Rhythm 'n QUE

10/09/2024

10/08/2024

The look on your face when your 3500 mile road trip is because you'll be cooking barbeque in Lynchburg, TN!

It's Jack Week!

08/24/2024

The FEC100 is purring away, but it gave me quite a scare last night before bed.

Did you know that pellet smokers don't work very well when the auger doesn't turn? It's true! What could have been a H-U-G-E, huge problem, turned out to be a couple of very simple fixes with some fantastic help from folks here at the Montana Pitmaster Classic.

Troy with Kenyon Noble Lumber & Hardware set me up with a replacement shear/cotter pin, Scott with Low Eye Que put his mad appliance repair skillz to work and discovered the auger motor wasn't receiving the correct amount of power, and FEC guru Pat Calnan of 202 BBQ knew exactly where to check for a loose wire connection on the control board.

Thanks to the help and kindness of these three gentlemen, I was able to fix the problems and all is well.

And, once again, I am incredibly grateful!

08/23/2024

Pre-dawn in Montana.

This is my fourth and final trip this summer to this beautiful state.

The folks at Kenyon Noble Lumber & Hardware are once again hosting their annual event, the Montana Pitmaster Classic this weekend in Bozeman.

I am so fortunate and so grateful to be able to live this life!

08/06/2024

What an honor to be on the "Automatic" list once again!

Whether it is your first time or (like us) your sixth, being invited to this contest is a very special thing!

07/30/2024

At 4:44am on Sunday, while competing in Dillon, MT, I received the following message from my friend Chris Webb of Bushmaster BBQ:

"Congratulations Vince, you're going to The Jack!"

I immediately knew what he meant, too.

He was telling me that our friends Phil & Carmen of LC BBQ won their 7th Grand Championship earlier that day in Australia, earning themselves an automatic entry into The Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue. Based on all of The Jack's qualifying rules, one ripple effect of LC's now automatic entry meant that RnQ would be invited for having won the recent contest in Salt Lake City. But that ripple effect doesn't stop there.

With RnQ in for the SLC win, Bushmaster BBQ would now be invited for wins in Bozeman & Absarokee, MT.

All of this still had to be confirmed by Pam Mulhollen Hess at Jack Daniel’s and, while driving home from Dillon, MT on Monday, she let me know that it was all accurate!

Congratulations to Phil & Carmen on the amazing accomplishment of 7 Grand Championships this season, and to Chris for securing his second consecutive invitation!

As for RnQ, this will be our 6th trip to Lynchburg and our first since 2012!

There's no better place to be than The Hollow in October!

07/28/2024

From Dillon, MT...

1st Chicken
4th Ribs
1st Pork
3rd Brisket
RGC

More later.

I need to get the Land Schooner loaded!

Edited on Tuesday to add...

I'm back home in Phoenix after a long drive on Monday. Unpacking and cleaning is almost done so let's get caught up.

Stacey Roundy of the Dillon Montana Community Foundation did a wonderful job transitioning this event from a local, backyard style contest into a nationally sanctioned, 4-meat event. Although it didn't reach the minimum team count to be a "qualifier" for the national Invitational events, many local teams were in the field and there were also a number of food and product vendors making this a very fun community happening. I'm excited to see this event grow and look forward to returning in the years to come.

The Bearded Boar BBQ Team took top honors as they earned their first ever Grand Championship! They had a great day and I am very happy to have been on hand to share in the excitement.

Finally, I'd like to thank my long-time friend Jesse Johnson and his Pitmaster Supply Company - Layton for helping me out of a tight spot. I was out of an item that I needed for the Dillion contest and knew it wasn't available in Phoenix. I contacted Jesse and he told me he would have it waiting for me on Friday as I passed through Salt Lake City on my way to Montana. As promised, he had it ready for me when I arrived. The store is incredibly well stocked with huge selection of rubs and sauces, as well as smokers, grills, cooking fuel, and accessories. If you're in the Sslt Lake City area, check them out.

Next up, is the Smoke Show in East Helena, MT on August 9-10.

07/21/2024

It has been a very busy weekend!

Edited on Sunday morning to add...

Sorry for just the original one line post above. Between the excitement and the exhaustion yesterday, I basically checked into my room, showered off the smoke, and slept!

My results from Saturday were:

12th Chicken
3rd Ribs
2nd Pork (180)
6th Brisket
Grand Champion

Congratulations to JP & Colleen of Bourbon & Blues BBQ on winning their first Reserve Grand Championship on the Master Series circuit after earning Team of the Year last year in the Backyard Division. They've been traveling all across the country to test their skills and clearly it is paying off!

Thanks to the Days of 47 Rodeo & R&R BBQ for hosting and sponsoring this event. They have high hopes to grow this into a much larger contest in the coming years and I am honored to have been here at the beginning.

Finally, thanks again to my long-time friend, Michael Knight, for spending the day with me. He joined me in Ogden, UT, a few weeks back when I crashed and burned, so I was extra motivated to do a much better job this time around!

OK, time to head back to Phoenix, and start preparing for the event in Dillon, MT next weekend!

07/01/2024

The Land Schooner is back to home port after a very fun weekend at the Smoke-N-Wings BBQ Contest in Blackfoot, ID. The pummeling received the previous weekend sparked major changes to Chicken, Rib & Pork and earned the following results:

22nd Place Chicken
5th Ribs
7th Pork
10th Brisket
13th Overall

As you can see, the changes to Chicken were not successful, but those made to Ribs & Pork most definitely were. So, work will continue on the yardbird recipe and I already have a few tweaks in mind for the other three meats. It's a good thing I love testing and practice!

This was a first-time KCBS sanctioned contest and Contest Organizer Steve McClellan piloted this event beautifully from take-off to a perfect landing. Even the in-flight entertainment (Friday night's band) was excellent! I've participated in 250+ competitions over the years and this one is definitely among the most smoothly run. Well done, Steve!

Darren Warth won the event Grand Championship so his Iowa's Smokey D's BBQ team will return to Lynchburg, TN this October where he'll try to win The Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue for the second time.

Crooked Pigs BBQ from Boise, ID won the Reserve Grand Championship

RnQ will be home for a couple of weekends and then it's off to Salt Lake City for the "Blaze of 47" contest. Time to fire up the smoker and get to work!

06/29/2024

We have 28 teams on site so our Reps have informed us that they'll run 4 tables today making this event a completely level playing field.

The Grand Champions earn an automatic invitation to "The Jack", aka The Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue!

06/29/2024

Me, when my alarm sounds in the middle of the night because it's time to start cooking Brisket!