Almost Heaven…
Last week was the Almost Heaven BBQ Bash in Buckhannon, WV. The crew had been looking forward to this event for a long time. An auto to the jack. An event back in Luke and Leigh Anne’s home state. And an opportunity to cook for a bunch of family and friends that otherwise wouldn’t get a chance to see us.
After a great night in Morgantown, we headed to Buckhannon on Friday and got set up pretty quick. We got to reunite with a lot of our BBQ friends, and made a few new ones as well. We had a nice group dinner at the Mexican restaurant before it was time to get to gettin’.
However, the theme would quickly become rain. It rained and stormed off and on for most of the weekend.
We had the pleasure of cooking next to our buddy Tom Bera and Philly Blind Big. A fabulous time was had trading song lyrics and movie quotes all day.
We had a really good cook, but didn’t have long to relax. We had visitors from all sides….a lot of Luke’s family and well, as Leigh Anne put it, “everyone that would come to my (Leigh Anne’s) funeral.” There was barely a stitch of meat left.
That was coupled with the anticipation of a very powerful thunderstorm coming through. A big thanks to the Aporkalypse fellas for helping us tear down our site. We quickly stashed everything into the trailer, including mom, and then waited it out. Awards would be in the Moose Lodge.
We had another really good cook. 2nd place ribs, 7th place pork and 8th place brisket in a really hard field. Big congrats to 3 Eyz BBQ on their GC and Checkered Pig for their RGC. And a huge shout out to Mark Gibbs with Checkered Flag 500 on his 180 brisket.
Enough words cannot be said about the Almost Heaven BBQ Bash crew. They were on the spot for all of our needs. What a great first year comp. We look forward to going back next year and giving it another spin.
Next week it’s on to DC for the Safeway BBQ Battle! We hope to see you there!
#feetorinches
Back to one of our favorite competitions ever, the Beltway BBQ Showdown in Ft. Washington, MD. Its one of our favorites in that it was the first competition that we judged, and the first competition where we won GC.
Luke would get there on Thursday to get set up that night, as he and Kim would have to work on Thursday. Halfway through setting up the pop up/first beer, Luke was notified by Kim that he left all of his clothes at home. Setup would be cut short.
Luke would get in the truck and head to Walmart for all the clothing and sundry needs. However, he wouldnt think to check the back gate of the truck. Somewhere between the campground and the Walmart is a propane tank, mostly full. Good stuff.
Leigh Anne would head out frist thing on Friday, and complete set up. Luke would roll in around 2 and start meat prep, and Kim would bring in the rear.
There is a lot more to this story…but I forgot about this post. I found a half completed draft. So let’s just put some musings here. Jonathan does a great job. Also, Jonathan will do some terrible things for you for a modest fee. Ok, I made that part up. He is the man. The contest is awesome. But I put up a picture of the girls, because without them, this wouldn’t happen. I give them a lot of shit and stuff…and they call me on it. But they are the the machine that makes us tick. I love them both more than I can ever type here. I wouldn’t wanna do BBQ without them.
We had a good cook. It was hotter than hades that day, and all of our friends got calls , which was pretty sweet. We finished up third overall, just a skosh out of RGC land. Huge ups to Pork Barrell BBQ on GC and Aporkalypse Now on RGC.
Hold Her Newt…She’s Headed for the Buckwheat
Memorial Day weekend is always special for us. We make our annual pilgrimage to Rochester, New York, to visit Kim’s family for the weekend and participate in the Roc City Rib Fest. It is a fantastic event, hosted by Brian and John, two fantastic guys. Just a great crew of organizers and volunteers that make sure you don’t want for anything.
Roc City plays host to a rib only competition on Saturday, as well as the World Bacon Championships. We didn’t cook bacon last year, but practiced a bunch this year.
Roc City also plays host to a bunch of pitfalls to reach up and grab ya. Friday night last year was a hell of a party, one which Luke wasn’t quite expecting. This year, he came prepared.
After setting up Friday afternoon, and then having a marvelous dinner made by Aunt Debbie, Bean, Mommas, Uncle Mike, Kristine, Dusty, Vince and Mini Vinny….(and lest not forget 8 layer jello by Miss Carly), Luke returned to the park loaded for bear, and went to visit his buddy DivaQ with a pre-planned bottle of blackberry shine.
The whole DivaQ crew was in the house, and the first bottle of shine was eliminated in what seemed like minutes. The chant “pineapple! pineapple!” started. Then that jar was eliminated.
All told, it took about 45 minutes.
Everyone was feeling good. Real good. Except Miss Jessie, who kept looking at Luke and giving him throat slash gestures.
Not to go into too much detail, but there were many hilarious and somewhat tragic moments throughout the evening. Of note–
–Watched a grown man run in his underwear through the park and back to get a cheap beer hat. Was not Luke.
–Luke putting on a fantastic dancing display, of which many compliments were given the next day. (Whether it was magnificent or not is all conjecture. Very little was remembered.)
–a dancing display that was punctuated by Luke falling over in a cook site, destroying a chair, and not going over very well.
So Saturday begins with Kim arriving at the trailer to find Luke perfectly situated in his cot, heat on, and afraid of the light. We began our bacon prep and cooking, and began the apology tour that was necessary. (Again, I’m so sorry about the chair Jay.)
The bacon cook was fun. With all of that however, the rib cook on Saturday kinda got lost, and we didn’t do so well. But we did manage a 9th place call in bacon in a box, and Kim earned a 9th place dessert call with her fantastic bourbon bacon chocolate pecan pie. Everything back to normal, a beautiful air show by the Blue Angels, and Rochester garbage plates completed the evening. It was time to make the donuts.
The great part about cooking different events around the country is meeting new people. We met a ton this year, but wanted to give a special shout out to our new friends at Rack Em BBQ and Sweet Heat BBQ. Couldn’t ask for better neighbors or a better time.
We had a good cook. No surprises. And another air show which was fantastic. We went to awards feeling good.
Didn’t know what we were in store for.
We won chicken. That had never happened before. And then…we won ribs. Holy crap. Then a 6th place pork call. Looking pretty good, but so was our good friend Bill Gillespie with Smokin’ Hoggz, winner of last year’s American Royal Invitational. Who also collects beer hats.
Brisket comes down, and Bill gets his fourth call. And OVS gets shut out. They hate our brisket up north.
They announce the top ten and it comes down to the two of us. And OVS eeeked out a .5 point win for our second ever GC.
Such an amazing weekend, one that won’t be forgotten for a long time. We will miss our northern BBQ family, and look forward to seeing them on the BBQ trail.
Huge thank you to our sponsors Dizzy Pig, BBQ Guru, Hav’n a BBQ Sauce, Kosmos Q, and the Wine’ing Butcher.
On to the next one at the Beltway BBQ Showdown in Ft. Washington, MD.
There are two sides to Annapolis…
#pinkystrong — Sam’s Club Local Laurel, MD: August 22-23, 2014
The New Virginia Creeper, the name of our trailer, occasionally demands a sacrifice. On Friday morning, Pitmaster Luke raked his pinky finger across the edge of the diamond plate on her nose, shedding blood and meeting said demands. It was an interesting start to the weekend.
With one digit wrapped in gauze, Luke got the gear to the Sam’s Club parking lot in Laurel at 10 a.m. that morning, with Leigh Anne right on his tail. After getting the trailer parked next to our friends at Hog-It-Up BBQ, Luke departed to the nearest urgent care facility while Leigh Anne put the trailer together. The mighty pitmaster returned with Burger King for lunch, 4 stitches in his pinky, and a tetanus shot to find the facility put together. With Kim joining in on Friday evening, the team hosted an impromptu potluck supper. Our friends from Hog-It-Up, Pepper Monkey, Redneck Scientific, Brown Liquor and RESQ brought over some amazing food and great company. After a quick cat-nap, it was time to light the fires and get the smoke a-rolling.
The weather report called for a 50% chance of rain on both Friday and Saturday. Somehow, we made it through the night without a drop. It was actually a beautiful night, although no one took Leigh Anne up on her offer to play some produce department floor hockey at 4 a.m. at the local 24-hour Wal-Mart.
By mid-morning, everyone’s luck ran out. What started as a light drizzle would alternate with solid showers. We carried our turn-in boxes under a giant umbrella. Once brisket was turned in, everyone commenced to breaking down as quickly as possible, despite the downpour. We were told awards would start promptly at 3 p.m., and that’s exactly what happened. We tried to find some dry clothes as we gathered to hear the results.
Our new chicken process seems to be headed in the right direction, yielding a 12th place finish. No one seemed to like our ribs or pork, which is surprising. We swing back and forth on the pig products, despite not varying our process. We just don’t understand. Thankfully, we were able to produce an amazing brisket, which yielded us our call for the day and hey – 1st place ain’t nothing to sneeze at it. With a finish of 9th overall, we did not advance to the Sam’s Club Regional in Richmond next weekend. However, much love our mates at Redneck Scientific, Brown Liquor, and Checkered Flag 500 — we’ll be rooting for all of you next weekend. It was great to cook next to our old friends at Hog-It-Up and nice to make new friends at Big Block BBQ (also congrats on advancing). Way to go Pork Barrel for the GC and Sauce This for the RGC.
As always, we sincerely appreciate the support we get from Dizzy Pig, BBQ Guru, Bob’s Have’na BBQ Sauce, Hunts Point Meat and our Kickstarter friends. Thank you for everything that you do!
We’ll see you in a few weeks down the road in Richmond for Recovery Fest. Everyone have a great Labor Day weekend!!!!
Awkward Milestones: Smoke on the Mountain (Galax, VA – July 18-19, 2014)
In Galax, Virginia, the big trophies are musical instruments. They give out customized guitars, mandolins, and fiddles. The awards table was making a couple of pickers like Luke and Leigh Anne drool. Smoke on the Mountain has been holding their competition in the Virginia highlands for 10 years. For the first eight of those years, it was a Memphis BBQ Network event. Last year, they made it a dual-sanctioned event by adding a KCBS competition.
That Memphis BBQ Network thingie . . . that’s a whole other kettle of fish. Competitors not only create blind boxes for judges for pork shoulder, pork ribs, and whole hog, but there are multiple on-site judging sessions as well. For each meat a team turns in, they get three on-site judging visits. Teams have to discuss their cooking process, show off their cooking equipment, and serve the judges. It is a full-fledged pro-duck-shun!!! When you add that in to the standard KCBS competition cook, things get a little wonky. For example, KCBS chicken turn-in was scheduled for 9:25. Brisket wasn’t due until 2:25 p.m.. Cook schedules had to be adjusted, and heaven help those teams who took the bull by the horns and competed in Memphis and KCBS!
Luke and Kim rolled into Galax late on Thursday evening, parking the Old Virginia Creeper next to fellow Dizzy Pig team (and Memphis competitor) Serial Grillers (“Wanted in every state!”). After getting the trailer situated, they turned in for an early evening. Leigh Anne showed up on Friday afternoon, and everyone dug in for meat prep and general set-up. After a deep-fried dinner from the event food court (fried gator, fried frogs legs, fried green tomatoes, and fried pickles), we started the fires and got ready.
At multiple times over the weekend, the team had to check their calendars. After all, cooking in July usually means copious consumption of Gatorade to combat dehydration under an unrelenting sun and downright hostile humidity. Instead, there were sweatshirts, long-pants, and arguments over who got to use the Snuggie as the mercury struggled to stay above 65 degrees. And of course, since we were cooking, there was rain — an inconsistent dripping with occasional sightings of a distant sun.
The cook itself felt great! The extra time between turn-ins started off feeling like a luxury, but it made for a damn long day. Our clean-up and tear down process got boiled down to a science. The Creeper was all packed up and ready to roll in just over an hour after brisket turn-in — that’s a world record, dear readers!!! The team retired to the local Hampton Inn to shower and prepare for awards at 7 p.m.
After listening to two local high school boys flail out a version of “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” on the respective grand champion awards (banjo for MBN and guitar for KCBS), it was time to get down to business. KCBS awards were first, and we were proud to get three calls — 8th in ribs, 7th in pork, and 3rd in brisket. However, the score sheet showed Old Virginia Smoke its very first DAL (Dead Ass Last) — 30th place in chicken.
It happens. It hurt like hell, but it happens to all of us. Over Mason jars of ‘shine and bottles of cold beer, our friends and fellow competitors have told us war stories about that dreaded ranking. Sometimes it’s how the numbers just add up . . . especially when the numbers are small. We took some risks with our chicken here, and there are no regrets — only opportunities and lessons learned. Moving on . . .
Dave, David, and Richard over at Serial Grillers were amazing neighbors. We hope to find another dual event so we can all hang out again. Much love to the other folks in our little corner of the Virginia mountains — Grillin’Thyme, Cammo’s BBQ, and Contagious Q. Congrats to our ol’ buddy Rock at Rock’s Money Pit on the RGC and Boar’s Night Out on the GC. Victory Lane BBQ — you’re welcome for the butter that you used to beat us in brisket. In hindsight, we should have let you pay us for it. To our new buddy Phil, thanks for all the help cleaning up on Saturday; drive safe back to Cajun country. As always, thank you to Dizzy Pig, BBQ Guru, and our Kickstarter supporters for their continued sponsorship.
As a final note, if you can ever attend a competition where those boys from The Shed BBQ present whole hog, you owe it to yourself to check it out. It is . . . we don’t have the words. Running pig. Pink pinstripe suits. Cooking in a woody wagon. Just . . . holy smokes.
Next — the Southern Maryland Brew & BBQ Music Festival in Leonardtown, MD on August 1-2, 2014.
Head NORTH, OVS!
Back when we were in the throes of planning for this season, we kept looking at Memorial Day weekend and saying how much we wished there was a competition that weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Might as well, right?
Kim found the Roc City Rib Fest in her hometown of Rochester, NY. 7 HOURS. We decided to keep an eye on it.
Then, we went to the MABA meeting and one of the entries that they raffled off was for that event! I couldn’t find the guy that won it, so I emailed the head of MABA and Pitmaster for Aporkalypse Now. He told me who won it, and then quickly told me that he had bought it. So we knew we would have one friend there.
We sent in our entry form and started planning. Leigh Anne couldn’t go, but we figured it would be fun for just Kim and I to give it a shot. Kim’s mom drove up from WV, we packed up and hit the road.
In typical OVS fashion, we had perfect weather until we hit New York. Buckets of rain. We get to the Genessee Valley Park and get in line. Apparently the park is a mud hole. After an hour we get near the front of the line, where we first meet our new awesome organizer, J. He tells me that the county inspector is going to look at my truck and trailer and make a determination as to whether I get thumbs up or thumbs down to go on the grass.
Me: what does thumbs down mean?
J: means you have to park in this gravel lot.
Me: then thumbs down me right now! Can I pay for thumbs down?
We get to second in line…J looks at me…I point towards a swath of nice gravel, coincidentally right across from Aporkalypse….
J starts walking over….
“Make it happen.”
Now, I’m not exactly skilled at this trailer business yet…but I slammed that thing into its spot, dropped the gate…unhooked and then left for dinner.
We got back around 8:30 and sent Kim to her Aunt’s to sleep. I started setting up…and then wandered over to the Buckner Brothers party.
Whoa. These guys can get after it.
I held my own, eventually made it back, and went night night time.
Kim got there early, and wasn’t pleased. Nothing had been done!
A quick set up…then time for ribs for the Roc City Rib Cook Off. They came out great…and we finished a surprising 12 out of 120.
Yet not the highlight of the day. Spending time with Kim’s Aunt Debbie, Uncle Mike, Bean and Pam was a ton of fun! And to put the cherry on top…as I returned from turn in, one of my best friends Danks and his wife Abby jumped out of the trailer! It’s always better when friends and family are there.
Kim and I ham-n-egged it through the night. Had to get some gas at 5 am for the generator (thank you Uncle Dave) which caused a small quarrel, but was very necessary due to the impending 2 hour power outage….
Then we cooked. We stayed focused and finished 5th overall, with a 4th in chicken and ribs. A great time!
Big thanks to Mike, Hilary and Don of Aporkalypse Now, the people of Roc City, and all our new friends up north. We will see you next year!
What We Did On Our Winter Vacation
It was an assignment that everyone got upon returning to school in the fall. We carefully wrote down descriptions of summer softball leagues and family vacations. It seemed like there was someone in the class who always did something ridiculous and amazing like hiking the Amazon or meeting Mr. T at the local ice-cream shoppe.
But competition barbecue is mostly a summer-into-fall endeavor here in the mid-Atlantic area. Our last endeavor on the circuit was way back in October. Things slow down as the weather gets colder. It’s now spring, and summer is almost within reach. This weekend, Old Virginia Smoke hits the road for our first KCBS competition for 2014. We thought it made sense to share with you how we spent our off-season.
We practiced. The best way to prevent the rust from accumulating is to keep moving, so Old Virginia Smoke held mini-competition cooks from November through May. In April, we even hosted six KCBS judges to help us get a preview on our 2014 approach.
We expanded. In late 2013-2014, Old Virginia Smoke successfully launched a Kickstarter campaign in to help our organizational growth. We invited folks from across the nation to join OVS, and we were blessed by an incredible outpouring of support. We simply do not have enough words to show our appreciation. This has allowed us to add some amazing new tools . . .
We traveled. In one long, hilarious weekend, Old Virginia Smoke tore up and down Interstate 95 to pick up our newest addition . . . our cook trailer!!! Named after the Old Crow Medicine Show song about a fabled train, the “New Virginia Creeper” will be our home away from home this season. “Chug along, chug along!”
We celebrated. The Mid Atlantic BBQ Association named us the 2013 Rookie of the Year, and that is an honor for which we are truly thankful.
Now, we cannot wait until tonight. We are headed to Fredericksburg for the BBQ Jamboree to begin our sophomore competition season. We have plans to be bigger and bolder than ever!!!
See you ‘round the cooksite. It’s time to get the smoke a-rolling.
Luke, Kim, and Leigh Anne
Old Virginia Smoke
Improvisation: 3rd Annual Shenandoah Valley BBQ Fest!
Autumnfest is a great way to celebrate the approaching fall season in the Shenandoah Valley. The leaves on the trees are changing, and the forest is filled with ambers, golds, reds, and dusty greens. The clouds hang low over the mountains. Off in the distance, a few hot air balloons add a bit of whimsy to the skyline. It’ almost as if one could not ask for a better setting. Almost. It gets damn cold at 4 a.m. on a Saturday morning, even if you are huddled around an improvised fire pit made from bottom of a Weber Smoky Mountain.
Pitmaster Luke shouldered the set-up solo again, as Kim and Leigh Anne arrived on Fridayafternoon and evening, respectively. Forty teams circled the oval track of the Woodstock fairgrounds, and many of our new friends from this season were there. Most of us were closing the season.
Team Old Virginia Smoke would like to introduce our newest addition. A few weeks ago, we purchased a Backwoods Gator from our neighbors from the Richmond Recovery Fest cook. She’s the big dog on our porch, with real estate and heat output to spare. Of course, we brought our Backwoods Party, “Mountain Mama II,” and our original WSM gangsta, the Grillenium Falcon.
Having more than exceeded expectations with this first season, our team approach to this final comp was to stretch our wings and try a few new things. In addition to breaking in our Gator, we mixed some things up with our meat supplier, rubs, and sauces. We put some new steps in our timeline. While ribs remain an area for focused concentration during the off-season, this approach worked well for the three other meats. Our chicken process produced some amazingly succulent, flavorful thighs no matter what the immoral ingrates at table 5 said. Do not get us started on table 5. We are locked down and lasered in on pork and brisket. All in all, it is a nice way to tie up an inaugural season of competition BBQ. We were able to secure a 10th place overall, with a 9th place brisket. Third top 10 in a row.
We’d like to thank Uncle Dave with Pavone Brothers for driving down with us, and in general being there for pretty much anything we need. Such as coffee whilst freezing to death. As always, much love to JD’s Smokin Misfits, Hog-It-Up, Southern Maryland Smokers, Makin’ Bacon, Peppermonkey BBQ, Grand Slam BBQ, and Checkered Flag 500 for being great friends. It was great to meet Ash Kickers and That Guy BBQ. A special thanks to Kit Rudd from DeGuello BBQ for lending us a few secret ingredients when it turned out our larder was a little low. And congrats to Kit on the GC! But damn, that trophy was straight up creepy. El chupacabre.
See you ‘round the circuit next year, y’all.
Victory Lap: Smokin’ on the Track BBQ Festival
Nestled in the foothills of the mighty Shenandoah Mountains is a 3/8 mile oval track, home to Late Model, Bandolero, Mini Cups, and Sportsman racing. And for one weekend each year, it’s home to a KCBS BBQ competition, cornhole tournament, and classic car show.
We’ve never set up a cooksite in the middle of a racetrack before, but 2013 has been an all-around year for firsts. Pitmaster Luke did the heavy lifting on Friday, as non-BBQ realities infringed upon Kim and Leigh Anne’s time. (Editors note: Lucas set up the entire cooksite. Prepped all the meat. And drank beer and gin buckets with Mike Palmer. And hung out with the fine young man that runs Deguello BBQ, Senor Kit Rudd.) Upon our arrival on Friday night, we set to work, making up for lost time until the wee hours o’ the morn. Of course, with two sets of massive stadium lights glowing, it remained daylight-bright throughout the night.
Speaking of firsts, this event marked our initial entry into a People’s Choice category. OVS Auxilliary Members Drew Grossman and Arielle Deligdish came by to help serve two different kinds of pulled pork — one with Luke’s super-secret Carolina mustard sauce and one with our sweet red sauce. Drew and Arielle were busy as bees, and by our count handed out more than 800 samples over the course of a few hours. We didn’t get the nod for People’s Choice, but we saw a lot of smiling faces and repeat visitors rolling back for second, thirds, and fourths.
Despite the late arrival of 2/3 of the team, it was a pretty solid cook. The Backwoods and the Smoky Mountain Webers were in top form, and we often found ourselves ahead of schedule during that critical 2 and 1/2 window surrounding and encompassing turn-in time. With eight (count ’em E-I-G-H-T!) pork butts on the fire to accommodate our People’s Choice efforts, we were using up the majority of our available real estate. There was a little wheeling and dealing across the smokers to accommodate other meats at different times, but no major hurdles.
It is with great pride and happiness that we report the rib hurdle has been cleared. With some tinkering on process, we got ourselves a 3rd place call!!! And right after that, another 3rd place call for pork!!! It was good weekend for us and piggy products, no doubt about it. Our chicken did not do so good . . . and we have our theories about that. We’re still cooking the same chicken that got us top 10 calls, but table selection can be brutal (we have the numbers to support that position). Brisket got 12th, and we finished 6th overall. That’s our second top ten finish in a row, and a great way to begin winding down the season.
As you’ve noticed, we attract rain. Tear down of the site was absolutely punishing, and could not have been accomplished without the help of Casey and the rest of the Smokin’ at the Track team. We had a quick refresher of drink at the Hog It Up Hotel, and then hit the road. But not without taking the Tundra, strapped with a UHaul, around the track. It was comical when Leigh Anne passed me on the inside with a Prius on turn three. A good time witnessed by no one. Sometimes those are the best.
We want to give much love to our friends at Hog-It-Up BBQ, Southern Maryland Smokers (watch the video of Mike Palmer testing the track on our Facebook page), JD’s Smokin Misfits, Mr. Pappalardo of Grand Slam BBQ, the fine people at Late Empire BBQ, and new friends at Pop Pop’s Chicken and Pig for an awesome weekend. Congrats to to Kit @ Deguello on their GC. And again, a huge thanks to Drew and Arielle for helping out this weekend.