Spring BBQ Raises Money for K9s for Warriors

Our Spring BBQ was a raging success to say the least.  We had record breaking numbers in both crowds and dollars.  Overwhelmed with positive emotions is a least of the words that I can use to describe how the day went.

We are so thankful for all the help we received this year.  Thank you to our sponsors...Advanced Pro, MSE and John Mull's Meats.  Without them, it would have been very difficult to fund the event. 

Huge thank you's go out to all the guys who offered to help our with the cooking.  It was quite an undertaking.  We prepared a 90+ pound whole hog, 12 racks of ribs plus a big stash of rib tips, 7 briskets, 4 pork butts, 7 dozen hot dogs and 40 pounds of leg quarters.  

Mike, Scott and Timm started in about 11:00pm Friday night prepping the hog to go in the pit by midnight.

The rest of the crew came in the morning to trim chicken, and get the ribs, brisket and butts into the pits. 

They did an amazing job! 

Yes, you are seeing correctly...we had 3 large pits going to cook all the meat...

and a grill for the hot dogs.

Thanks to Scott, Mike, Leon, Steve, and Robert for pulling off this ginormous effort. 

And, we can't thank Jason with Satisfied Hogs for the use of their pit.  That's huge, because I don't think Timm would lend out our pit to anyone...okay, maybe just one or two people. 

My brother, Nelson and my dad, Don carved up the hog for everyone. 

Chris and Robert got all the tables covered.

Chris also made sure we got a bounce house for the kids and put together to looping video about K9s for Warriors. 

We had about 190 people come out for the event.  (I think missed a few at check in)

No one went hungry Saturday, that is for sure.  

Thanks to Veronica and Marty for handling the silent auction.  There were some great prizes in those baskets, along with 2 wreaths from Twiddlebugz, a quilt donated by Jane, and some yummy homemade goodies from Say Hello to My Little Smoker.  They also managed to get 2 tickets to Blue Man Group and a night's stay at Monte Carlo.  We raffled that prize off. 

Timm even climbed up on the rook to get a photo for K9s for Warriors 'Stop 22' campaign.  Notice every has two fingers up on each hand...22.

We are so proud to be able to host this event and even more pleased to be able to donate 100% of donations to K9s for Warriors to help train and place rescue dogs with our veteran warriors suffering from PTSD and TBI.  All together, $6005 was collected through the event page on their website and collections at the barbecue. Our friends, family and co-workers gave with their hearts. God's hands were on this whole event that's for sure.  

It was on honor to host our annual Spring BBQ and to have it benefit an organization that supports two things so close to our hearts...our veterans and our furry friends...and when they are put together, its even better. We look forward to being able to work with them again and want to continue to support their efforts.

Again, thank you to Advanced Pro, MSE, and John Mull's Meats for their sponsorship.  Thank to all our volunteers...Mike Verner, Leon Drew, Steve Roy, Robert Schnerch, Scott and Christy Martin, Mark Fosdick, Chris an Bri Martin, Don and Jane Grandjean, Nelson Grandjean, Samantha Patterson, Marty and Veronica Coon, Tony and Brenda Lloyd.  Thanks to Gay Guymon for the 6 trays of desserts, Larry and Susan, and Tony and Brenda for the use of their cornhole games and to Jason from Satisfied Hogs for the use of his pit.  Thank you to all who gave services and/or items to the silent auction as well.  You guys all rock!

Thank you to everyone for all the support you gave us and K9s for Warriors.  Please 'Like' them on Facebook, follow them on Instagram, and be sure to check out their website at K9sForWarriors.org.  

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. 

Southwest Regionals

Teams are gathering in Vegas for the southwest regionals April 19 & 20.  Thirty teams from around the surrounding states and well as Nevada are competing for $20,000 and a chance to move onto the finals later this year.  Even though we aren't competing this year, we still get to be involved.  We're cooking a pit full of briskets and butts to use for samples at the event. 

Come out to the Sam's Club at 215 and South Rainbow to check it all out.  Just roll down the window and let your nose lead the way.  We'll be cheering on all the teams at awards...even though we do have a few favorites we hope to see at the top of the list at the end of the day. 

Sam's Club National BBQ Tour

A couple of weekends ago, we gathered at one of our local Sam's Club locations to be part of the National BBQ Tour along with 17 other teams.  This was the event for Nevada.  I'm pleased to say that 12 of the 18 teams were from Nevada, and 4 of them were participating in their first competition. 

Along with the KCBS BBQ competition, they are running Tyson's Best Wing on the Planet contest.  Originally, only 4 teams had entered, but after the cook's meeting we and a few others also signed up. I thought, what the heck, it's free to participate.  That nigh, I stopped and bought some chicken wings.  I tossed together some ingredients into a ziplock bag, cooked up my wings, tossed them in some additional flavoring, put them in the box and turned them in.  I am pleased to say, they took 2nd place!  I even got an oversized check to prove it. lol

Timm was right on top of things, keeping me on track when it comes to timing. We were blessed to have Scott with us on Saturday.  Now that he's back to a normal schedule we hope to see more of him at contests.  We changed up a few things...at a contest is a not a place to do that by the way...but we did, figuring we didn't have much to lose.  Apparently, they were good changes because we had a first for us...we got all four  meats in the top ten!  Our results were as follows:

chicken - 9th

ribs - 6th

pork - 8th

brisket - 3rd

overall - 6th

WooHoo!  Sixth place is good enough to move onto round two in Albequerque, NM in mid-May!!

Congrats to all the teams!  Nevada made a great showing, even some new teams got a call.  Sin City Smokers finished in 5th place, so two Nevada teams will be represented in round two.  Congrats to Brandon of Route 66 Catering Crew for taking GC.  Troy Black runs a tight ship, keeping things on schedule, making awards and cook meetings short and to the point.  We appreciate that.  

We had said quite some time ago that if we made top 6 we would decline the opportunity to move on to round 2...but when it really happened we were overwhelmed and excited to go.  Now reality has hit us and there is so much to do and prepare before we drive the 600 miles to New Mexico.  We leave in 10 short days.  Wish us luck, it will be an adventure and experience for sure. 

ACM BBQ Throwdown

This weekend is the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas.  There are concerts all over town, on Fremont Street, events at various locations and....

Yup...the ACM BBQ Throwdown at Mandalay Bay Friday and Saturday.  It's free to come out and see what's going on, the ACM Experience, and Fan Jam is there as well. Oh, and Ram truck has there course set up to let you drive, it looks pretty cool.

 We'll be there along with 110 other teams competing for $50,000.  Competition is tough for sure.  Top ranking teams from all over the nation will be there.  We hope to cook our best and get a call or two...that woudl be awesome!  Several teams from Nevada will be there, come by and say "Hello".



Que'ing Shindig at the House

Trailhound Smokers does well at USA BBQ Challenge

What a great weekend it was for us...a long weekend...but a great one for sure.  Some of the best teams in America were there competing for their share of $125,000.  I even got to meet Myron Mixon of Jack's Old South from Georgia.

Here is a rare shot with both of us in the picture, thanks Kim for taking a some photos for us.

We're wrapping ribs.

Timm prepping chicken.  Some award winning chicken but we didn't know it at the time.

Chris and Timm at the pit.

Timm had a great time at this event...one of his most relaxed ever.  We want to thank all the friends, family, and co-workers that came out to show their support for us.  In return, many of them feasted on chicken, ribs, pork and brisket. 

Crowds were big for awards.  Congrats to McFrankenboo BBQ for winning 1st place in chicken.  WOW...that is so awesome!!!  

We were very pleased with our product for turn-ins.  We were astounded and shocked when we heard our name called to get a check...we took 6th place in chicken and 9th in brisket!!! Holy Moly!!!  This event had cream of the crop teams from all over and little ol' Trailhound Smokers picked up two top ten awards.  Who da thunk it.  I wish I had video of Timm's face...priceless. 

Again, thanks for all the support.  We would especially lke to thank Shawn from Advance Pro for sponsoring our meat for the event.  He is one totally awesome guy!!! 

You can see more pictures of the event at the promoters link.  There are some great shots of team sites with their pits and more. 

USA BBQ Challenge this weekend

This is huge, folks!!!  The USA BBQ Challenge will be held this weekend at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas.  There are a ton of activities to enjoy, food to eat, music to listen too and more.  There will be an ametuer contest on Saturday, and the professional contest on Sunday.  Teams from all over the US will be there...including us!  We'll be a tiny little fish in a big BBQ ocean but we're geared up to do our best!  We'd love to have you come by, show your support and cheer us on.  Click on the link below for all the information on activities and times.  We look forward to seeing you!


http://www.orleanscasino.com/event-calendar/$125000-las-vegas-barbecue-championship?smid=oa_at_21185_1_1

Our Schedule

We saw some friends as we were leaving our favorite Mexican restaurant tonight and they asked, "Where are you going to be for your next contest?  Is it listed on your site?"  Well, duh...why didn't we think of that.  So here is what's goin' on in our little corner of the BBQ world.


May 7th -  Sam's Club BBQ Challenge- Regionals
                 Sam's Club on Craig & Lossee, Las Vegas NV
                 http://www.kcbs.us/sams-club-series.php
                 (We will be judging this event)
                
May 13-15  -  YCCA BBQ Cook-Off and Home & Garden Show
                 3201 Main Street, Prescott AZ
                 http://www.wrprobbqseries.com/


May 20-22  -  USA Barbecue Championship
                 Orleans Hotel, Las Vegas NV
                 http://www.smokeonthewaterbbq.com/2011-events/las-vegas-home.html
                This event will include a Rib-fest...come on out!


May 27-28  -  Best Dam BBQ Challenge
                Boulder City NV
                http://www.bestdambarbecue.com/


June 10-11  -  Smoke on the River
                Heber City, UT
                http://www.arliequeevents.com/Home_Page.html


As you can see, we will be busy little BBQ beavers.  Come by and show your support, we'll have samples for you.  ;o)

Kick-Off BBQ...part 1

Saturday was a really long day, chilly, windy, and full of family, friends and...BBQ!  A few weeks ago we were trying to figure out how we could raise a few bucks to get us started in our first competition in July...and being in Scouts as long as we were, we said, "Let's throw a BBQ."  It will give friends and family a chance to taste what we're doing and hopefully raise a few bucks to cover expenses and get us down the road a ways.  Planning started then and there, a flyer was created, emailed and passed around, and RSVP started coming in.  Last week, we finalized plans, shopped (and gasped), and stuffed fridges and freezers with all that was needed, tables and chairs were borrowed from work.  Anyway, here are a few pictures of the process during the day.  Look for more pictures in post #2.

Sunday began at 2am, as Timm lit the wood charcoal with his propane torch it looked like fireworks in the night sky. 

Pork butts went on at 2:30am, brisket went on at 7am.  Brisket just put in the pit in this photo, butts have been in for 4 1/2 hours here.   One of the best parts of the day was at 7:30am when Scott showed up.  He called into work and showed up to help out the team.  I know it would have killed him to not be there.

Prepping 10 racks of ribs.  Mark came by early to visit and take care of business.

The Martin men taking care of mass quanitities of meat, checking temperatures, adding water to the pit.

MMMMM...mighty tasty looking pork butt (if I say so myself...I wish this was smell-o-vision)

Bottom rack full of ribs, top rack...brisket, pork was just pulled off.  (It's a thing of beauty...lol)

Thirty pounds of chicken legs and thighs.

Scott chopping pork butt, my dad helping out.  My mom broke her ankle in 2 places and foot on vacation a few weeks ago. (She is totally frustrated she can't help out right now.)

One happy Scott with a pan full of chopped pork.

Brisket....look at that smoke ring.  It tasted like heaven.

Pork ribs...just some of many.