Hometown

About the closest thing that OVS has to a hometown competition is the BBQ Jamboree in Fredericksburg, VA.  Less than an hour from home, we always get a great turn out from our friends and family. And, the contest and festival are, by our estimation, the best in VA.

James and Jeremy do it right.  No nonsense organizers that make sure that teams have what they need, and most times everything that they want.

OVS also had the added benefit this year of getting some visitors from the south, our brothers and sisters in crime Redneck Scientific.  We would be right next to them, and it was sure to be a good time.

Everyone got set up on Friday in what would be the biggest field yet at the Jamboree — 72 teams in all.  Pretty much all of our BBQ Family were going to be there.  The cooks meeting is usually pretty fun at this one, as James and Jeremy put on a pretty good show.  But this year, the show was stolen by Jerry and Roxanne, as they surprised Luke with a new garment for his wardrobe as the new MABA president.  Behold–

The Rednecks, OVS, and those lovely folks from Checkered Flag 500 enjoyed a scrumptious dinner at the Bavarian Chef (highly recommended) and began to get settled in for the evening’s cook.

The night was great, the weather was holding up, and everything was on time.  And the weather continued to hold up until about an hour after turn ins.  Then, all hell broke loose.  Rain…wind…thunder.  Pop ups were flying.  Kids were tumbling.

But it calmed down for awards.  OVS did really well, garnering a fourth place in ribs and brisket, and a fifth place in pork which was good enough for a fifth place overall.  Big congrats to 3Eyz on the GC, and a HUGE congrats to Life is Good But BBQ is better on their first RGC.  A big thank you to all of our friends that came by to support us.  I’d name you all, but the list would be enormous!

Next stop, Ayden, NC.

Free Sno-Cones!

This was the first year for the Interstate BBQ Festival in Hagerstown, MD, and it sure started off with a bang.   The weather was absolutely beautiful and Luke decided to drive up on Thursday and head to one of his favorite restaurants in the area, Hempen Hill.

After dropping off the trailer and picking up Brian from Brown Liquor (who had had plenty of it at that point) and his gambling buddy Mark from Sauce This, the three of them headed to Hempen Hill.  Everyone enjoyed a fantastic dinner and got to see more BBQ friends, Jay from 4:20Q and the Dizzy Pig family.

The weather was absolutely perfect for the entire weekend, and the OVS trailer would be a full house.  We would have a judge cooking with us, the lovely Miss Wendy, and Leigh Anne was with us for the first time this season.  Good times were about to ensue.

Everything went like clockwork on Friday, and we got to see a lot of great friends and make some new ones as well.  On Saturday, everyone was there and the OVS machine was humming.

We also had the exceptional luck to be next to our great buddy Mark Gibbs from Checkered Flag 500.  Those daredevils from Sauce This came for a visit, asking Mark for their free sno-cones.  The collective group decided to pull a prank on ol’ Gibbs, which resulted in the picture you see above.

All in all, it was a good day.  And it got even better when Luke’s brother showed up, all the way from Morgantown, WV.  What an awesome treat.

The crew got cleaned up and headed to awards.  As per usual when someone cooks with us, they got the short end of the stick and had to sit next to Luke at awards.  He was a disaster.

Wendy would ask Kim, “Is he gonna be okay?  He is a wreck.”

Kim replied, “Yes, it’s normal.”

The crew had a fantastic day!   10th place chicken, 2nd place ribs, 8th place pork and 8th place brisket, the teams 2nd ever 4 call comp, which was good enough for a Reserve Grand Championship!  Congrats to Rockin’ Robyn’s on their first ever GC!

Oh Goodie, Delaware

Ya know how there is that girl that you really like that doesn’t like you, but you continue to ask her out over and over again, thinking that she is gonna change her mind about ya?

World, meet my special lady.  Delaware.

We routinely get our ass whipped in Delaware, yet we always continue to go back.  Maybe some day she will change her mind!

We got to a spot near our friends JD’s Smokin Misfits on Thursday.  The weather was gonna be wild.  The wind was buckin’, and everything needed to be strapped down tight.  Jerry and Mary let Luke shack up with them in the RV.  Jerry whipped up a fabulous pasta dinner, which was enjoyed by Luke and Mark from Sauce This.  Then…Miss Mary came back from the casino.

But not for too long!  Luke and Mark decided that it was a good thing to go back with Mary and try their luck.

Turns out that Mark hasn’t gambled too much.  So first, Luke takes him to the craps table.  He explains that you have to roll the dice down to one end, and make sure they hit the other side.  Mark gets the dice…and then…

BAM!  He throws em as hard as he can.  They hit the far rail and come all the way back to the opposite rail, and the off of that.  The dice were screamin in pain.  He grabbed em and fired again.

After about the fifth time, Luke casually pulled him aside and explained, “hey man…they just have to TOUCH the other rail.   Not break it.”  They stuck around for a bit and then headed over to the black jack table.

Mark was more comfortable here.  Until he had QJ against the dealers 6.

“Split em.”

Luke said, “What are you doing???”

Mark replied, “splitting them against a six.  Watch!”

Another face card comes, and Mark splits again.   And yet another face card comes….and he splits. Again.

Luke’s face was aghast.  The last two face cards were dealer bust cards.  Mark ended up winning two of his hands, and losing two others against the dealers three card 19.

Which coincidentally murdered Luke’s 14 .  They stuck around a bit, but headed back with their tails between their legs.

Sorry….BBQ!

The weather on Friday wasn’t great.  Luke got the meat prepped and anxiously awaited the arrival of the Lil’ General.  The group went out for a fabulous dinner at the casino, and then set to it.

The weather was abysmal.   It snowed during chicken turn in.  Sleet during ribs.  Rain during pork and a howling wind during brisket.  All turn ins seemed good, but hey, it’s Delaware.

And damn.  OVS thought maybe this was the time she said yes, starting strong with a 4th place chicken.  But that was the only call on the way to a totally Delaware 20th place finish.  Congrats to Aporkalypse Now on GC and Wolfs Revenge on RGC.

Until we meet again, my Delaware.

Ironman!

Whew…what a long offseason.   April 2 would be the kickoff to the new 2016 season, and the good ol’ Ironman in Greencastle, PA.  Hosted by our good friends at Mason Dixon BBQ Services, the Ironman doesn’t let you use any electronics, such as Gurus or anything like that.  And also, you get to only cook 7 pieces of chicken, 1 rack of ribs, 1 pork butt and 1 brisket.

It’s always a fun time.  We got to see a lot of our BBQ family that we don’t get to see very often, especially our good friend Sal Gobat and the rest of the Smokin’ Gnomes.  And a lot of our usual buddies.  270 Smokers hosted a fabulous paella contest on Friday night (all of it was delish), and we set to cooking.

Our fabulous Humphreys, which love working with a BBQ Guru, fought hard all night and into the morning, giving us four great turn in boxes.  We also had a blast cooking all night right next to our great buddy Mark Gibbs from Checkered Flag 500.

We were able to manage a fourth place rib call and a 10th place brisket call to finish with a very strong 5th place overall finish.  Congrats to 3Eyz on the GC and an extra special huge congrats to our brothers Brown Liquor BBQ on their first ever Reserve Grand Championship!

Sign Up Today for the OVS Weekend Warrior BBQ School

Join Pitmaster Luke Darnell and Old Virginia Smoke for a fun-filled day of BBQ tips and tricks to push your weekend barbecue activities to the next level.

You’ll learn techniques that will have your neighbors singing your praises about your ribs, brisket and pork.

Learn about fire and smoke management, meat selection, trimming, seasoning, sauce profiles and much, much more to help you rule the backyard.

WHEN: April 30, 2016 (8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.)

WHERE: Bristow, VA

CLASS SIZE: First 20 people

PRICE: $195 (includes instruction, handouts, coffee, light lunch, and of course…BBQ!)

NOTE: This is NOT a competition BBQ class. But you will learn things that the team does week in and week out that will make an invitation to your house for BBQ one that is most coveted. Get tips and tricks that propelled Old Virginia Smoke to the top 25 in the country in KCBS rankings, as well as multiple grand championships and the title of National Pork Champion.

Please complete the OVS Weekend Warrior BBQ School – FORM and return it to –

Old Virginia Smoke
10032 Hume Court
Bristow, VA 20136

Or submit it via email to luke@oldvirginiasmoke.com

Reserve your spot today, as space is limited! Please email Luke at luke@oldvirginiasmoke.com with any questions.

The Finale–The National BBQ Cup

After a week off, Luke and Kim loaded up the truck and headed south one more time…for one more contest…and their first foray in Georgia.  They were excited.  A few of their good BBQ buddies had sung the praises of Georgia, saying it was a great experience and a great place to cook.  Another buddy wasn’t as complementary.

“F Georgia,” he had said.

Luke and the Little General sped down Rte 29 after work on Thursday to spend the night with Todd with Smokin’ Buttheads.  Todd treated them to late night libations, great conversation, and a great place to sleep.  They woke up early, hooked up the Ol’ Creeper and headed south to the land of Jimmy Carter and peaches.

They arrived at the Cumming Fairgrounds around 11 a.m. and patiently waited for their place to park.  And waited. And waited.  Finally, the Creeper was situated in a gravel area pretty close to some friends, including Mark from Checkered Flag 500, some Carolina buds with Sauced! and The Smokehouse Mafia, and some new friends.

Kim and Luke would be joined by Rick Hamilton from Hambones By the Fire.  He wanted to come down for the weekend, and the extra help was greatly appreciated.  Once the hurried setup was complete, all the meat was prepped and everything was ready to go.

There were a lot of heavy hitters in the crowd.  Because Cumming was near the end of the season, a lot of the teams were there to try and earn precious KCBS team of the year points.  There were teams from as far as Wisconsin and California.  It was going to be a daunting task.

The best news though was that Jim Burg was in the house for the weekend.  He and Jan were around, and it was great to see our friend, who has been battling for so long, out and about.

For the first time all year, there was a hiccup.  Someone, who shall remain nameless, knocked over one of the BBQ Guru’s, and it wasn’t behaving properly.  Luckily, Bob Trudnak from BBQ Guru was cooking, and had a spare to lend the team.  Luke had also forgot the chicken rub and another ingredient, which luckily he was able to find.  (Thank you 270 Smokers and Checkered Flag 500!)

The cook went pretty good throughout the night and next morning.  Rick fell into rhythm with Luke and Kim, and they didn’t miss a beat. (Mostly cause the Little General was being the Little General.).   There was even some music sharing, which was awesome, and also some productivity hacks learned from Rick…which we now call Rickovations.

We finished everything up and started packing up.  We were gonna beat feet after awards and see how far we could make it.  And we were done an hour before awards…mostly because Rick was an absolute animal.  He crushed the dishes and had the outside torn down before Luke had even touched the smokers.

Rick said his goodbyes and headed back to VA. Afterwards, Kim and Luke decided to visit with some friends before awards.  Darkness started to fall, and the temps began to drop.  On to awards.

OVS started with a chicken call…7th place.   Luke and Kim were thrilled.  Victory Lane got first with a 180 and Smokehouse Mafia also had a 180.  Then ribs…OVS grabbed an 8th.  With two calls, we knew we were in the mix.

Next was pork…and no call.  But Victory Lane got a first in pork.

Things were so tight.  OVS then grabbed a 10th in brisket!  But that was followed by another 180 and 1st place brisket by Smokehouse Mafia!

Luke and Kim were pretty sure they were up there.  Stephanie from 270 Smokers said, “I think you might be RGC.”  We were hopeful.

So they started the top ten overall…10th place- Victory Lane.  Wow.  Two firsts and one of the strongest teams in the country.  10th.  Anything could happen.

They called all of the top five to the stage, and OVS was up there, along with Foggy Bottom BBQ, Will and the Thrills, The Smokehouse Mafia, and Yellow River.

They would go five down.  Will and the Thrills.  Yellow River.  OVS was in the top three.

OVS has had a lot of 3rds.  And they were both hoping they didn’t have another.

3rd place…Foggy Bottom.

Holy crap.  That left Luke and Kim on stage with Andrew, Melissa, and their daughter from The Smokehouse Mafia.  There was lots of hugs and anticipation.  And several other awards to give out before they got to RGC and GC.  So all of em were just up there chatting away like nothing else was going on.

Andrew asked, “How do you think this is gonna go?”

“I dunno man. You have two 180’s.  I think you have it.”

“I don’t know,” Andrew replied.

The emcee then turned around and asked us, “You guys okay?  ”

We told him, “Don’t worry about us.  Do what you gotta do.”

After another award, we finally got to the RGC and GC.  And The Smokehouse Mafia was RGC.

We couldn’t believe it.  The huge wooden cup was coming back to VA.  Huge hugs were shared with everyone we saw.  After loading up the trophy, (thank you John Layton), we decided to spend the night in Georgia and celebrate with our good friends from Checkered Flag 500 and 270 Smokers.

What a fantastic way to end the season.  A huge thank you to Randall Bowman and his crew who put on a fantastic event in Cumming, to BBQ Guru, and to everyone else who helped us along the way.

Lil’ General Goes Nuts in Shelby

Beautiful Shelby, NC.  We’ve heard legendary stories of the weather.  We were excited to head south into NC again.  Luke had the Little General with him Thursday on this trip, and they were looking for adventure.   It started early…

“Which way you wanna go?”, asked Kim.

“I dunno.   I’m so tired of I-81 and I-95.  Same stuff all the time.”

“Is there another way?”

“Google maps always says to take Rte 29, but I’m unfamiliar with the road,” Luke replied.

“Up to you.  You are driving.”

“Screw it,” he said.  “Let’s do it and try something new.

Rte 29 turned out to be a revelation.   A little hilly, but mostly two lane highway the whole way.  They slept just outside of Lynchburg, VA, and they got up early and hit the road toward Shelby.

The weather had looked ominous all week, but showed signs of improving.   It would probably rain all day Saturday, but Friday could be fine.

So much for that.  Just south of Charlotte, things turned to shit.  Cold, rain, and fog.

They got to the fairgrounds and found their spot, next to friends from Virginia, 270 Smokers.  Fun with Stephanie and Terry all weekend!

Also in the house this weekend was Mike Lindley from Smokin’ Mo’s.  We hadn’t seen him for a while, so that would be fun.

Setup on Friday was a bit crazy though.  Kim would be cooking four ancillary categories on Friday night, and they would all be judged on site.  Luckily, Beverly and Greg Gordon, Rick Back, and Karen York would be helping out.   Then, Luke would be presenting each dish to the judges.

“You got any stories lined up?” Kim asked.

All she got back in return was a smile.

Luckily, the weather had turned for the better and it wouldn’t really rain much the next two days.

The categories that Kim cooked were Stew/Gumbo, Vegetable, Meat, and Seafood.  She would be preparing beef Provençal stew, stuffed mushrooms, California tri tip, and the famed lobster bacon mac n cheese.

Each turn in went well, and Luke told some stories for each dish.  Basically, the rest of the gang had to stay out of sight because they were laughing so hard.

Now it was in to the BBQ.  Everything went smooth throughout the night and the next day.  The two hit their marks and had a lot of fun, especially with 270 Smokers and their new friend Carolina Smokin’ John’s.   The occasional visit from Smokin’ Mo’s also provided a lot of fun.  We also got to spend some time with our good friends Smokin’ Hoggz from Massachusetts and the Clegg’s with Rhode Hog BBQ.

Awards came, and the ancillary contests were first.  The Little General was on point…grabbing a first place in seafood and three second places in the other categories.

On to the barbecue.  We got a nice 7th place pork call, but that was it.  A little discouraging given the food we turned in.  But two friends had big days, with that mustachioed demon Smokin Mo’s winning GC and 270 Smokers winning RGC.    With one call, we weren’t looking forward to getting the score sheet.  But we were pleasantly surprised to finish 7th overall. 

Only one contest left…two weeks later down in Georgia.  We beat feet out of Shelby and headed south to Spartanburg, SC, and dropped the creeper of with our buddy Todd from Smokin’ Buttheads.  He would take good care of her until we got back down to her in two weeks.

Boo!  Scary!

The next trip would take us east, right on the beach at a beautiful campground in Delaware for an event called Boo-B-Que.  (try to say it and not laugh.)

Our good buddy Jerry from JD’S Smokin Misfits was gonna cook with us this weekend, and got up to the campground ahead of us on Thursday.  He also brought his RV…which was exciting as we weren’t used to cooking in such opulent conditions.

Luke arrived on Thursday night.  The boys had dinner and then set off to do a little socializing.  Drinks were had.  And then more drinks were had.  And then even more.  No one was safe.  The night ended with Jerry and Luke making the trek to the beach, and Luke going in for a little swim in the Atlantic.

Luckily, the girls would be there on Friday to supervise.  Luke and Jerry got up on Friday and got everything set up.   OVS would host an epic pot luck dinner that night, which included some amazing food. There was also a birthday cake for Jerry and Bill Gillespie from Smokin’ Hoggz, who both had their birthdays earlier in the week.

It would be folly to not mention Cajun Jack, who provided an awesome low country boil, and also produced one of the scariest Halloween costumes of all time.  Absolutely terrifying.

It was a windy cook early, but settled down through the night.  We thought everything came out as it was supposed to, but the judges sure didn’t.  We did manage a 4th place brisket.  Sometimes you win, sometimes ya don’t.   Delaware doesn’t seem to like us.

Congrats to Finns Finest on the GC and to Big Ugly on the RGC.  Only two more contests left in the year.

Big ups to Jack Hollis of You Don’t Know Jack BBQ and his father for such a great welcome.  Thanks for making OVS at home!

Carry Me Back to Virginia

After an exhausting trip all around the Midwest, and a bunch of humble pie, Old Virginia Smoke would fire things up again the very next weekend at Shenandoah Valley BBQ Fest in Woodstock, Va.  Probably the third closest comp to OVS headquarters, this contest is known in OVS circles for two things…1) little black rocks from the race track being the BBQ trailer for all of eternity, and 2) judges not being very kind to OVS.

Luke and the Little General were looking forward to it though, because they would have two really good friends cooking with them for their master CBJ, Rick and Karen.

Luke arrived early Friday morning and got into his spot, right beside his old friend Jerry from JD’s Smokin Misfits.  Luke, Rick and Karen got everything set up…got the meats prepped and then waited on Kim to arrive.

It was a bit windy on Friday.   While enjoying a tasty beverage with Jay from 4:20, they saw one of the organizers pop ups gracefully leave the ground and wrap itself around a telephone pole.  Right around the corner from Jay’s site, things weren’t as graceful.  Brown Liquor BBQ had lost both of their pop ups, and they weren’t even onsite.  Luke got a hold of them.   Luckily, the BBQ family came through, and they’d be taken care of for the weekend.

The team went and enjoyed a delicious BBQ dinner and some craft beer at 1752 BBQ and the Woodstock Brewhouse.   If you are ever in the Woodstock area, I highly recommend a visit.

It was a cold night; however, everything cooperated for the most part.  Everyone was back on site by 6 a.m., and everything was hitting on all cylinders.   Rick and Karen melded into everything we were doing.  They asked all kinds of great questions and really helped out a lot.

We turned in our food, got cleaned up and waited for awards.  It was pretty chilly…and there may have even been a snowflake.  Hopefully, the awards wouldn’t be as cold for OVS.

And they weren’t!  The Woodstock curse was broken! OVS would grab a 5th place chicken, 1st in ribs, 2nd in pork, and an absolutely puzzling 15th in brisket.  This would be good enough to grab third place overall. Right behind our good friends Checkered Flag 500 who RGC’d and WAY behind the Cinnamon Bear, Jayyyyyy from 4:20Q.

The best part about cooking with judges is watching them analyze the score sheet afterwards.  Everyone knew the brisket was money.  But that’s competition BBQ!

Great to be back in VA.