Latest / BBQ Therapy / Bill Heyen — Triple H BBQ | The BBQ Farmer
Transcript
- 0:00I always had the theory you can't be the best until you beat
- 0:02the best, and then you can't beat them until you compete
- 0:05against them. And like I said, coming out of
- 0:08the higher end of Motorsports, I wanted some more organization.
- 0:12I hated every place we went with the local stuff.
- 0:14The rules were different. The and so I wanted more
- 0:18consistency and and whatever. And that's why we started
- 0:20turning toward KCBS and Saint Louis Barbecue Society.
- 0:23We did a lot with them when we were starting out.
- 0:25BBQ, BBQ. BBQ, BBQ, BBQ.
- 0:34Ever notice how the sound of sizzling meat and the smell of
- 0:37smoke can silence the noise of the world?
- 0:39Now that's BBQ therapy. If the fire moves you like
- 0:43subscribe, share and help spread the message because growth, like
- 0:48good BBQ, takes time and patience.
- 0:51Welcome to your therapy session. Welcome to the BBQ therapy
- 0:57podcast. My name is Tavis Bryant and
- 0:59today on BBQ Therapy we're talking to Bill Hine of Triple H
- 1:04BBQ 2021 American Royal Invitational Grand Champion,
- 1:09holder of, according to barbecue data, 19 grand championships and
- 1:1312 reserve grand Championships, dozens of 700 plus scores and 30
- 1:20plus category wins and relentless consistency that's
- 1:23hard to match. He's a man of God, husband,
- 1:28father, a farmer and a competition BBQ addict who even
- 1:33teach in the pit. Live Bill welcome.
- 1:36I got one rule, make yourself at home.
- 1:38I had no sponsors to speak freely.
- 1:41Thank you, I appreciate it you having me on.
- 1:44All right, no problem. First off, I go different route.
- 1:48You're a farmer, correct? Yes, Sir.
- 1:51Do you raise any animals or crops or anything or you just so
- 1:54we're. Crops.
- 1:55We do corn and soybeans so. OK.
- 1:59And that's like a full time job or you have another job aside.
- 2:02No, that's full time job. There's actually three of us
- 2:05full time so. Oh, wow, You got a big how many
- 2:09acres? Yeah.
- 2:10About 2000. What?
- 2:14Actually in our area is small or toward the small end anyway.
- 2:19There's a lot of five to 10,000 acre guys and a few 20. 1000
- 2:23plus, wow, I would expect that they're big.
- 2:27That's big. Yeah.
- 2:31That is definitely consistent. So let's take it back.
- 2:34So growing up, how did BBQ with, how did that be involved in your
- 2:39life growing up? I don't know that it's hard to
- 2:43put BBQ into growing up because we, we grilled on the grill and
- 2:46made hamburgers, things like that.
- 2:47But I really didn't get involved in any kind of BBQ stuff other
- 2:51than going to a restaurant once in a while till about, you know,
- 2:5510 years ago or so. Wow, when you how did it catch
- 3:01your attention as far as BBQ? So to make a Long story short, I
- 3:05used to be in Motorsports. I was in truck and tractor
- 3:07pulling and when I got out of that, my wife and I bought a
- 3:10camper and started spending more time doing that kind of stuff
- 3:13with the wife and kids. And we both love cooking over
- 3:16the fire, Dutch ovens and, and things like that.
- 3:19And so I bought a little box smoker that would fit in the
- 3:23camper and it was electric. It wasn't anything special, just
- 3:26Masterbuilt or whatever it was, I think.
- 3:28And so I could play at the campgrounds when we were camping
- 3:31and and doing pork butts and ribs and things and actually had
- 3:35a good friend try some of our ribs.
- 3:37We had a party here at the house and he put on a competition,
- 3:40just a small backyard like a local type.
- 3:43And he's man, you need to come into the competition.
- 3:45I didn't even know anything about it.
- 3:47So I said sure, I'll enter. That was probably my fatal
- 3:52mistake because we had a good time and didn't finish last.
- 3:55My competitive nature then I wanted to figure out how to
- 3:57finish first. So 1 turned into two, which
- 4:01turned into 10, which turned into a whole lot more.
- 4:04OK. Did they give you the concept as
- 4:06far as the presentation and stuff like that, or did you just
- 4:10had to figure out on the fly? We figured it out on the fly.
- 4:13I jumped on the Internet and tried to figure out what I
- 4:15could. There wasn't a ton of
- 4:17information when I asked a few people about it and what they
- 4:21expected. And of course you learn pretty
- 4:23quickly when you just jump in the fire and you know it.
- 4:27And it was a lot different than what we do today.
- 4:28As far as KCBSI think they wanted 10 bones and you put foil
- 4:31in the bottom of the box. And when they told you all that
- 4:33ahead of time, it wasn't like I said, it was a local town event
- 4:38and not sanctioned by anybody or anything like that.
- 4:41But not in those days doing several of those so.
- 4:44And that was what, 2014 or 1314? Probably not even 100% sure.
- 4:52And when you started, what were you cooking on when you were
- 4:54competing? I had a pellet girl so I
- 4:57upgraded from my little box smoker to a pellet girl and and
- 5:01I still got that today. We use it on the deck but but
- 5:04that was what we used when we were doing just a little rib
- 5:06cook offs and stuff. OK.
- 5:08And how long did it take you before you felt that you
- 5:12actually I might be good at this?
- 5:15Oh man, it took a long time. I guess I'm one of those people
- 5:20who never feel like I'm good enough.
- 5:22We're always trying to improve. Even today we're not cooking
- 5:25good enough. We need to do better.
- 5:27So I don't know if I've ever felt like that.
- 5:30Now I've wanted to move up and try to run with the best.
- 5:34Always had the theory you can't be the best until you beat the
- 5:37best, and then you can't beat them until you compete against
- 5:40them. And like I said, coming out of
- 5:43the higher end of Motorsports, I wanted more organization.
- 5:47I hated every place we went with the local stuff.
- 5:49The rules were different, the and so I wanted more consistency
- 5:53and, and whatever. And that's why we started
- 5:55turning toward KCBS and Saint Louis Barbecue Society.
- 5:58We did a lot with them when we were starting out.
- 6:00OK, OK. And right that time, that's when
- 6:04I guess Chris Shaffer was doing it and stuff like that.
- 6:08Yeah, yeah, my, my very first SLBS or Saint Louis Barbecue
- 6:13Society, Chris actually backed in next to me and that's how I
- 6:17got to know him. And we have a, I'm good friends
- 6:20with a cousin of his that actually lives in my area.
- 6:23So I knew of him once I started in the BBQ stuff.
- 6:26She was telling me about him and whatever.
- 6:28And but that's How I Met him. Is he actually backed in right
- 6:30next to us and looked outside and I'm like, holy crap, that
- 6:34guy looks really familiar because he looks like they're my
- 6:37friends, his cousin's son at the time.
- 6:40And so that was I knew right away who it was and introduced
- 6:44myself and we've been good friends ever since.
- 6:46Yeah, he a really good guy. I took his class this year in
- 6:50February. Yeah, real good.
- 6:52So I really enjoyed that. So when it comes to competing,
- 6:57what separates 179 from a 180? Is that the moisture, bark
- 7:01balance or something else? What separates a perfect score
- 7:06from a? That's a tough question.
- 7:09A lot of times it's just the right judges.
- 7:11We've had stuff get one 80s that we're not sure why, and I've had
- 7:14stuff that got a 165 that I'm not sure why it should have been
- 7:18a 180. No, typically to get a 180,
- 7:20everything's got to be right. It's that balance of the moist.
- 7:23Everything between the tenderness and then the flavors
- 7:25got to be balanced and obviously presentations got to look good.
- 7:28It's got to be the whole package.
- 7:30OK. And if you had to choose one
- 7:33preparation, time management or tenderness, which one wins on
- 7:36competition? Day tenderness, probably.
- 7:40It'd be tough between tenderness and preparation, having the
- 7:44right meat selected and having the and being ready for what
- 7:47you're doing. It's a precursor to everything
- 7:50else. You missed turning and you done
- 7:53from next time. Sure, yeah.
- 7:55But you got to hit your tenderness marks.
- 7:56You turn in something that's tough or something that mushy
- 7:59and you're not going to get there.
- 8:00Yeah, So what? You got over 2700 scores plus
- 8:06700 plus scores, dozen of top 10 finishes and numerous trophies.
- 8:11How do you keep your edge without tipping into
- 8:14overconfidence? I think that's something I'm
- 8:17just not. I never feel I'm good enough.
- 8:19So we're always trying to figure out what we can do to improve.
- 8:22And a big part of it's my wife. She cooks with me and she's a
- 8:25big part of the team. She's as much as I am.
- 8:28We have our jobs and stuff and I think hitting all your Marks and
- 8:31making sure you follow your plan and everything, that's how you
- 8:34stay consistent. Yeah, yeah, definitely very
- 8:37important. Between the Saint Louis Barbecue
- 8:40Society and KCBS circuits, how do you compare the difference or
- 8:45is there a strategy to use for each one?
- 8:48Or is it just pretty much the same each association?
- 8:52It's pretty much the same. They their scoring is a little
- 8:55bit different as far as the numbers, but basically it's the
- 8:58same. We didn't, I don't know that we
- 9:00changed anything when we used to go from one to the other.
- 9:04There may be some slight differences in maybe how we box
- 9:07or how we slice a brisket or something like that, but I think
- 9:11we always sliced a little thinner for SLBS, but nothing
- 9:15drastic. It was pretty much the same.
- 9:18OK. OK.
- 9:20It sounds good. And do you still alternate
- 9:22between both of them? Are you just KCBS?
- 9:25We're pretty much just KCBS, every now and then we'll do an
- 9:28SLBS, but it just have to be at the right spot and the right
- 9:32situation. I don't couldn't tell you the
- 9:34last time we did one to be honest with you.
- 9:36OK. And when you have big years, it
- 9:40comes with fatigue when you're ripping and running like that.
- 9:42What's the secret for not getting burned out when you're
- 9:45ripping and running like that? Slowing down, we, we got burned
- 9:49out in, I'm going to say 22 and we were chasing points and doing
- 9:53that whole thing. And I don't know, we took 35 or
- 9:5540 that year and it, it, that made it not fun anymore.
- 9:59We've backed off. We're doing somewhere between 15
- 10:02and 25, just how they fall now. And, and that's a good number
- 10:06for me. That's enough that we can do
- 10:08other things. But yeah, we're still cooking
- 10:10quite a bit to stay, to keep that competitive edge and still
- 10:14sharp. So how far out are you traveling
- 10:17when you do though? Typically we're probably staying
- 10:245-6 hours, but there's a couple we usually do in Georgia every
- 10:29year which is an 8 or 9 hour drive.
- 10:31That's where. We go to yeah, so we'll go down
- 10:35to it. We'll be down in Atlanta BBQ
- 10:36stores, the Classic this year. We do now.
- 10:40I'm going to forget the name of it.
- 10:41That's why. Yes, sipping swine.
- 10:43We do that every year. That was our very first GC, so
- 10:45it called the special place, so to speak.
- 10:47So we try to go to that one every year and but those are
- 10:50probably the two furthest that we typically go to now we've
- 10:53cooked in Colorado, we've cooked in Florida.
- 10:56We're not afraid to go somewhere if the situation is right.
- 10:59I've got a bucket list. I want to go over to Italy or
- 11:02Australia or somewhere and cook over there and make a vacation
- 11:05out of it, obviously, but cook overseas.
- 11:07I think that'd be fun to do. That's not our norm.
- 11:10That's something that's going to be something that we both would
- 11:13love to be able to do sometime just to say we've done it so.
- 11:16Yeah, I me and my wife went to Italy on Victoria for our
- 11:20honeymoon. We've been married for two
- 11:22years, but I didn't see too many pigs over there.
- 11:25Now that I'm thinking about it, I didn't see too many pigs over
- 11:28there, but yeah, it's cool. I'm in Georgia so I just go walk
- 11:35around a competition and go take a class here and there.
- 11:39I've been to the last two Atlanta BBQ store classics and
- 11:43walked around and as well as the Sip and Swine this year also.
- 11:48So I just like going around and just feel the atmosphere.
- 11:52Couple times I get to get invited in the truck off the
- 11:56chain BBQ. They invited me to come in the
- 11:58truck during Sip and Swine and so just go out there and just
- 12:03get a little feel of the atmosphere until I'm able to get
- 12:06out there myself. So it's definitely fun to get
- 12:09out there. I've probably I've seen ran
- 12:12across you in there too. Probably.
- 12:14All right, let's talk about the royal that you won in 2021.
- 12:18On that day, did anything feel different during turn in during
- 12:22the cook or it just felt like a regular cooked or?
- 12:26No, it was pretty much regular cook.
- 12:28You know, that the Royals kind of an interesting story because
- 12:31we, we got a Jack draw that year and we, I was, we almost didn't
- 12:36go to the royal just because the royal and the Jack, everything
- 12:40falls at a kind of a bad time for me because during harvest.
- 12:43And so it's hard for me to get away sometimes, especially when
- 12:45you're gone that long. And we were so excited to go to
- 12:48the Jack and I think that was our first time getting to go to
- 12:51the Jack. And so in royal we had done
- 12:54that. We've been there a couple of
- 12:55times and just wasn't that excited about it because it was
- 12:58taken away from work and whatever.
- 13:00And, but we went, we had a, we had a good cook, thought
- 13:03everything went well. But it's so big.
- 13:05You just, you sure don't expect to win.
- 13:08You just hope to hear your name a time or two.
- 13:10And, and quite honestly, that was our, that was only our third
- 13:13GC in KCBS. Oh wow.
- 13:17Yeah. So it was very unexpected for us
- 13:21to win that. And we'd gotten our first one
- 13:23that spring at SIP and Swine. So I that was our third GC and
- 13:27it was all happened in 21. And so, like I said, yeah, we
- 13:32thought we had a great cook, thought we turned in some good
- 13:34food, but never expected to win. So what what are some of the
- 13:39places that you came in with the brisket and all that it was it
- 13:42in the top 10 or all of them or? No, we didn't get a chicken
- 13:45call. We were, I believe third in ribs
- 13:50because we got on the stage and we had a 180 with them and that
- 13:55made our day right there. Like we made the stage, our day
- 13:57was made and and then we got a pork call.
- 14:01I want to say we were maybe 7th or 8th in pork and then we got
- 14:07and then we got a brisket call and we were top 15 in brisket.
- 14:11I don't remember where we were at, but you know when you start
- 14:14adding those numbers in your head and you're like, man, if
- 14:16our chicken just hit our average, we're seven O 5 or
- 14:20better. And knowing about what those
- 14:22scores were probably were and which we were, I think we were
- 14:25708, I believe to win it. But so I knew there was a
- 14:30chance, but I also knew there was a chance.
- 14:31We absolutely bomb chicken because I've seen that happen to
- 14:34guys at the Royal and where you thought they had it in the bag
- 14:37and they get called 4th or they get called reserve or whatever.
- 14:41So you didn't. I didn't want to get 2 too
- 14:44excited, but at the same time you knew you had a really good
- 14:48shot. So did they start gathering
- 14:50around you trying to say, Oh yeah.
- 14:52We had a crowd around us and we had cameras and I'm just the
- 14:56videos are out there. I'm just pacing or rocking back
- 14:58and forth in a chair. That's a lot of people doing
- 15:02that. Surreal experience.
- 15:05All right, so let's talk about cooking with your wife.
- 15:08As far as cooking as a couple, how do you keep it fun and not
- 15:11stressful? And how do y'all determine?
- 15:14Do y'all do the same test each time or it just sometimes?
- 15:20We pretty much have our things and it starts the week before or
- 15:23whatever. I'm selecting meat and getting
- 15:25everything trimmed and she's getting the trailer ready as far
- 15:28as rubs and sauces and getting all that put together and makes
- 15:32the injections and things. And I do the mechanic or the
- 15:35mechanical maintenance on the trailer and that sort of thing.
- 15:38But and then cook day, she's my time keeper and then and she
- 15:42helps finish and do a lot of that kind of stuff.
- 15:45I do most of the actual cooking on the drums, but and getting
- 15:51the tenderness right and that kind of thing.
- 15:53But she's a big part of the tasting and finishing and boxing
- 15:56and all that sort of stuff, so. OK are y'all using gateways?
- 16:01Yep. Yeah, we cooked on 4 gateways.
- 16:03OK. OK.
- 16:05So all right. And who's more competitive out
- 16:07of you and your wife? I used to say me, but anymore
- 16:12I'm not so sure. I probably I am.
- 16:15OK, I yeah, I was talking to Reuters and tutors when I
- 16:18interviewed them and Leah said she way more competitive.
- 16:24Yeah, I would agree. I would agree with that.
- 16:28Enjoyed talking about. I told them I love when the
- 16:31husband and wife cooks together. It shows people that that
- 16:36husband and wife can coexist in this atmosphere because a lot of
- 16:39people do it to get away from their wife and stuff like that.
- 16:43But y'all showing that it can be done and everything can go
- 16:47smoothly and y'all can win. Because at the end of the day,
- 16:50that's the person you can count on more than anybody is your
- 16:53spouse. Or if you're frustrated that
- 16:57that person can pat you on the back and say hey, it's OK, get
- 17:00back in there and get them. I admire that that y'all are
- 17:04doing it because it means a lot. And I know it means a lot to her
- 17:09that you involving her in it. And it feels good to you to have
- 17:14your wife with you, beside your side and on the stage with you.
- 17:18Because a lot of people, they need to be celebrated too, even
- 17:22though they name is not on everything, but they're part of
- 17:25the team just like you are part of the team and they need to be
- 17:28celebrated also. So that's great.
- 17:30Exactly, exactly. Because it ain't no you without
- 17:33her, and it ain't no her without you.
- 17:36No, and quite honestly, if she lost interest and didn't want to
- 17:39do it, I don't know that I would keep doing it.
- 17:41I've cooked solo without her and it's not a whole lot of fun.
- 17:44It's just not the same. It's and.
- 17:46I've cooked with other groups as a team and that's fun every once
- 17:50in a while to do just as something different, but I don't
- 17:52think I'd want to do it every week.
- 17:54Exactly I definitely understand because my wife plays a vital
- 17:59part of just doing this. Just give me that hour to come
- 18:03downstairs and why she keep the kids quiet and and and just the
- 18:08support just even me doing this because I'm not my personality
- 18:12is not the time to do this. But I asked her should I do it?
- 18:16Yeah, go ahead. She that boosted get you in the
- 18:20right direction. Hey, you get you a good one.
- 18:22You got to keep it and you got to keep it.
- 18:26Exactly. Take care of her.
- 18:28OK, I want to ask a question about sponsors because I never
- 18:30asked anybody about that as far as getting sponsors and stuff
- 18:34like that. What is the trade off as far as
- 18:37what you give them and what they give you as far as sponsor wise?
- 18:43I think it's for most sponsors, it's just going to be getting
- 18:46their name out there for them and promoting them in a positive
- 18:49light and showing that you use their products or use their
- 18:54whatever it is they're sponsoring you with.
- 18:57We've never gone out and tried to get sponsorships.
- 19:00That's they've always, they've come to us.
- 19:03We've got four really good ones, but I won't just take on any
- 19:06sponsorship either. But it's got to be some a
- 19:08product that I believe in or a place that I believe in man that
- 19:11I actually use. I know some people just have a
- 19:14list of sponsors and half the stuff they don't even use that
- 19:17name on their shirt, but I'm not like that.
- 19:21Yeah, definitely. That's why I like Chris Shaffer.
- 19:24He said that he instead of going to ask people he see who was
- 19:29already using his product and then he went to them and asked,
- 19:32hey, would you like to be on the team?
- 19:34Sure. So I like how.
- 19:37I know Chris is obviously one of our sponsors and I know as far
- 19:41as the amount of rub we use, he said.
- 19:43We probably use more rub than it, but we use it on about
- 19:47everything, either white or black label goes on every.
- 19:50Everything we do, we're going to use a lot of it.
- 19:53You get results so I know he ain't mad about.
- 19:55It you know. All right, so you got three
- 19:58boys. What are your boys ages?
- 20:01So I got a 19 year old sophomore in college, I've got a 13 year
- 20:05old just turned 13, so in 7th grade, and then I've got an 11
- 20:08year old in 6th grade. OK, you up there?
- 20:11I got a nine year old and I got a 16 month old.
- 20:16So both girls. So you got the boys, you got
- 20:22farming, you got travel and then the tournaments and all that.
- 20:25How do you keep your family life balanced amid everything you're
- 20:29doing? With it being Andrew and I
- 20:32cooking together, the boys go with us most of the time.
- 20:34Other some we don't take them to, especially during school.
- 20:37They can't miss that much school.
- 20:39But typically during the summers they're always with us unless
- 20:42there's something that they're doing outside of like camp or
- 20:46something that they can't go. But typically they're with us.
- 20:50And so it's a family thing and they like to do the kids cues.
- 20:53So they get involved doing that and they really enjoy that.
- 20:56But they do well. I think that's part of why they
- 20:58enjoy it so much. It's good that they have an
- 21:00interest in it also and feel the excitement that you feel when
- 21:05you win and they win. So I read that you offered a
- 21:08one-on-one tell them, I guess tell all classes during the
- 21:13tournament, during the tournament.
- 21:15How do you balance staying stay mentally balanced for teaching
- 21:19as well as competing at the same time when you do that?
- 21:23It's funny, it actually helps me cook better because basically
- 21:27when you do the one O 1, you're coming in with us and you're
- 21:30cooking right alongside of us. And now I'm, instead of me just
- 21:33doing everything, now I'm talking through it when I'm
- 21:35talking about each step and why we do each step.
- 21:37And every once in a while I catch myself.
- 21:40Oh yeah, I didn't do that last time when I was supposed to
- 21:41because I'm teaching it and explaining it and it actually
- 21:44helps me focus on what I'm doing it.
- 21:48We prefer to have somebody cook with us because I feel like I do
- 21:51better when I've got somebody there.
- 21:53Yeah, that's a cool concept. Not a lot of people doing it,
- 21:56but it's a cool concept. You get to see it in action
- 21:59versus the classes are cool and they do it over the night and
- 22:03stuff like that. But being in the heat of the
- 22:04battle and see the actual what you're doing and the time you're
- 22:10doing it and real life, if anything, a monkey wrench get
- 22:14thrown in. They get to see how to handle
- 22:16that or weather or anything like that.
- 22:18Being there live is really good to experience that why is
- 22:23happening as well as having to get up.
- 22:26When you get up and all that and go look and actually getting the
- 22:31I don't know if you let them feel the tenderness and all
- 22:34that, but. Oh yeah.
- 22:35And that's the things that I feel like make our class better
- 22:40as far as a better educational experience.
- 22:42Not that it's you're getting better information necessarily,
- 22:46but a better way of teaching is because I want you to put gloves
- 22:50on and I want you to feel what I'm feeling and see what I'm
- 22:54seeing, smell what I'm smelling, taste what I taste, what we're
- 22:57putting in the box. Just an example, when we do
- 22:59ribs, the way that I lay them out, I'll get my 4 racks all
- 23:03cut. I'll separate out.
- 23:04OK, These four through the centers are the ones I'd go to
- 23:07the box with. And I'll have, if you were my
- 23:10students, you're going to try one of the one out of every rack
- 23:13that I cut and set away just like I am to see what to put in
- 23:17the box. And I'm going to ask your
- 23:18opinion. And if we have a different
- 23:20opinion, I'm going to explain why.
- 23:22Why I feel like rack 1 is better than rack 3 or whatever.
- 23:25And you just can't do that in a class with 30 people in it,
- 23:28because there's just no way to to have everybody try every rack
- 23:32and know which one's the best. You know what?
- 23:34I. Mean it's definitely an
- 23:35excellent idea. Has there ever been a moment
- 23:37where the student threw you off or anything?
- 23:41Not really. We've had some interesting
- 23:44moments or interesting situations, but I've but I've
- 23:48never had anybody that threw me off or missed a turn in or
- 23:51anything like that. It's always been pretty easy to
- 23:54work with people. And if you have one piece of
- 23:57advice that you would give a rookie to starting a first
- 24:01competition, what would that be? I think the typical go to for
- 24:05most guys is take a class and learn what you're doing first,
- 24:08but I don't think that would be my advice.
- 24:10I think my advice would be to just get in there and do it and
- 24:14don't get discouraged with results right out of the gate.
- 24:17If you don't, if you don't do well or your Dal the first time
- 24:20out, don't get discouraged. There's always room for
- 24:23improvement no matter what and try to learn from the
- 24:26experience. So it's everything with BBQ
- 24:28these days. Everybody's so close, scores are
- 24:31tight, the food is all. I don't know if I could judge
- 24:34because I think there's so many that are so good it'd be hard to
- 24:37differentiate, which I know you're not comparing them, but
- 24:40still, to have scores that are different would be what I think
- 24:45would be tough. I see there's a lot of people
- 24:48getting 7 hundreds like it's nothing these days.
- 24:53You got to get a high 700 to win a competition.
- 24:57These days, yeah. And, and there's certain areas
- 25:01of the country where I think they give out too many of them.
- 25:03Just like we complain about tables of death judges that
- 25:05score too low, I think there's some judges out there that just
- 25:08score too high. And that's probably not a
- 25:09popular opinion, but I think that 700 scores or the one 80s
- 25:14ought to be a little more of a rarity and like really mean
- 25:18something today when you I think last week I was watching one of
- 25:21the 25 team competition. They had 97 hundreds.
- 25:24Not that there wasn't maybe night that many teams.
- 25:27It turned in great food. Don't be wrong, But it's like
- 25:30the scoring is just so high that I think it's almost a little too
- 25:34high. I definitely understand and
- 25:38starting off, I got to go in with realistic expectations
- 25:41knowing that you it may be a chance that you go in, but it
- 25:45most likely you it's your first competition and you're going
- 25:48against people that has experience and stuff like that.
- 25:51So it just basically getting out there to get in the feel for it
- 25:54as well as making connections. That's very important going out
- 25:59there and not just be stuck in the in your tent or trailer like
- 26:02that. Get out there and meet people.
- 26:05That's me. One of the important aspects of
- 26:07competition BBQ is just meeting the people out there because
- 26:10some of those going to be some of your friends for the rest of
- 26:13your life. So.
- 26:14Oh, absolutely, And that's the other thing.
- 26:16If your new team going out to cook, don't be afraid to talk to
- 26:19somebody. Most of these guys out here,
- 26:22especially when you get to the guys that are at the top,
- 26:26they're going to be willing to talk to you, teach you and show
- 26:28you. And I think every team needs to
- 26:30be that way because we need people to come in and keep the
- 26:33team counts up. I know I've never, unless
- 26:37there's a the reason why. I've never turned anybody away
- 26:42to that. I won't help them with something
- 26:44unless I'm in the middle of something and I just can't.
- 26:46But I've always let people come in and talk to you and whatever.
- 26:50But definitely I'm asking you, I started to ask everybody this,
- 26:54if you can create a All Star team, one of them got to be you
- 26:59and you can pick any other 3 cooks and choose whatever meat
- 27:04they cook. It could be somebody dead or
- 27:07alive where other three people you going to cook and which meat
- 27:10they're going to cook and what you going to cook.
- 27:13Oh, that's a tough one. There's so many good cooks out
- 27:15there. So I'm probably going to stick
- 27:17with guys that are more current than I'm friends with, whatever.
- 27:20But I think I would put Jordan Kirkpatrick on chicken.
- 27:23I know he's been kind of struggling with it this year,
- 27:25but his history, he's a fantastic chicken cook.
- 27:28And then on ribs, I got a couple people that I come to mind right
- 27:32away, but I would probably go with, I go with Paul and Lynn
- 27:36from looters and tutors and or the other option there would be
- 27:41Brian Payton with Meet Me in Saint Louis.
- 27:42He's a heck of a rib cook as well there.
- 27:47But and then on pork, I think I'd probably call Chris Shaffer.
- 27:50And then I would do the brisket. I think I feel like briskets my
- 27:52best meat. So that's where my most
- 27:54consistent. So that's probably where I put
- 27:56myself. OK.
- 27:58OK. That's a nice squat.
- 28:00OK, and I got a couple of quick games and I'm get you out here.
- 28:04You know how in college basketball they have a bracket
- 28:07tournament? So what I came up with was a 16
- 28:10grilling meat competition bracket and you just tell me
- 28:14which one you prefer to eat. First matchup is hamburger
- 28:17versus steak. I'm going to go with hamburger.
- 28:21OK, first round upset pork ribs versus pork belly, probably pork
- 28:30ribs. All right, Hot dog versus smoked
- 28:35chicken. I'd have to go chicken.
- 28:37I don't like hot dogs. All right, burnt hands versus
- 28:40pork chops. Burnt hands that they're done
- 28:42right. All right, smoked Turkey versus
- 28:47sausage. Sausage OK Smoked ham versus BBQ
- 28:53shrimp. Oh, I had to go shrimp.
- 28:58Yeah. OK, Lamb versus brisket,
- 29:02Brisket, alright. Beef ribs versus smoked Bologna,
- 29:09beef ribs, alright. And next round, hamburger versus
- 29:15pork ribs. Probably hamburger.
- 29:18I ate too many. Ribs chicken versus burnt ends.
- 29:24Burnt ends. Alright.
- 29:27And sausage versus shrimp. Two of my favorites.
- 29:34Probably had to go with sausage on that one.
- 29:37All right. And brisket versus beef ribs,
- 29:40which is? That's another tough one, but I
- 29:44go with beef ribs. All right, all right.
- 29:48Next round is hamburger versus burnt ends, burn ends.
- 29:54Oh, wow. All right.
- 29:56And sausage versus beef ribs. Beef ribs.
- 30:01OK. And the finals you have burn
- 30:04insurance versus beef ribs. We're going to have to go with
- 30:08the beef ribs. Some of those are tough.
- 30:11All right, I got another one that I came up with and this was
- 30:14different. This is the 16 different
- 30:17competitions and I put them in a tournament bracket.
- 30:20Bracket one is the Jack Daniels versus Lakeland Pig Fest, which
- 30:24is a Florida. Lakeland.
- 30:27I've done both. I would have to go to the Jack.
- 30:29That's pretty easy to shoot there.
- 30:31Lakeland. All right, Smoke on the Falls
- 30:35versus Pig Beach BBQ War. Oh, Smoke on the falls at
- 30:41Gadsden, Yes, let's go with the other one.
- 30:46Pig, Pig Beach. OK Yeah.
- 30:50Next matchup is Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the
- 30:54Real Fest Chicago. We're going to Houston.
- 30:59All right. And next one is SCA World State
- 31:07Championship versus Poos a queue.
- 31:09I think I go to poos a queue because I'm not much for steak
- 31:12cooked. All right.
- 31:13Next one is American Royal versus Smoke on the Shores,
- 31:17which is in Wisconsin. Smoke of the Shores in Lebanon,
- 31:21TN but that would be hard. I'd have to go to the royal but
- 31:25man, Lebanon is a fantastic contest.
- 31:28OK, the next one I have is Big Pig Jig and versus the New York
- 31:34State BBQ Championship we'd. Probably go to the pig jig all.
- 31:39Right. And I got Memphis in May versus
- 31:44Praise the Lord. I've never been to Memphis in
- 31:46May, but I'd probably go to Praise the Lord, so I have been
- 31:49there. It's close to home.
- 31:50All right. And that's the one where they
- 31:54give you the apples. Yep.
- 31:57Yep, all right. And I got the Rib Cook off
- 31:59Association World Championship versus the Atlanta BBQ Store
- 32:03Classic. Oh.
- 32:04I got to go to the Atlanta BBQ store.
- 32:05Classic. Yeah, you get the hat on.
- 32:08So, yeah. All right, we got the Jack
- 32:12Daniels versus Pig Beach BBQ war.
- 32:15The Jack Daniels. All right, Houston Livestock
- 32:18Rodeo and Puzzique. Houston.
- 32:23All right, American royal versus pig jig.
- 32:27American royal all. Right, and praise the Lord
- 32:32versus Atlanta BBQ store classic.
- 32:35I'm going to have to go to Atlanta BBQ.
- 32:37Store. All right.
- 32:40And final four, you got the Jack versus the Houston Livestock
- 32:44Rodeo. That's a tough one, but we're
- 32:48going to have to probably go to the Jack though.
- 32:50All right, and you got the Royal versus the Atlanta BBQ Store
- 32:55classic. I'm going to have to go to the
- 32:58royal. All right.
- 33:02You got the Jack versus the Royal.
- 33:06Oh man, that's a tough one. Can I go to both?
- 33:10Yeah, for that to be, yeah. I'd probably go to the Jack if I
- 33:13had to choose between the two. OK, all right.
- 33:18And the Jack is the winner, all right, and your therapy session
- 33:22is over. If you want to shout out your
- 33:24sponsors or your wife and everything, you got time to do
- 33:28it now. So sponsors, we've got Cordy
- 33:31meat processing. They're super good to us.
- 33:34Got some of the best meat or can access the best meat in the
- 33:37country. Jay just takes care of people
- 33:40and and then heavy smoke got them.
- 33:43If you're not using white label, you're probably not winning.
- 33:46We got smoke and ghost Paul Boob.
- 33:49He's got a fantastic rub that we use on brisket and ribs and he's
- 33:54got a line of sauces as well. And then Lana BBQ store has been
- 33:58super good to us as well. All right, I definitely
- 34:03appreciate you coming on. And are you doing American Royal
- 34:06this year? Yes, Sir.
- 34:08OK, I'll probably, I'm going to go walk around there.
- 34:11I got my plane ticket and stuff and do something different.
- 34:13So I'm going to, I'll probably come introduce myself to you
- 34:16when I come up there and probably Atlanta BBQ Classic
- 34:20also. Sure.
- 34:22Next week, the week following. Yeah, it's the week following.
- 34:25Yeah, that's going to be a. It's gonna be a quick.
- 34:27Turn around for definitely all right, but I definitely
- 34:31appreciate you coming on and sharing your wisdom and
- 34:33knowledge and giving your story. And on that note, we'll see
- 34:37everybody next episode. We just wrapped up another
- 34:40session of BBQ therapy. Remember, stay patient, stay
- 34:44passionate and keep that fire burning Hit subscribe, share the
- 34:48good smoke and pay the secretary on your way out.
- 34:51Have a blessed day.