Latest / BBQ Therapy / Gabe Trevino – Smokin Volts BBQ | G.O.A.T. Hunter
Transcript
- 0:00Like everybody, their mom's flying into this competition.
- 0:03And. Anella from Stigler Farms, like
- 0:05her cops. So everybody's flying in for it
- 0:08and we'll see how this goes. Maybe we all like to call it
- 0:13goat hunting. So we're gonna go try and get
- 0:16one. We'll see how it all pans out.
- 0:19Wango ham BBQ Wango Ham BBQ Wango Ham BBQ Wango ham BBQ your
- 0:25BBQ Get your. Barbecue.
- 0:27Ever notice how the sound of sizzling meat and the smell of
- 0:30smoke can silence the noise of the world?
- 0:33Now that's BBQ therapy. If the fire moves you like,
- 0:37subscribe, share and help spread the message because growth, like
- 0:41good BBQ, takes time and patience.
- 0:44Welcome to your therapy session. Welcome back to the BBQ Therapy
- 0:50podcast and today on BBQ Therapy we're joined by a rising force
- 0:54out of Southern California, Gabriel Trevino of Smoking
- 0:58Vaults BBQ. We're talking about how you
- 1:00built their identity, cook their way to the top, stay true to
- 1:04their roots and what it takes to thrive in the fast moving BBQ
- 1:08culture. Welcome to the show.
- 1:09I got one rule. Make yourself at home, speak
- 1:12freely. Have 0 sponsors.
- 1:14You want to vent? Hey, have it all right.
- 1:19First I'm, I usually try to start from the beginning.
- 1:22Let's take it back to your earliest BBQ memory.
- 1:25Where you were there family cookouts when you first when you
- 1:29were growing up or did you learn later on about BBQ?
- 1:32Yeah, there was some BBQ cookouts when I was younger, not
- 1:38to the level that they that BBQ is now.
- 1:43Like it was more like that Tony Roma's boil your ribs and then
- 1:49crisp them up on a BBQ with a little char, stuff like that.
- 1:52Like it wasn't what it is today, but pops usually did all the
- 1:55cooking. And it started out young, but it
- 1:59wasn't really like a driving force.
- 2:01That wasn't really my thing. And then it started about when
- 2:06you grow up, you gotta move out, gotta fend for yourself, you
- 2:09gotta start cooking. And some of that stuff is just
- 2:12easier to do instead of making all those dishes just dressed up
- 2:15on a grill real quick. And it just blossomed from.
- 2:20There. OK, Yeah, that's when I moved
- 2:22out. I tried, but everything was
- 2:24coming out tasting like lighter fluid.
- 2:26So I got frustrated or frustrated.
- 2:28Oh, yeah, it was. It was, you know.
- 2:30All right, so let's take it up. Something to name Smoking
- 2:33Vaults. What's the story behind that?
- 2:36I'm a journeyman lineman by trade.
- 2:38So I build power lines and got how we tied it all together with
- 2:43cooking, barbecue and the power line background.
- 2:48So high voltage power line smoking.
- 2:51So we put them together and we got smoke and bolts and that's
- 2:55how we we do our thing just. OK, I knew it had to be
- 2:58something with electric. OK, it makes sense.
- 3:01How would you describe the BBQ DNA of California?
- 3:04And how is the Southern California style its own thing?
- 3:09So I think are we talking like competition or just barbecue in
- 3:15general? Both, both.
- 3:18So I think a lot of the play a lot of like barbecue in
- 3:23California restaurant wise, for the most part, they're doing
- 3:27that Texas style BBQ with Mexican side spin to their side
- 3:34dishes, combining it together. They popped up quite a bit
- 3:38lately in California, Southern California.
- 3:41So you have a couple of spin offs.
- 3:43There's a couple that they they veer towards like Kansas City
- 3:46style. And then one does like she does
- 3:50like a fugit where it's like Asian and that sweet heat type,
- 3:56but you can taste her Asian flavors in her BBQ.
- 4:00But as far as competition BBQ, we veer towards that Kansas City
- 4:07style a little more that sweet heat, and that's basically what
- 4:12we mirror. We haven't dabbled too much into
- 4:15CBA or some of that other stuff. It's real soft, a little more
- 4:19different, like flavor profiles and stuff like that.
- 4:22It's more you sticking to to KCBS and what they're looking.
- 4:27For So, how did you get involved in a competition BBQ?
- 4:31Was it somebody brought you to a comp or told you about it or?
- 4:35So just like most of us, I won't, I don't know.
- 4:38It's been going on for years, but I didn't find out about it
- 4:41till like BBQ pit masters. You see it on TV, you hear from
- 4:45all your friends, oh man, you can BBQ like this and this.
- 4:48You should try it. And I was like, I didn't know
- 4:50anything about it. I don't really know anybody who
- 4:52was involved with it. And then a couple guys I knew on
- 4:55Instagram, they were involved in it and they had invited me out,
- 4:59hey, if you really want to check it out, come out and see what we
- 5:01do at a comp and stuff like that.
- 5:03And I went to one. It was cool.
- 5:06It was interesting, a little different.
- 5:08And at the time when I started, there was really no YouTube
- 5:13videos, no BBQ leaves, no, like none of that stuff.
- 5:16You just like trial by error type of thing and no backyard
- 5:21competitions in California. So I think there was maybe one
- 5:25or two and it was you either just jump in the fire and get
- 5:32after it or or just don't do it. But there were a whole lot of
- 5:37resources available to us. It just started out with a
- 5:40couple friends off of Instagram showing me what it was all about
- 5:44deciding, hey dude, this will be fun, so let's try it and like
- 5:50ultra competitive. So it was just like, let's see
- 5:52what we can do. But he just up and signed up or
- 5:55did you take any class or? So I signed, I signed up to do
- 6:00like a backyard class or not a backyard class.
- 6:03I signed up to do a backyard comp and it was just, I jumped
- 6:07in like feet first. So I went out and spent a
- 6:11ridiculous amount of money on a brand new Yoder and all this
- 6:15stuff. Just it was like, let's go.
- 6:18And I had this big old YS 1500 pellet grill to cook chicken and
- 6:24ribs. And so it was interesting.
- 6:26And then you learn things along the way like some, because it
- 6:30was like pro and backyard right there.
- 6:31They had some proteins next to me.
- 6:33So they were walking me through some stuff about, hey, you can
- 6:36do this what you can do what you can't do, which made it a whole
- 6:39lot easier. And then I think I did one and
- 6:44then I think I did one more and then that was basically all they
- 6:47had for backyard. And it was like, let's jump in.
- 6:51If you're going to do it, you're going to do it.
- 6:53So we had to jump in and we were just getting dog walks a couple.
- 6:57I think I only had three or four comps.
- 7:00And then I decided to take a class.
- 7:02And that was the first time I'd ever heard of a class.
- 7:05And I was just like, all right, cool, let's do it.
- 7:07And it was Sterling Smith from Luton Booty and Jerry Aguilar
- 7:11from Burning the Luton. And it was in Arizona.
- 7:14And that was my very first class.
- 7:16Oh wow, after you took that class, how long after that did
- 7:21it take you to feel that you had the hang of it?
- 7:25It took a while, honestly, because after that I took that
- 7:29class and then you see the different pits that are going
- 7:33on. Sterling was sponsored or is
- 7:35sponsored by Green Mountain. So he had a Green Mountain Grill
- 7:38out there, they had a Gateway Drum, They had some cookers I've
- 7:42never even thought about. I think Gary had a couple WSMS,
- 7:47some other stuff that was just like, oh man, for those they
- 7:49talked about how hot and fast and that's first time I'm
- 7:53hearing about any of this stuff. So it's just like, Oh well,
- 7:55those, those look a little easier to manage and they're not
- 7:58as heavy like that. Yoder is a beast of a drill.
- 8:02So to move it, it's a pain in the ass.
- 8:04So it's like, alright, let's buy a couple of these.
- 8:07So we bought some drums. But by that time I've already
- 8:10was a little off about what I had already seen in that class
- 8:15and you're just trying to go over notes and difficult.
- 8:18But it was OK, we managed. The problem was like I just
- 8:23didn't feel I was like comfortable enough to enter all
- 8:26these comps. I think technically like we, I
- 8:29started in like 2017, but it was like 1 comp for the entire year
- 8:34and then 18 was one comp for the entire year and then it was like
- 8:40maybe 2 and 19 and then COVID hits and we're just everything,
- 8:44the wheels come off and you're just like, oh, and that's when I
- 8:48started, hey, either I need to spend some money and learn how
- 8:51to cook or I'm just going to continue to like donate to the
- 8:55prize person and not get anything out of this.
- 8:57That's when I started actually like taking real classes.
- 9:03And from that point on it, it started taking off a little
- 9:06better. I got it had a little better
- 9:08understanding, especially after I took the hot and fast class at
- 9:11Gateway cause like they show you exactly how to use their cookers
- 9:17and it's completely different than anything you've ever heard
- 9:22about BBQ. If you're looking, you ain't
- 9:24cooking or you're this, you're that, it's now that goes out the
- 9:26window, man. You're touching, you're doing
- 9:28something, you're spinning, you're flipping like it's your
- 9:31BBQ is interactive at that point.
- 9:33And that's when it it started making a swing.
- 9:36So fresh out of COVID is when everything sort of started like
- 9:39clicking a little bit. I wouldn't say like it was there
- 9:42like it is now, but I started getting a little more
- 9:45comfortable actually like entering.
- 9:47Competitions. How long did it take you before
- 9:50you placed in a like a top ten or something after?
- 9:55The. You took the class, so.
- 9:57After COVID, let's see what is that 25?
- 10:04Was that 21? My 4th year?
- 10:08It was like like fresh out off of COVID because now the BBQ
- 10:12league is there. You had all these resources.
- 10:14I've taken the hot and fast class.
- 10:17I've taken some of these other classes and like I was getting,
- 10:24we did. I did a comp and you did one in
- 10:29Boulder City at the beginning of that January 21, whatever it
- 10:34was. And then we're 22, one of the
- 10:38two. And then I took, I did a comp in
- 10:41March and that's when I got my first GC in March.
- 10:47But like prior to that, just about every comp that we had
- 10:51entered, I think it was like 4 or whatever it was in the
- 10:55three-year, three or four years, like I had always gotten a calm
- 10:58brisket. I couldn't cook anything else,
- 11:00but for some reason, like I, I was able to get a call and
- 11:04brisket and then COVID hit and everything stopped and we're
- 11:10just like, man, I guess we'll just practice and take classes
- 11:14and do whatever we can to try and get better.
- 11:16So hopefully once it all ends, we can maybe be ready to roll.
- 11:20But yeah, after COVID ended, it was probably, yeah, it was like
- 11:233 months before I got that first GC and then at the wheel just
- 11:27came off like it it was we're running at that point.
- 11:32So yeah, that's when I discovered I really got into it
- 11:35because I went to somebody house and I saw a pellet grill that
- 11:40had the gas and the pellets and I've never seen growing up, we
- 11:43didn't have money like this. So we had all I seen was the
- 11:46little kettle grills and when I saw.
- 11:48This. Pellet grill, I'm looking like
- 11:50what is this? So since they were given a
- 11:53stimulus check, I was still working at the point so I was
- 11:56like I didn't have nothing to do with it.
- 11:57So I went and bought me a pellet grill and it made the learning
- 12:00curve easier. Like I tell them, it allowed me
- 12:03to focus on the meat and not having to worry about the grill
- 12:08and then come back and Start learning about the different
- 12:10grills. So it helped out a lot.
- 12:12They can say what they want about the billet grills, but it
- 12:15helps a lot because it allows you to focus on the meat because
- 12:19it's since it's like an oven, it's really hard to mess up.
- 12:24It is. They make it very easy with
- 12:26that. People ask all the time like
- 12:29hey, what do you think is a good starter grill?
- 12:31My bro, go get you like a Green Mountain or pit Boss or and
- 12:35whatever is in your price range. They got a pellet grill for it.
- 12:38Like you ain't gotta spend 5 grand on a Yoder or five grand
- 12:41on the Timberline XL Traeger or this and that.
- 12:44Like they got cheaper ones that you can start on that'll get you
- 12:48going and then from there you just start building.
- 12:51Exactly. And once you get better, you can
- 12:54start practicing on something else and work your way up from
- 12:56there. But that's how I did.
- 12:58I mean that I still got it in the other room that, but I
- 13:02bought it during COVID and just start playing around.
- 13:05That's when I started going on YouTube trying to find whatever
- 13:08I can, but I didn't know where to look and stuff like that
- 13:11because I didn't know nothing about it.
- 13:12But I started, I did find one recipe, but then 321 stuff, but
- 13:19that's ruined a lot of people. But definitely a class is
- 13:23definitely cut the learning curve.
- 13:25So I definitely recommend everybody to do that.
- 13:28You seem like you cook all over the place.
- 13:30Do you know how many states have you cooked in?
- 13:32I'm going to. Stay in.
- 13:34I'm going to stay at hand, I think.
- 13:37OK, OK. And that's been heard of recent.
- 13:41That's been recent, man. You know, it just happened that
- 13:44way. Like I fell into like hooking up
- 13:49with some good guys. Like I took Chris Shaffer's
- 13:51class from Heavy Smoke. Obviously.
- 13:53We're sure it was one of those things like, hey dude, like
- 13:56you're on the West Coast. I want to cook the West Coast.
- 14:00I'm like, come on out, dude. I got resources, I got drums, I
- 14:03got access to all this stuff. You know what I mean?
- 14:06You find out that there's not a lot of guys that want to travel
- 14:10to learn how to cook like that. So like I was the only guy from
- 14:15California in a lot of these classes.
- 14:17So like you meet a lot of those people, make a lot of
- 14:20friendship, relationships and label and come on out.
- 14:23And I was like, cool. And then if you come out here, I
- 14:26got you over here, you know what I mean?
- 14:28So you're like, alright, cool. So that's how all that stuff
- 14:31happened. Then it starts, hey, we're
- 14:33cooking over here. Why don't you come cook this,
- 14:35and why don't you come cook that, you know, And that's how
- 14:39it all just fell into place. Definitely true because that's
- 14:45I've taken five classes. I haven't started competing yet
- 14:48because I have a 15 month old so I'm giving her a chance to get
- 14:51up in age before I get out there.
- 14:53But I don't mind go I'll go to classes, I go walk around
- 14:57competitions just to make connections and stuff like that.
- 15:00So I've taken five classes. I've taken Myra Mixon, Robbie
- 15:05Royal, I took Luke Darnell, Joe Pierce, and I took Chris
- 15:09Shaffer's class, but I don't mind.
- 15:12But most of the time I'm the one of the people that's traveled
- 15:15the farthest to get to the I don't mind because it's worth it
- 15:19and you can pick up something from each class, even if it's
- 15:22something simple to me. And just the connections alone
- 15:27is worth going out there and meeting folks.
- 15:29I've met so many people and I always brag on BBQ people that
- 15:33they're the friendliest out there and they'll give you the
- 15:37shirt off their back more than the people that you see every
- 15:40day. And exactly and.
- 15:44A lot of time you think like it's because, oh, there's Brad
- 15:47and there's all these guys are like the who's who a barbecue
- 15:51and like they're just not going to talk to you.
- 15:53And it's and I just walk up and talk to those guys.
- 15:56They're just like normal people and they'll help you right there
- 15:58on the spot. Like they will talk to you, give
- 16:01you pointers and stuff like that, but they're not what you
- 16:04think they would be considering who they are in BBQ.
- 16:08I'm nothing but time to sit there and talk to you.
- 16:11Exactly. And I read Chris, he's helpful
- 16:17and it said, hey, if you're around, come to the truck, talk
- 16:21to me. I met Tim, I got the I met him
- 16:24at Memphis and May he asked me to come on the podcast.
- 16:27I'm looking at him like you asking me to come on the
- 16:32podcast. So and then he allowed me to
- 16:35come to one of the NASCAR events and I wanted to come and see how
- 16:39they operate and how they promote themselves and how
- 16:42professional they act. And they allowed me to come out
- 16:46there and why they cook sausage and steak and gave it away to
- 16:50the crowd. I helped out pass a little
- 16:52sample bottles out. I was out there from 11:30 to
- 16:556:30. But I want people might think of
- 16:57crazy, but I wanted to see how he operates in.
- 17:02He's so down there. People wouldn't believe how down
- 17:04the earth he is and friendly and welcoming and met all his family
- 17:09and stuff like that. And hey, you need anything, call
- 17:12me. He with Memphis and me, when I
- 17:14met him, he took my phone and put his phone number in here.
- 17:17And I'm like, wow. So it's definitely true.
- 17:23But a lot of people might think though, oh, he's big time and he
- 17:26ain't going to talk to me. But they'd be looking forward to
- 17:30sharing the information that they know with other people
- 17:33because it promotes the sport of BBQ so it.
- 17:37Does. Yeah.
- 17:39Like it seems my neighbor at the American Royal, I'm like, right
- 17:42there next to him for the last four years, like we've been
- 17:46neighbors. He comes over and has tacos and
- 17:50this is a good old time. So yeah, they're cool people.
- 17:54Yeah, you'll see me this year. I got my ticket.
- 17:56I'm going to come walk around there.
- 17:58So I'm going to introduce myself because I'm going to be
- 18:00everywhere introducing myself. The next question I have, I
- 18:05heard on a podcast that you had drove from I'm in Georgia, but
- 18:09you drove from California to Georgia to pick up a trailer.
- 18:13Yeah, yeah. So I had a trailer built in
- 18:18Georgia by some cargo trailers. They're Tifton.
- 18:23And yeah, so like the girl I was dealing with, Brandy, super cool
- 18:25girl, She takes care of you. She had given me a date and it
- 18:29was just like, alright, cool, whatever, take your time.
- 18:31It doesn't matter to me. Like I I got time in between
- 18:33these comps. I'm in no hurry.
- 18:35I had a little toy hauler that I had been using up until that
- 18:38point, and it was like, it was fine.
- 18:40And I just needed something a little more conducive to
- 18:43strictly barbecue. And she gave me an estimated
- 18:46window and I was like, alright, cool, whatever.
- 18:48It is what it is. And then it just kept stretching
- 18:51and stretching and I was like, well, sure, they started getting
- 18:54closer to to pussy queue. So I'm like, OK, let me see how
- 18:59close this time frame is going to work and why I sent her an
- 19:04e-mail, sent her a text message like, hey, this is what we got
- 19:07going on. What's the timeline looking
- 19:09like? Because if I'm going to be out
- 19:11there at that time, I might as well cook the competition.
- 19:15Cause if it was done earlier, I was just going to send my pops
- 19:19and my uncle to go pick the trailer up and bring it home.
- 19:22Well, it started getting closer to that cop and I was like,
- 19:24someone's getting bumped or you can just tag along.
- 19:27But we're going to go cook that cop because I there was
- 19:30whisperings that Poozy Q was going to be its last year.
- 19:34I'm like, OK, so I'm like, alright.
- 19:36And then she said, yeah, it's going to be done.
- 19:38It's like the Friday before Poozy Q and I'm like, alright,
- 19:43cool. I'm going to leave on this day.
- 19:45I'll be there on Thursday, pick the trailer up and then we're
- 19:48gonna go cook that conference and take off.
- 19:51So my pops even wanting to do like a BBQ crawl like through
- 19:56Texas and through all this stuff, like alright man.
- 19:59So we took off things like on Sunday night, Monday morning,
- 20:02like 2:00 in the morning and just started charging and we
- 20:06drove straight to Austin day, the night in Austin and went to
- 20:10Franklin's Tuesday morning to go eat BBQ.
- 20:14And then just kept on leapfrogging all the way
- 20:16through. We stopped at the shed and then
- 20:19we made it into Tallahassee what Wednesday night and then
- 20:23Thursday morning, bright and early took off back to Georgia,
- 20:28picked up the trailer and then back to some to Alabama to cook
- 20:32that comp. And you know, it was a little
- 20:36different. It's, it was hot as shit, man.
- 20:39Like there was no joke, hot and human.
- 20:42It was brutal. I'm from California.
- 20:45It ain't like that, man. Luckily, like we had power.
- 20:48We had everything. So AC was running, everything
- 20:50was working and was like, alright, cool.
- 20:52But it was just a little different for us because it was
- 20:55hot, man. And then my dad's not used to
- 20:58being like in that spot with me. He usually just, it's usually
- 21:02cool enough where he just lounges outside the trailer
- 21:05until it's time to run boxes and I turn around.
- 21:07Hey, go, but he's sweating his ass off He's bro, I'm getting in
- 21:11this trailer. I'm like messing up my style,
- 21:14dude. I'm trying to take a rib off the
- 21:16table while I'm like trying to box and I'm like bro, kick back,
- 21:20wait till it's done. But we did the comp and it was
- 21:24really cool. It was Garrett and like Steve
- 21:26Smith. A lot of those guys like I I
- 21:27know who they are. We talk.
- 21:30I've seen him at other comps. I've been to smoke on the shores
- 21:33the last couple years in a row. So I see all these guys, so they
- 21:36didn't think I was gonna come down there and then I come down
- 21:39there and we had great showing. They weren't real happy about
- 21:43it, but this is what it is, man. Just working with that.
- 21:49Yeah, it was a good adventure. We had fun and then we just had
- 21:52to. It was one of them things like
- 21:57bucket list with my pops, let's go do this BBQ crawl, BBQ trip.
- 22:01And then we had talked about, I talked to Fred Robles and some
- 22:04of these guys about you going to Burnt Bean.
- 22:07All right, bro, you gotta go to Burnt Bean.
- 22:10And it was like, you gotta go on Sunday for the brunch, yada,
- 22:13yada. And I'm like, all right.
- 22:16So we literally left that comp at 6:00.
- 22:18Like, as soon as awards were done, we went back to the hotel,
- 22:21showered, packed up, jumped in the truck and drove straight to
- 22:26San Antonio. Or singing just outside of San
- 22:29Antonio to go get in line for fucking breakfast.
- 22:32And we got there at 5:00 in the morning to get in line for
- 22:37breakfast, man. Yeah, but it was cool.
- 22:39Like, my, it was one of those things.
- 22:41My dad had never seen a line like that in Franklin's.
- 22:45It was a Tuesday, random Tuesday, so I don't know.
- 22:47They have 150 people in line. Like it's not a big deal.
- 22:50When we get to the burnt bean, he's yapping about it.
- 22:53Oh, it's blah, blah, blah, blah. I don't know why we're here.
- 22:55There's only 10 people in line. I'm like, yeah, we're 10 right
- 22:58now. Just wait till these next couple
- 23:00of hours till it gets ready to open.
- 23:03And now you get a couple hours pass by and that line goes down
- 23:06the block and around the block, three corners and you're just
- 23:09like, homie, there's a lot more people waiting in line.
- 23:12That's why we get here at 5:00 in the morning.
- 23:14And then he finally understood what we were really talking
- 23:17about. It's just, it was what I was
- 23:18saying, man, it was a good trip. Now you understand why they're
- 23:21number one. Oh yeah, definitely.
- 23:25It was worthwhile. If you had a trailer, you got
- 23:28some trophies out of it and you got a BBQ trophy, so.
- 23:32Got some money, got a whole bunch of stuff out of it, man,
- 23:35It was good stuff, good story and it was good stories.
- 23:37You see that little guy right there?
- 23:39Yeah, like that's the last, that's the last brisket trophy
- 23:42they're going to give you at pussy Q.
- 23:45There ain't no more of them coming.
- 23:46So if that was the whole thing, it was like, hey, let's go try
- 23:48and get one and we get where we get one.
- 23:51And we walked away with some good calls.
- 23:54I think we were close, man. It was I think all I needed was
- 23:5711 spot higher on on chicken or ribs or whatever it was and comp
- 24:03was mine man like. But hey, it is what it is.
- 24:06It was fun. Yeah, how many total days were
- 24:08y'all gone since y'all left home dude and y'all made it back?
- 24:13Dude ever since the ride home sucked.
- 24:16It was basically a week man. So we literally drove from when
- 24:20we left Alabama. We drove straight to the
- 24:22restaurant, ate breakfast, jumped back in the truck and
- 24:25kept on going and drove straight home.
- 24:28We got home. I think we got home Monday
- 24:31morning at 2:00 in the morning, maybe 1:00 AM, something like
- 24:35that. Oh wow, you didn't have to go to
- 24:37work, did you? No.
- 24:39So it was basically like just a straight week.
- 24:43All right. And I heard that you cooked it.
- 24:45I saw that you cooked the competition in Hawaii.
- 24:47How hard was it to stay in competition mode?
- 24:49Where you in paradise? It's it was, it was a little, it
- 24:58was difficult, but one like as bad I talked 'cause I've won on
- 25:03auto the week before in Salt Lake City.
- 25:08So my biggest thing was like I asked a couple of mentors like,
- 25:12hey bro, like what do I do? How do I stay engaged and do
- 25:18what I'm supposed to do but not feel bad about being a Dick and
- 25:22possibly winning this cop? And every single one of them
- 25:26said don't fucking don't layoff the throttle.
- 25:29Just do what you do, Stay consistent.
- 25:32If they want to win, they gotta beat you.
- 25:34And I said OK. And that's how we just, we went
- 25:38on the attack and it's just, hey, you just run your program
- 25:42and stick to it. Like my Smitty was there.
- 25:45That's my boy. Like we talk all the time.
- 25:47He's broke. Let's go.
- 25:49Let's do what we do. He wasn't gonna let me win.
- 25:51I wasn't gonna let him win. So it's just like this, just
- 25:54like we do it every time we cook in a parking lot, just put the
- 25:58best stick pieces we can in a box and see how it goes.
- 26:03So it was good like just stay engaged, stay locked in because
- 26:06I've been running my program doing well so far this year and
- 26:10we just didn't want to have any hiccups.
- 26:11So they just said just keep doing what you're doing.
- 26:14And that's how we went about it. But I got there early enough
- 26:18where I can do a little beach and pool and drinking before.
- 26:24So I got there Wednesday. So Wednesday, Thursday where we
- 26:27were getting after it, then Friday and Saturday it was like
- 26:29Nope. And then Sunday we got messed
- 26:32around a little bit more and flew home on Monday morning.
- 26:35So that kind of we, I balanced it out a little bit.
- 26:38We'll be able to have some fun but still be able to lock in for
- 26:40this couple of days. OK, OK.
- 26:43And Congrats on the Jack Daniels Invitational draw.
- 26:47You're about to compete with legends.
- 26:49How do you set your mindset knowing that?
- 26:53OK, everybody here is one of the top pit masters in the world.
- 26:59Have you been to the Jack before or just your first one?
- 27:01Yeah, I was at the Jack last year.
- 27:05I did the Jack last year. Last year you're green.
- 27:08Like that's the first time. They're just a bigger deal.
- 27:11It's one of like you said, you're like, dude, I'm here with
- 27:14all this big boys, you know what I mean?
- 27:15You're just like, hey, and that's all.
- 27:17There's a little nerve wracking. Last year I picked Schafer's
- 27:21brain about it and some other stuff and we just, we did what
- 27:27we could and just tried to turn in the best thing we could.
- 27:32Like we, we had our hiccups it it always happens.
- 27:35Like we left a good brisket on the gateway.
- 27:39We pulled it off like it was hot.
- 27:41So I didn't feel like we needed to cambro it.
- 27:44So we pulled one off, I put it on the hopper of the GMG, we
- 27:48pulled the other one off and put it on top of the gateway, but we
- 27:52never shut it down. But it ended up cooking it and
- 27:56that was the better brisket. But we couldn't even get it to
- 27:59hold together. Man, we were, I was pissed.
- 28:01Like I totally brain farted. Like nobody caught it.
- 28:05It was just like, and we knew it as soon as I popped the popped
- 28:08the foil and it was just like raging steam.
- 28:10I was like, dude, that thing is still cooking.
- 28:13Yeah, like it tasted better. Everything about it was better.
- 28:15We just, I could not get 6 slices to hold together.
- 28:18I couldn't dock it. Like I couldn't do nothing.
- 28:21He was just like, damn it. But like we we got, I got a
- 28:24barrel headed chicken. We did some of that stuff.
- 28:27I had a already cooked the Royal twice before that.
- 28:31Relax a little bit because you competed against them before.
- 28:35And to be honest, I like that a lot of them are buddies now, but
- 28:41I go into every comp thinking like I should be there.
- 28:45And that's just how we attack it, you know what I mean?
- 28:47And with everything that they've taught me and all the questions
- 28:51they answer and stuff like that, like I, I feel like I'm equipped
- 28:54to do it. Like just can I lock in long
- 28:58enough to be able to turn into me?
- 29:02Yeah, definitely. And that's the right mindset to
- 29:04have, 'cause you go in there thinking, Oh man, here, here you
- 29:08already alive, 'cause you. Oh, yeah, and you'll hear it.
- 29:12Like I know just about every class I've talked to and I'll
- 29:15tell like the newer guys, backyard guys, that you'll see
- 29:18him at classes and like they're still in backyard and like
- 29:21they're still 10 minutes shy. But they'll ask a question and
- 29:24it's just, hey, what do you think about this piece of meat
- 29:27or whatever? I'm like, dude, here's like
- 29:30biggest advice. Like any of these guys ever talk
- 29:32to me about if you're worried about your meat, you've already
- 29:36lost. Like you want to go in there
- 29:39knowing you got like the best meat possible.
- 29:43That's half the battle. Like all you gotta do is not
- 29:45fuck it up at that point. Like you're already starting off
- 29:48with great meat. So it's all about it.
- 29:50It really is about your mindset. Like taking all these classes,
- 29:54everybody's running same some version of the same shit.
- 29:58And we're all close on on flavor profiles, tenderness,
- 30:01everything's the same. The question is, can you finish
- 30:05in them last 10 minutes to get it in the box?
- 30:09Yeah, definitely we can or we can or definitely important.
- 30:15Can you fix it on the table in the last 10 minutes, which is
- 30:18his little things, man. Like you could have a great cook
- 30:20and completely screw everything up on the table and that there
- 30:27goes your weekend. A lot of it is is mental, man.
- 30:31To be honest, a lot of it really is mental because we can all
- 30:36cook. Yeah, everyone has a bad cook
- 30:41every now and then. How do you mentally reset so
- 30:43you're not carrying that loss to the next weekend or the next
- 30:47day? You are.
- 30:48So like we've had, let's see. So as of late, the last there
- 30:52was a couple couple double s we've had and like we had one in
- 30:56Oregon and then I had one last weekend, two double s last
- 31:01weekend was Northern California. It just so happens most of these
- 31:05double s Brad was there getting based in last weekend.
- 31:10He was there in Oregon along with Bill Purvis and Fred
- 31:14Robles. We, we cook.
- 31:17We do what we do. We cook, right?
- 31:18We do everything we think we're supposed to do on Saturday like
- 31:21this, both comps, everything right on Saturday and just we
- 31:25got our teeth kicked in, you know what I mean?
- 31:27Nothing, they didn't like anything we put on the tape and
- 31:30now you're all pissed off and you're in your head like, which
- 31:33way do I need to go? This is bullshit.
- 31:34I nailed my meets. Why?
- 31:36I'm like, you're all over the place and but you got those, You
- 31:39got the big boys there and they're like, bro, don't even
- 31:42worry about it. It is what it is.
- 31:44Like that day's done. Don't you can't get it back.
- 31:46Let's worry about what we got to do tomorrow.
- 31:49Do we need Then we start. Everybody's talking
- 31:51bullshitting. What do we do?
- 31:52Do we tighten it up? Do we do this?
- 31:53What do we need? How do we fix it?
- 31:55What do we adjust? And then you start going through
- 31:58it in your head and figuring out, OK, did they give you a
- 32:01comment card? What did it say?
- 32:02And like in our head, OK, I, I nailed my tenderness, but you
- 32:06said it was mushy. Like, OK, that tells me I got
- 32:10tighten up a little bit. So you make your adjustments and
- 32:13go. It's one of those things where
- 32:15it's fussy. It's easier to do it in a double
- 32:18because you get to cook right away and fix it if you don't
- 32:24like, it's a long week or two weeks or three weeks, whatever
- 32:27is the difference in between your cop because you're chasing
- 32:31your head, in your head trying to figure out what exactly you
- 32:33did wrong. But it makes it easier if you
- 32:36got that double because you can fix it right away.
- 32:39And if it worked and you did what you were supposed to, if it
- 32:41didn't, then you knew you just let it go.
- 32:45There's no point. Letting it linger?
- 32:48Yeah, definitely. I saw you posted last week about
- 32:51pictures of the briskets, but the briskets came through.
- 32:56Though that was me just talking shit, dude.
- 32:58I'm not going to lie. Like it's, it's a running joke
- 33:00at this point. Because you got to remember,
- 33:02like I've taken Jordan's class, I've taken Chris Shaffer's
- 33:06class. Smitty won't teach a class on
- 33:08the West Coast anymore because all the big West Coast teams are
- 33:11like his alumni. So he won't teach us any more
- 33:13shit because Brad and Tim's class, like I've taken Fred and
- 33:18Bill's class, like I've taken like the whose classes.
- 33:21So like I have a lot. You know, it just so happens
- 33:23this year I all the briskets I bought have been straight
- 33:27hammers and they just love giving it to me about these
- 33:30briskets. Like how the fuck are you
- 33:32getting these? And we're getting this.
- 33:34So like, I'll post a picture like, oh, I gotta cook the
- 33:36shitty one. And they're like, man, fuck, did
- 33:38you see there ain't no shitty brisket?
- 33:41Like why sundae? Brad's like, why are you wasting
- 33:43that one here? And he's oh, that's right,
- 33:45because you got better ones in the freezer.
- 33:47I'm like, yeah, but so my briskets have just been nice
- 33:50this year, man. They are just, they're thick.
- 33:52They're well marbled. Everything about them has just
- 33:54been like solid. And I'm like, who knows?
- 33:57I just ordered some more because I'm gonna add a couple of comps
- 34:01in between the Jack and the Royal.
- 34:04They may not be. I don't know what they're going
- 34:07to look like. I just it's the luck of the
- 34:09order and we'll see how they turn out, but.
- 34:14You get your eyes from Chris Webb, don't you?
- 34:17I Yeah. I did Chris Webb too.
- 34:19I took Christmas class I've taken.
- 34:23I put in work. I spent a lot of money learning
- 34:25how to cook, like, I'm not gonna lie.
- 34:28And and even in like. And then I think with the
- 34:32turning point for me was the beginning of the year.
- 34:35Last year at the Royal, me and Schaefer were talking and he's
- 34:39like, hey, Brad kind of wants to point Chase next year.
- 34:42He wants to come out early and cook California.
- 34:46Can you set him up with some drums and get him sitting?
- 34:48I'm like, yeah, I can do that. I'm like, I'm thinking we're
- 34:51gonna like just cook side by side and this and that.
- 34:54And then it turned to, hey, dude, you think Brad would care
- 34:57if I didn't cook? And I was just like pit bitch
- 34:59and just watch and ask questions.
- 35:01He's now I'm sure he would prefer that.
- 35:03And so I got to cook a double with Brad and basically just
- 35:07watch him do what he did. You know what I mean?
- 35:10Like you don't even know what that class would be worse.
- 35:13And like I got to do it. And exactly you watch like you
- 35:17watch the way like that dude finishes and how he makes
- 35:22adjustments on the table and where tenderness is and stuff
- 35:26like that was I think the turning point because it it
- 35:29showed me that hey, dude, you weren't pushing your meat far
- 35:33enough. And like this, it's a tenderness
- 35:36game at that point. Like we said earlier,
- 35:37everybody's close on their profile.
- 35:39So at all this, but did you cook it right?
- 35:41So you didn't cook or it ain't gonna taste right either.
- 35:43So that was that right there. That's where everything shifted.
- 35:47And I realized that, hey, dude, like you can't push it way
- 35:51farther than you have been. You know, that's when everything
- 35:53started like clicking and taking off and taking over.
- 35:56And then I got a couple of things from Jordan for my
- 36:00brisket. That's what I've been doing and
- 36:03that's been working. And so it's just, it's little
- 36:07things. And that's one of the things you
- 36:09learn and that all those guys will tell you, don't come to a
- 36:13class looking for a recipe. You know, that's all you're here
- 36:17for is like a recipe, like I can just give you the recipe and you
- 36:20can just walk out the door like you need to be here and learn
- 36:24what we're exactly what we're doing and why we're doing it at
- 36:27specific times because that changes and alters your entire
- 36:31cook. So exactly this year it all
- 36:35clicked. Yeah, that's why I'm big on I'd
- 36:39rather than when I come to a class, I want some paperwork so
- 36:43I don't have to write nothing. I want to be able to focus the
- 36:46whole time because you writing you missing stuff in between
- 36:50that might be vital to the cook and a lot of people can play if
- 36:55they want to. If somebody going to get your
- 36:57recipe, they going to give it out regardless the you give them
- 36:59a paper or not. But my thing is, give us a paper
- 37:03so we can focus on what you're doing.
- 37:05I want to be because me and during the class I'm right
- 37:07beside whoever class I'm going to, I'm standing right beside
- 37:11the whole time I'm standing beside and watching off to the
- 37:14side so I can see what's going on and what they doing.
- 37:18Or a comment they may have make about the meat.
- 37:21Or like Chris Shaffer, he made a big deal about sharp knives and
- 37:25that stuck in my head. Sharp knives, sharp knives,
- 37:27sharp knives, that little tip, there might be the difference
- 37:31between anything. So.
- 37:33Oh yeah. But you got an opportunity there
- 37:37to sit there and watch some of their people.
- 37:39Some people are good, but some people are on a total a
- 37:42different level, like him, Brad, Chris Shaffer, Tim Sheehan, some
- 37:48of them. Folks like that.
- 37:50They got a gift. It is what it is.
- 37:52They got a gift and opportunity. It's unreal.
- 37:56Washington. And she's just like, wait, what?
- 38:00We're just like, alright, dude, if you say something.
- 38:03So Brad started his restaurant cooking on cans.
- 38:07So that dude knows like what something feels like it was
- 38:11literally like, OK, that caller needs 5 minutes.
- 38:14That one needs seven. That one needs 5.
- 38:17And it's like, I had I timed it. I sat there in time.
- 38:19He's like, how much time we got left?
- 38:21It was like 10 seconds. Boom, 10 seconds it he's pulling
- 38:24those particular ones on to the next one.
- 38:27Boom, those my bro, like I can't sit there and something and be
- 38:30like, yeah, they need 7 1/2 minutes.
- 38:32Who does that? You know what I mean?
- 38:34But like, he, he cooked thousands of pork foot,
- 38:37thousands of briskets on those drums.
- 38:39And like for us, like we're sitting there just stabbing the
- 38:42shit out of it and trying to figure it out.
- 38:44He just, Nah, we need 10, we need 12, whatever it is.
- 38:48And you're just like, yeah, bro, it just doesn't come that easy
- 38:51to some of us. So we're still learning.
- 38:52Like earlier today I was looking at BBQ data.
- 38:56Brad's got more RG CS and I have competitions like under my belt,
- 39:01you know what I mean? So it's just really this, that's
- 39:04why those guys are where they're at.
- 39:06They just, it's second nature to them.
- 39:09And for the rest of us, like it's just what it is.
- 39:12And Shaffer told me too, is that I was like, I'll cook 100
- 39:17briskets a year. You in California cook 10
- 39:21competitions, That's 10. By the time you cook 100,
- 39:23that's. So in order for you to get to
- 39:25where I'm at trying to figure out this brisket, it's going to
- 39:27be 10 years from now. And it's because it really is
- 39:29one of those things where like the more you cook, the better
- 39:32you're going to get. Exactly, exactly.
- 39:35And since they they were back then when the drum revolution of
- 39:40the drums and they were the he would brand one of the testers
- 39:44of the drums. So yeah, I think from back from
- 39:48what, 2012 all the way up to now and how many comps he cook it.
- 39:56It's ridiculous. But as far as you say you cook
- 40:00with your daddy, do you have any other people that you cook with
- 40:03or just? You know, so my dad comes every
- 40:06now and then. I did have a partner up until
- 40:10the beginning of the year and then like just work schedules
- 40:13and stuff like that. We just decided I just tighten
- 40:16it up. And then I was in my head a
- 40:18little too much about things. So I just wanted to like clear
- 40:22my mind. And it's just the Brad cooks by
- 40:23himself. Smitty usually cooks by himself,
- 40:28Chris Webb cooks. Find a lot of these guys are
- 40:30cooking by themselves. And like, I know I can do it.
- 40:33Let me try something. We tried it that way.
- 40:35There was no outside interference.
- 40:37It's OK. Like I've been to all these
- 40:39classes. I know what it's supposed to
- 40:42taste like. I know how sender supposed to be
- 40:45like. I don't.
- 40:45I just let me clean up the noise and see if I can dial this in
- 40:50and did it that you this year and now I'm good where I'm at.
- 40:55So now I can, you know, bring my whole partner like he's gonna
- 40:59come to some of the bigger events like that.
- 41:01You you need the bodies. Like for the most part, some of
- 41:03these you don't really need anybody.
- 41:06And then bringing my dad is because my mom wants him out of
- 41:08the house. He retired and he's just driving
- 41:10her. He's just driving her crazy.
- 41:12So he's hey man, can I get a can I go or I need a need help
- 41:16driving? You know what I mean?
- 41:18Because some of them are like further at the end of the month,
- 41:20we're going to Idaho. I don't really want to drive all
- 41:22the way to Idaho by myself. He'll come with me to that.
- 41:25And then obviously we'll go to the Jack again.
- 41:28He didn't go last year, but he's going to go this year.
- 41:31And then we'll go from the Jack and drive straight to the Royal,
- 41:34then fly home and then fly back where I cook BBQ the weekend
- 41:38before and then cook the Royal again.
- 41:41So there's just a lot of moving part.
- 41:43Now. We'll get into the time where
- 41:44you need more people, more bodies to share some of that
- 41:46load. Oh yeah, especially like at the
- 41:50Royal cause like where we're at, you'll see you're going this
- 41:53year. Like where me and Tim are at,
- 41:55it's an 8 minute walk to turn in.
- 41:58Oh wow. Like that's just a far walk and
- 42:01you got thousands of people in the way.
- 42:02Like you're ducking and diving and trying.
- 42:05It's chaotic. So the more people that are
- 42:07involved, like they, we have one guy walking, one guy blocking
- 42:11and stuff like that. So it just helps like with the
- 42:14bigger events to have more people for like the little ones.
- 42:17It's just easier just doing it by myself.
- 42:20Yeah, yeah. What's your favorite competition
- 42:23meat to cook and or your highest scoring meat?
- 42:26Oh my God. So to be right now, I've been, I
- 42:29don't know, brisket is my highest right now.
- 42:33Hey, I'm just I'm there. But like overall the last few
- 42:37years, chickens been my most consistent.
- 42:39We dropped off last year 'cause we're screwing around fucking
- 42:43wings this week and legs and then this and we're just like
- 42:47all over the place to be honest. Like last year I was cooking
- 42:50wings most of the year. I didn't cook a leg until a
- 42:53month before the Jack because I needed to put a white and dark
- 42:56meat. It had been all wings last year.
- 42:59Yeah, that was. I just got bored cooking legs
- 43:01the year prior. Like I was doing really well in
- 43:03legs and it was I'll let's change it up like an idiot.
- 43:06And then I couldn't find it and it was a mess.
- 43:09And so the chicken's been the most consistent.
- 43:12And now, like right now, brisket's been pretty good to me
- 43:16this year. They're all doing well.
- 43:19I just. I can't cook a rib to save my
- 43:21life for now to figure it out but.
- 43:23You're around the right people to get the tips, so Oh yeah,
- 43:27pretty weird. They and that's what sucks dude.
- 43:30Like we thought we fixed it this weekend on Saturday and we
- 43:34thought we had a great rib and it was solid.
- 43:36It was where it's supposed to be soft fight through everything
- 43:38was great and they just fuck it. They hammered the shit out of us
- 43:44just like bro are you serious right now?
- 43:46Like we heard Wes's rant a couple weeks ago about 967 or
- 43:52whatever he pre ripped cards and it was just like, bro, like I
- 43:56mean, everybody on that table got one of them cars and it was
- 44:00just like, how many? Are you serious?
- 44:01What were you eating? All right, whenever I'll fix it.
- 44:04Well, you don't feel good about fixing it either because it's
- 44:07it's not really what we should be doing.
- 44:08There's a standard. Why do I got to adjust it?
- 44:11Pretty sure we're hitting that standard.
- 44:12And now I got to pull back and tighten some stuff up.
- 44:15And when I've been working my ass off trying to push it to
- 44:19where it's supposed to be because I was afraid of being
- 44:22mushy. And then we hit it and you still
- 44:25tell me it's mushy. You don't know where to go at
- 44:29that point. Sometimes it's the judge.
- 44:33I'm not going to, I'm not going to blame them.
- 44:35Like I'm just saying, sometimes. Cover for me, everybody, this is
- 44:40cover for me. Sometimes it's the pit master,
- 44:44sometimes it's the judge. But.
- 44:46That's the thing too, like we, we all cook enough.
- 44:48We know when we hit it and we know when we did.
- 44:51If we're all being honest with ourselves, like we can walk away
- 44:53like Nope, fuck that up or whatever it is.
- 44:55When you had a good cook, then you know when you didn't.
- 44:57But if you feel like you really did have a good cook and you
- 45:00nailed your beats and then that should happen.
- 45:02It's a little frustrating, but if you're being honest, you know
- 45:06too, yeah, I might have went a little too soft or I was tight
- 45:09and whatever it is. But if you're being honest with
- 45:11yourself when you hit it and. Right now you're currently in 10
- 45:15spot. As far as the point chase, you
- 45:18feel that you can crack the top five for the year over with, are
- 45:22you? Not I don't want to.
- 45:23I don't want to. We're not going to talk.
- 45:25We're not going to talk about that right now.
- 45:26Like I'm just like I had somebody else say something
- 45:31similar the other day to Jerry from Bernie and Luton.
- 45:33He said he's I got my prediction, but I'm not going to
- 45:36say nothing 'cause I don't want to jinx you.
- 45:38And like I told him, I'm my Jerry, dude.
- 45:40I'm just looking at the next cop.
- 45:42That's just where we're at. You know what I mean?
- 45:44OK, let's we're going to go to Idaho.
- 45:46We're going to take ain't no line where we take the best
- 45:49thing we can and we just run our program and stick to what we're
- 45:52doing and turn in what we've been doing just and see how it
- 45:57works. If I could cook a rib like it
- 46:01will be good. If I can't, it's gonna be close.
- 46:03But as far as everything else, the other three meats have been
- 46:06carrying me to this point. I just, I need to fix that rib a
- 46:09little bit, but it'll be fun. Everybody's flying into to that
- 46:13comp. Yeah.
- 46:15Brad is flying in there and worth just flying in.
- 46:19Luke is flying in like everybody.
- 46:21Their mom's flying into this competition.
- 46:24And. Annella from State River Farms,
- 46:26like her cops. So everybody's flying in for it
- 46:29and we'll see how this goes. Maybe we all like to call it
- 46:34goat hunting. So we're going to go try and get
- 46:36one. We'll see how it all pans out.
- 46:39Yeah, I did an interview with Reuters and tutors they're
- 46:44talking about. We're not even trying to get
- 46:46points. We just happened to fall a
- 46:50second. Like that's where I'm at.
- 46:53I think I, I somehow like last year I could 12 comps.
- 46:56Like I that was with the exception of that first year
- 46:59with the first GC, like, well, that was a big year because you
- 47:03win that first GC. So it's all, let's do this a
- 47:06little bit. You get all happy about it.
- 47:07Oh yeah. So then after that kind of
- 47:09petered out and then because like I'm the Brad's official,
- 47:13like West Coast guy is like, hey, I'm cooking this, I'm
- 47:15cooking this. So I'm chasing with Brad and
- 47:17like guilty by association and I'm like, bro, I'm just having a
- 47:21good year. I'm just able to cook the comps
- 47:24that he's cooking at. So it's one of those things
- 47:27where that's how it all happened.
- 47:30Just consistent cooks. They clicked all at the right
- 47:32time and tagging along wherever Brad goes, like it helps.
- 47:37I'm basically like in my head, if you know, I just want to be
- 47:41Brad every single time. If you're not just going to come
- 47:43use my pits and whoop my ass, that's my buddy.
- 47:45But it's motivation too at the same time.
- 47:48Like why wouldn't you want to cook against those guys all the
- 47:51time? See where you're at.
- 47:53Measure up against yourself. Have you ever looked back and
- 47:58took time to think about like where you started?
- 48:01And man, I can't believe I'm sitting here with bread.
- 48:04Or no, dude, all the time, all the time, all the time.
- 48:09It's it's unreal. We talk about all the time.
- 48:12Like I have some of the guys that like are from here that
- 48:15some of my buddies down to San Diego and they're like, oh, the
- 48:17most popular man in BBQ. I'm like, bro, I'm just me.
- 48:21I just happened to, we've been to these classes and like cooked
- 48:24next to these guys and done all the shit with them.
- 48:26Like we're in close proximity like now, like we all talk and
- 48:31you realize that like they're just normal people too.
- 48:35And they just really love to cook barbecue and it's like
- 48:38second nature to them. And I think a lot of them too,
- 48:42if they see you putting in that work and grinding and doing all
- 48:46that, they like to see you get over that hump and start making
- 48:51those games and getting better and stuff like that.
- 48:54So when they talk about it like, oh hey, do you know this guy?
- 48:57I was like, dude, that's my boy. It's not just some random dude
- 48:59like that's my boy. Like Schaefer's my boy, Smitty's
- 49:02my boy. Like they're my guys.
- 49:04Like the same When they asked how do you get sponsored?
- 49:07Like those are my boys. So I cook their using their
- 49:10product regardless of them giving me anything.
- 49:13Like they asked, hey, you already use it.
- 49:16You want to be part of the team? Yeah, Hell yeah.
- 49:18I want to be part of the team. Like, why wouldn't I want to
- 49:21represent you guys? Well, like, you ain't going out
- 49:23there. Hey, man, can I get your stuff?
- 49:25Like, I've never even seen you use my stuff.
- 49:26Like you guys who are on my team, they use my stuff, like,
- 49:30religiously. So that's how I see things like
- 49:35they're my buddies and if they need help and I can help them, I
- 49:40help them. If I need help and I'm working
- 49:43on something and it's just not clicking for me, I can give them
- 49:45a call and they'll walk me through it.
- 49:48Like I talked to Fred Robles a couple weeks ago about ribs
- 49:52cause ribs has just been kicking my ass and someone had told me
- 49:55about a toothpick using a toothpick and I didn't really
- 50:00get it all. I can't remember who had told me
- 50:02about it. And I saw Fred using a toothpick
- 50:05in Salt Lake City from my hey friend walk me through this
- 50:09toothpick thing. And like he sat there and
- 50:12explained like the dynamics of it and why using a toothpick
- 50:16versus Thermopin versus this. And you're just like, OK, it
- 50:19makes sense. So then you go and run and try
- 50:21it and it's just OK. Now I know exactly what he's
- 50:23talking about, why he does certain things, but.
- 50:28OK, let's talk about your drum designs.
- 50:31What's the thought behind her? I guess you got one that's look
- 50:34like a penny. And the other one, it took me
- 50:37the longest to figure out the other one.
- 50:39I was looking at the coils and I'm looking like, OK, what is
- 50:42this? And then I seen both coils and
- 50:44then the light bulb came on and I was like, oh, he must got
- 50:47something to do with electricity.
- 50:49Yeah, So it's supposed to look like a like an overhead
- 50:52transformer. The coils are like the bushings
- 50:55and then it's just the old beat up transformer.
- 50:57And like I ordered, I talked to them at the hot and fast class
- 51:01about the drum. Hey, this is what I got this and
- 51:03this. So then we talked the following
- 51:05week and like their custom painter was all excited about
- 51:09it. I sent him a couple pictures.
- 51:10I was just like, hey dude, like this is what it looks like.
- 51:12Go ahead and have fun with it. And he was just like, oh, I got
- 51:15this and just went after it. He thought it was the greatest
- 51:18thing ever. And then like I have the Scotch
- 51:20like stickers from the house or from work.
- 51:23So that's where we put on the Hunter KVA because it's just the
- 51:26big ass transformer about the same time so.
- 51:28What's that like book? I was like, oh that's cool.
- 51:32What's the thought behind the penny one?
- 51:36So the the penny 1 was just the color we went with.
- 51:40I wanted like that copper and the powder coater comes in and
- 51:45was like, oh dude, I got this. It's like a dirty copper and
- 51:48it's got a little black Fleck in it.
- 51:50This. Then I was like, oh, that's
- 51:51sweet. But we did it.
- 51:53And then one of my buddies at work, he paints motorcycle, gas
- 51:58tanks, stole my bro. And he was like, I got this.
- 52:02So then he went over the top of it and did all the drawing and
- 52:07everything else. And I was like, dude, it looks
- 52:09like Penny said we're just gonna name a penny.
- 52:11So then he was like, OK, I'll put a penny on there.
- 52:14And then he's at what date do you want?
- 52:16And he put my birth, the year, my birth year, so 83 on it,
- 52:191983. So he tied it all together.
- 52:23And then like we had the idea eventually when I have time,
- 52:26we're going to do the other ones, like redo them all and do
- 52:29a like a low rider collection. So then change one to like that
- 52:34bright like that green apple, like green poison and like a
- 52:38fuchsia or purple and a blue one.
- 52:41And then have him just pinstripe them all out and get them all
- 52:44done up like low riders and then have them all set out.
- 52:48I just, we've just been cooking so much.
- 52:51There ain't no downtime. So whenever I get there.
- 52:54Get to it all right, I got 2 quick questions and then we're
- 52:58going to play the game. What's the best single piece of
- 53:01advice you can give for someone that's cooking their first
- 53:03competition? So do as much prep work as you
- 53:08can at home. Know the rule book.
- 53:10Obviously you can take away what you can't ask.
- 53:13So do as much prep as possible at home.
- 53:16Get yourself a timeline, like what time certain things are
- 53:19supposed to go on and try and stick to it as much as possible.
- 53:23And what I've learned this year is like stagger some of your
- 53:25stuff so that way you're not doing two things at the same
- 53:28time. So you're not trying to wrap
- 53:31ribs and pork as a little stagger.
- 53:34And then just breathe, man. Take your time and just run what
- 53:40you've been running. All right, this is a big
- 53:42question here. All right, if you had to create
- 53:44an All Star team to cook a competition including you, you
- 53:49got to pick three other people. What other three people will you
- 53:53pick and what meat each one of y'all going to cook if not of my
- 53:56record is each person got a specialize in their meat.
- 54:02OK, I'll have Smitty. Are you going to cook chicken?
- 54:08I have Schaefer cooking. Pork I have Brad cooking.
- 54:15Ribs and you brisket. And then I'll have Chris Lab
- 54:22cooking brisket all. Right, you got an All Star team,
- 54:29all right, And the game I came up with is you know how to
- 54:33college basketball, they got the tournament bracket.
- 54:35So first bracket I got is a tournament bracket of meat that
- 54:40you cook on the grill. I'm going to give you the match
- 54:42up and you just tell me which one you prefer to eat and we'll
- 54:45see which one that comes out on top.
- 54:47Match up #1 Smoked baloney versus hamburger.
- 54:50Baloney. All right.
- 54:54Next match up, sausage versus pork chops.
- 54:57Sausage. You said sausage.
- 55:01Yeah. OK, next match up, brisket
- 55:04versus hot dog brisket. OK, next match up, pork belly
- 55:11versus smoked ham. Pork belly.
- 55:16All right. Next match up, beef ribs versus
- 55:19smoked Turkey. Turkey, OK.
- 55:24Next match up, BBQ shrimp versus lamb.
- 55:28All right. Next match up, burnt ends versus
- 55:31pork ribs, Ribs, All right. Next match up, steak versus
- 55:38smoked chicken steak. All right.
- 55:43Next round, smoked Bologna versus sausage, sausage.
- 55:49All right. Next match up, brisket versus
- 55:51pork belly. Brisket, OK, Next match up,
- 55:57Turkey versus shrimp. Turkey.
- 56:02OK, next match up, pork ribs versus steak, steak.
- 56:09OK. Final four, sausage versus
- 56:12brisket, Brisket, all right, and Turkey versus steak?
- 56:20Steak. All right.
- 56:23And final, brisket versus steak. Steak.
- 56:28All right, steak is the winner. And I got one more bracket.
- 56:32These are the top 16 athletes of all time in the bracket.
- 56:38All right, match at one Tom Brady versus Lionel Messi.
- 56:44Tom Brady, you're a Raider saying, aren't you?
- 56:50Oh, I. Am you see these blue and
- 56:52orange? I'm a Broncos fan.
- 56:53All right, Next match up, Michael Jordan versus Dale
- 56:56Earnhardt. See Michael Jordan.
- 57:00All right, Next mess up. Usain Bolt, Serena Williams.
- 57:05Usain Bolt. All right, Michael Phelps versus
- 57:10LeBron Michael Phelps. All right.
- 57:15Next match up, King Griffey junior versus Simone Biles.
- 57:19Junior. All right, Next match up, Tiger
- 57:24Woods versus Kobe. That's cold.
- 57:31Man, why you got to do that in the first round?
- 57:35I'm in Kobe. Kobe, All right?
- 57:39Cristiano Ronaldo. Wayne Gretzky.
- 57:45I'm old man. I'm going to go with Gretzky,
- 57:47all right. Roger Federer, Muhammad Ali.
- 57:53OK. Next round, Brady versus Jordan.
- 57:57Jordan. All right, Usain Bolt, Michael
- 58:01Phelps. Phelps.
- 58:04OK, Ken Griffey, Junior Kobe. All right.
- 58:10Gretzky, Ali. All right, All right.
- 58:15Final Four, Jordy versus Phelps, Jordan, all right.
- 58:23Ali versus Kobe, All right. Moment of truth, Jordan.
- 58:28'S one and one eight. We're not doing.
- 58:30It would go with a tie. It's a tie, Yeah.
- 58:33It's a tie, yeah. You got the first tie, even
- 58:37though I'm a Jordan person to me.
- 58:40I am, but man, it's closed and it baffles me that they never
- 58:44put him in the discussion. Your therapy session is over.
- 58:48Do you have anybody to shout out or anything to promote?
- 58:50You could do that now. I should shout out all the guys
- 58:53that helped, helped along the journey to get me to where I'm
- 58:55at, Sterling Smith, Gary, Brad, Chris Webb, Jordan, Fred, all
- 59:01those guys that kind of helped me along the way.
- 59:04They they didn't have to like they did.
- 59:07And I'm just glad I couldn't. I got over that hump and make
- 59:12him proud, so we'll just continue to do what we do and
- 59:16see. Yeah, yeah, definitely.
- 59:19Good luck out there and be safe out there.
- 59:22And I look forward to meeting you at the American Royal and I
- 59:27will come say hi and I'm. Going to Taco, we'll have tacos
- 59:31and all kinds of shit man. All right, But on that note,
- 59:34we're going to see everybody next episode.
- 59:37We just wrapped up another session of BBQ therapy.
- 59:40Remember, stay patient, stay passionate, and keep that fire
- 59:44burning. Hit subscribe, share the good
- 59:46smoke, and pay the secretary on your way out.
- 59:49Have a blessed day.