Stretch - from Grinders - Afterhours Encore
This episode of Barbecue Nation After Hours delves into the intricate world of barbecue, featuring engaging discussions among hosts JT, Leanne Whippen, and Stretch. A focal point of the conversation is the exploration of the various styles and techniques that characterize the art of barbecue, as well as personal anecdotes that highlight the unique experiences of each participant. Throughout the episode, we reflect on the nuances of cooking different types of meat, including the controversial swordfish, and share stories from competitive barbecue settings that underscore the challenges and triumphs faced by cooks. Additionally, we engage in light-hearted banter regarding culinary preferences and past mishaps in the kitchen, further enriching the dialogue with humor and camaraderie. The episode encapsulates both the passion for barbecue as a culinary form and the community it fosters among enthusiasts.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Painted Hills Natural Beef
- 17th Street
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcript
This is Barbecue Nation After Hours.
Speaker A:The conversation that took place after the show ended.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody, it's jt and this is a special version of Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:It is brought to you in part by Painted Hills Natural Beef, Beef you can be proud to serve your family and friends.
Speaker A:That's Painted Hills Natural Beef.
Speaker A:Welcome to After Hours, everybody, here on Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:I'm JT along with Ms. Leanne Whippen, and we've got Stretch.
Speaker A:I could just stop talking there and just let you go.
Speaker A:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:No, you gotta ask them these serious questions, okay?
Speaker A:These serious questions.
Speaker C:Let me really get in here and get intimate.
Speaker C:How's that?
Speaker A:Okay, that's good.
Speaker A:That's good.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:If Leanne.
Speaker C:Leanne from here.
Speaker A:I know.
Speaker A:If Leanne declared you supreme ruler of barbecue for one week, what would you.
Speaker A:Stretch, as supreme leader, decree.
Speaker C:More swordfish.
Speaker C:I love swordfish.
Speaker C:I don't get to eat it enough, and I think everybody should eat swordfish.
Speaker B:I don't like swordfish.
Speaker C:Why don't you like swordfish?
Speaker B:Because it's tough.
Speaker B:It's like.
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker B:It's not delicate and flaky.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's almost steak, like, but not.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker C:I'm just not a loin fish.
Speaker C:Not a filet yet.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:I like it when it cut a nice fish because I love fish.
Speaker C:But if I'm eating, like, a trout or something that's got those little pence pea bones and stuff, it can ruin my whole meal, just like.
Speaker C:And I'll just stop eating.
Speaker C:But a swordfish steak done right on the grill, you know, whether capers or a nice sauce or even just lemon, a little salt.
Speaker C:But it's awesome.
Speaker C:I love it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Cool.
Speaker B:That's healthy.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:Okay, so if you could erase one mistake from your past, what would it be and why?
Speaker C:So earlier this week, I did a show called Barbecue Podcast.
Speaker C:With someone named Leanne.
Speaker C:Wow.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:If there was one thing I could erase from my past, what would it be?
Speaker C:Wow, that's a tough one.
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker C:I really don't know.
Speaker C:I'm sure I gotta think that one's actually good.
Speaker B:That's a good answer.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's really good.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:I've never really had any regrets.
Speaker C:You know, I live it and you do it.
Speaker C:You gotta own it.
Speaker A:Okay, if you'll like this one.
Speaker A:If we put your skills to music, Stretch, what music would it be?
Speaker C:Oh, it'd probably be somewhere between polka and punk.
Speaker B:He's a rock and roller.
Speaker C:Come on.
Speaker C:He is.
Speaker C:He is.
Speaker A:Worst concert you've ever been to.
Speaker C:Oh, my God.
Speaker C:Riverdance.
Speaker C:I fell asleep, I guess.
Speaker C:Really a concert.
Speaker C:But it was.
Speaker C:It was rough.
Speaker C:It was.
Speaker C:Yeah, it was a rough one.
Speaker B:Good to know.
Speaker C:They were talented, but it was rough.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker A:I can.
Speaker A:I can believe you on that one.
Speaker A:Watch all the click, clicking heels for.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Everybody run around.
Speaker A:What was that guy's name?
Speaker A:Michael Atlee or Michael something.
Speaker A:I don't remember.
Speaker C:You know, I read.
Speaker C:Probably would have rather had, like, the pan flute guys, you know, in front of me for four hours.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it.
Speaker A:Interesting.
Speaker A:What's the biggest mistake you've ever made during a competition?
Speaker C:Missing turn in time.
Speaker C:Oh, a couple times I've done that.
Speaker C:Once was my fault.
Speaker C:Once was my fault.
Speaker C:I think I've done it twice.
Speaker C:Oh, that was.
Speaker C:Mistakes doing that.
Speaker C:Then one time I asked the judge, it was at a competition, a kosher Q.
Speaker C:And on the Thursday or Wednesday night, they do beef ribs instead of pork ribs.
Speaker C:And when I was doing a gig in New Zealand, they take the meat, the beef, off the bone and cut it up and make it look like burnt ends.
Speaker C:So I asked at the meeting, can they do it?
Speaker C:Can I do it?
Speaker C:And they said, the judges prefer that you don't.
Speaker C:I said, I don't care what the judges think.
Speaker C:I think it looks better than having a rib bone in the box.
Speaker C:So I did it.
Speaker C:And the judges came over and they said, stretch you turn that box.
Speaker C:And I said, yes, well, you're DQ'd.
Speaker C:And I said, why?
Speaker C:I asked on Wednesday at the meeting, they said, yeah, but it's illegal.
Speaker C:And the, you know, the guys putting on the deal, they said, well, shouldn't have done it.
Speaker C:And the guys next to me in the tent, they're like.
Speaker C:He asked.
Speaker C:And they said it was okay.
Speaker C:They just didn't prefer it.
Speaker C:So I got DQ'd.
Speaker C:And what sucked about it is I had three good calls and then I was DQ'd.
Speaker C:And I still didn't come in last place.
Speaker C:And then I beaned a rabbi with a stick of butter, which was melted.
Speaker C:I started drinking.
Speaker C:It was Fleischmann's, so it was okay.
Speaker A:It was okay.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:So I probably shouldn't have been Ezra, or whatever his name was with you.
Speaker A:Knock his yarmulke off his head?
Speaker A:No.
Speaker C:It's flattered.
Speaker C:It was soft.
Speaker A:It was soft.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker C:It was fun.
Speaker A:Do you remember the first thing you ever grilled or smoked?
Speaker A:And I'm not talking about on a nail or an iron.
Speaker A:I'm talking about Something real, a real machine.
Speaker C:Tie, stick.
Speaker C:Oh.
Speaker A:Whatever you want, buddy.
Speaker A:But anything you ever.
Speaker A:The first thing you ever grilled or smoked and went, yeah, I mean.
Speaker C:Probably.
Speaker C:No, I don't remember, but I remember, you know, burgers were probably the first thing or pork chops growing up that I put on a Weber grill or a Gasser early on was the first things I said, wow, it doesn't have to be burnt.
Speaker C:I grew up in that meat and potato family where everything was well done, and once it came off, you cut it open and it leaked all the juices all over the place.
Speaker C:And then you took the white bread and soaked it all up, you know, and ate it.
Speaker C:But once I realized you could eat meat that wasn't brown, I was like the new day, you know.
Speaker A:Yeah, I will tell you, that was.
Speaker A:That kind of happened to me too.
Speaker A:My dad, he liked everything pan fried.
Speaker A:Everything was pan fried or it was baked.
Speaker A:Just baked the snot out of it, roasted it in the oven, and everything was brown.
Speaker A:And that's where I got my affinity for Lee and Perrin was to give it some sort of flavor.
Speaker A:But when I discovered that there was this thing called medium rare, I went nuts, you know, and I started.
Speaker A:I started cooking dinners and stuff then.
Speaker A:And my dad would go, you know, he'd cut into it and some juice had come out.
Speaker A:He go, this isn't done, you know, I. I said, well, yeah, it is.
Speaker A:Why don't you try it?
Speaker A:So he did eventually.
Speaker A:I don't think he ever liked it, but he tried it.
Speaker A:So anyway, where's the worst place you ever had to cook during a comp?
Speaker C:Oh, pouring rain or location.
Speaker A:Worst conditions, let's put it that way.
Speaker C:Rain, when you have a tent and wind is always, always tough.
Speaker C:And I cook a lot of comps myself.
Speaker C:And having to hustle over to meet and get your stuff turned in on time is tricky.
Speaker C:And I did one down in Alabama.
Speaker C:I did a triple by myself once.
Speaker C:It was two turn ins at the same time.
Speaker C:And then the second day was a single, and that one kicked the hell out of me.
Speaker C:That was a tough one.
Speaker C:And the winds were seriously.
Speaker C:I mean, it was out of control.
Speaker C:The winds, they were blowing stuff, tents.
Speaker C:You know, the tents look like tumbleweeds going down between them.
Speaker C:Some of the worst times is being sick, getting a cold or something once you got there, but you still got to get through.
Speaker C:So, you know, you got your paper towels, you know, stuffed up your nose when you're injecting and get through the thing, you know, because you got you got to do what you got to do.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:Dire Straits, AC DC Or Billy Ray Cyrus.
Speaker C:May have to go with AC DC on that one, Jeff.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:That was a very formal answer.
Speaker A:I like it.
Speaker A:I like it.
Speaker A:One thing you miss about your twenties.
Speaker A:If you remember one thing you miss about your twenties?
Speaker C:My hair.
Speaker A:Oh, God.
Speaker A:What would be your last meal if you were on death row?
Speaker C:Just to piss off Leanne, I'm gonna say swordfish.
Speaker C:You all heard the joke.
Speaker C:You know, what was the Cannibals last meal, right?
Speaker A:No.
Speaker C:Five guys.
Speaker B:That sounds like an Alexa, Joe.
Speaker C:You know, would be really nice, you know?
Speaker A:Yeah, there you go.
Speaker C:Or, you know, I'd call it, you know, smorgasbord.
Speaker C:You just start at one end, and then you never, you know, get that.
Speaker C:Just keep on trucking.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker A:What's your favorite movie?
Speaker C:You know, it's a tough one.
Speaker C:And every year, for whatever reason, I fall in love with Die Hard.
Speaker C:I just love him.
Speaker B:Oh, really?
Speaker C:I think it's.
Speaker C:He's awesome, and he just gets kicked around so much, and I don't know what it is.
Speaker C:I just go back to it every year.
Speaker C:It's probably one of the only movies I've watched more than 10 times.
Speaker B:You know, it is a good flag for sure.
Speaker A:If you could cook for and then have dinner with a historical figure, who would it be and what would be on the menu?
Speaker C:Hmm.
Speaker C:So I think Pocahontas would be fun, and I would make her turkey and corn.
Speaker C:No, I think Pocahontas would be kind of fun.
Speaker C:I think she was pretty groundbreaking and put up with a lot of crap.
Speaker C:I think Einstein would be really wild to have dinner with.
Speaker C:I'd like to say to have dinner with Hitler as a Hebrew school dropout and stuff.
Speaker C:I would just want to know what made that guy think like that.
Speaker C:And if you're going to sit around a neutral environment like a table, I really would want to know what would make that guy tick.
Speaker C:You know, you can bring Genghis Khan to the table.
Speaker C:You can bring, you know, Yoda to the table.
Speaker C:You can bring all sorts of great people at that dinner table.
Speaker C:And I think the conversations would be crazy.
Speaker C:It'd be all over the place, you know?
Speaker A:Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I was always wondering when somebody was going to bring that up, since I've been doing this show, because, to tell you the truth, I thought about that, too.
Speaker A:Why that son of a bitch.
Speaker A:What.
Speaker A:What made you do that?
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:It was out of his mind, obviously, but he's Like, I'm not only out of my mind, you know, everyone's going to drink the Kool Aid and we're going to walk our way across Europe and kill everybody.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And that's basically what they did.
Speaker A:What's the worst thing about owning your own restaurant?
Speaker C:Oh, man.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:You know the same thing.
Speaker C:What's the best part?
Speaker C:It's customers.
Speaker C:And I sometimes allocate to kind of relate it to, like, being a teacher.
Speaker C:The best part about being a teacher is when those students come through and they.
Speaker C:They do great things and they move on in the future, and you're rewarded.
Speaker C:At the same time, you have the bad students.
Speaker C:Customers are great when they're smiling at the end of the meal, but it really pisses you off when they're not happy, and you can never make those people happy.
Speaker C:But what I do love the most about my restaurant is seeing employees that start at the bottom and make their way through.
Speaker C:We've put a lot of nurses through school as well.
Speaker C:But seeing someone start in the dish pit and then become managers, I'm actually getting some goosebumps on that.
Speaker C:I love seeing them thrive.
Speaker C:Learn something.
Speaker C:What we used to say is, you're learning a trade where you can take this trade anywhere in the world.
Speaker C:Not just putting the pushing a button like at Taco Bell or Applebee's microwave and stuff.
Speaker C:You're learning how to cook and make sauces and.
Speaker C:Yeah, it might only be pizza, but without all the, you know, crap that goes along with making fine French cuisine, you know?
Speaker A:Have you ever cooked in a thunderstorm in your underwear?
Speaker C:Well, I didn't start wearing underwear until about 10 years ago, and I.
Speaker A:I'm down with that.
Speaker C:You know, I've cooked in my underwear and a kokoi.
Speaker C:Have you ever cooked in a cook way?
Speaker C:I cooked in a kikoi when I was doing a gig in Kenya when I did something with the Maasai tribe, I was cooking goat with them and drinking the blood of the goat in the headlights of a pickup truck.
Speaker B:Oh, so that's what happened.
Speaker C:That's it.
Speaker A:Oh, God.
Speaker A:If you could work with one of your barbecue heroes, who would the hero be?
Speaker C:Well, Leanne's no longer available, so a barbecue hero.
Speaker C:You know, I wish I got a chance to cook with Mike from 17th Street.
Speaker C:Yeah, I thought that would.
Speaker B:Yeah, I agree.
Speaker C:Awesome.
Speaker C:To cook with him.
Speaker C:I think that would have been super cool.
Speaker A:Yes, it would have.
Speaker A:What barbecue skill took you the longest to master?
Speaker C:I think I'm still trying to master all the skills.
Speaker C:I don't think, you know, you know, chicken's always tough, but it's the one I excel in.
Speaker C:Actually, I've gotten more 180s in that than anything else.
Speaker C:And then I was doing fine with pork, you know, Again, I think it depends on your smoking rig, your apparatus, whatever grill you're cooking on.
Speaker C:I like to try new smokers often.
Speaker C:It's probably smarter if I stuck with the same one.
Speaker C:But I like the challenge of figuring out how to make different kind of smokers do what I need them to do.
Speaker C:So that's my biggest challenge is smokers probably with myself.
Speaker A:Okay, a couple more questions here.
Speaker A:Stretch.
Speaker A:What is the best day for stretch Contain as far as activities?
Speaker A:If you had your perfect day.
Speaker C:Perfect day is when I don't have to refill the coffee makers with beans and my coffee maker makes perfect coffee.
Speaker C:And then I can go out.
Speaker C:Studio's perfect.
Speaker C:The weather's right around 68 degrees outside.
Speaker C:I love that I have plenty of gas in my truck.
Speaker C:There's no jackasses driving a Prius.
Speaker C:That slows me down from point A to point B.
Speaker C:The perfect lunch comes on time, whether it's hot or cold, whatever I want to have to eat.
Speaker C:And I have good people around me throughout the day, smiling and enjoying it with good conversation.
Speaker C:And then it doesn't matter what I do the rest of the day.
Speaker A:There you go, last one.
Speaker A:Did you.
Speaker A:Have you ever smoked an armadillo?
Speaker C:I've smoked iguana, I've smoked nutria.
Speaker C:I've smoked wild boar.
Speaker B:What's nutria?
Speaker C:Weird pig looking things in Republic of Georgia in the Usgali mountains, way above Tbilisi.
Speaker C:I do not think I've ever smoked an armadillo.
Speaker C:I've smoked carp or Asian carp, but I don't think I've smoked an armadillo.
Speaker A:Well, I do not.
Speaker B:There's could be on your to do list.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah, it would.
Speaker C:I don't know how you keep them lit.
Speaker A:Yeah, well, you know, and Leanne's heard me tell this story in Texas.
Speaker A:It's the thing, if you see a roadkill armadillo, you're supposed to get out, prop him up on his back feet and his tail and put a Lone Star bottle in his hands.
Speaker A:That's what you do.
Speaker B:Is that why they sell those at the gas stations?
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:I wish I saw more of those bloated creatures holding Lone Star bottles on the side of the room.
Speaker A:It's all good.
Speaker A:It's okay.
Speaker A:And by the way, Leanna nutria is kind of like an otter or a beaver, but they're.
Speaker B:I didn't know that.
Speaker C:Yeah, Vegetarian, actually.
Speaker C:They're vegetarians.
Speaker C:They live down in the swamps down in Louisiana.
Speaker C:On my eating the enemy show on Animal Planet, we did nutria.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Interesting.
Speaker A:Yeah, we have them here.
Speaker A:We have them here.
Speaker C:So where's here?
Speaker A:Oregon.
Speaker A:I live in Oregon.
Speaker A:Ah, yeah, we have them.
Speaker A:And in fact, as soon as I turn off the recording, I will tell you a story about what happened to nutria.
Speaker A:Anyway, Stretch, it's.
Speaker A:It's been great to see you and talk to you again, man.
Speaker A:It's always good.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker C:Thank you so much, guys.
Speaker C:And keep on smoking.
Speaker C:And look for the new album coming out hopefully by end of March.
Speaker A:Excellent.
Speaker A:We'll have to do some reviews for you.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:It's all about food.
Speaker C:There's a song on there called my grill is a battlefield.
Speaker C:There's a song there called dine and dash.
Speaker C:There's a song, it's a love song called I'll make you breakfast in bed.
Speaker C:There's a song called carnivore of chaos.
Speaker C:So it's all food related, fire starter, propane and accessories.
Speaker C:There's a lot of fun stuff.
Speaker A:That's fun.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I can't wait to hear it.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker A:All right, well, folks, that's it for after hours here this week on Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:Ms. Leanne and I will be back next week and Mr.
Speaker A:Stretch will be out in the world somewhere causing chaos.
Speaker A:And we love it.
Speaker A:Thanks, bud.
Speaker C:Peace out, Stretch.
Speaker A:You got it.
