Tag Archive: KCBS

  1. Pigmaster’s BBQ Challenge – Rutherford College, NC

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    By George DeMartz – Pitmaster of Twisted Pair BBQ, and Chris Schriver – Pitmaster of Brother-Uncle Barbeque

    2020 has been a tough year for a lot of BBQ competitors and BBQ contests! Now imagine being a 1st time Organizer trying to put on a 1st time KCBS sanctioned contest in a small town in the foothills of North Carolina! Pigmaster’s BBQ Challenge was just that contest and it was also the first MABA contest of the year in NC. Last year, a small unsanctioned contest was held with this year’s original concept to have a full out Town of Rutherford College run event that included an SCA Steak Contest, People’s Choice Pork, KCBS Ancillary Moonshine dessert, and a KCBS Masters Series Event with some big time BBQ names! Pitmaster Joel Abee of Creekside Smokers – NC and Jessica Bargsley, Town Clerk and Finance Manager, were the driving forces behind this event working with town officials to set the budget, establish the infrastructure, and guide the town staff into setting themselves up for long-term BBQ event success. Jessica will be the future organizer of this contest and was instrumental in the planning, organizing and fund raising. About that infrastructure investment, it was noted and well received that several power stations were made a permanent part of the parking lot surrounding the Town Hall building and extra portable power stations were tied in to make sure the teams had ample power.

    The competition was set to be a big success, but then COVID hit. The event was pushed from the spring of 2020 to September 11-12, 2020 as North Carolina was in a high state of containment as a direct result of the COVID pandemic. The organizer and town did an outstanding job in the face of adversity and downsized this year’s event to a non-public, private competition only, and put safeguards and checkpoints in place to ensure that the competitors and judges were provided the safest environment to participate in. There was a fenced-off single entrance into the competition with a temperature check point. Team members were checked against a list of competitors along with the “new normal” guidelines of using masks, gloves, and sanitary wipes.

    The eve of the KCBS sanctioned contest started off with an SCA sanctioned steak contest including a burger ancillary. There were 31 strong steak cooks in this field where several of the MABA and KCBS teams took the time from their BBQ prep to cook the steak contest. It should be highlighted that during the KCBS meeting, reps Alan Rothrock and Doug Reid did a fine job of setting out the guidelines for the event, talking the teams through the COVID guidelines and getting everyone settled in. A couple of first time Masters cook teams were present amongst a stacked field of which about 50% of the teams represented had GC’d or RGC’d in the past!

    Saturday morning rolled around, and the competitors woke up to a hazy overcast day with smoke rolling on the humid air. You could feel the anticipation from the event staff as they checked on the cook teams to see if anything was needed. They wanted this event to be successful and competitors to be comfortable and welcomed. A produce wagon was brought in where teams were offered sweet corn, melons, and other vegetables free of charge.

    As the competition heated up on Saturday during turn-ins, teams could be seen dodging rain drops as they delivered their prized boxes of BBQ perfection to the turn-in station. Shortly thereafter, awards started, just as the rain was settling down for the day and the teams’ fires were dying out. Awards were unique, and custom made with top 5 category places receiving a cool “Thunder Gourd” with overall grand champion and reserve grand champion receiving custom made wooden US flags. Walking away with overall grand champion was Smoke Monster BBQ (Justin Huey) with a 705+ score! Taking reserve grand champion honors was Mcadoo Heights BBQ (Sean Sewell and crew) with a 697+ score.

    Two perfect scores would be crowned as well as Hickory Barbeque Company would score a perfect 180 in chicken and Redneck Scientific would score a perfect 180 in pork! The six-month competition hiatus from COVID didn’t seem to faze the teams from putting out quality products. In speaking with the judges afterwards it was noted that a lot of good BBQ was presented that day, and all seemed happy to be back judging again. Thank you to all who helped make the Pigmaster’s BBQ Challenge a safe and successful event. Here’s to making next year bigger and better!

  2. Interview with the Champs – Pullin’ My Money Muscle

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    Day one of the BBQ Jamboree in Fredericksburg, VA saw a new face in the winner’s circle. Tom Sainclair, pitmaster of Pullin’ My Money Muscle Competition BBQ Team pulled of his first KCBS grand championship. Check out Tom’s answers as we inquired about his first GC and all-around interesting weekend! Tom’s been hot this year and I bet the next one is around the corner!

    Question:
    So, we understand you had some troubles right out of the shoot in Fredericksburg…tell us about that.
    Tom Sainclair, Pullin’ My Money Muscle:
    Yes, we all had a tough offseason. Our trailer was in the shop for almost 6 months getting worked on with all our smokers in it so we never got to practice the whole off season. Our truck was having fuel pump issues and I have had bad back troubles. The truck was bucking on the way down to the competition so bad, Melissa wanted to turn around and go home and cancel. We already had cancelled Hagerstown because of all this and I really didn’t want to cancel another one. We pushed on and made it but it took forever and we were exhausted.

    Question:
    How did your cook on Day 1 go? Were you confident?
    Tom Sainclair, Pullin’ My Money Muscle:
    In a word….NO!!! Our cook was challenging. My back was so bad at one point I couldn’t stand up from a seated position without help. I was walking with a cane. One of the teams gave us some pvc piping to put on the legs of our table so I could stand up while making the boxes. We forgot a rub and foil. Other teams were very nice and helped us out with all these things but I was just trying to turn in some decent food. That’s what I thought we produced, decent food, not special just good. In fact, I thought our day 2 food was much better and we finished 19th, so goes to show you what I know!

    Question:
    When did you know you might have a chance to pull off the win?
    Tom Sainclair, Pullin’ My Money Muscle:
    Well we started awards with a 1st in sauce and a 1st in chicken. We then got 8th in ribs but it wasn’t until we took 5th in pork I thought we had a chance. I mean I thought brisket was our best category but you know how that goes, that’s normally the kiss of death. Then they called us 4th in brisket and I started to sweat.

    Question:
    How did it feel when they finally called your name as GC?
    Tom Sainclair, Pullin’ My Money Muscle:
    Well I got really nervous when the organizer announced that the difference between 1st and 2nd was 0.6 points! My first reaction was omg we are going to come up short again. We have been so close so many times and I had myself talked into the fact that we were falling short again. Once I heard them call Wolfs Revenge as RGC I was hit with every emotion all at once. I mean everything we had been through, the lack of practice, the pain I was in, how long we have been waiting for this, it all hit at once. One thing I have never told anybody was that a couple of years ago we almost quit competition BBQ. We had a bad year, everyone was getting so good, I just didn’t see the point in continuing to dump more money into this hobby if we weren’t going to get many returns. We decided to give it one more year and see what happened. That year we did well, and here we are. I always wondered how I would react if we won, and the bottom line was I was just overcome and filled up with tears.

    Question:
    Some of the best teams in the country were there, how did it feel to beat them on this day? Did it make it more special?
    Tom Sainclair, Pullin’ My Money Muscle:
    Listen, after waiting this long for a GC, I would have taken one against a bunch of backyard teams making their pro debuts! I guess to answer your question specifically though, yes it was very humbling to have it happen against such a great quality field as this one. Some of these teams have mentored us through the years, and a lot of them we look up to and admire for their unbelievable consistency. Bottom line is, competition bbq is tough. EVERYONE is good or they wouldn’t be there. So you definitely need a little luck no matter how good you are to win, and we were super lucky that particular day.

    Question:
    Now you’ve got a bung for a the “Jack,” and an entry into the Royal Invitational. What are your thoughts about that and will you go?
    Tom Sainclair, Pullin’ My Money Muscle:
    So while we have certainly been a good team on the circuit for a while now, it took us a long time to pull all 4 meats together at 1 comp and win the GC. I would love to tell you that this will be our first of many, but I cant do that. We may never win another GC again. So yes, we are in the early stages of planning to go to the Royal, we want to go at least once. We only have like an 8% chance of going to the Jack, but hell yeah, if we get our bung drawn, I wouldn’t miss that for the world!! When we first started competing, I had a list of goals I wanted to accomplish, and going to the Royal and the Jack are the only 2 left I need to check off my list!

    Question:
    How did you celebrate after the big win on day one?
    Tom Sainclair, Pullin’ My Money Muscle:
    Honestly, we didn’t really have much time to celebrate. By the time we got back to the trailer it was time to start injecting and getting ready for day 2. Also, once the adrenaline wore off, I was in incredulous pain. Sometimes I still don’t know if I even believe that it happened. If there was any competition, out of every one we have ever done, that I did NOT expect to win, it would have been this one with everything going on. It just goes to show you, on any given Saturday, anything can happen.

    Question:
    Where are you cooking next and what’s the plan for the rest of the year?
    Tom Sainclair, Pullin’ My Money Muscle:
    We are competing in the double at Gettysburg Memorial day weekend. We are only signed up for 11 comps total this year, and we probably wont sign up for any more now either that we are adding the Royal. That will bring us to 13 and totally drain my vacation days for the year. If we get super lucky and get drawn for the Jack, we are in trouble!

    Question:
    Congrats again…anything you’d like to add?
    Tom Sainclair, Pullin’ My Money Muscle:
    I would just like to say that the reception we got, when they announced our name, was unbelievable. It was like a receiving line at a wedding. The bbq community is SO nice and So supportive its beyond comprehension. My phone was blowing up from other teams at other comps congratulating us. We love being a part of these wonderful people and what they represent. It’s said so much its almost cliché at this point, but everyone IS like family. I don’t think we could ever totally quit competition bbq because of the people in it.

    I also am so lucky to get to share these experiences with my 2 best friends in the world, Melissa and Dave. They are the best teammates ever. Angela, Dave’s wife, is a saint too. She always supports anything we want to do. Finally, thanks to you for asking us about our story!!

  3. Interstate BBQ Festival – Hagerstown, MD

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    By Howard Poole, MABA Board member and pitmaster of Plum Crazy BBQ.

    Becoming one of the Premiere Events in the Mid-Atlantic Region, The Interstate BBQ Festival, hosted by Rob Immer, draws teams from up and down the coast to compete not only for the Grand Championship, but for the Maryland teams to compete for the MABA Maryland State Championship. The Interstate Festival typically draws 60 or more Professional teams, as well as one of the largest backyard competitions in the area. Along with the KCBS Main event, competitors also have the option of competing in ancillary categories on Friday evening. These categories include: Steak, Burgers, Dessert, Wings, and a Kids Que.

    Friday night was definitely a “high-flying” time for teams. During turn-ins, and Steak result announcements, teams dealt with wind, rain, and even tornadoes (Seriously! You can find the videos on the weather channel). Even with all of this rough weather, teams still turned in some great entries, and some fantastic steaks!! Congratulations to Piggin Whiskey on their Steak Championship!

    The Friday night weather led to some fantastic weather on Saturday. With the sun shining, and a slight breeze in the air, teams finally had a chance to dry off, safely visit with others, and focus on the big meats!! Teams turned in some great boxes, and the results showed.

    Congratulation to Uncle Pigs Barbeque Pit for winning Grand Championship, to Drilling and Grilling for Reserve Grand Championship, and to 3 Eyz BBQ for winning The Maryland State MABA Championship.

    For Full KCBS Results, Click Here.

  4. The Ironman – Greencastle, PA

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    By Howard Poole, MABA Board member and pitmaster of Plum Crazy BBQ. 

    It’s not often that BBQers get associated with Ironman competitions. Most of us aren’t considered brisk joggers, let alone a group known for running through intense triathlons. Yet, at the beginning of April, teams come from miles around to try their hand at the Ironman KCBS Contest in Greencastle, Pennsylvania. Instead of running or swimming, teams are tasked with cooking old school. That means no electronics, and limited meat per each team. It is an intense match to find out who truly knows the smokers they use, and who can pull off near perfection with so little room for error.

    Teams started Friday night with the Ironman Steak Cook-off. A lot of great steaks were turned in, and even though it rained most of Friday evening, the rain did let off in time for new SCA reps Keith and Angel Todd to announce the winner. Congrats to Michael Rosenthal of Dr. Pearls Medicinal Smoke on achieving Grand Champion at the cook-off, and for securing the golden ticket to the World Steak Championship!!!

    Friday night broke into some great early April weather (woohoo Ironman!!) and made for some great cooking conditions. To truly give the Ironman its namesake, teams must take the meat into account. Teams are allowed to cook 1 pork butt, 1 brisket, 1 rack of ribs, and 7 chicken thighs max. So if one mistake is made, it could cost a cook big. Even with all of these extra challenges, teams came back with some great scores, and turned out some fantastic BBQ. Congratulations to Wolf’s Revenge BBQ for the Grand Championship and to Piggin Whiskey on RGC.

    Click here for full results

  5. Three Gunter Wilhelm MABA Cup Champions Crowned in the Spring

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    Congrats to 3 Eyz BBQ on winning the Maryland MABA Cup at the Interstate BBQ Festival!

    Congrats to Wolf’s Revenge on winning the Virginia MABA Cup in Fredericksburg, VA!


    Congrats to Convicted Pigs BBQ on winning the West Virginia MABA Cup in Roanoke, WV!

  6. BBQ Gives Back Crowns Good Smoke as the Gunter Wilhelm MABA Cup Champion

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    by Luke Darnell, MABA President and pitmaster for Old Virginia Smoke

    You may have needed an ark to get to your site, and you may have been on the search for “umami,” but this year’s BBQ Gives Back did not disappoint.

    This was the first year that the competition was a double contest, and by and large the event was a great success from organizers Bill and Mary Jones.

    This year’s event, as always, featured a contest within a contest, pitting all 8 of the Gunter Wilhelm MABA Cup winners against each other for the MABA Cup Championship.  New this year, however, was that the MABA Cup winners would combine both scores for a two day total to crown their champion.

    Day 1 featured some grizzly weather, but the teams endured.  Who Cares BBQ was crowned GC for Day 1, with Good Smoke as RGC.

    The weather improved with Day 2, and double was very successful.  On Day 2, Good Smoke BBQ was the GC with Old Virginia Smoke winning RGC.

    Their 2 day combined total gave Good Smoke the Gunter Wilhelm MABA Cup Championship!

    Also at this event, BBQData.com provided an award for the two day score winner which was also Good Smoke.

  7. Contests, Cookers, BBQ Prizes, and TOY Awards Headline 2019 MABA Annual Banquet

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    Over 30 contests, three awesome cookers,  and dozens of other top-notch barbecue  products to be raffled off at the MABA Annual Meeting February 23rd in Charles Town, West Virginia!  

    There’s still time to sign upfor the MABA Annual Banquet, but time is running out.  Be in attendance for your chance to win free contest entries and fabulous barbecue prizes.  See who will walk away with Tier 1 and 2 trophies and checks in all four meat categories and overall for the 2018 season.  Find out who you, members of MABA, selected to represent you on the board of directors for 2019 – 2020, and much, much more!

    Here’s a list confirmed list of the contests that have graciously donated an entry into the raffle!  Remember, you must attend the MABA Annual Banquet to win!

    Boo-B-Que
    New Castle Colonial BBQ
    MD State BBQ Festival
    Beltway BBQ Showdown
    Interstate BBQ Festival
    Smokin on the Dock of the Bay
    Eastern Carolina BBQ Throwdown
    Kings of Q
    BBQ Capital Cookoff
    Currituck Heritage Festival
    Butts & Beans BBQ Challenge
    Jiggy with the Piggy
    Mountain High BBQ Festival
    Polar Pig BBQ Cook Off
    Smoking in the Foothills BBQ Festival
    Tilley Biker Blues & BBQ Rally
    I Love BBQ & Music Festival
    Ribs and Rhythm & Blues
    Smoke in the Grove
    Smoke in the Park
    York County BBQ Festival
    Gettysburg BBQ Festival
    Twin Valley Fire & Smoke
    Mohegan Sun
    Que & Cruz
    BBQ Gives Back
    BBQ Jamboree
    Chesapeake Jubilee
    Chillin & Grillin in the Glades
    Covington Cork & Pork
    Almost Heaven BBQ Bash
    Smokin on the Buffalo
    Lancaster BBQ Supply SCA

    Also donated for the banquet raffle are the following great barbecue products/companies:

    Aporkalypse Now BBQ & Steak Class March 2-3, 2019

    Aporkalypse Now BBQ & Steak Class April 13-14, 2019

    Threadzone team shirt coupon

    Flameboss WiFi temp controller with universal adapter

    GrillGrate set (3 panel 16.25”)

    Tub o’ Towels

    Monolith Classic Cooker

    Char-Griller Akorn Kamado Kookers

    Killer Hogs Rubs and Sauce Basket

    BBQ Bob’s rubs and sauces

    Stubb’s BBQ Sauces

    And More!!!

    The Mid-Atlantic Barbecue Associationis pleased to be able to raffle off THREE cookers at the 2019 MABA Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet:

    BBQ Guru

    The first cooker is a Monolith Classic with DigiQ DX2 donated by  .

    Monolith BBQ Guru Edition Classic with DigiQ DX2 with 1 Food Probe - FREE SHIPPING
    Lancaster BBQ Supply
    Gateway Drum Smoker

    The second cooker is a Gateway Drum Smoker courtesy of .

    The Grill Center
    PK Grill

    The third cooker is an Original PK Grill & Smoker donated by .

    Tickets are $5 each or 5 tickets for $20.

    Tickets will be sold on the web until Thursday, February 21, 2019, and in person at the Annual Meeting. You DO NOT need to be present to win.

    Your ticket numbers will be generated at random. Your tickets will be input into the drawing which will be held during the annual meeting on February 23, 2019.

    Cookers or cooker gift certificates will be available to pick up at the annual meeting. If not present, arrangements will need to be made with the supplier for pickup/shipping. Any costs for customization or upgrades to the models donated, taxes, shipping costs, and/or other crating costs are the sole responsibility of the winner. Limit one win per person.

    Again, you DO NOT need to be present to win this drawing.

    CLICK HERETO PURCHASE TICKETS!

  8. Pigs in the Pit Alton, VA

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    Pigs in the Pit was a new contest in Alton, VA hosted at the Virginia International Raceway. ?The entire event and area in southern Virginia were greatly affected by the remnants of Hurricane Michael. ?Power issues in surrounding areas, highways that were flooded out, and thousands of down trees blocking many highways made it a challenge just to get to the venue. ?In fact, power was restored to the venue just hours before most teams arrived. ?Parts of the track were flooded so all events including racing and an Oktoberfest beer festival were cancelled. ?The only event that went on as planned the entire weekend was the barbecue contest…we’re a resilient bunch!

    The organizers did a great job for a first year contest and every one of our needs were met the entire weekend. ?Perhaps the other events being cancelled was a blessing in disguise because it gave this first year contest a chance to get a KCBS event under their belt before adding many other events on top of it.

    When the dust settled and the awards were handed out, it was Wolf’s Revenge taking grand champion. ?Congratulations to 3n1 Q on reserve!

    See full KCBS results here.

  9. Polar Pig BBQ Cook-Off Duel Concord, NC

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    The BBQ universe focused itself onto Concord, NC on Veteran’s Day for the first ever duel turn in contest in MABA-land.  Teams from all over the country came to town to try and chase points in this one-of-a-kind format, including Boomerang BBQ from Texas and the Smoking Hills from Kansas.

    It was raining (of course it was) for much of Friday, but that didn’t stop teams from enjoying a pizza party on Friday night hosted by Luke Darnell and the Food Network’s Jerry Stephenson.  No trout were harmed during the cooking of the pizza.
    On Saturday, the clouds broke and it was go time for the teams.
    Congrats to the winners!
    Duel A – Rooters n Tooters TN GC, Old Colony Smokehouse RGC
    Duel B – The Algood Bar-B-Q Pit Crew GC, Contagious Q RGC
    Word is this might be a traditional double next year…so stay tuned!
    Full KCBS results, Duel A here.
    Full KCBS results, Duel B here.
  10. Boo-B-Que Rehoboth Beach, DE

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    Another great event in Delaware on the coast!  This year, Sandy Fulton’s Boo B Que brought over 70 teams to the Delaware shore for Boo B Que!

    The weather was decent this year, and a lot of fun was had by all with the annual Friday night Halloween celebration.  A lot of the teams decorated which made for a fantasticly festive atmosphere.
    The winds blew in on Saturday morning making for a challenging cooking environment.  But that sure didn’t slow down 3Eyz BBQ who won Grand Champion honors, with Aporkalypse now taking RGC.
    Also, a huge congratulations to the Gunter Wilhelm DE MABA Cup Champion Hog Street Bullies.  Great job Brian Reamer!  We look forward to seeing you at BBQ Gives Back in March!
    Full KCBS results here.