Take a moment to read through the previous episodes, especially the first one if you haven’t already. It will give you a better understanding of the “characters” involved with the show and with the rules and procedures for the BBQ competition circuit.
This episode was the American Royal Open held in Kansas City, Missouri. Held right on the back of the Invitational which took place Friday & Saturday October 2-3, 2009. The Open took place on Sunday and as it’s name implies is not exclusive with is competitors as you can see with the nearly 500 who have entered.
This is one of the largest BBQ competitions in the nation…so any finish remotely near the top is darn good. One of things about the American Royal Open is that there is a group of competitors that tend to do it more as a party rather than a contest. More power to them but the real serious guys don’t appreciate that much. Harry Soo had an issue with this as the team stationed right next to him held a party with 300 guests that went into the wee hours of the night affecting his sleep.
Another interesting thing about this competition is that they require a 1:1 competitor to judge ratio. That means that there are a lot of judges that have been certified just for this contest…which also means that they’re brand new and don’t have experience. Myron discusses this a bit and brings up the point that their tastes are different and mentions that if he had chicken legs he would serve those over his thighs.
Take a moment to read through the previous episodes, especially the first one if you haven’t already. It will give you a better understanding of the “characters” involved with the show and with the rules and procedures for the BBQ competition circuit.
This episode covered the Dover Delaware BBQ Championship that took place last October 16th and 17th. There was a total of 81 competitors and $15,000 at stake. The biggest thing here was certainly the weather. They continued to mention the hardships that were brought up by trying to cook in such cold conditions. It was very difficult for a lot of the cooks to maintain the proper temperatures to cook their meats the way they would like. They attempted to insulate their barbecues with mats and blankets. That’s not to mention having to be out in the cold and rain to actually cook too.
As always there were a couple of people from the 6 featured throughout the show that didn’t make this particular episode. There was no mention of either Johnny Trigg or Paul Petersen this time. The show mainly featured the competition between Myron and Tuffy. Tuffy has beat Myron the last three years in Dover and on top of that Tuffy supplied Myron with his brisket because his was not going to arrive in time.
LeAnn was featured a lot as well. She had a lot of problems because she normally has the help from her boyfriend of three years Billy but we learn that they have split up and she is not going to have his aide. She brings along her 10-year-old daughter Sam to help. Sam is knowledgeable and is able to help LeAnn but there is a lot of things that Billy would normally do that either LeAnn has to end up doing herself or just doesn’t know how to do it.
Another fun thing in this episode was Harry Soo’s buddy Gary Notley branching off from Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ and competing against him as Notley Que. Harry taught Gary a lot of what he knows about BBQ and it was interesting to see them compete. It’s not entirely new for them, they’ve been up against each other several times on the California BBQ competition scene.
If you’ve missed the previous episodes of this intriguing series you can see our write-ups below. It’s actually a pretty entertaining show. If you’re unfamiliar with the competition BBQ circuit, which I’m assuming you are, take a minute to read through the first 3 episodes to get acquainted.
This episode was the American Royal Invitational held in Kansas City, Missouri. It has been called “the Super Bowl of Swine” by some. To be eligible you must won Grand Champion in at least one event the year prior. The total at stake is $10,000 and there are 124 competitors.
Due to the fact that it’s an invitational, understandably Paul Peterson was not an entrant. However, he took this opportunity to be schooled by the great Johhny Trigg and join Smokin’ Triggers for this competition. A wise move on his part and actually quite an enduring team the two made. It seems like Paul really took the chance to get inside the head of Johnny a learn from a master. I found him to be genuine in his interest to learn.
It was fun to watch Myron and Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson BBQ go at it a bit. The nice thing is that Chris can hold his own with Myron which isn’t the case with others sometimes.
The second episode of BBQ Pitmasters was more like the Myron Mixon show featuring LeeAnn Whippen. Johnny Trigg and Harry Soo were also in the episode but both Paul Petersen and Tuffy Stone were strangely absent. The odd thing is both Tuffy and Paul were in the competition (I’ve included their results) so I’m not sure why they weren’t on the show. Tuffy actually did extremely well beating 4 other of the show’s cooks and placing 7th overall and a very impressive 2nd in both chicken and brisket.
This competition was a 2-in-1 at the Murphysboro Barbecue Cook-off. The first was the Kansas City Barbecue Society featuring chicken, ribs, pork & brisket. This was done as a blind judging (the exact same setup as last week’s). The second competition, which was held simultaneously was the Memphis Barbecue Network featuring whole hog, pork shoulder and ribs. This was a presented judging, where a series of judges come to the cooks rigs and do a tasting and walk-through of their cooking process.
If you liked to see a little more background on the 6 cooks and how the KCBS judging works you can read last week’s review of the premiere episode. Also Diva Q has a very thorough and in-depth interview with Myron Mixon on her blog.
If the cooks chose to they could very well be cooking 7 different meats. I think Myron was the only one who did all seven but most of them entered all of the KCBS and a few of the MBN categories.
The only time Johnny was really in the show was during two disputes. The first at the initial meeting of the cooks. He tried to get them to change the timing for plating the brisket. He felt that there was too short a window. A number of the other cooks spoke up about them wanting to change everything for one guy and thought it was unfair. It was a bit confusing but I believe they increased the window slightly. The second dispute was with another cook in the competition who, while drunk, came up to Johnny mouthing off about how he was better than him. Johnny and him got pretty heated and in the end put a $100 bet on who would place better (Johnny won this bet).
Johnny and Heckler
The MBN was a first for Johhny, LeeAnn and Harry. You could tell that experience in the presenting to the judges helped a lot. Myron was very relaxed and extremely versed in what he was doing. Johnny on the other hand actually came right out and told one of the judges that his ribs were tough and he didn’t even want to use them.
One of the interesting things was Harry talking about the differences in competition in the south as opposed to the west. He mentioned that he had to change his recipes quite a bit to make them a lot sweeter when in the south, adding a whole lot of various sugars. He has never won a competition outside of California. It was also interesting to see how much meat, and the cost, that each cook brings. Myron had nearly 190 lbs and $400 in pork shoulder alone.
Here are the results for both the KCBS and the MBN:
Murphysboro Barbecue Cook-Off State Championship – KCBS
Location: Murphysboro, Illinois
Date: September 24-26, 2009
Categories: Chicken, Ribs, Pork & Brisket
Total Competitors: 44
Promoter: Kansas City Barbeque Society Website – Results
Chicken
2 – Johnny Trigg – Smokin Triggers
4 – Tuffy Stone – Cool Smoke
7 – LeeAnn Whippen – Wood Chicks BBQ
11 – Harry Soo – Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ
18 – Myron Mixon – Jack’s Old South
40 – Paul Petersen – Pablo Diablo BBQ
Pork Ribs
5 – LeeAnn Whippen – Wood Chicks BBQ
14 – Myron Mixon – Jack’s Old South
21 – Tuffy Stone – Cool Smoke
24 – Harry Soo – Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ
37 – Johnny Trigg – Smokin Triggers
38 – Paul Petersen – Pablo Diablo BBQ
Pork
7 – LeeAnn Whippen – Wood Chicks BBQ
28 – Myron Mixon – Jack’s Old South
29 – Harry Soo – Slap Yo’ Daddy
34 – Tuffy Stone – Cool Smoke
36 – Johnny Trigg – Smokin Triggers
40 – Paul Petersen – Pablo Diablo BBQ
Brisket
2 – Tuffy Stone – Cool Smoke
5 – Myron Mixon – Jack’s Old South
7 – Johnny Trigg – Smokin Triggers
11 – LeeAnn Whippen – Wood Chicks BBQ
16 – Harry Soo – Slap Yo’ Daddy
43 – Paul Petersen – Pablo Diablo BBQ
Overall
5 – LeeAnn Whippen – Wood Chicks BBQ
7 – Tuffy Stone – Cool Smoke
10 – Myron Mixon – Jack’s Old South
17 – Johnny Trigg – Smokin Triggers
18 – Harry Soo – Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ
42 – Paul Petersen – Pablo Diablo BBQ
Whole Hog
1 – Jack’s Old South (Myron Mixon)
2 – Tower Rock
3 – Party Q
4 – Bonefide BBQ Team
9 – Wood Chick’s BBQ (LeeAnn Whippen)
Shoulder
1 – Jack’s Old South (Myron Mixon)
2 – Tower Rock
3 – Redneck Grillers
4 – Hawg N’ Dawgs
Ribs
1 – Jack’s Old South (Myron Mixon)
2 – Big Briq. Com
3 – Hawg & Dawgs
4 – Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ (Harry Soo)
8 – Wood Chick’s BBQ (LeeAnn Whippen)
20 – Smokin’ Trigger (Johnny Trigg)
Some memorable quotes:
“Lot a people come to these competitions they want to party have a good time, meet folks, socialize, have a damn homecoming. That ain’t what I’m about. I’m all about damn work, this is my damn job, this is what I do for living. Whole hog is a big part of that, it’s made me probably more money for any category out there. Get the damn hog on, get the judges ass in here, let them taste it…get my money and get my ass outta here.” – Myron Mixon
“When it comes to Myron Mixon cookin’ whole hog…well, that’s just like spitting off a damn train, that’s just how easy it is for me. What I do best is beatin’ everbody elses ass.” – Myron Mixon
“Been a long time since I built a fire this early. I got 18 slabs of ribs I’ve got to cook so I got to get my brisket and my pork off…never in my life have I done this before. Ah this is a new experience for me. It’s gonna be fun…I can BS with the best of them so…maybe I’m just hoping I don’t overdo it.” - Johnny Trigg on entering the MBN.
“I am the best hog cooker out here. Now whether I win or not, you know anyone can get bit on any given day but if I get bit it won’t be because my hog ain’t perfect…it’ll be because they got some sorry ass judges.” – Myron Mixon
“Well he reached up there and poked me in the chest and I said don’t you touch me one more time and I had fire in my eyes. I was getting revved up right there and Jaime thought I was fixin’ to pop him.” – Johnny Trigg
“I guarantee that in the 10 minutes that you did it in last year your box looked like s%&@ and you got a bad score. We’re not talking MBN we’re talking KCBS, that’s the whole point…you don’t know your ass from a whole in the ground about KCBS.” – Johnny Trigg talking to the heckler.
Jack's Old South Grand Champion
So there it is. Myron Mixon won Grand Champion again and over $3000 coming in first in all three categories. Not a shabby weekend. I must admit that his “damns” and “asses” got to be a bit much this time. I like him because he’s cocky and he can back it up but now it seems like he is doing it all just to spite people.
This episode was good but I enjoyed the first one more. I really liked Tuffy and hope he makes an appearance next show. I also like watching the cocky Paul fall flat on his face, which happened again this week placing 42nd out of 44, but we didn’t get to see it. Next week is another KCBS, the Alabama state championship at the Decatur Jaycees Riverfest.
TLC Has a new reality “docu-series” titled BBQ Pitmasters. It debuted Thursday night and initially has 8 episodes. It follows 6 BBQ chefs around the US at various competitions.
At first I was quite skeptical of another cooking show and another reality show. How many of these things can the Food Network, Bravo, Travel Channel, TLC, Discovery Channel,etc. continue to pump out. Whenever something is a small success they suck the genre dry (anyone remember who won American Inventor?) I didn’t have much faith in TLC and this new offering but before I get ahead of myself let’s meet the 6 chefs. (Note: if you don’t want to know the results do not read any further).
Myron Mixon “The King” Team Name: Jack’s Old South Location: Unadilla, GA Name/style of pit: Jacks Old South Indirect Water Smokern Overall competition winnings: $683,489 Favorite dish to cook: Whole Hog
Secret tip: Select High Quality Meat Before BBQing
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Johnny Trigg “The Godfather”
Team Name: Smokin Triggers Location: Alvarado, TX Name/style of pit: Jambo,26” Offset Overall competition winnings: $593,817 Favorite dish to cook: Ribs Secret tip: Good quality meat
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Tuffy Stone “The Professor” Team Name: Cool Smoke Name/style of pit: Jambo Pit, offset style pit and I use hickory wood. Overall competition winnings: $172,822 Favorite dish to cook: Chicken Secret Tip: Wrap your meat with aluminum foil after it has nice color. Then finish cooking until done. This will prevent over smoking.
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Harry Soo “The Challenger” Team Name: Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ Location: Diamond Bar, CA Name/style of pit: Weber Bullet Smoker Overall competition winnings: $24,938 in 2009 Favorite dish to cook: Spareribs Secret Tip: Cooking BBQ from the heart with love and intention. Practice, practice, practice.
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Lee Ann Whippen “The Queen of Q”
Team Name: Wood Chick’s BBQ Location: Chesapeake, VA Name/style of pit: Jedmaster (rotisserie) and Green Egg Ceramic Smokers Overall competition winnings: $174,336 Favorite dish to cook: Shrimp stuffed with Crabmeat. Secret tip: When cooking and deciding on a recipe to cook, don’t substitute with low calorie.
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Paul Petersen “The Rookie” Team Name: Pablo Diablo BBQ Team Location: McKinney, Texas Name/style of pit: David Klose Pits – Custom Built Offset Smoker Overall competition winnings: $0 Favorite dish to cook: Ancho Glazed Quail with Fried Quail Egg
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The first competition had four categories, Chicken, Pork Ribs, Pork and Beef Brisket as well as the Overall category with the Grand Master Award going to the chef with the greatest total score. The Grand Master does not necessarily have to place high in each given category but must have the most accumulative points.
There does not seem to be a designated preparation method for the meats as some cooked whole chickens some just cooked thighs. Some used Wagyū beef and others did not. There are certain standards and guidelines they must meet, like no prep or marinades prior to the competition, but other than that it’s pretty wide open. There is a ten minute window where they must supply the entry to the judges in a white Styrofoam box with only a small garnish of lettuce. If they are even a second late they are disqualified. No one missed the time window but Cool Smoke was with 23 seconds.
The judges receive the entries “blind” and do not know one from the other. They’ve all gone through extensive training on what to look for in BBQ. They look for the presentation of the meat, the tenderness and taste. They want to taste the meat and not the sauce.
Here are the standings in the individual categories as well as the overall:
Chicken
4 – Myron Mixon – Jack’s Old South ($250)*
6 – Tuffy Stone – Cool Smoke ($100)
8 – Johnny Trigg – Smokin Triggers ($100)
20 – LeeAnn Whippen – Wood Chicks BBQ ($0)
35 – Harry Soo – Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ ($0)
47 – Paul Petersen – Pablo Diablo BBQ ($0)
Pork Ribs
4 – Harry Soo – Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ ($125)
5 – Tuffy Stone – Cool Smoke ($125)
10 – LeeAnn Whippen – Wood Chicks BBQ ($100)
22 – Johnny Trigg – Smokin Triggers ($0)
23 – Myron Mixon – Jack’s Old South ($0)*
47 – Paul Petersen – Pablo Diablo BBQ ($0)
Pork
2 – Johnny Trigg – Smokin Triggers ($1000)
3 – Myron Mixon – Jack’s Old South ($500)*
14 – Harry Soo – Slap Yo’ Daddy ($100)
19 – Tuffy Stone – Cool Smoke ($0)
24 – LeeAnn Whippen – Wood Chicks BBQ ($0)
33 – Paul Petersen – Pablo Diablo BBQ ($0)
Brisket
2 – Myron Mixon – Jack’s Old South ($1000)*
11 – Johnny Trigg – Smokin Triggers ($100)
13 – Harry Soo – Slap Yo’ Daddy ($100)
19 – Johnny Trigg – Cool Smoke ($0)
33 – LeeAnn Whippen – Wood Chicks BBQ ($0)
46 – Paul Petersen – Pablo Diablo BBQ ($0)
Overall
1 – Myron Mixon – Jack’s Old South ($11,750)* – Grand Master
3 – Johnny Trigg – Smokin Triggers ($3700)
4 – Tuffy Stone – Cool Smoke ($850)
13 – Harry Soo – Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ ($450)
26 – LeeAnn Whippen – Wood Chicks BBQ ($100)
47 – Paul Petersen – Pablo Diablo BBQ ($0)
They did fairly well considering there were 47 competitors and 3 of the top 5 were from the bunch. These are the results posted during the show but when I was looking into the standings I noticed that they were slightly different and I couldn’t find Jack’s Old South listed anywhere. Digging deeper I found the following statement from the Kansas City BBQ Society:
“The KCBS Board is hereby requested by Myron Mixon of Jack’s Old South competition cooking team, whom upon discovering an inadvertent error in registering for two contests on the same date, under the same name, and to further the Spirit of BBQ competition and the Creed of KCBS that the results of each contest be modified to award the Reserve Grand Champion in each case the Grand Championship, and all other places be corrected accordingly. Jack’s Old South wants to do what is right and honorable thing.
Myron Mixon stated he made a mistake in filling out his applications and he is sorry for that. Jack’s Old South was meeting an obligation and promise he made to a friend and organizer of the Myrtle Beach, SC contest several months ago. After that the TLC BBQ Reality Show came along and it was a fast paced deal. Myron Mixon never intended to get or want points from two contests. The KCBS Board stated Myron Mixon has never done anything but promote BBQ and KCBS and other BBQ events. Myron Mixon and Jack’s Old South is a team of integrity that loves BBQ and the competition and will compete by the rules of any organization and abide by those rules. Vote: 11 yes, 0 no, 0 abstentions”
So Myron removed himself from the competition and returned his winnings. The result is that all other competitors move up one place in ranking and some have earned a little more, but none of this is mentioned in the show.
Overall I really enjoyed the show. The cast of characters is a good mix. You have the old master in Johnny Trigg, the cocky but deservedly so Myron Mixon, the cocky and not deservedly so rookie Paul Petersen, the lovable underdog Harry Soo, the lovable but tough girl that fits in with the guys in LeeAnn Whippen, and the all around nice guy Tuffy Stone. The episode included a little excitement with a flat tire on a trailer, a hail storm, broken BBQs, fires going out and a whole lot of good looking food.
Here are a few memorable quotes:
“I ain’t afraid $%&# ‘cept my daddy…and he’s dead. If I don’t bother you, you don’t bother me. It’s about f@$%^&# winning. Everybody’s not Michael Jordan, everybody’s not Tiger Woods and they DAMN sure ain’t me. There’s no f@$%^&# way you can beat me.” – Myron Mixon
“I’m a woman in a man’s world. Do not get near me, do not talk to me when I’m competing. Do NOT underestimate me” – LeeAnn Whippen
“These BBQ guys don’t know how to do this. I don’t believe that there’s anybody out there that can cook like I can. I’m faster than anybody, I’m more effecient than anybody. I’m a young gun to the BBQ competition circuit but I AM the grill master. I’m the Johnny Cash of cooking because I’m nothing but rock and roll. I’m actually looked at as one of the best chefs in Texas. I try to keep it humble…but people know. I’m going to cook circles around these guys…seriously, with my eyes closed” – Paul Petersen (he placed 47th of 47)
“He don’t win sh&@. He’s a good guy though…a good guy to beat up on. He ain’t no rival, $%#!%^#&@ can’t even shine my shoes.” – Myron Mixon on Paul Petersen
“What the hell’s this all about Tuffy, you going to wipe his ass too?” – Johnny Trigg on Tuffy having to park Paul’s RV and trailer.
“I looked around over there and I saw Harry Soo meditating…I didn’t know how to take that ’cause we don’t do that s^&# down in Georgia. Thought it’s supposed to be getting him in sync with his environment, whatever to beat my ass. He was wasting his meditatin’ time.” – Myron Mixon
There are all the different stereotypes that you want to root for and the ones you want to see lose. Personally I love the guy that thinks he’s the best because he is the best, as Myron does and is.I also love to see the new cocky guy lose as what happens with Paul. I’m not sure if they follow the same cast of chefs during all 8 competitions but I know I’d love to see these same 6 throughout the series.
They do a good job of educating the viewer on the BBQing process and what it takes to make the difference between a mediocre finished product and something that will win competitions. I know I’ll be watching every single one of the first 8 episodes. I’m pretty sure the next episode is Whole Hog, and I’m looking forward to that. The only problem with this show is that it makes you hungry for some BBQ.
Some of the other competitions look like they’ll be the Big Pig Jig in Vienna, Ga (I’m pretty sure that’s the upcoming episode), as well as ones in Alabama, Illinois, Missouri and Delaware. The show airs Thursday nights on TLC at 10:00 PM EST.
Update: I’ve compiled a list of what looks like the upcoming competitions. I’ve included links to their sites along with links to the results. Do not click on the results link if you don’t want to know the outcome until the show airs.
Decatur Jaycees 15th Annual Riverfest
Location: Decatur, Alabama
Date: September 17-19, 2009
Categories: Chicken, Ribs, Pork & Brisket
Total Competitors: 59
Promoter: Kansas City Barbeque Society Website – Results
Murphysboro Barbecue Cook-Off State Championship
Location: Murphysboro, Illinois
Date: September 24-26, 2009
Categories: Chicken, Ribs, Pork & Brisket
Total Competitors: 44
Promoter: Kansas City Barbeque Society Website – Results
30th Annual American Royal Barbecue Open
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Date: October 2-3, 2009
Categories: Chicken, Ribs, Pork & Brisket
Total Competitors: 473
Promoter: Kansas City Barbeque Society Website – Results
American Royal Invitational BBQ Contest
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Date: October 2-3, 2009
Categories: Chicken, Ribs, Pork & Brisket
Total Competitors: 119
Promoter: Kansas City Barbeque Society Website – Results
Diamond State BBQ Championship
Location: Dover, Delaware
Date: October 16-17, 2009
Categories: Chicken, Ribs, Pork & Brisket
Total Competitors: 81
Promoter: Kansas City Barbeque Society Website – Results
Big Pig Jig
Location: Vienna, Georgia
Date: November 6-7, 2009
Categories: Pork Ribs, Pork Shoulder & Whole Hog
Total Competitors: 100
Promoter: Memphis Barbecue Network Website – Results
