This is where it all started in 2001, Alma, Missouri. This was the first ever contest for Randy and I. We’ve been coming back ever since to support this tiny, non-sanctioned contest. We’ve been there when it was 104 degrees and when it rained the entire contest. In the beginning there have been as many as 14 teams, then seven teams for a few years, but the last five or six years have seen only five teams each year. Hopefully, we can get more teams to come and grow this little contest. The contest is always the Saturday of 4th of July weekend and is part of the Alma Independence Day festivities. They have some of the best fireworks displays around.

Overall: Grand Champion

Ribs: 1st
Brisket: 1st
Chicken: 2nd
Beans: 2nd
Bratwurst: 2nd

For Father’s Day weekend, we took a short, very short, camping trip.  We are fortunate enough to have two beautiful lakes within a couple miles of our house: Blue Springs Lake and Lake Jacomo.  Both have campgrounds.  This weekend, we secured a spot less than 50 feet from the playground at Blue Springs Lake.  Mom and I were able to sit and watch the boys play and communicate with them right from our campsite.  Camping a couple of miles from home has its advantages.  Mom and Christian slept at home Friday night and we all took naps at home on Saturday.  Since the dog stayed home all weekend, we would make trips home to check on her and let her out to do what dogs do.  Back at the campsite, while the boys played with the other camping kids, I got to play with fire.  The site had these awesome fire rings that had a grill that you could flip over onto your fire.

Saturday night was NY strip steak, ribeye steak, pit beans, stuffed fresno peppers, and baked potatoes.

Who needs a pot?  These beans were made cowboy style… right in the can!

One of our pictures from the Great American BBQ is prominently placed on the Cookshack Winners Circle.  Cookshack is the maker of the Fast Eddy series of cookers.  We have two Fast Eddy 100 models on the back of my trailer.  We’ve been using a Fast Eddy (FEC-100) since June of 2007.

225 Teams

9th Overall
1st Pork
11th Brisket

The second round of the Great American BBQ weekend ran like a well oiled watch.  Randy and I were working hand and glove together.  Cookers ran well.  Timing worked out perfectly on everything. We were happier with our Open entries than we were with our Invitational entries.  No matter how we finished, we had a great time.  The judges kind to us as well.
First place in pork among 225 of some of the best teams in the country was awesome.

Next step for Randy and I is our 5th appearance at the World Pork Expo next week.

61 Teams

6th Overall
4th Pork
11th Chicken
18th Brisket

This was our first ever invitational competition. The Great American Invitational consists of teams who have won qualifying contests in the prior year. Qualifying contests are those with a governor’s proclamation of a state championship and have at least 15 teams if a first year contest or 25 teams if not a first year contest. Our qualifying win was the Jesse James contest in Kearney, MO last fall.

As our first invitational against some of the very best teams in the country, we were extremely thrilled to have done so well. This was the first time that Randy and I have had a chance to cook a contest together in 2008. We immediately moved on to contest number two: the Great American BBQ Open contest. With the pressure off having already received a call and a top ten overall finish for the weekend, we looked forward to a more relaxing Open contest.

52 Teams

2nd Overall - Reserve Grand Champion

8th Sausage
8th Chicken
5th Ribs
1st Pork

Again cooking with my friend Andy Groneman, we were able to hoist some hardware at our second competition of the year.  We were pleased with all of our entries and, thankfully, so were the judges.  Grand champion was our friend Rod Gray of Pellet Envy.

For quick biscuits that taste so close to homemade, I gotta give two spatulas up for Grands! Southern Style Biscuits.  These frozen biscuits go from hockey pucks to fluffy rich biscuits in 17 minutes in a 375 degree oven.  The resealable bag means that you can prepare two or three biscuits now and have more for later.

I’m a huge biscuits and gravy fan.  Growing up in Northwest Iowa, it wasn’t a staple breakfast.  Now I, it is my go to comfort food.  So, I have to admit, that my Grands! Biscuits were put to good use under a bucket of sausage gravy.  All is right with the world.

52 Teams

1st Overall

2nd - Chicken
4th - Ribs
2nd - Pork
6th - Brisket

This was the first contest of the 2008 season, and what a way to start. We were cooking with the new BBQ trailer that had only been in our possession for 6 days. As someone said, a great way to christen the new BBQ rig.

My good friend, Andy Groneman joined me for this contest. It was my second Grand Championship and Andy’s first. It was the first time that I’ve had top 10 calls across all four categories in a single contest. It was an amazing feeling for both of us.

For the BBQ’er who has everything, how about a billet aluminum hitch insert for their truck or SUV? Made from aircraft grade aluminum, these inserts fit neatly in any standard 2″ hitch receiver.

Each catches the eye, but you better think about a locking hitch pin, or you may see it on your neighbors truck one morning.

These affordable BBQ hitch inserts can be found online.