A Barbecue Contest Full of Firsts!

It really was a weekend of firsts...1st year for this contest, our 1st IBCA contest, our 1st first place in any category, and our first GC.

We had a great time in Logandale at the Fall Festival and IBCA BBQ contest.  Friday night local kids and their parents came out to Trunk or Treat.  Lots of kids, fun costumes, and candy.  There was a carnival, craft show and lots of good times to be had.  

This was our first IBCA sanctioned contest.  There are a few differences like turn in times are one hour apart instead of 30 minutes with 20 minute turn-in windows instead of 10 minutes.  It was really pretty relaxing, giving us time to socialize more.  

We had a great cook!  We walked in every category...top three in every category in fact.  We are pleased to receive our very first Grand Champion placement!  That's right...GC!

We feel very blessed.

We are also so proud of Adam and his mom,Jackie with Stoked to Smoke.  He walked every category and received his first Reserve Grand Champion!  

Nevada BBQ Association members had great results at this contest.  Six teams competed and all six teams got several calls.  Congrats to Swine Thyme USA, SCORCH, BBQ Nerds, Butts and Racks, Stoked to Smoke and ourselves, Trailhound Smokers BBQ.

Congrats to everyone!

Happy birthday Nevada

We are celebrating our state's 150 anniversary of statehood today, 10/31/2014.

All year, there have been many events around the state to commemorate this event.  We are celebrating this day at the Logandale Fall Festival.  It's an officially sanctioned event celebrating Nevada's statehood. 

We'll be part of the barbecue contest going on out there Saturday.  Come on out, there lots going on including a car show, carnival, lots of bluegrass music, trunk or treating and more.

Happy birthday Nevada!

Catering Eagle Scout Court of Honor

We invested many years into the Scouting program with our own boys and their friends.  I still believe it is one of the best character building programs for boys there is.  We had the honor of catering Adam's Court of Honor, and even though he isn't our Boy Scout we feel like he is one of our own.

Adam and his mom, Jackie.  

Not only is Adam a fine young man, high school marching band member, and Eagle Scout...he's also a growing competition BBQ pit master!

We know how boys love to eat, so we prepared for that fact when planning for this one.  No one went hungry and we saw some very full plates leaving the kitchen...seconds for many, and even thirds for some.














There's nothing better than seeing a room full of people enjoy the food you prepared for them.
Congratulations Adam!   We're proud of you!  See you on the BBQ trail.

Catering for our troops

It's spring in the southwest...that means the weather is great and folks are enjoying their time outside.  For us, that means a busy BBQ time.  We've been blessed with quite a few catering jobs over the last couple of months but the one that really stands out is cooking for the 820th Red Horse Squadron at Nellis AFB.  

We catered their spring family event in March for 350 people.  When hearing back from them they said they loved it, got rave reviews and even heard we won over a few Texans with our brisket.  That is a huge compliment in itself. 

This month, we were honored to hear from them to cater their homecoming celebration for the troops coming home from Afghanistan.  This is such an honor for us to provide the food for an important event for them.  

Timm and I (Crystal) both grew up close to Nellis AFB and have great respect for all the armed forces but the Air Force is dear to us and the Airmen that work in all aspects to protect our country. 

We heard back again...they loved and devoured the food.  That means so much to us! 

Memorial Day

Thank you to all who gave the greatest sacrifice!

Best Dam BBQ in Boulder City

This year is flying by...it's all ready time to head to Boulder City, NV for the Best Dam Barbecue Challenge.  The Rotary Club hosts this event every Memorial Day Weekend and they do a fantastic job.  We're hoping for great weather and a prize winning cook.  We've had a few calls at this event in year's past but this event seems to be our nemesis when it comes to getting a top 5 call.  This year we have Tracy, a KCBS certified barbecue judge cooking with us as she works for her master certification.  This should be a great learning experience for her and we're honored she chose us to cook with.  Hopefully, she will be good luck for us. 

This is a great family event with lots of stuff to do including a Kid's Que contest, kids zone full of fun activities, a beer garden, great BBQ meals for sale, a vendor's market and more.  Be sure to come out on Saturday to check it all out.  

Nevada BBQ Association is once again hosting a team/judge potluck dinner Friday evening.  Should be even bigger and better than last year from what I hear.  

Awards are supposed to be at 5:00om on Saturday.  We're hoping to hear a name...several times would be amazing.  

Sam Club BBQ Tour Regional...Las Vegas

We made it through to the second round (regional event) in Las Vegas...a mere 20 miles from home. It was a crazy windy, cold, and rain threatening event.  The wind was so bad that no one was allowed to put up canopies. This made it difficult for many teams, and a boost for U-Haul truck rentals.  In fact, they didn't even put up sides on the judges tent.  It was up because it's weighed down with 55 gallon drums filled with water.  

Timm forgot his coat so he had a rough night.   

Crystal came out after setting up a wedding, and back out again in the morning.  

Our site...not looking like much of a site without a tent to ground it.  

Young BBQ dude, Adam Difloe came out and gave us a hand, braved the cold, and was a great help.  At only 17 years old, he might just be one of the youngest pitmaster's around...he and his mom make up Stoked to Smoke, another Vegas team. 

We fought the wind and weather that effected the pit temps and meat.  Large meats did not want to come up to temp and were taking up to 2+ hours longer than normal to cook.  We didn't use our usual brand of chicken and that cost us I think.  The skin shrunk up to look like small squares that laid on top of the thighs.  Amy (Got Smoke BBQ) told me that it was packed in water and that's why the skin shrunk so much.  We felt like we had a good turn in box of ribs.  The money muscle sliced really well on the pork, and the first brisket was pretty good.  

Overall, we finished 18th with a 661.6688 so we won't be moving on to Bentonville in September.  That was a higher score than the Salt Lake event but scores were higher overall at this one. We placed 22nd in chicken, 19th in ribs, 11th in pork, and 14th in brisket at this contest.  

Big thanks to John Mull's Meats for sponsoring us once again...we sure appreciate them.  We had so hoped to make a good showing for them.  Guess that day is still coming...let's pray it's in Boulder City next month.  

Almost half the teams were doing a double header by heading out to Mesquite to compete in Smokin' in Mesquite to compete Saturday and Sunday.  We wish them all the best along with the other teams  competing there.  

Congrats to Rhythm-n-Que for claiming GC and Slap Yo Daddy BBQ for RGC.  Best of luck to all the teams that are moving on to finals. 

Sam's Club-Salt Lake City...better than expected

I gotta admit, I was excited about jumping back into the BBQ contest world but it's been since July 2013 since we competed in a full 4 meat contest.  We've cooked quite a bit but we haven't really practiced for competition.  Last month we competed in two rib only contests...doing well in one and tanking the other.  

We loaded up the trailer, picked up our meat, packed personal stuff and hit the road.  We traveled to Cedar City Thursday evening to spend the night instead of getting up a O'dark thirty and driving 450 miles.  This worked well and I think we'll do it again.  It was nice to not be so tired come Saturday at turn in time.  

We set up the Trailhound camp and settled in. Satisfied Hogs were next to us.  This time they brought Dutchess...the weiner dog.  What a cutie pie she is...can't believe I didn't get a picture of her.  

Squat & Gobble were on the next aisle...such great folks 

R&R (our first mentors) hosted an IMBBQA dinner Friday night at their site.  

We have a check list, we checked it, we forgot stuff...important stuff...ingredients for ribs, chicken, and brisket.  Yes, this was definitely the first full contest of the year.  I improvised and whipped up an injection for the pork with what we had available.  Ribs and brisket just didn't their ingredients.  

I thought my chicken was pretty good, I was pleased with the trimming, thought it looked and tasted good, we didn't forget any stuff for it so I thought it might be our best category.  Judges didn't think so...finished with a 20th placement.  

No call in ribs, finished 24th...apparently we need to work on ribs at the moment.  

We weren't expecting to hear our name in pork; after all, we forgot the injection.  There's a new rule for pork this year.  You can remove the money muscle from the butt so what the heck, let's give that a try.  It sliced better this time around I think, maybe a bit dark though.  Overall, I thought the box looked good.  We're thankful the judges liked it and we took 2nd place!  Now to remember what I put in the impromptu injection.  lol

Last but not least...brisket.  The first one we sliced didn't have the flavor we were hoping for.  Thankfully, the second one was on point and flavorful.  For the last couple of years, brisket has been our strong meat...and this year is starting off that way...2nd place call!  

By the grace of God we managed to place 6th overall.  I'm not sure we cooked well enough but I'm not a judge to make that final decision.  Thankfully, we are moving on to the next round...regionals in Las Vegas!  Congrats to R&R for walking in all four categories and placing 1st for GC.  We also want to congratulate Satisfied Hogs for their 3rd place walk for ribs.  They have been on a roll in the last 4 events in that category.  

Here are a few more photos to share from the event.  

Kim and Jason (Satisifed Hogs) 

One of the R&R boys 

Half Baked Hippies...what a wild looking set up! 

Mack (Got Smoke) working hard. 

Timm cutting ribs to see which ones we like best. 

Thanks to Troy Black, Sam's Club and all their sponsors, and to our new meat sponsor, John Mull's Meats and the Road Kill Grill.  

Smokey Hayes Rib Contest

Next event up of the schedule....Smokey Hayes BBQ Rib Contest in Laughlin, NV.  It's just a short two hours from home on the banks of the Colorado River at the Pioneer Club Hotel and Casino.  

There will be vendors and contestants so there will be lots to see and do while you're there. 

People's Choice Rib Tasting begins at 1:00 pm Saturday.

We hope to do well as the last one...that would be awesome.  

Here is the link to get all the info: smokeyhayesbbq.com

Spring BBQ benefiting Operation BBQ Relief

For the last few years we''ve hosted a Spring BBQ at our home, inviting family, friend and co-workers.  This year we were blessed with amazing weather for the event.  The wind stopped, and we enjoyed a warm sunny day.

Our boys came around 11:00 pm to start prepping the pig.  Our friend, Jason also came over to get his hands on some pig prep.   It cooked twelve hours and turned out amazing.  People really get a kick out of it.  

It turned out great! 

My dad is official pig carver.  He loves chatting with ever

yone as they get some delicious pork.

Eighty two people came to enjoy a great BBQ meal and donate for the cause.  No one went home hungry...in fact, many took home extra food for another meal.

We still have some donations coming in, then we'll be sending a nice donation to Operation BBQ Relief. For those who don't know about them, please go check them out at http://operationbbqrelief.org 

Huge thank yous to all who donated to this worthy cause.  

RGC!!

We traveled in pouring rain, but once we got to Bullhead City, AZ it had pretty well stopped.  We just had some strong winds until midnight or so.  Saturday turned out to be a pretty day. 

Adam's team "Stoked to Smoke" competed in their first contest on their own, he did a great job and finished 10th.  That's fantastic for his first time out.   

We finished in 2nd place...our first RCG!!  It was only ribs this time around.  We tried a new recipe and I seems the judges liked it.  I think they turned out pretty.  

We sold off the balance of our ribs for people's choice and ran out in 28 minutes.  Next time I'll know to cook more but with rain the forecast I wasn't sure how many to cook.  

Sweet Pete's Best Racks on the River

We're off to our first contest of the year!  It's been a long time since we actually competed so it will be nice to only have one meat to concentrate on...and it's only 2 hours away.  

It's gonna rain but we've got some great rain gear and canopy so we'll be fine. Hoping to take home some of the prize money on this one.  There will also be food sampling so I hope folks come out despite the weather.  Half of the sampling money goes to a great cause...firefighter charities, the other half goes to the teams.  

Take a nice drive, come out to see us, eat some great ribs, and enjoy your day!

Our first event of the year

Y'all come on down to the river for some tasty ribs!  Bullhead is just a hop, skip and a jump from Las Vegas...it's just across the river from Laughlin.  

This is our first contest of the year...a good one to get our feet wet since it's been quite a while as far as competing goes.  Take the short ride, enjoy some tasty ribs, support a local charity...take a day trip and get out of the house.  

Tasting tickets are just $2 each with half coming back to the teams and the other half goes to support the Bullhead City Firefighters Charities.  

Hitting the BBQ Trail

It's official!  We signed up for the 1st round of events for the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour.  Salt Lake City will be our destination in April to compete in the local event.  We've been wanting to get up there for quite some time now to see friends, visit their new restaurant, etc.  

Last year, we didn't register for the whole Sam's Club thing.  In 2012, we made it all the way to the finals in Bentonville, Arkansas and were blessed to finish 6th in brisket and 6th overall.  It would be awesome if that were the case again this year.  We'll see.  There are so many variables that come into play.  It will be an adventure we look forward to.

A long over due post update

Holy cow!  I can't believe it's been so long since I posted anything on this blog.  It's not like we've been up to nothing...we've been busy.

In August, we participated in a Kid's Que burger contest at St. Jude's Ranch for Kids in Boulder City.  The kids were so excited to team up with our BBQ teams to cook the best burgers they could.  They all had a great time.  Thankfully, we had an overcast, cool day for August which we were all grateful for.  

There have been several practice cooks. 

We both took a BBQ class from Jennifer Duncan (Smoked to the Bone).

We know Tommy and Jen and it was a pleasure to take the class and spend time with them.  Timm got to be her assistant for much of the class.  

Timm organized and ran the Thrill of the Grill contest in November.  It was held at Bass Pro Shops once again.  They have been really good to us, giving us prime space, ads on the marquee and more. 

The team's entries were creative and tasty.  

Timm inputs all the scores.

In December, NVBBQA hosted the Downtown Throw Down on Fremont Street.  It was a fabulous success with teams representing 6 states.  Steve did most of the organizing for this event.  On the grounds of the event Doug, Timm, and Paul, along with Steve pulled it off.  It was a ton of work, we learned a bunch and look forward to doing it again.

In October, I had both my knees replaced.  It's been a long time coming...a 15 year process for me.  This kept me down so there were no contests for us the last part of the year.  

We did however cater several events including a 50th anniversary, a HOA community barbecue, a topping off party for Martin Harris...we fed almost 400 construction workers and staff for that one.