Megan Day - Burnt Finger BBQ Encore
Megan Day, a prominent figure in the barbecue competition realm, joins us to elucidate her journey with Burnt Fingers Barbecue, a name inspired by the fervent passion for barbecue that often results in literal burns as eager guests attempt to procure the first taste. From the inception of their culinary venture, Megan and her husband Jason have experienced meteoric success, highlighted by their notable achievements at prestigious events such as the American Royal and Memphis in May. Throughout our discourse, we delve into the intricacies of competitive barbecue, exploring the evolving taste preferences of judges and the significance of high-quality ingredients in achieving victory. Megan's insights into the camaraderie found within the barbecue community further illuminate the profound personal connections forged through this culinary pursuit. Ultimately, this episode serves as an inspiring testament to the transformative power of barbecue, not merely as a culinary art but as a means of fostering community and familial bonds.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Painterdale's Natural Beef
- Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission
- Burnt Fingers Barbecue
- Heritage Steel
- Painted Hills Natural Beef
- Pig Powder
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcript
It's time for Barbecue Nation with jt so fire up your grill, light the charcoal, and get your smoker cooking.
Speaker A:Now from the Turn It Don't Burnet studios in Portland, here's jt.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody.
Speaker A:Welcome to the nation.
Speaker A:That's Barbecue Nation, and I'm JT along with my co host, hall of famer Leanne Whippen in our respective studios, Portland and Tampa.
Speaker A:We thank you for listening and inviting us into your home or your car today, wherever you're listening from.
Speaker A:Like to thank the folks at Painterdale's Natural beef, of course, the way beef, the way nature intended, and also the Oregon Dungeness crab commission from seed to plate.
Speaker A:Well, we've got a very special guest today.
Speaker A:You've seen her on the national morning shows.
Speaker A:If you follow barbecue competition, you got to know who Megan is.
Speaker A:It's Megan Day from Burt Fingers Barbecue, and she's been so kind to carve out some a slot of time for us to be on the show.
Speaker A:Megan, welcome.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker A:Hey, Leanne.
Speaker B:Hi, Jeff.
Speaker A:Hi.
Speaker A:So I gotta ask the most obvious question.
Speaker A:Who burnt their fingers to get the name?
Speaker B:Believe it or not, none of us did.
Speaker B:There's a story behind it, right?
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker B:So we have all burnt our fingers, but the way it came about was we would do these events in our backyard.
Speaker B:Really.
Speaker B:It started with Jason, my husband, who really is the reason I'm in this whole crazy barbecue world, is his passion and love for Kansas City style barbecue.
Speaker B:And so he'd have all of these parties.
Speaker B:And then when we started to date and we would have parties together, we kind of noticed a trend when we had the gorilla or the smoker going, people would walk over and very quietly open the grill and try to pull a piece of meat off.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:They were burning their fingers to try to get the first bite.
Speaker B:And so we would laugh and say, it is so good you will burn yourself.
Speaker B:We are burnt finger barbecue.
Speaker A:Oh, there you go.
Speaker C:Great.
Speaker C:I didn't know that story.
Speaker C:That's good.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So sneaky, sneaky guests.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:But, you know, I've had that where they kind of.
Speaker A:You see a hand coming out of nowhere and out of nowhere.
Speaker B:It's worse during competition when you're trying to turn in meat and people are like, oh, I'll take that bite.
Speaker B:And you're like, for the judge.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:You've got.
Speaker A:I couldn't read all of your.
Speaker A:Your accolades and stuff for you.
Speaker A:And burnt finger barbecue on the arrow.
Speaker A:It'd take up the whole show, literally.
Speaker A:I mean, there's tons of Them.
Speaker A:But when you started, and you and Jason started this, you said it was kind of his passion, obsession.
Speaker A:And then when you joined in the party, so to speak, did you think you would get where you are today when you started?
Speaker B:That's a great question.
Speaker B:You know, we had a really fascinating, pretty scattered what's.
Speaker B:We went through the stratosphere right off the bat.
Speaker B:Like, it was not catastrophic, it was excellent.
Speaker B:It wasn't a bad thing.
Speaker B:But it was such a seismic hit hit when we came in that we knew we were going somewhere.
Speaker B:We didn't know where it would go and how long it would last.
Speaker B:But Jason started doing barbecue as a competition with a couple of friends, and they immediately started winning.
Speaker B:And then we decided to do the American Royal, which is in Kansas City, and he took 5th place with his brisket and 38th out of 500 and some competitors.
Speaker B:And we were just off like a rocket, right?
Speaker B:And then where his claim to fame came in was during that first year of us really competing, he wanted to blog.
Speaker B:And so he started a blog that the second recipe he ever put together, you know, where he actually did a step by step recipe for the blog, was something called the Bacon Explosion, which was a bacon wrapped, bacon stuffed barbecue sausage that went viral.
Speaker B:And at that point, it went crazy.
Speaker B:And we were doing a press junket with Fox and Friends and CNN and the Today show and all of these places right off the bat, because people were looking for, you know, coming off of the.
Speaker B:Everything was low fat.
Speaker B: You know, it's like: Speaker B:And so people were very intrigued by it and wanted to get out and smoke and cook.
Speaker B:And so we had a very big boom right off the bat where we said, okay, barbecue is going to be a thing for us.
Speaker B:And that's when we launched our sauces and our seasonings.
Speaker B: ld have asked me back then in: Speaker B:On the circuit.
Speaker B:I think I would have thought we maybe had gone more commercial or maybe even have owned a restaurant.
Speaker B:But at that exact time, we were having fun and just riding the wave as it took us.
Speaker A:So how much bacon do you and Jason go through every year?
Speaker A:I'm curious about that, Right?
Speaker B:A lot less now these days.
Speaker B:But during the height of it, I mean, it was.
Speaker B:It was, you know, metric tons.
Speaker B:There's no question about it.
Speaker B:We were going Through a lot.
Speaker B:And I think we.
Speaker B:We inspired a lot of people to get out and do some cooking and grilling of not just a steak or not just, you know, a brisket, but to have fun creating concoctions and doing different things like that.
Speaker B:So we'll take credit for.
Speaker B:For maybe doing some innovative inspiration out there.
Speaker C:For sure.
Speaker A:Do you think that's really the impetus?
Speaker A:I do.
Speaker A:I'm just going to tell you.
Speaker A:I do.
Speaker A:To get creative.
Speaker A:And it's not always about a brisket or a chicken thigh or whatever.
Speaker A:You know, the competition meets, that's all terrific.
Speaker A:But to have people have fun, like just look at Leanne's picture behind her there.
Speaker A:That's really nothing on the grill, so to speak.
Speaker A:But it's a great looking dish.
Speaker B:It is.
Speaker B:And that's when you learn how to use smoke and grilling and spices.
Speaker B:And it's all part of the flavor profiles.
Speaker B:Whether or not it's been kissed with smoke or it's got a flame, it doesn't really matter.
Speaker B:But the principles of layering flavors and, and that innovation, like you said, people who.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:Competition has to have a structure.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So I don't blame it.
Speaker B:It's wonderful.
Speaker B:And it's been so much fun for us to travel and see the country doing these contests.
Speaker B:But where we get our joy and kicks and giggles is going to be what we're making on the grill at home or now as a mom for kids, for the neighbors.
Speaker B:And, you know, that's.
Speaker B:That's where we really get the fun part.
Speaker B:So, like this last year at the American Royal, we made an effort to try to be the world champion side dish winners, because we were like, okay, we can do these meets, and these are a lot of fun.
Speaker B:We're always going to try and win those.
Speaker B:But what if we really put our mind to doing side dishes?
Speaker B:And by golly, we did it.
Speaker B:We're world champions.
Speaker B:Chickens and side dishes.
Speaker B:So that's now where we try to find.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:That's where we try to find the.
Speaker B:Our.
Speaker B:Our passion to continue to keep evolving in ourselves and what we like to do.
Speaker A:Well, I said I wasn't going to do this, but now I am going to do this.
Speaker A:Okay, so Burt Fingers wins the best sauce on the planet at the Royal.
Speaker A:They won first place in the tomato sauce category at the Royal.
Speaker C:And mustard sauce.
Speaker A:Right, and mustard sauce.
Speaker B:That's mustard sauce at Memphis.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:And wings.
Speaker B:We are the Memphis in May hot wings world champions right now.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And would you believe it, the Sauce that we won, best sauce on the planet was on those wings.
Speaker A:Was it?
Speaker C:I do believe it, actually.
Speaker C:Yeah, I do.
Speaker B:And you know, and Leanne and I appreciate that because, you know, when flavors that win, win, they just do, you know, pig powder.
Speaker B:I mean, like a flavor that wins, wins.
Speaker B:And so people can go out there and try and do all these things, but the reality is if you find something that's clicking, man, you gotta, you gotta make sure that you continue to perpetuate those flavor profiles.
Speaker A:Do you think people try too hard sometimes?
Speaker A:Attach that to what you were just saying?
Speaker A:Something that wins, wins.
Speaker A:And they're trying to get.
Speaker A:Maybe this is not a criticism because I do it, but you try to get too creative and it's like, well, the original was actually better, you know.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, no, I mean, I think, I think you have to.
Speaker B:The original is the original.
Speaker B:You can innovate because let's be honest, the judges flavor profiles will change.
Speaker B:Sometimes it's hotter, sometimes it's sweeter, sometimes it's saltier.
Speaker B:So as you try to kind of figure out that, then you can innovate a little bit on what those flavor profiles are.
Speaker B:Where are, you know, our normal regular smoky Kansas City sauce is a winner.
Speaker B:But what won this year was a chipotle based, spicy version of it.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:The palate's a little spicier and that's what one.
Speaker B:So you can innovate off of it.
Speaker B:But, you know, good is good.
Speaker A:I agree.
Speaker A:Good is good.
Speaker A:And I think like you were saying about pig powder, that's kind of a must have for people, I think.
Speaker A:I think, you know, so your sauces.
Speaker C:And your rubs have probably gone through the roof as far as sales.
Speaker C:I mean, how much of an increase have you seen over the years after winning all these awards?
Speaker C:Do you attribute a lot of that to the awards winning them, or do you think it's because you're constantly out there?
Speaker B:It's both.
Speaker B:I mean, I think if you were to say we win and then we see a spike in sales is probably not the direct return on investment that you would hope to see necessarily.
Speaker B:But where it is, is the international orders, the recognition from people who are already doing business with you, who order more or take a look at what else is in your lineup.
Speaker B:You know, those are where we see maybe a little bit later down the road that I'm going to call it kind of an edification that you continue to be a champion and people want those championship flavors.
Speaker B:So a direct we win and see a spike is probably not what you would just assume.
Speaker B:But yes, we definitely see those relationships getting stronger and wanting more and more products.
Speaker B:And then just, you know, you, you can.
Speaker B:It's more about someone sees it, discovers you, and then they go look you up.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And then they go, oh, holy cow.
Speaker B:They've done a lot of things.
Speaker B:And these flavors and this one here and that one here.
Speaker B:Well, I would love to try those other things.
Speaker B:So for me, it's as much about embracing the discovery opportunity that those types of awards give you.
Speaker C:Uhuh.
Speaker A:Do you think that, do you think being on like the Today show and that you see a spike after those is.
Speaker B:Yeah, we do definitely see a spike.
Speaker B:And you know what, where it's fun for me that I see a spike is also in people looking at the recipes that we have on our website.
Speaker B:And that to me says, oh, they're engaged.
Speaker B:They're looking further than just say, oh, I wanna buy a sauce or a seasoning.
Speaker B:While I love that they would like to do that, the fact that we can inspire them to cook more and then if they discover that they like our sauces and seasonings, then maybe they get out and cook and they go through it more.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:That throughput's even bigger.
Speaker B:So I think it all dovetails together.
Speaker A:Well, that's good.
Speaker A:That's good.
Speaker A:We are gonna take a break.
Speaker A:We're gonna be back with Megan Dave from Burnt Fingers Barbecue.
Speaker A:That just.
Speaker A:That name just conjures up so many images in my mind.
Speaker C:Well, I love their logo.
Speaker C:I think they have one of the best logos out there.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker C:With the fingerprint.
Speaker C:It's great.
Speaker C:Yeah, it's great.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:If you touch a hot enough grill, you're going to leave your fingerprint right there.
Speaker B:And we have.
Speaker A:Anyway, we're going to take a break.
Speaker A:Megan and Leanne and I will be back here on Barbecue Nation in just a minute.
Speaker A:Please stay with us.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody, it's Jeff here.
Speaker A:I want to tell you about something really cool.
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Speaker A:It's got all the great stuff.
Speaker A:Just go to HeritageSteel us and find out more.
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Speaker A:Welcome back to the Nation.
Speaker A:That's Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:I'm JT along with hall of Famer Ms.
Speaker A:Leanne Whippen.
Speaker A:And today we've got Megan Day from Burnt Fingers Barbecue.
Speaker A:Don't forget, if you want to track us down on the social media platforms, all I can say is we're there between Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and I don't know, there's.
Speaker A:We're on a lot of them, so I'm just going to put it that way.
Speaker A:And you can find us at the name of the show.
Speaker A:You can find us as individuals and all that.
Speaker A:And leanne's got like 70 bazillion followers, and I've got.
Speaker A:And I've got four.
Speaker A:So anyway, it's.
Speaker A:It's all good.
Speaker A:But today we're talking with Megan Day from Burnt in Burnt Fingers Barbecue.
Speaker A:I was, Yeah, I was thinking about.
Speaker A:Yeah, I was thinking about that.
Speaker A:You know, I was like, oh, yeah, I think I got a piece of pork belly, too, in the freezer.
Speaker A:I might have to do that.
Speaker A:So after all the stuff you've done with you and Jason, first of all, who's better, you or Jason?
Speaker A:And I'll make sure he never hears this, okay?
Speaker B:No, I would love for him to hear this.
Speaker B:It depends on what we're doing.
Speaker B:If it is the traditional Kansas City style 4 meat category, for those who maybe aren't familiar, that's pork butt, brisket, pork ribs, and chicken.
Speaker B:He is a master and has been doing this for so many years.
Speaker B:His timelines, his perfection, the bite through, everything about it.
Speaker B:He.
Speaker B:He will be.
Speaker B:He would beat me hands down.
Speaker B:If you're looking for innovative off the cuff, a chop style where you open the basket or whatever I like to call it, what you gotcha, whatever you got in the fridge, I will nail that every time.
Speaker B:That's much more where my comfort zone is.
Speaker B:But I'm a mom, you know, so what are the kids?
Speaker B:What will they eat?
Speaker B:And so we work very, very well together in competition style because there's so many ancillary categories and fun things to do and then just out cooking, I mean, I love a good steak.
Speaker B:I'm really good at steak and.
Speaker B:But he's gonna nail those ribs, you know, so we just kind of.
Speaker B:We just kind of dance together on the, on the grill.
Speaker C:That's a good couple.
Speaker C:Very good couple.
Speaker C:Nobody's stepping on anybody's toes.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's good.
Speaker A:Are the, Are the kids competition commandos yet or.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, they're nailing it.
Speaker B:They're having so much fun.
Speaker B:We just, we actually just had practice the other night.
Speaker B:Hank, my son, who is about to be 11, he's 10 right now, is getting ready to age up, and so he'll be doing steak contests instead of like a hamburger or a pork chop.
Speaker B:So when they do kids cues, whereas my daughter who's 8, almost 9.
Speaker B:She's still in the category where they typically will do like, a pork chop or a hamburger or something like that.
Speaker B:So he's practicing his steak and what his steak entries are going to look like because he's aging up into those big kid roles.
Speaker A:What do you guys do on weekends when you're not at competition?
Speaker B:They innovate and cook and have fun.
Speaker B:And we're big bourbon drinkers.
Speaker B:We love a good bourbon whiskey.
Speaker B:So I know that's not a surprise to you as the palate and the taste and the warmth and, you know, all the things that you get with those types of flavors.
Speaker B:So we really enjoy family time.
Speaker B:And we are.
Speaker B:We love music.
Speaker B:We love live music.
Speaker B:So our son is a deejay as well, so he'll throw some tunes on and we'll sit back and listen, and we just are.
Speaker B:We're definitely in the stage of our life of family time, for sure.
Speaker A:Good for you.
Speaker A:Good for you.
Speaker A:What's the biggest thing you've won?
Speaker A:This.
Speaker A:I've got three pages of stuff I printed out about all your awards.
Speaker B:Exciting.
Speaker A:And what do you think is the best one that you've done?
Speaker A:The absolute one that means the most so far to you and Jason and Burnt Fingers?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I think simply because it was the first.
Speaker B:When we won first place chicken at the American Royal World Series of Barbecue, it was a perfect 180 score.
Speaker B:Chicken is not an easy category to win.
Speaker B:None of them are.
Speaker B:But if you think about about it strategically from the standpoint that in reality, you're putting probably six to eight pieces of chicken in a box, it theoretically could be from eight different chicken.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:When you do a brisket, it's the same piece of meat that's going in just different slices or the same pork butt or the same ribs.
Speaker B:Could be multiple rib slabs.
Speaker B:But when you do chicken, it is all.
Speaker B:You don't know where that chicken necessarily is coming from.
Speaker B:And so to be able to master that and do it with a perfect score at the American Royal, that was it.
Speaker B:That was the big deal.
Speaker C:That's a big one.
Speaker C:Yeah, that is great.
Speaker C:It is the first one, I think that becomes the most sentimental, and it really gets you going, too.
Speaker B:That's kind of what the hook.
Speaker B:Super deep, right?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:That's what fired you up, wasn't it, Leanne, were you and your dad first place?
Speaker C:First place in pork at the Royal?
Speaker C:Oh, it was over that.
Speaker B:Was it that big square trophy?
Speaker B:Did you get the big square trophy?
Speaker C:They were a little bit different.
Speaker C:They were actually bigger.
Speaker C:They were taller.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So it was a long time ago.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, winning.
Speaker B:Winning this year.
Speaker B:The best sauce on the planet.
Speaker B:I always say, you don't get what you want, you get what you need.
Speaker B:And I think we needed that.
Speaker B:I think we needed that validation that, you know, we're almost, I mean, 15 years in OR.
Speaker B:Or so on, on doing competition and doing barbecue and having products out and to know that we have tweaked it and made it.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:And then now, you know, to see it pop is the best sauce on the planet.
Speaker B:That's the next big, big accolade for us, is pretty exciting.
Speaker A:Are you and Jason both from the Kansas City area?
Speaker A:Originally?
Speaker B:So he is from this area, born and raised.
Speaker B:We live miles from where he actually grew up.
Speaker B:Now, I grew up in a small community in western Kansas, so I'm just a small town Kansas girl that's living in the big cities.
Speaker B:But, you know, Kansas City was what we identified with.
Speaker B:Kansas City was the big city that we would go to.
Speaker B:And, you know, when I come to town and got.
Speaker B:Had got to have Kansas City barbecue, you know, so I definitely grew up with that.
Speaker B:That mentality that Kansas City was.
Speaker B:Was in my blood, even though I wasn't from here.
Speaker A:I'm just curious about how growing up around Casey there.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Kind of, you know, lit that little bit of a fire when he was a kid under Jason and.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:His.
Speaker A:His family and st.
Speaker A:Did you.
Speaker A:Well, first of all, Megan, when you were growing up with your family, did you guys barbecue and grill outside or, you know.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Big bonfires.
Speaker B:Yeah, we.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:I grew up in a rural community, and so it was.
Speaker B:It was truly a family community.
Speaker B:Meaning when my dad would sell Christmas trees with the.
Speaker B:Or with the Optimist organization, there was a buffalo burger stand next to it so that we could feed you and sell your Christmas tree.
Speaker B:We grew up Moonlight Madness Celebration, where there'd be food vendors and.
Speaker B:And all the family people would get together.
Speaker B:I was in 4H, which was an organization that was very heavy in livestock and food and, you know, sewing and all those fun things.
Speaker B:But food was definitely something that, you know, I would compete doing a cake or a pie for the fair, you know, those kinds of things.
Speaker B:So that was very much in my blood.
Speaker B:But the barbecue aspect to me was really is my dad's thing.
Speaker B:He would go and he would cook and he would grill, and I can hear it, I can smell it.
Speaker B:You know, I remember growing up that way.
Speaker B:Jason.
Speaker B:Jason, on the other hand, like, he remembers his dad coming home from work with a suitcase and a spice blend from a coworker and that they, they were able to then cook ribs with this coworker's famous spice blend.
Speaker B:You know, so he had a little bit different growing up and being around a lot of, I'm going to call it Barbecue Pedigree.
Speaker B:Whereas I had just the backyard guys.
Speaker C:Right, Right.
Speaker A:Oh, there you go.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:We're going to take a break.
Speaker A:We're going to be back with Ms.
Speaker A:Megan and Ms.
Speaker A:Leanne right after this on the Nation.
Speaker A:Stay with us.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody, it's JT And I have eaten, if you've ever looked at me, you know that.
Speaker A:But I have eaten seafood all over the world, and I can tell you there's no place better than here in Oregon and our Dungeness crab.
Speaker A:If you want to learn more about Oregon Dungeness crab, just go to oregondungeness.org find out how to cook it, how to catch it, where to buy it, and the sustainability of what they're doing there in the Oregon Crab Commission.
Speaker A:Check it out.
Speaker A:Welcome back to Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:Thank all of our radio stations up and down online.
Speaker A:And also the podcast is available on multiple, on, I think, pretty much all the podcast platforms and of course, YouTube and all that.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And again, we'd like to thank the folks at Painter Hills Natural Beef and the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission.
Speaker A:And last but not least, that's your cue, Leanne.
Speaker C:Oh, pig powder.
Speaker C:We were just talking about that.
Speaker C:Yeah, my dad's dry rub that it won.
Speaker C:Best rub on the planet, too.
Speaker C:Just like yours, Megan.
Speaker C:Very versatile, all purpose.
Speaker C:It's slightly spicy, can be used on french fries, baked beans, pork ribs.
Speaker C:Excellent.
Speaker C:I've won first place in ribs many times with it.
Speaker C:I attribute my win on the barbecue brawl to having pig powder there on most of my turn ins.
Speaker C:So, yeah, it's@pigpowder.com and the new spicy pig powder will be out probably in about a month or so, and you can find it on Amazon.
Speaker A:Hey.
Speaker B:Exciting.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Unabashed, shameless promotion on this show.
Speaker A:And I.
Speaker A:And I approve this message.
Speaker B:I approve this message, too.
Speaker B:I approve it.
Speaker A:So, Megan, do you remember the four H's in four H?
Speaker B:Head, hand, heart and health.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Very good, very good, very good, very good.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I spent a lot of time in those dusty arenas and 4H when I was a little kid.
Speaker A:You know, always 107 degrees outside and you had new jeans and sometimes every other year a new pair of cowboy boots type thing.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So I was Looking sharp.
Speaker A:Looking sharp.
Speaker A:But I, I remember that if you had advice for people thinking about getting into this world, the competition world and all of that, what would you tell them?
Speaker B:I would tell them to find a judging class to take.
Speaker B:That would be my very first step, because I'm a firm believer you cannot win if you don't know the rules.
Speaker B:So go find out what the rules are.
Speaker B:How are they judging people?
Speaker B:What are they eating?
Speaker B:I think it's really important to, if you're looking at the competition side, to really dive into that, then you can come at the cooking side and say, is my style of cooking going to be something that those judges are going to enjoy?
Speaker B:Because if it doesn't matter what you cook, if the judge doesn't like it, it's not going to win, right.
Speaker B:If it's something that they're going to like and that they're judging on.
Speaker B:So taste, appearance, your texture, figure out what it is that those judges are looking for, and then you can start cooking to really be a competitor.
Speaker A:You know, since you began back in 08 like that, and Leanne and I have talked about this many times on the show.
Speaker A:What things do you see in the competitions that.
Speaker A:And we touched on it earlier a little bit.
Speaker A:The flavor profiles have, have the judges become more sophisticated?
Speaker A:Have they gone back to just salt, pepper, garlic?
Speaker A:I mean, what do you see?
Speaker A:You're right in the middle of the country.
Speaker A:We're on each end of the country.
Speaker A:So what are you seeing there?
Speaker B:So I think the quality of the protein is where I'm seeing the biggest shift.
Speaker B:If you're not cooking a high end wagyu brisket, you may not see as much success as the guys who are doing that.
Speaker B:If you aren't cooking really good meaty ribs, you're probably not going to see as good a score.
Speaker B:So the commodity cuts of meat just aren't winning anymore.
Speaker B:Flavor profile wise, I think it's all sweet.
Speaker B:I think at least where we are, it's very, very sweet.
Speaker B:And I think that's.
Speaker B:I, I don't.
Speaker B:I like brisket, for instance.
Speaker B:Brisket, lean, sweet.
Speaker B:And I'm not a sweet brisket gal, but gosh darn it, that's what wins.
Speaker B:So, I mean, you kind of have to figure those kinds of things out.
Speaker A:Yeah, I know.
Speaker A:I was in our.
Speaker A:It's a chain, they used to call it Cash and Carrier United Grocer Grocers.
Speaker A:And I was in the, one of the stores, the chef store the other day looking for a couple things, and I just went in the meat cooler, just to look.
Speaker A:And we do a lot of work, as you can tell, with Painted Hills and that type of thing.
Speaker A:So I'm pretty cognizant of beef prices, et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker A:But I went in there and this is just a regular choice brisket.
Speaker A:And it was right at $200.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it kind of blew me away.
Speaker B:That shocking.
Speaker A:Just a regular choice brisket.
Speaker A:It was a packer.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:But it was still right at like 198.75 or something.
Speaker A:And I'm like, wow.
Speaker A:Because I guess I haven't really truly priced them, you know, in a long time.
Speaker A:I know Leanne goes out and does stuff and, you know, she kind of tells me what's going on down south.
Speaker A:But I'm right in the middle of cow country here, too.
Speaker A:And that just kind of, kind of blew me away.
Speaker C:I think the bad part is, though, because of, as you said, Megan, that we.
Speaker C:It should be the high quality meets or it is what wins.
Speaker C:I think that's what has deterred a lot of people from competing.
Speaker C:And I think that's why you're kind of seeing a slack off on the circuit.
Speaker C:At least that's what I'm seeing.
Speaker C:People just can't afford to do it.
Speaker B:Can't afford to do it and they can't.
Speaker B:And it's about commodity.
Speaker B:You know, that's what barbecue started as.
Speaker B:So it's a little heartbreaking.
Speaker B:You know, you were taking some of the not desirable cuts and meats and making them very special.
Speaker B:And so it is a little frustrating to see that there's a barrier to entry for some people on this and why sponsorships are so important for.
Speaker B:For, you know, those of us who continue to go and grow.
Speaker B:But as I mentioned, we only do a few contests a year now.
Speaker B:Now we do them big.
Speaker B:We like to go to Memphis in May.
Speaker B:We like to do the American Royal, we like to do some of the bigger contests.
Speaker B:But the days of us just going and filling every single weekend doing 15, 20 contests a year, it's really not how we're going to spend our money.
Speaker B:But we do when we go, we go big and we try to win big.
Speaker B:And so the reality is there are Rib association, there's steak contests, there's ways to kind of ease in if you know that you're good and you're having fun.
Speaker B:My gosh, I mean, I would pay anything to be able to do that and get those accolades.
Speaker B:But beef prices in particular are pretty shocking and, you know, but hey, a blind squirrel Gets a nut.
Speaker B:So I'm not saying you can't do it.
Speaker B:Right, Right.
Speaker B:Put some of those in and on.
Speaker B:And we're.
Speaker B:We are marble chasers.
Speaker B:That's what we call ourselves.
Speaker B:So when we walk into a grocery store and we see something super marble, lots of fat and good meat in there, we will buy it.
Speaker B:It doesn't matter what it is, because there will be an application for it.
Speaker B:You know, when we're going to go do the American Royal, I'm probably going to upspend and make sure I get exactly what I want.
Speaker B:But if I see a cut of meat that is super marbled, I'm going to pick it, right?
Speaker B:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:I was, like I said, I was just shocked.
Speaker A:I mean, when you saw the tenderloin, big whole tenderloin and stuff, those prices never shocked me because that's, you know, like that.
Speaker A:But to see that brisket at 200 bucks, and it wasn't anything special.
Speaker A:It was.
Speaker A:And I was like, okay, but it's good eating.
Speaker B:It's good eating.
Speaker A:Good eating.
Speaker A:You know, to follow up on what Leanne was saying there, too, because I know we all talk to people, but when you think about if you want to be a serious competitor.
Speaker A:Well, first of all, in my part of the country, there's not that many contests.
Speaker A:There's a few, but not very many, you know, so you would have.
Speaker A:If you wanted to get really on the national stage, so to speak, you'd have to come back to your area down south where Leanne is.
Speaker A:But you think about the.
Speaker A:You're gonna have to have a trailer.
Speaker A:You're gonna have to have a decent truck.
Speaker A:You know, the expenses of getting there.
Speaker A:I mean, I just put tires on my little Ford Escape, and I about fell out of my chair.
Speaker A:But, yes, you know, very expensive to do that.
Speaker A:And is the.
Speaker A:Is the reward really in the accolades or.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Could most people do what you and Jason and some other ones done, which is turn it into a business?
Speaker B:You can.
Speaker B:I think I would highly encourage people who.
Speaker B:To look at it from a commodity camaraderie standpoint.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:It's about the act of doing it, the journey, the people that you meet, finding people that you connect with and having something to look forward to and having a passion.
Speaker B:I think that's where I would say you can't look at it from a cost perspective.
Speaker B:Perspective, if that's what you're looking for.
Speaker B:Because I do think some of the best people in the world are barbecue people.
Speaker B:And you hear us talk about.
Speaker B:It's a Reunion.
Speaker B:And a lot of these contests will hear certain people are going to contest.
Speaker B:And we try to make an effort to get there because we want to see those people.
Speaker B:The extra part about it is the fact that we might do well.
Speaker B:We might get a little.
Speaker B:A reward for our action.
Speaker B:The ribbons.
Speaker B:That's ego.
Speaker B:That's ego and vanity.
Speaker B:Those things are.
Speaker B:But where we get truly the love of it is.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And why we've continued to do it is because we love the people.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So if you're looking for that barbecue is it.
Speaker C:I consider it a sport.
Speaker C:And sports have gone.
Speaker C:They're crazy expensive to get into.
Speaker C:I mean, you know, you have kids and trying to get your kids into sports see just everything.
Speaker C:So I guess it's all relative.
Speaker C:But I just see the decline and it's probably the decline everywhere and everything just because how expensive everything is now.
Speaker B:But it is.
Speaker B:And I would like to say that you also are seeing contests that were part of community events.
Speaker B:Those community events didn't survive.
Speaker B:And that's where a lot of those organizations would kind of tap into an existing community event to have a barbecue contest.
Speaker B:And so some of those budgets from cities and rec departments got tightened.
Speaker B:And so we saw a lot leave that way.
Speaker B:But we've seen some that have, you know, taken bigger roles and have gotten bigger and allow more people.
Speaker B:So you've seen a little of both.
Speaker C:But the.
Speaker B:Just the small Town square festival, we just don't see as many anymore because I think their sponsors are not there and they're in their city budgets, aren't there.
Speaker B:So it's a little of both.
Speaker A:Yeah, we got approached here up here last year, maybe the year before, a promotions company reached out to me and to some other people that are involved, a couple of my clients and stuff, and said they wanted to do a barbecue contest tied in with the county fair, so to speak.
Speaker A:Yeah, not.
Speaker A:Not at the fair off the grounds.
Speaker A:But they wanted to do it and, you know, they were looking at a budget to do this somewhere around 100 to $150,000.
Speaker A:And I said, well, good luck that.
Speaker A:Because there's got no.
Speaker A:You know, it's not a huge metropolitan area that they were going to do it in.
Speaker A:Very difficult to get everybody to come there.
Speaker A:August, you know, like, you guys, it's hot.
Speaker A:You got kids getting ready to go back to school.
Speaker A:You got all this stuff hard.
Speaker B:Yeah, super.
Speaker B:Super hard, you know, But I think that's why really to embrace, you know, even though we may not compete, we like to go to them.
Speaker B:So say Hi.
Speaker B:Support the vendors that are there.
Speaker B:I think the ones that are there, we've got to lean into them a lot harder and really support them because, you know, we want it to survive and we want it to.
Speaker B:Which I think is why it's important that they have kids queue or even have a pie contest for the community as part of it.
Speaker B:Like, anything that they can do to really bring some foot traffic in and support it is always going to be.
Speaker B:My suggestion to people is, even if you can't compete, try to go and support it, because you may want to do it next year, right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it may not be there.
Speaker A:And I think these people trying to put this one on here locally would have been better served to tie it to the fair, have it actually in.
Speaker A:It's a huge fair, and have it involved internally in the fair, get 10 teams to do it and go forth.
Speaker A:Anyway, we got to take a break.
Speaker A:We're going to be back with Ms.
Speaker A:Leanne and Ms.
Speaker A:Megan and Mr.
Speaker A:Jeff right after this.
Speaker A:Don't go away.
Speaker B:Foreign.
Speaker A:I talk about Painted Hills all the time, and we always say beef the way nature intended.
Speaker A:But it's more than that because each bite of Painted Hills will make your taste buds explode.
Speaker A:Put a big, bright smile on your face, and whoever's at your dinner table will have a big, bright smile on their face.
Speaker A:And you can thank me for that later.
Speaker A:Just go to paintedhillsbeef.com and find out more.
Speaker A:You won't regret it.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody, J.T.
Speaker A:here.
Speaker A:I want to tell you about Hammerstahl knives.
Speaker A:Hammerstahl combines German steel with beautiful and functioning designs.
Speaker A:They're part of the Heritage Steel Group, which also does their pots and pans.
Speaker A:So go to heritagesteel US Check out the Hammer Stahl knives.
Speaker A:If you're really into cooking.
Speaker A:I think you're really gonna like them.
Speaker A:Welcome back to the nation.
Speaker A:That's Barbecue Nation, by the way.
Speaker A:I wanted to tell people I own the trademark to Barbecue Nation in the media, any aspect of media, because I get people trying to poach the name, okay?
Speaker A:And that's what.
Speaker A:And that's why I ended up spending the money to trademark it.
Speaker A:Not slamming anybody.
Speaker A:But when we did the.
Speaker A:You know, I've seen the other stuff.
Speaker A:In fact, my wife and I were walking this a couple years ago.
Speaker A:We were walking through the hardware store, and there was Barbecue Nations.
Speaker A:And she goes, I thought you owned that name.
Speaker A:I said, I do own that name.
Speaker A:I own it for all kinds of stuff, you know?
Speaker A:And I said, but it's really.
Speaker A:Unless they get too big.
Speaker C:Well, that's a compliment.
Speaker C:People like it, and they want to use it.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's right.
Speaker A:Yeah, I guess so.
Speaker B:We're the nation, you know, but you.
Speaker B:But trademarking, you know, you asked about talking, you know, people who want to get in this.
Speaker B:Do they want to get into the business side of it?
Speaker B:Do not kid yourself.
Speaker B:This is a business.
Speaker B:I mean, we're.
Speaker B:We are trademarked when Bacon Explosion, which was the.
Speaker B:The first recipe that we.
Speaker B:That went viral for us, you know, we trademarked the term Bacon explosion as a dish, and I had to execute season assists all the time because, you know, it was the confusion of the brand and confusion of what it was.
Speaker B:I mean, it really is a business.
Speaker B:And barbecue, there's a lot of people in that space, so there's no shame in that game.
Speaker B:If you want to own it, you got to own it and defend it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And you got to pay the money to own it.
Speaker A:And once you do, then you get a little more touchy about people trying to use that name.
Speaker C:It's an investment.
Speaker A:What do you think is the biggest thing you've learned, Megan, through this whole journey?
Speaker B:Yeah, the biggest thing that I've learned is just being approachable and available.
Speaker B:You don't know how you've impacted somebody.
Speaker B:You've inspired them.
Speaker B:And I'm reminded a lot when someone comes up to me and says, I remember seeing you here.
Speaker B:And Leanne, I know you get this.
Speaker B:I remember.
Speaker B:And you don't know.
Speaker B:It may have been something super simple or maybe even not memorable for you, but it was such an impact on them.
Speaker B:So just being kind and giving back and.
Speaker B:But being assertive and owning what you have and being.
Speaker B:Don't let that brand get diluted and really understanding the bigger impact, that somebody wanted to reach out because they saw me somewhere or they did something.
Speaker B:And so I think for me, that big lesson is we're all traveling through this together, but you don't know what your impact is going to be.
Speaker B:And just constantly reminded of that.
Speaker A:I had one of those things happen, happen the other day, truthfully.
Speaker A:I was at the store, and this lady came by, and I just caught her out of the corner of my eye, and she stopped.
Speaker A:I was 2ft from the end cap looking at dill pickles or something.
Speaker A:I don't know what the hell I was looking at, but I was standing there looking at.
Speaker A:She stopped her cart, and she looked at me, and she just, like, gave me this Vulcan desk there.
Speaker A:And it kind of.
Speaker A:You know how you.
Speaker A:You feel something you know?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And so I turned around and looked at her, and she looked at me again, and she.
Speaker A:She just kind of smirked and walked off and I went, huh.
Speaker A:Okay, that's weird.
Speaker A:But it's.
Speaker A:It's happened before.
Speaker A:I know.
Speaker A:It happens every time I'm around Leanne.
Speaker A:I can't go anywhere.
Speaker A:Somebody's trying to get her autograph, and I love it.
Speaker C:That's an exaggeration.
Speaker B:It is not an exaggeration.
Speaker C:I agree with what you're saying, Megan.
Speaker C:I can regret.
Speaker C:Recall going to contests and meeting children, and I remember one, and I don't know their names, but I remember parents bringing their children back who had grown.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:And they were now competing with the family, and they said that, you know, I helped inspire that in their children.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker C:Yeah, that.
Speaker C:And you don't want to be, you know, bad on the circuit or whatever, or ignore people, because it really does make a difference sometimes in people's lives.
Speaker C:You don't realize it.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, no, that's.
Speaker A:That's very true.
Speaker A:And you wouldn't.
Speaker A:If you had somebody like that in your life.
Speaker B:Yeah, you would.
Speaker A:You would not want them to react negatively towards you when you were.
Speaker B:No, for sure.
Speaker C:For sure.
Speaker A:You kind of be kind to everybody out there.
Speaker A:We always say that on the show at the end.
Speaker A:Be kind.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's very important.
Speaker B:It's important.
Speaker B:I think.
Speaker B:I think, too.
Speaker B:I mean, food.
Speaker B:People are very passionate about food.
Speaker B:It is definitely something that they lean into.
Speaker B:I say it all the time.
Speaker B:Barbecue.
Speaker B:When.
Speaker B:When someone says, you're a pit master, their whole body language changes.
Speaker B:They lean in and they say, what does that mean?
Speaker B:Or tell me how to do brisket.
Speaker B:Or they.
Speaker B:They really.
Speaker B:They get it.
Speaker B:And so that's where that comes from for me, is the power that.
Speaker B:That holds and to enjoy that and spread the joy.
Speaker A:No, it's true.
Speaker A:And it's.
Speaker A:It can be.
Speaker A:I think it is for me, in my small bit of the world.
Speaker A:But it's.
Speaker A:It's very.
Speaker A:What do I want to say?
Speaker A:Fulfilling.
Speaker B:It's positive.
Speaker A:Positive to help people like that.
Speaker A:Like that.
Speaker A:You know, you said your kids are.
Speaker A:Are coming up in the ranks and all that.
Speaker A:Do they really think that this is something they want to do at this stage now that could.
Speaker A:Their kids.
Speaker A:It's going to change in 12 minutes.
Speaker A:You know, do they think they're going to do this forever?
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:Make that very clear.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:No, but, you know, they'll.
Speaker B:They'll say things like, you know, I don't really want to do this.
Speaker B:But can we go shop for some steaks tonight?
Speaker B:Because I want to practice this or that.
Speaker B:So they.
Speaker B:They do bring up the wanting to be a part of this and doing this, the little competitive side to.
Speaker B:And, you know, it doesn't hurt that a lot of these places have snow cones and, you know, all the fun things that go with a festival when they get to do it.
Speaker B:But no, they've made it very, very clear that their.
Speaker B:Their life goal is not to be, you know, a big pit master or anything like that.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker B:That's okay.
Speaker B:This is the time that we spend together as a family, fully expecting.
Speaker B:We embrace it now because we know at some point they're going to just be off doing their own thing, and I'm okay with that.
Speaker B:But while they're at this point under 15, if you will, you know, this is where we spend our family time and.
Speaker B:And they embrace it and run with it and have fun.
Speaker B:So I.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:And we get the fruits of the labor because we get to eat their steak or we get to eat their pork chops and burgers, and it's fun.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Is there ever a time when you want to just, like, lock them in the trailer for an hour and walk away?
Speaker B:We do it now.
Speaker B:We can.
Speaker B:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker C:It's legal, right?
Speaker B:They're all just totally.
Speaker B:They can do it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And, you know, the camaraderie, too, with the other kids and the other pit masters that have children and they can't go anywhere.
Speaker B:Everybody knows who they are, so get away with anything.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:They're on their little scooters and they play their cornhole and they do.
Speaker B:You know that it's.
Speaker B:But yes, we do sometimes.
Speaker B:And you know that they've earned it, right?
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:And we've earned that.
Speaker B:So we do.
Speaker B:But people know to come see us because we've got kids with us most often.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker B:Memphis in May.
Speaker B:Memphis and May.
Speaker B:They don't come with us.
Speaker B:That's mom and Dad's party.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Okay, back to your sauces and your rub business.
Speaker C:Where can we find them?
Speaker C:I knew.
Speaker C:I know online we can find them, but I mean, are you trying to work out some deals to get into big stores?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So we're.
Speaker B:Shields is probably.
Speaker B:It is a outdoor and recreational type store that has amazing grills and smokers and all those things, but you can get fishing poles and canoes.
Speaker C:Like a Bass Pro shop.
Speaker B:It's like.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:And that's at this time right now.
Speaker B:Bass Pro and Cabela's do have our products.
Speaker B:If they're not sold out.
Speaker B:They are on the shelf at those retailers as well.
Speaker B:Ace on the shelf.
Speaker B:If we're not on the shelf, then we're in the system.
Speaker B:You can tell the manager to get it put on the shelf.
Speaker B:So as you can imagine, some of those are all very independently owned, but your Westlake and your Ace Hardware, you'll see us in a lot of the, I'd like to call them farm and fleet stores.
Speaker B:So if you've got, you know, some of those types of farm stores, if we're not on the shelf, a lot of times we're in the system and it just takes someone asking for it to get it put on the shelf.
Speaker B:So we are, we do have those bigger homedepot.com right now.
Speaker B:You can get our products on home depot dot com.
Speaker A:Good for you.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And then.
Speaker B:Yeah, and then, you know, burntfingerbbq.com is also a place that.
Speaker B:And I'll even write you a little personal note to say thank you for ordering.
Speaker A:Well, excellent.
Speaker A:Excellent for you.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Megan is unaware, but she is going to stick around for after hours.
Speaker A:And the abuse at all.
Speaker C:It won't take that long because her love it.
Speaker C:Very busy mom.
Speaker A:I know, I know, I know.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker B:Yeah, the pool.
Speaker B:The kids are waiting for me to take them to the pool.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Well, we will.
Speaker A:We'll keep it short, but we're going to do that.
Speaker A:And Leanne and I will be back next week with another edition of Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:Until that time, first of all, thank you, Megan.
Speaker A:And secondly, remember our motto here.
Speaker A:Turn it, don't burn it, go out there, have some fun, grill, smoke, cook something.
Speaker A:And most of all, be kind.
Speaker A:We'll see you next week.
Speaker A:Barbecue Nation is produced by JTSD LLC Productions and association with Salem Media Group.
Speaker A:All rights reserved.
