What lit your fire?

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bradgreer

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I was just wondering what got everybody started in this crazy world of competition bbq? How did you get the bug? In other words...what lit your fire?

Thanks,
 
Buddies talked me into doing a comp because I had a smoker. We didn't have a clue what we were doing and finished DAL. Pissed me off and decided to get serious.
 
Guess I should answer my own question. To be honest, one day I was watching TV and saw the first season of BBQ pitmasters, and the next day I bought my first smoker. (22.5 wsm) Since then I fell in love with the people. You don't meet better people than in bbq.
 
Did a backyard comp in 2011 we won grandchampion. Cooked 2 butts, 2 briskets, 4 racks of ribs, 18 thighs and a pork loin on 1 chargriller. That was my first time competing.
 
Been cookin bbq in the back yard for years. Entered a small town rib cookoff a few years back and won. It all took off from there.
 
We bought a wsm after going to a couple comps with my sister and brother in law. I just wanted to be able to cook a brisket at home that was tasty. We decided last fall to try a comp. Loved it. Everyone on here should try at least one. Its the greatest time.
 
way back in the beginning i thought that anyone who competed had some monitary reason for being there like owning a restaurant, selling a sauce or rub or owning a catering company. i thought a competition was a way for them to advertise and gain credability by winning. i was almost incredulous when i was told it was simply for "fun"! "fun"??? totally upending a peaceful weekend to drag a $H!# load of stuff miles and miles away to sit on a folding chair all night to cook for a bunch of people and give them this food that you just paid for and put every effort into... FOR FREE, just so they could tell you how crappy it was? i had to find out why!!! so i entered the Battle of the BBQ Brethren in 2007 and got three calls! when i saw the look on my Sons face when he accepted our first medal i was totally hooked! "THIS IS FUN!!!" i said to myself. we had had one of the best times of our lives. not just the calls but the whole experience of doing something you love with others who feel the same way. my work schedule only allows us to compete once or twice a year but we look foward to those times all year... and, i still have those three medals and a picture of my Son accepting them in a shadow box in my hallway!!! :grin:
 
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My good friend cooked the best BBQ. He and I started cooking CASI chili and once we started winning (trophies) we attended a chili/bbq cook off and saw them handing out checks$$$ we quit chili and started to compete at Q for the money.

Can I sell you some chili trophies??
 
In high school, I worked near what was the only BBQ restaurant in RI at that time. Started by a man from Missouri, it was simply the most amazing food I had ever tried. I didn't think food could be like that.

Fast forward 20 years. After living all over the world, I find myself back in RI. The founder of the restaurant is long gone, and so is the quality. It's simply awful. A few new places have popped up, but they aren't that great.

I popped into our local hardward store and caught a clearance sale for the summer items. There sat a brand new 18" WSM for $99. "For $99, why not?", I thought. (I think that $99 has cost me about 200 grand more so far. :becky: )

My wife and I started making BBQ at home. We had no idea what we were doing, but it brought back memories of that restaurant from long ago. After pestering our friends (unsuccessfully) to come over and try the food, we finally packed up the WSM and brought it to them. Within a week they bought one. Within 3 months they said "Hey, did you know there are contests for this?"

We tried one. That was 8 years and 90 contests ago.
 
When my wife was pregnant last year she brought home a rack of ribs and said see what you can do with these. Not owning a smoker I converted my charcoal grill to smoke them. They were the best ribs we ever had. It didn't help having a bbq pitmasters marathon on. So this winter I decided to build an offset out of some pipe I found at the scrap yard and try and hone my "skills" until I got it just right. Well a comp came up this year just an hour from my home town and decided to enter. Two calls later I was hooked and somehow talked my wife into a second comp this year. I got lucky and got 3 calls and a 6th overall. To top things off my wife was watching fb and saw Deep South was offering a demo unit for $500 off list price and told me to buy it today.
 
Went to the big Reno Rib Cookoff. Paid 3 bucks
a bone (small baby backs). I was not impressed and told the wife that I can do better than this... Still working on it!
NUTZ
 
A couple years ago, my wife bought me a little Chargiller smoker for my birthday. Soon after, we happened upon our first episode of Pitmasters and entered our first competition. Had an absolute blast and met so many great people, including a really drunk guy who had won Grand there before and gave us tons of great tips. With our basic little setup, we ended taking 3rd in ribs against 30+ teams with super slick rigs and smokers! My wife had mainly served in a support role up to that point, but now she was and still is totally hooked. Before that, we each had our own individual interests, but now barbecue is our thing we do together and it has definitely made us even closer.
 
I frequently went to a local comp that a friend cooked in regularly, to hang out and drink beer with him. Then started cooking bbq around the house and everyone said how good it was. I always liked watching cooking comp shows, not just pitmasters, but Top Chef, Chopped, and hell even donut wars. Entered my first comp in March this year and did pretty good. Now it has become my hobby of choice.
 
CBQ said:
In high school, I worked near what was the only BBQ restaurant in the DC area at that time. Started by a man from Texas, it was simply the most amazing food I had ever tried. I didn't think food could be like that.
Click to expand...
Funny, all I had to do was change 3 words to tell my story
 
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