Windy Washington

With the exception of enough wind to sail the seven seas, we had a great time at the Washington BBQ and Blues fest this past weekend.

You might be interested in what some of the creative chefs at this event were cooking on Friday night:

Sam's Club National BBQ Tour

Sam's Club, the leading wholesale club in the country, has issued a press release providing an overview of the Inaugural National BBQ Tour. This tournament-style series of bbq competitions will offer the largest prize purse in this history of competition bbq.

We are excited to have an opportunity to compete in this series this year and are looking forward to going up against the best BBQ cooks in the country.

Places we are cooking this year

Each Lightning strike represents a location that we will likely be cooking a contest at some point this year.

I'm debating whether this is a lame way of representing this information or a novel, trendy way to represent it.

Gnocchi, Hot Sauce and Hysteria

Came across this short video of this guy who attempted to merge Italian Gnocchi dough, hot oil and Frank's hot sauce . . . . with some rather comical results. Thought you might enjoy this.

Spring Cleaning Time

March is finally here. After a winter that seemed to burp out snow at every opportunity, it's time to go find that old brush with the worn bristles and clean up the grill and start a fire!

RubberMaid #G100-12 BBQ Grill Brush

BBQ Planning 2011

So the whole gang got together last Saturday night to plan for the BBQ Contest schedule 2011 and celebrate Jesse's 39th birthday. Happy Birthday! We got him a little brown jug of corn whiskey from McCormicks in Weston. It was surprisingly smooth. I grilled beef tenderloin and baked potato. I think everyone enjoyed the steak. My cheesecake experiment did not quite come out right, but it tasted pretty good. I'll keep trying.

We came up with 9 contests for this year. Washington MO., Lawrence, KS., West Des Moines, IA., (a saturday/sunday contest, awesome), Lenexa, KS., (defending Reserve Grand, hoping fro Grand this time!), Fort Smith, AR., (Reserve Grand 2 years ago), El Dorado or Olathe KS., Omaha, NE., (also a saturday/sunday contest), Springfield, MO., and The American Royal. 5 states and 2,600 miles. Pretty ambitious. Should be great fun. Now, if only we could get a Grand Champion in each state, we would have 5 draws for the Jack.

Farmland Foods is back on board to supply Pork and Ribs. Big thanks to Jesse for that! I found 2 Ninety pound angus brisket cases at Restaurant depot, so they should all weigh about 14 lbs. This is the same product we got First place in Springfield with last year. I think we are ready for a great year!
John

Looking for Park Avenue BBQ & Grille ?

Recently, a few of you have stopped by our blog looking for a BBQ Restaurant in Florida. If you live along the coastal side of Florida, and came by here lookin' for Park Avenue BBQ & Grille, you should probably click here to check out their web site or here to check out there blog.

We aren't affiliated with Park Avenue BBQ & Grille, nor have we had a chance to eat at their restaurant, but the next time we get to Florida, we may just check it out.