sentimental favorites include:

Smoke & Spice - Mark Rogers FL
Bill & The Dixie Chicks - Bill Schmitt FL

Schedule of Events

Friday - October 27, 2006

3:00 “I Know Jack … about grillin'!” contest begins @ Judges' Pavilion

4:30 “I Know Jack … about grillin'!” contest ends

5:30 Parade of Teams through Wiseman Park and around the Square

Saturday - October 28, 2006

10:00 Judges Check In – Judges' Pavilion
Barrel Raising Demonstration – near the tennis courts

10:30 Judges' Meeting – Judges' Pavilion
Rhythm Express Cloggers – Town Square

11:00 Butt Bowling (8-11 year olds) – Tennis Court
Sign-up for Country Dog Contest at the Softball Field

11:30 Country Dog Contest – Softball Field

11:45 “Homemade” Pie Auction @ Gazebo on the Square
Auctioneer: Jimmy Bedford, Jack Daniel's Master Distiller

12:00 JUDGING – “Jack Daniel's Sauce”

12:30 JUDGING – “Cook's Choice” (U.S. Teams)
JUDGING – “Home Cookin' from the Homeland” (International Teams)
Barrel Raising Demonstration – near the tennis courts
Butt Bowling (12-Adults) – Tennis Courts

1:00 JUDGING – Chicken
JUDGING – “Jack Daniel's Shade Tree Cook-off” – Chicken
Bung Toss (8-9 year olds) – Tennis Courts

1:30 JUDGING – Pork Ribs
JUDGING – “Jack Daniel's Shade Tree Cook-off” – Pork Ribs
Rhythm Express Cloggers – Town Square
Bung Toss (10-11 year olds) – Tennis Courts

2:00 JUDGING – Pork Shoulders/Butts
Bung Toss (12-Adults) - Tennis Courts
Barrel Raising Demonstration – near the tennis courts

2:30 JUDGING – Beef Brisket

3:00 JUDGING – Desserts
Rhythm Express Cloggers – Town Square

4:00 Barrel Raising Demonstration – near the tennis courts

5:00 AWARDS CEREMONY (Invitational contest) – Judges' Pavilion

BBQ Contests for Profit -- an editorial

I have read reports lately on various forums about bbq from competitors that profess to compete for profit. I applaud those that can do it profitably. I'm jealous in fact.

Based on my experience, it's next to impossible to earn a profit from bbq contests, unless 1) you have a lucrative sponsorship relationship with a company that serves the bbq industry such as a charcoal manufacturer, cooker manufacturer, meat packing company, etc.; or 2) you win grand champion or reserve grand champion at 50% or more of the contests you attend; or 3) you manufacture a bbq related product such as cookers, smokers, grills, woods, charcoal, etc., and sell a lot of it as a direct result of competing in bbq contests.

BBQ contests have not yet reached the point where the contest itself offers a substantial enough purse to be economically feasible for more than one or two of the competitors at each event. By the time you factor in expenses for meat, travel, lodging, entry fees, wear and tear on vehicles and equipment just for starters, you're in the hole already....unless you are fortunate to win the $1,500 or $800 (average amounts, some contests pay less), you're never going to come out on the positive end of things.

Assume you receive a 3rd place at a larger than average event. It's possible that you will not receive any monetary rewards at all for your cooking effort, even though you outperformed all but two other competitors at the event. Most contests only pay prize money to 5th place and recently I've seen a trend that organizers are cutting back to 3rd place at some events, or rewarding non-monetary prizes in place of cash.

I think the bbq contest sanctioning bodies and contest organizers could take hint from NASCAR and the BASS Masters fishing tour in this regard. NASCAR has Nextel and BASS Masters has had various relationships through the years with prominent manufacturers such as Ranger Boats and others.

For barbecue to progress to a point of being profitable for the folks that provide the main attraction at the events--the cooks themselves--it's going to take a large push toward high level and high dollar corporate sponsorship. This will require professionalism at every level of the event--from organizers, judges, contest reps, and competitors--to attract the money that NASCAR and BASS Masters have enjoyed for decades now.

In my opinion, ultimately it's the sanctioning body that bears most responsibility for taking the sport the next level and no single person or sanctioning body can do it alone. The board of directors, organizers, contest reps and contestants must work in unison--pulling and pushing in the same direction and abandoning some of the in-fighting that I've witnessed first hand to progress.

Monitoring BBQ Temperatures

A key to obtaining consistent bbq results from your efforts is how closely you monitor temperatures. You need to have the capability to monitor cooker temperature and internal meat temperature effectively during the cooking process.

Some cookers have built-in temperature gauges and others don't. A word of caution regarding manufacturer installed temperature gauges....depending on the location within the cooking chamber they may be misleading and your bbq results may suffer.

You need to monitor cooking temperatures in your cooker at, or very near, the cooking grate location. If the manufacturer installed the gauge more than a few inches above the cooking grate, the temperature you cook at may not necessarily be the temperature you are hoping for.

Temperatures in a cooker usually will be higher when taken at higher levels within the cooking chamber. Try to monitor temperatures on the cooking grate, or as near meat level as possible.

In my Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) smoker I use a 12-inch stem thermometer from a turkey fryer to monitor temperatures very near the cooking grate. It's cheap and it's easy, but most of all...I didn't have to drill holes in the cooker dome and risk cracking the coating on the cooker to install a gauge mounted in the dome lid. And for those that know me well, you can understand how painful it would be for me to "crack" the lid or "scratch" the finish.

From experience and prior measurement with a Taylor oven thermometer I know that the temperature on the bottom grate in this cooker averages about 20 degrees less than the temperatures on the top grate when I use the water pan, so if I'm cooking on both grates during a cook, I usually rotate the meat top to bottom about 1/2 way through the cooking process. This ensure that both cuts of meat finish at close to the same time. If using sand in the water pan, or if I leave the water pan empty altogether, the temperature might actually be hotter on the bottom grate than the top grate. It can vary from cooker to cooker and depends on a lot of factors, thus the importance of monitoring the temperatures closely.

It's also important that you monitor the internal meat temperature during the cooking process. As you can see in the picture above I use a digital unit purchased from a kitchen store. I have several of them made by various manufactuers including Polder, Taylor and Maverick.

As an aside, and in the spirit of shameless self-promotion, there are some nice digital thermometers advertised in the margin on the right hand side of this page if you'd like to help support my efforts here on the bbq blog. There are others advertised on my sister web site located at TheBBQGuy.com . For those of you that have purchased from me using the links in the past, please allow me to extend a heartfelt 'thank you'.

BBQ Secrets, Click Here!

Simulated BBQ Game

Ray Basso, creator of The BBQ Forum, has developed a computer simulation game for bbq.

It's a pretty cool game that you can play online to simulate the bbq experience on your computer. It's complete with smoker, wood pile, refrigerator, bbq rub, matches, charcoal, meat and it even makes you do the dishes.

There are some hazards included in the game including birds, a dog, and periodic rain storms.

It takes a little getting used to, but it's a welcome addition to my regular bbq rituals.

With a little common sense and patience to learn the controls, this game should provide you hours of enjoyment. I think it's a good way to introduce kids to the sport of bbq as well.

Hemi BBQ Grill on Yahoo's "The 9"

I hope the folks at "The 9" don't mind, but I just love this picture. We missed it last year when it was on display at the Chrsyler museum. The grill sports a real Chrysler Hemi and is revving up America's passion for barbecue.

BBQ Secrets Revealed, Click Here!

Used BBQ Trailer for Sale

I'm always looking around for ideas to incorporate something new into my competition bbq trailer and this a.m. I ran across a nice looking unit. They've done something with this trailer that I haven't seen before. They installed the concession service window in the tail gate. I think that's a great idea.

I'm not 100% sure if this bbq trailer is still for sale or not, but for someone wanting a bbq concession trailer, or top of the line competition set-up, it might be worth a call to the sellers.

Trailer Features Include:

96"x216"x74" custom trailer
1 True under counter sandwich prep refrigerator
1 True under counter work top refrigerator
1 Duke 3 well steam table
1 Star 2 burner stove
3 compartment stainless steel sink with 2 drain-boards, removable stainless steel cover to convert it to usable counter space
1 hand sink
1 self contained water system with water heater, pump, removable fresh/waste tanks
1 fold down rear ramp door
2 personnel doors
2 serving windows with screens and pass-throughs
All stainless steel interior
Aluminum tread plate floor
1 Southern Pride BBQ smoker with ventilation system
1 complete electrical system
1 complete LP system with 2 30# tanks
fluorescent lighting
roof vents

I'm not affiliated with the seller. I just ran across it today and thought if sounded like a good deal for someone in the market and without the time, skills, or desire to build their own trailer.

Beef Brisket

Linda picked up a whole brisket for a practice cook this weekend. It's been marinating overnight in the refrigerator and I'm going to put it on soon.

Here's the strategy I'll be using:

1. Cook fat side up to start.

2. Spritz with apple juice after 2 hours, which helps with bark formation.

3. Flip to meat side up after 3 hours.

4. Spritz with apple juice again on the meat side up as an aid to bark formation.

5. Wrap in aluminum foil after 5 1/2 hours or 170 degrees, whichever comes first.

6. Cook to 193 degrees.

7. Let meat rest in an ice cooler for three hours prior to slicing.

8. Sauce each slice lightly prior to serving.

9. Serve while still hot.

Michigan State Fair Pictures

We took a trip to the Michigan State Fair today. Although the only barbecue concession stand we saw was not open for business, we did get an up close look at a Southern Yankee rotisserie cooker and catering/concession trailer. The rig was set-up on what appeared to be about a 22 - 24 foot utility trailer with the whole rig screened in to meet the health department regulations. Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of the bbq trailer, but we snapped a couple pictures in the livestock barn of these show pigs.

I see some definite potential for some bbq in these.

There weren't many heritage breeds there, which would yield some better tasting bbq than these long and lean hogs, but heritage breeds aren't viable commercially these days. A lot of small niche producers are beginning to raise them again, so who knows, maybe in another 10 years we'll be seeing them in the grocery stores again. I'm told the meat from a heritage breed, such as a Berkshire, is much more favorful that what the large scale producers are bringing to market these days with the Yorkshires and Hampshires and various crosses between the two.

Athens Coney Island Diner -- Royal Oak, MI

Linda and I stopped by this nice looking diner today on Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak, MI. The diner opened in 1964 and originally seated 15 patrons. I'm not sure when the update was completed, but the owners remodeled the restaurant several years ago to add seating for up to 100 diners. We ordered cheeseburgers and french fries and were in an out in 30 minutes.

They did a nice job in the remodeling job to maintain the overall appearance and style of a traditional diner. Seating is a mixture of booths, tables, and high-counter stools.

I bet this place is really hopping during the annual Woodward Dream Cruise.

BBQ Golden Chicken

By: Peter Lenkefi

1 Chicken, [3 lb]
1 tb Fresh thyme, chopped
1 Orange
1/4 ts Black peppercorns, coarsely cracked
1/3 c White wine vinegar
1/4 c Vegetable oil

With kitchen scissors or chef's knife, cut along each side of chicken's backbone; remove backbone and trim visible fat. Tuck wing tips behind back; flatten to 1 layer. Place in shallow casserole.

Grate orange rind and squeeze out juice; mix with vinegar, oil, thyme and pepper. Pour over chicken; cover and marinate in refrigerator, turning often, for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

Reserving marinade, place chicken, skin side down, on greased grill over medium-low indirect heat. Add soaked wood chips. Cover and cook for 1 hour, turning and basting with marinade halfway through. Transfer to direct heat; cook for 10 minutes per side or until meat thermometer inserted in thigh registers 185F 85C.

Remove to platter and tent with foil; let stand for 10 minutes before cutting into quarters.

Per Serving: about 455 calories, 41 g protein, 30 g fat, 3 g carbohydrate good source iron.

About AuthorGrab more free recipes at Recipe Directory
Read More Articles at GiveMeArticles.com.

BBQ Picture Posting

I made some ribs this weekend and took some step-by-step notes and pictures.

I had hoped to post them by now, but for some reason I am unable to post them without receiving an error message. I recently switched from the Classic Blogger to the new Beta Format that offers more features, including many that readers have requested that I add.

Until they get the kinks worked out of the beta version of Blogger, it doesn't look like I'll be able to post as many pictures. I try to post them over at TheBBQGuy.com and then point back to them from here as a temporary workaround until posting pictures becomes more reliable.

Caldera Tall Boy

My neighbor just returned from the East Coast last night and brought back the Caldera Tall Boy from a visit to the BBQ Guru's headquarters in Philadelphia.

It's pretty sharp. It's nearly the same height as a Backwoods Party smoker and it's powder coated inside and out. I've seen it up close and it's designed very well. I can tell those cookers are manufactured with a great deal of precision. The charcoal pan seems small, but with the temperature control I expect it's enough for ribs and probably enough for a couple pork butts. When it's cold outside I suspect you'd have to refill it at least once when cooking more than a brisket or couple of butts, but it might prove me wrong. The cooking chamber has double wall thickness, but it's not insulated.

It's big enough and deep enough to hold the standard size aluminum foil oven pans used by catering folks and readily available at the local Sam's Club. He chose the "Competitor" temperature control unit.

I just might have to add this to my "wish list" in the future, but right now I particularly favor the originally designed, Caldera Del Fuego, but I haven't seen it up close and haven't cooked on it either.

Caldera BBQ Smoker

Let me see if I've got this right..."The only difference between men and boys are the price of their toys."

I'm definitely suffering from a case of jealousy tonight. I talked to my neighbor a few minutes ago and he's headed to Philadelphia later in the week to pick up either the Caldera Del Fuego knock down smoker or the Caldera Tall Boy knock down version of the design. I saw the standard model at the Jack Daniels cook-off in Lynchburg a couple years ago, but didn't get an up close view.

I'll post more details once he picks it up and I get a chance to check it out up close.

Picture #1

Picture # 2

Back to BBQ

The BBQ Guy and The BBQ Gal have been entertaining The BBQ In-Laws for the past few days. We haven't cooked any low-and-slow bbq for more than a week and plan to get back at it soon with a rib cook scheduled for this upcoming weekend.

The BBQ Mother-In-Law visiting from Tennessee this weekend ordered some bbq ribs at O'Charleys on Saturday night after our visit to Greenfield Village. I didn't have ribs, but the baby back ribs she ordered looked pretty good. She commented that compared to the ribs I cook, they were absent of flavor, but I did notice that she cleaned meat from the bones pretty well and the ribs pulled apart easily with just a minor tug of the fingers.

We had a lot of fun and especially enjoyed the Vintage Baseball game between the Greenfield Village Lah De Dah's and the Mt. Clemens Regulars played under the rules in effect circa 1860.

We also made a trip back to the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan near Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. The restaurant on the premises had bbq pork on the menu, but the only cooker I saw must have been a Baker's Pride Charbroiler gas grill. It was under wraps and didn't look like it's been used much, so I'm not quite sure whether the bbq pork is cooked on premises or brought in from another source. I can't quite imagine how you can produce bbq pulled pork from "propane grill", but I've been surprised before. I'd have to see it to believe it though. As gas grills go though, I must admit the Baker's Pride is a fine example.

Contest Pork Butt Recipe Test Cook

I'm in the mood for an experiment, so Linda headed out to Sam's and picked up a two-pack of pork butts. The two weigh 12 lbs. and appear to be the same size, so I'm guessing they're 6 lb. butts. Just the perfect size for what I've got in mind.

I'm going to be comparing a couple of well-known receips from two of the most popular cooks in America. Alton Brown from Good Eats and Feasting on Asphalt cooked a brined pork butt using some flower pots and an electric hot plate on one of my favorite Good Eats episodes of all time. Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q restaurant in Decatur, AL has a recipe that's been published in several books and is all over the Internet for his competition pork shoulder injection.

Alton Brown's recipe specifies letting the butt set in the brine solution under refrigeration for 8 hours minimum and ideally for 12 hours.

Ingredients: 3/4 cup molasses, 12 pickling salt, 2 quarts of water

Chris Lilly's pork injection is injected into the meat and is also refrigerated for several hours prior to cooking.

Ingredients: 3/4 cup apple juice, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup kosher salt finely ground, 2 TBSP Worchestershire

I brined one and injected the other and refrigerated them overnight. I put them on the cooker at 9 a.m.

It's a funny thing about those pictures above taken as I put the butts on the cooker. Have you already noticed it? Does it seem like something is missing? Yep, you guessed it--no bbq rub.

When downloading these pictues from the camera to the BBQ Blog, I noticed the rub was missing and quickly headed back downstairs to apply some. I've never used it before, but I applied some of Billy Bones' rub. It'll be a nice test because I've never used anything quite like his rub before. It's quite different than what I normally favor. Hey, maybe I've hit on one of the reasons I've never won the pork category. Maybe my tastes for pork rubs and sauces are different than what the judges are looking for. It's a good thing I'm testing some new stuff. It sounds like I need the practice.

Results (updated at 6:58 p.m.):

I just finished the taste test from today's experiment.

Injection: I may have done something wrong with the injection solution recipe that is attributed to Chris Lilly, but it did not obtain the anticipated results. In his book, Peace, Love and Barbecue, author Mike Mills mentions that the injection technique is very important when injecting pork. I've seen videos and clips on Food Network of Chris Lilly injecting shoulder and I have to admit that he makes it look easy. My results today will prove that it isn't the least bit easy because the injected pork had almost no flavor, except in the pockets of the pork butt that was injected, and those weren't very hard to find because the Worchestershire sauce left dark streaks in the meat at each injection point.

In my 6 lb butt, I injected 3 oz. of mixture in small 1/2 oz portions. I attempted to space the injections evenly throughout the butt, but in the end my experiment with the Chris Lilly injection did not yield acceptable results. I may try it again sometime, but for now I'll stick to my tried and true apple juice and honey mixture that I've been using for the past 4-years. I'm not saying the recipe isn't good, I'm just admitting that I apparently don't how to implement it correctly.

Brine: I followed Alton Brown's recipe for the molasses brine solution and left the meat in the solution for 12 hours. Although much, much better than the injection results, the pork turned out a little on the salty side for me. When judging I definitely recall that many of the pork entries come in with a salty flavor, but my personal palate finds a strong salty flavor undesireable. I'll definitely try the brine again and instead of the 12-hours suggested in the recipe, I'll cut the brining time back to 8 hours with hopes of toning down the salt slightly.

BBQ Contest Brisket Turn In Boxes

Sample #1

Sample #2

Sample # 3

Sample # 4

We're been pretty successful lately with brisket at KCBS contests. These four sample boxes are actual turn-in boxes from various contests during the past couple of years. Can you pick the first place turn-in box?

If you compete in bbq contests, I would urge you to purchas a digital camera and take pictures of all your turn-in boxes. I haven't looked at these boxes for several weeks now and they are a real eye opener for me. Linda prepares all of our turn-in boxes and I can see the progression in the overall quality of the presentation. It's been my experience that if you have terrible meat and good presentation, you can still salvage a respectable finish in the event.

Hint: One of these boxes looks a lot better than the brisket tasted, but it still finished very well in the contest.

Scroll down a little more for a summary of the actual contest results for these entries.

Sample #3 and Sample #4 were winners and #1 was a 6th place entry and #2 was a 13th place entry.

The pictures don't do them justice, but although #3 was the best presentation (in my opinion), it was also my least favorite brisket I've ever turned in. Either 14th place through 50th turned in some really bad brisket entries, or the presentation saved us. I'll bet on the presentation myself. As long as KCBS allows lettuce and parsley for garnish in their entries, I think appearance counts just about equal for taste. Only when they do away with the greens will the judges truly begin to focus on the taste of the meat samples.

BBQ Blog Survey

I do my best to provide interesting content here on The BBQ Blog, but every once in awhile I get the desire to reflect on the types of articles, pictures, series, projects, and information that I share about the wonderful world of BBQ.

In an attempt to better understand the folks that take time from their busy schedules to stop by and check in from time to time I'd like to propose a short survey to help me better provide the types of information you're looking for and to learn what you like to see more of (or maybe less of).

Just hit the comments link below and type in your responses if you would like to share your views/opinions.

1. How long have you been cooking barbecue?

2. How many times per month do you cook barbecuce?

3. What type of smoker do you use?

4. How many smokers to you own?

5. Do you compete in bbq contests?

6. Are you a member of a bbq sanctioning organization?

7. What is you most favorite thing about The BBQ Blog?

8. What is your least favorite thing about The BBQ Blog?

9. What topics would you like to see featured on The BBQ Blog?

10. Would you be interested in writing an article to be featured on the the blog?

Contest Chicken Turn In Box

Follow-up to Monday's post...

Now that you've had a few days to think about it, I guess I'll go ahead and spill the beans--#2 earned us a first place and contributed to our overall Reserve Grand Champion finish at a Michigan KCBS contest last summer.

It's amazing going back and looking at these pictures again after-the-fact. It just goes to show that appearance counts for more than you think at bbq cook-offs. It only counts for a small portion of the judges score, but it's so competitive that a bad appearance score can kill your finish in the category and hinders you overall performance in the contest.

I think it's best if you appoint someone on your cooking team as the person that prepares the boxes. That way you build consistency into the process. But, in heat of the moment the best laid plans don't always go as anticipated.


Below I have posted a few of our actual turn-in boxes from KCBS events we've competed in during the course of the past two years. I thought it would be fun for readers to guess which of the boxes scored highest with the judges.

Care to weigh in with your opinion?

Some of the pictures are better than others and some images are more crisp and "brighter" than the others, but don't let that sway your opinion unnecessarily. Be sure to take into account the overall layout of the box and dare I say it--the lettuce.

Sample # 1

Sample # 2

Sample # 3

The answer may surprise you.

Copy Cat Recipes!

Beef Eaters Guide

Food Network just posted a series of articles that beef fans everywhere can appreciate--a series on buying, serving, and eating beef. Pick your favorite beef whether round, sirloin, rib or chuck and you'll find a recipe for it.

The series discusses organic beef, aged beef, resting beef, in a "Meat Eater's Guide" and includes 22 beef recipes. Barbecuers everywhere will want to pay real close attention to the ones on aging and resting beef (wink, wink), especially brisket.

Alton Brown: Feasting on Asphalt

If you missed the latest and greatest of Alton Brown's television programs on Food Network you'll surely want to check out the next episode that airs on August 5, at 9 p.m. eastern.

In this weeks episode of “Feasting on Asphalt” Alton will be sampling some pit-smoked pork BBQ at the Carolina Smokehouse in Cashiers, North Carolina. Hel'll head east throught the Smokey Mountains and stop by Sanders Café Museum and Kentucky Fried Chicken in Corbin, Kentucky to learn about the history and fame of Colonel Harlan Sanders. Other plans call for eating pork brain sandwiches in Evansville, Indiana before ending the show with a visti to Ted Drewe’s in St. Louis, Missouri.

I've been to Ted Drewe's many times and can attest to their wholesome goodness. It's a perfect compliment to bbq. Heck, it's a perfect compliment to almost everything. If you live in St. Louis, you know what I'm talking about, but if you're from the outskirts of the St. Louis metropolitan area and haven't been to Ted Drewe's, you don't know what you're missing.

If your a businessman or woman, or an aspiring businessman or woman, and the restaurant business is what you're interested in, then you need to make a trip to Ted Drewe's to see how they do it.

I haven't been there in 10-years, but during my last visit there were about 10 "windows" at the drive-in with lines of 10-12 deep standing at each one. The shakes were served in styrofoam containers with spoons and straws and were real, real thick. It's a thing of beauty from a business standpoint. Low overhead and high margins. I'm assured by those in know that have been there recently that it's still as busy as ever.