Queen Mary’s 5th Annual West Coast BBQ Classic

Competition is definitely a family affair, but still, the men are the masters…pit masters, that is.

Our trip to the West Coast BBQ Classic at the Queen Mary was both educational and enlightening. For one thing, it wasn’t very far removed from barbecuing in your own back yard. The men were in the back, hanging around the smokers and grills, ensuring that the meat reached the proper degree of doneness. Meanwhile the women were out in front of the booths serving up samples or making sure the boxes the judges would receive were ready to show off the competitive product most effectively.

Whether it was cousin, aunt, sister-in-law or even a wife, every member of the 30 teams who competed on May 14th contributed to what they hoped would be the winning entries.

No Food Competition is Complete Without People’s Choice

Competition for People’s Choice was especially fierce with both the 2014 and 2015 winners present and dishing up their tastiest creations. It also gave spectators a chance to taste for themselves the results of hours of practice from the talented and dedicated pitmasters.

2015 winner, Outta Gas BBQ brought tacos, pork ribs, hot links, green chili mac and cheese, barbeque beans and fruit on a stick to this year’s competition along with cousins, aunts, uncles, parents and grandparents. There are even a few friends in the mix for this team which was founded in 2013. Pitmaster Chris Ades answered a few questions for us before the event:

SC What is your favorite combination of ingredients and equipment? Why?

CA BBQ is typically a simple food, so I would say beef, salt, pepper on a live fire cooker (grill or smoker.)

SC What inspired you to get into competitive BBQ?

CA Watching the T.V. show BBQ Pitmasters got me interested in the sport of competition BBQ. Practicing in my back yard and seeing my cooking improve got me thinking about trying a BBQ competition, and after about a year of working up the nerve, I signed up for the WCBC and went head first. Thankfully I didn’t embarrass myself and have been hooked ever since.

SC How much time do you and your team devote to competition (prep, recipe development, competition, etc.)?

CA We only cook in about 3 – 4 competitions a year at this time but are trying to do more, schedule permitting. I try to cook on the BBQ at least 1 to 2 times per week and love to try different spices and flavor profiles. Right now my team and I all have regular 9-5 jobs but would love to turn our hobby into a career.

Twisted Brisket, the 2014 People’s Choice winner boasted numerous awards including 1st Place, People’s Choice at both Pechanga, and the 3rd and 4th annual Vista BBQ Classic. Rob Rice heads the team of four pit masters who are supported by an extensive group of family and friends. They were doing a brisk business with their brisket, ribs, pulled pork, chicken, banana pudding, candied bacon and nachos so getting close to their booth entailed a bit of a wait; tribute enough to the quality of their food.

To People’s Choice and Beyond

Not all of the teams were serious contenders for the People’s Choice awards. Instead, they focused their efforts on creating something the judges would find outstanding and which would help them advance to championship events which are held across the country, specifically with the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS)

Pitmaster Mike “Mo” Lindley of Smokin Mo’s BBQ is one of those for whom competitive barbecuing is a serious business. Not only is he set to appear on a show called “Smoked” on Destination America, his 4 years of competition have yielded him 7 Grand Championships, 3 Reserve Grand Championships and in his words “too many 3rds to count”. He’s also qualified as a finalist in the Sam’s Town competition to be held in Bentonville, AR. He has chances at 2 “bungs” for the Jack Daniels finals where he represented Nevada last year. After sampling his bacon-wrapped meatball with agave, I can easily see why he’s so successful. The flavor combination is truly pit-masterful.

Rick Mysse of Hickory and Spice BBQ is a judge turned competitor. He, too answered a few questions for us prior to the event.

SC Inasmuch as your team is relatively new to the competitive BBQ circuit, how much do you think your tenure as a judge has been a factor in the frequency and level of your wins?

RM Judging made a HUGE difference in how I cook and present our boxes. Sitting at a table with 5 other judges and the discussions that follow when we’re done told me a lot about what they are looking for in the perfect bite. It also let me see that even though there is a tremendous amount of subjectivity to it, good food is good food and inevitably we would agree on which entries were the best on our table.

SC What inspired you to start competing instead of judging?

RM My dear friend and contest organizer, California BBQ Association Hall of Fame member Thom Emery needed a team at an event in March of 2015 at Havasu Landing and ‘gently’ persuaded me to give it a try. I had already cooked with him a couple times besides judging other events so the seeds were sown — that just maybe we could be competitive and not completely embarrass ourselves. That was our first and to date only contest we have not had a ‘call’ (be in the top ten of a category). Never in my wildest imagination would I have guessed we would have the success we have had or that I would be cooking 25 contests in 2016!

SC You cook with your son and grandson. Is one of you the head cook or do you tend to collaborate when making decisions or changes to improve your performance?

RM I am currently the head cook — but I get a great deal of input from my son Luke who is the official ‘taster’ and helps me decide what goes in the turn-in box. He has a far better palate than I do — I prefer spicy-hot and he’s always the voice of reason on keeping it at a level the judges seem to enjoy more than what I like. My grandson Andrew is 11, but he’s already a very accomplished cook at home and I see the day he’ll become the head cook at the KCBS at the ‘legal’ age of 16. I’ll be more than happy by then to sit in my recliner and watch his dad and him shoulder the stress I feel every weekend trying to produce the best BBQ on the planet!! All three of us debrief every contest and make decisions about any changes that we make at the next one. So it really is a collaborative family effort.

Daniel Jess of Smoky Doky Barbecue is one of a number of competitors who takes time out from his catering business to compete. He creates his own sauces and rubs, using his team of family and friends to taste test. He’s been competing for about 3 years and does 5 local events per year. Though the team has yet to win an event, it’s been moving up the ranks. He and his team are encouraged by their progress.

Dan Gibson of DG Firehouse Bar-B-Que is also a caterer but he’s a fireman too. He started out cooking in the firehouse kitchen and branched out from there. He also bears the distinction of being named one of 2 Rookies of the Year. Though some of his recipes are still evolving, he’s perfected his barbecue beans, peach cobbler and brisket which regularly place in the top 10. After trying his beans, which are a cross between barbecue beans and chili I can see why! They have a smoky, chipotle flavor and are laced with bits of his smoked brisket.

Although I’d love to share the tastes and talents of all 30 of the competitors, space and time prohibit a story of that length. Instead, I’ll give you one last competitor, Half Ass BBQ. Pitmaster Eric Miller, an active-duty Marine, and his wife Becky have been competing for 3 years despite the geographical challenge of having half the team in Orange County, CA and the other half in Billings, MT. They were recently named Grand Champion at a competition in Norco, CA.

Are Your Taste Buds Tingling?

The best advice I can give for attending a barbecue competition is to come hungry. The food is not for lightweights. Just a few small tastes were enough to fill me up but most of those were incredible examples of culinary art executed on grills and in smokers. Check your local newspapers or websites for upcoming events. Championship BBQ is gaining in popularity and events are added regularly. They even had one at the recent Stagecoach Country Music Festival where Smokin’ Mo’s came away with the Grand Championship.