Barbecue Live January 2014

The Killer Hogs (Waylon Reed, Rachelle Reed (my wife), and myself) along with Mark Lambert of Sweet Swine O’ Mine hosted another exciting two days of Barbecue Live back in January.

Our class is always a no-holds-barred, information overload on how to win at the KCBS level, and this rendition left no stone unturned.

We were fortunate to have some really great help and I have to give a big shout out to Danny Montgomery of Tuscumbia River Bottom Barbecue and the guys from Boars Night Out ……the best MBN team on the circuit.  Allen, Eric, Kendal, and Shane we couldn’t have done it without y’all!  We also invited a couple of guys back from our previous class, Jamie and Mark Williams, these guys are just starting out, but watch out because they’re awesome cooks.  I appreciate all of the hard work men!!

For two days we covered every aspect of a KCBS competition from trimming the meat, seasonings we use, cooking techniques, and even top secret blind box presentations.  Waylon is the master on our team of building boxes and he show cased his skill at the class.

We also had the pleasure of having David Bouska, Butcher BBQ, join us to lend his expertise in the meat trimming demos.  David has serious skill when it comes to wielding a knife and he is a powerhouse on the KCBS circuit.  I learned a great deal from his presentation on trimming pork and brisket and we valued his input throughout the entire class.

We couldn’t produce the level of BBQ without great products and that starts with the meat.  Jim Compart owner of Compart Duroc Farms has been a huge supporter of BBQ and graciously provided us with a beautiful 150lb Duroc Hog, whole shoulders, pork butts, and loin & St. Louis cut ribs.  His meat is miles ahead of the competition and we’re proud to have Jim as a sponsor.  Everyone in attendance experienced first-hand the differences in quality pork.  “Redder is Truly Better”  Mr. Jim!!!  If you haven’t tried Compart Duroc check out their website http://compartduroc.com/

Besides all of the barbecue information, we like to share some of our favorite foods with the class.  We ate on Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken while we socialized Friday at the Meet and Greet, for Saturday lunch we were treated by master judges Tom & Debbie Bergschicker to grilled Brats and Burgers cooked on Yoder Smokers, and we even smoked a Whole Ribeye for Saturdays dinner.  No one went hungry, I promise!

Barbecue Live is like no other class out there.  If you’re thinking about attending a class to step up your game, we’d love to see you at our next event. http://barbecuelive.com/

Malcom Reed
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