Going to the "Jack"!
Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue
Our cross country journey to Lynchburg, TN began on Sunday the 19th of October. This trip would take us
through nine states and will be about 2,500 miles (one-way).
Our cross country journey to Lynchburg, TN began on Sunday the 19th of October. This trip would take us
through nine states and will be about 2,500 miles (one-way).
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Friday, October 24, 2008
We awoke on Friday morning to heavy rain. We left the hotel about 8:00 am after trying to get some
coffee and rolls from the hotel lobby. The lobby was packed with other competitors, especially the team
from Switzerland. We squeezed in and were able to get some really lame coffee. We decided we would
brew a pot of French Pressed coffee when we got to Lynchburg. However, we had some more shopping
to do before that. Kay and Lynnae went off to get garnish and some other items Lynnae needed for her
Chef’s Choice entry. Cathy and I went out in search of white doilies for Cindy. After trying several
places, we ended up at the Wal-Mart, which it turned out was where Kay and Lynnae were.
Having all completed the shopping, it was time to head down to Lynchburg. When we arrived, it was still
raining heavily. The inside of our tent, with the sides up, was relatively dry. However, after unloading the
coolers and other equipment, it began to get wet and muddy. Within an hour or so it was a mud bowl!
We were all wet, so I pulled out the propane tank and attached the heater. For the next several hours, we
all sat inside the tent in front of the heater trying to dry out. I pulled the umbrella out the truck, and
eventually would go to the General Store to buy a second umbrella (with the Jack Daniel’s logo on it).
While I was gone, the Meat Inspector arrived and signed us off.
Finally, with shoes coated with mud, we decided to go grab some straw bails from a big stack by the
volunteer tent. I drove the truck over with Cathy and Lynnae and loaded three bails into the back of the
Suburban. It was far more straw than we needed, but it did a great job of soaking up the mud. Of course,
now we had muddy shoes with straw stuck to them. It was very attractive.
I spent the late afternoon prepping my meats. Eventually the rain began to decrease. By three o’clock
there were partial periods of sun. The Parade of Teams through the town square took place at 4:30. This
is really a way to get everyone to walk over to the Jack Daniel’s Visitor Center to get on school busses
that would take you to the top of the hill (Barbecue Hill). Jack Daniel’s has a large banquet facility up
there that feature views of the valley below. With the sun finally shining, it was a fabulous scene. They
fed us dinner featuring fried chicken and catfish, beans, potato casserole, bread, and several desserts.
There was a bar open featuring Jack drinks. There was supposed to be a two drinks maximum, however
Lynnae and Cathy stayed there much later than Kay and I did and told us that once the crowd had left
there did not seem to be a limit anymore. I will just say that Cathy seemed very “happy” at that point.
By the time they had arrived back from the top of Barbecue Hill, I had already put the beef briskets in the
smoker. The pork butts would be several hours later. Until then there would be time to go check on the
other PNWBA teams.
We awoke on Friday morning to heavy rain. We left the hotel about 8:00 am after trying to get some
coffee and rolls from the hotel lobby. The lobby was packed with other competitors, especially the team
from Switzerland. We squeezed in and were able to get some really lame coffee. We decided we would
brew a pot of French Pressed coffee when we got to Lynchburg. However, we had some more shopping
to do before that. Kay and Lynnae went off to get garnish and some other items Lynnae needed for her
Chef’s Choice entry. Cathy and I went out in search of white doilies for Cindy. After trying several
places, we ended up at the Wal-Mart, which it turned out was where Kay and Lynnae were.
Having all completed the shopping, it was time to head down to Lynchburg. When we arrived, it was still
raining heavily. The inside of our tent, with the sides up, was relatively dry. However, after unloading the
coolers and other equipment, it began to get wet and muddy. Within an hour or so it was a mud bowl!
We were all wet, so I pulled out the propane tank and attached the heater. For the next several hours, we
all sat inside the tent in front of the heater trying to dry out. I pulled the umbrella out the truck, and
eventually would go to the General Store to buy a second umbrella (with the Jack Daniel’s logo on it).
While I was gone, the Meat Inspector arrived and signed us off.
Finally, with shoes coated with mud, we decided to go grab some straw bails from a big stack by the
volunteer tent. I drove the truck over with Cathy and Lynnae and loaded three bails into the back of the
Suburban. It was far more straw than we needed, but it did a great job of soaking up the mud. Of course,
now we had muddy shoes with straw stuck to them. It was very attractive.
I spent the late afternoon prepping my meats. Eventually the rain began to decrease. By three o’clock
there were partial periods of sun. The Parade of Teams through the town square took place at 4:30. This
is really a way to get everyone to walk over to the Jack Daniel’s Visitor Center to get on school busses
that would take you to the top of the hill (Barbecue Hill). Jack Daniel’s has a large banquet facility up
there that feature views of the valley below. With the sun finally shining, it was a fabulous scene. They
fed us dinner featuring fried chicken and catfish, beans, potato casserole, bread, and several desserts.
There was a bar open featuring Jack drinks. There was supposed to be a two drinks maximum, however
Lynnae and Cathy stayed there much later than Kay and I did and told us that once the crowd had left
there did not seem to be a limit anymore. I will just say that Cathy seemed very “happy” at that point.
By the time they had arrived back from the top of Barbecue Hill, I had already put the beef briskets in the
smoker. The pork butts would be several hours later. Until then there would be time to go check on the
other PNWBA teams.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
The challenge for turn-in day would be a combination of the meats being turned-in on a different
schedule from PNWBA events (chicken first and beef last), plus there were extra categories, and the
meats are turned-in on a 30 min. schedule. The schedule for the day would be as follows: 11:30 BBQ
Sauce; 12:00 Chef’s Choice; 12:30 Chicken; 1:00 Ribs; 1:30 Pork Butt; 2:00 Beef Brisket; and 2:30
Dessert. This would require a complete change to my normal cook schedule, such as my ribs would
need to go in the smoker at 6:30 instead of 8:00. I guess I need to be a little more awake at that hour
than I usually am. I had mapped out a step-by-step schedule for the day and followed it very carefully to
ensure I was not overlooking a critical step with one of the meats.
The other side of the challenge was what I was focusing on the Sauce, Chicken, Ribs, Pork, & Brisket,
while Lynnae was working the Chef’s Choice and Dessert. We needed to make sure that we could
function is a small cooking area without clashing. Kay was helping both of us cook. And, Cathy would
spend time talking to the public so we did not get distracted, and would be the blocker for each of the turn-
in walks through the crowd. We all worked well together. It was a great experience!
Lynnae had been expecting her father, Peter, to show up for the event. He lives in North Carolina. On
her way back from the last turn-in (Dessert), she finally found him walking though the crowd. Lynnae’s
sister and niece who live in Tennessee accompanied him. It was a very special time for her to have them
join us. We had been putting food aside for them to take home, and sent them off with a large package of
goodies.
Several weeks before arriving at the Jack, I had been exchanging emails with one of the event
coordinators, Judy, about the procedures for sampling to the public. There were certain health
regulations that needed to be complied with. She had said something to me about being so busy during
the event that she was sure that she would not be able to sample any of the team’s meats. I told her that
if she brought a cooler over on Saturday morning, I would be make sure it was filled with BBQ goodies.
She took me up on that offer, and the cooler arrived Friday afternoon. We made sure to fill it during the
day, and stock it with ice. After the Awards Ceremony, I made sure that she and her daughter-in-law
picked it up to feed the family.
The Awards Ceremony was scheduled to start at 5:00. It was still sunny and warm. As is usual, the
procedures did not actually start until about 5:30. There were many special awards first handed out.
This seemed to go on for a long time. Eventually the competition awards were handed out. They started
with the categories that did not count in the overall standings. These included the Sauce, Chef’s Choice,
Cooking from the Homeland (open to International Teams), and Dessert. We were happy to see Wayne
Fettback of Mad Cow accept the 3rd place award for Cooking from the Homeland. They only announced
the top three places in these extra categories. The main four categories would have the top 10 places
announced. The top 5 would receive a trophy, and the 6th through 10th teams would receive a ribbon.
After sitting through the Chicken, Ribs, and Pork categories, we were a bit disappointed not to get a call
up to the stage. However, in the Beef Brisket category we were called up for a 6th place finish. We all
ran up to receive the award. What a rush!
The awards were finished shortly thereafter. The winning team was 4 Legs Up BBQ. We waited in line
for our print out of the results and were pleased to find out that our Overall Standing was 29th out of 78
Teams. The following is the whole results:
Overall: 29th out of 78 Teams
6th Place Beef Brisket
7th Place Chef’s Choice (43 Teams) – Lynnae Cooked
17th Place Sauce (74 Teams)
18th Place Dessert (46 Teams) – Lynnae Cooked
27th Place Ribs
59th Place Pork Butt
61st Place Chicken
We finished Overall ahead of notable teams like Lotta Bull, Pellet Envy, and Jack’s Old South. I have no
complaints about this first experience at the Jack. As a side note, the cash award for the 6th place
Brisket was $25.00. That basically covered the cost of the Sonic Burgers that night for the four of us.
The challenge for turn-in day would be a combination of the meats being turned-in on a different
schedule from PNWBA events (chicken first and beef last), plus there were extra categories, and the
meats are turned-in on a 30 min. schedule. The schedule for the day would be as follows: 11:30 BBQ
Sauce; 12:00 Chef’s Choice; 12:30 Chicken; 1:00 Ribs; 1:30 Pork Butt; 2:00 Beef Brisket; and 2:30
Dessert. This would require a complete change to my normal cook schedule, such as my ribs would
need to go in the smoker at 6:30 instead of 8:00. I guess I need to be a little more awake at that hour
than I usually am. I had mapped out a step-by-step schedule for the day and followed it very carefully to
ensure I was not overlooking a critical step with one of the meats.
The other side of the challenge was what I was focusing on the Sauce, Chicken, Ribs, Pork, & Brisket,
while Lynnae was working the Chef’s Choice and Dessert. We needed to make sure that we could
function is a small cooking area without clashing. Kay was helping both of us cook. And, Cathy would
spend time talking to the public so we did not get distracted, and would be the blocker for each of the turn-
in walks through the crowd. We all worked well together. It was a great experience!
Lynnae had been expecting her father, Peter, to show up for the event. He lives in North Carolina. On
her way back from the last turn-in (Dessert), she finally found him walking though the crowd. Lynnae’s
sister and niece who live in Tennessee accompanied him. It was a very special time for her to have them
join us. We had been putting food aside for them to take home, and sent them off with a large package of
goodies.
Several weeks before arriving at the Jack, I had been exchanging emails with one of the event
coordinators, Judy, about the procedures for sampling to the public. There were certain health
regulations that needed to be complied with. She had said something to me about being so busy during
the event that she was sure that she would not be able to sample any of the team’s meats. I told her that
if she brought a cooler over on Saturday morning, I would be make sure it was filled with BBQ goodies.
She took me up on that offer, and the cooler arrived Friday afternoon. We made sure to fill it during the
day, and stock it with ice. After the Awards Ceremony, I made sure that she and her daughter-in-law
picked it up to feed the family.
The Awards Ceremony was scheduled to start at 5:00. It was still sunny and warm. As is usual, the
procedures did not actually start until about 5:30. There were many special awards first handed out.
This seemed to go on for a long time. Eventually the competition awards were handed out. They started
with the categories that did not count in the overall standings. These included the Sauce, Chef’s Choice,
Cooking from the Homeland (open to International Teams), and Dessert. We were happy to see Wayne
Fettback of Mad Cow accept the 3rd place award for Cooking from the Homeland. They only announced
the top three places in these extra categories. The main four categories would have the top 10 places
announced. The top 5 would receive a trophy, and the 6th through 10th teams would receive a ribbon.
After sitting through the Chicken, Ribs, and Pork categories, we were a bit disappointed not to get a call
up to the stage. However, in the Beef Brisket category we were called up for a 6th place finish. We all
ran up to receive the award. What a rush!
The awards were finished shortly thereafter. The winning team was 4 Legs Up BBQ. We waited in line
for our print out of the results and were pleased to find out that our Overall Standing was 29th out of 78
Teams. The following is the whole results:
Overall: 29th out of 78 Teams
6th Place Beef Brisket
7th Place Chef’s Choice (43 Teams) – Lynnae Cooked
17th Place Sauce (74 Teams)
18th Place Dessert (46 Teams) – Lynnae Cooked
27th Place Ribs
59th Place Pork Butt
61st Place Chicken
We finished Overall ahead of notable teams like Lotta Bull, Pellet Envy, and Jack’s Old South. I have no
complaints about this first experience at the Jack. As a side note, the cash award for the 6th place
Brisket was $25.00. That basically covered the cost of the Sonic Burgers that night for the four of us.
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Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sunday morning came way too early. Kay had an early morning flight back to Seattle and needed to
leave Shelbyville by 6:00 AM. Lynnae, Cathy, and I had an eleven hour drive up to Kansas City. We
left the hotel about 6:30, after re-organizing the back of the Suburban, and headed to Kroger's to buy the
Country Cured Hams we wanted to bring back with us. The next several days traveling back would
provide us with warm sunny days. Perfect weather for traveling, except for the heavy winds the first
couple of days. The cross wind made it a challenge to keep the truck and trailer in the right lane.
We would stop for the night in Kansas City, MO, then Rapid City, SD, and finally in Missoula, MT. We
side tracked into grocery stores occationally looking for obscure BBQ Sauces and liquor stores looking
Dr. McGillicuddy's Intense Cherry Schnapps. To the assumement of the ladies, I made us get off the
highway in Mitchell, SD to go see the Corn Palace which is located in downtown Mitchell. The front of
this building has murals completely made out of different colors of corn. Although we had spent a night
in Mitchell on the way to the Jack, it was too dark for a good view. I hope you appreciate the pictures
below.
Sunday morning came way too early. Kay had an early morning flight back to Seattle and needed to
leave Shelbyville by 6:00 AM. Lynnae, Cathy, and I had an eleven hour drive up to Kansas City. We
left the hotel about 6:30, after re-organizing the back of the Suburban, and headed to Kroger's to buy the
Country Cured Hams we wanted to bring back with us. The next several days traveling back would
provide us with warm sunny days. Perfect weather for traveling, except for the heavy winds the first
couple of days. The cross wind made it a challenge to keep the truck and trailer in the right lane.
We would stop for the night in Kansas City, MO, then Rapid City, SD, and finally in Missoula, MT. We
side tracked into grocery stores occationally looking for obscure BBQ Sauces and liquor stores looking
Dr. McGillicuddy's Intense Cherry Schnapps. To the assumement of the ladies, I made us get off the
highway in Mitchell, SD to go see the Corn Palace which is located in downtown Mitchell. The front of
this building has murals completely made out of different colors of corn. Although we had spent a night
in Mitchell on the way to the Jack, it was too dark for a good view. I hope you appreciate the pictures
below.
