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Big Bob Gibson BBQ Restaurant

Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q
Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q Restaurant

While heading West for our next BBQ adventure, we stopped at Big Bob Gibson BBQ Restaurant in Decatur, AL. Most people would recognize Chris Lilly, owner, from the BBQ Pitmaster TV series. What most folks wouldn’t know is that Chris & the Big Bob Gibson competition BBQ team have won the prestigious Memphis in May competition a staggering FIVE times!

We were honored to take a pit tour of the restaurant including the mobile pit they used to win the 2017 Memphis in May competition. Each of their pits is specific for the meat… they can cook 175 chickens, 110 rib slabs, and 60 whole turkeys on the separate pits.

Chicken Pit

White BBQ Sauce?! In addition to great BBQ, Big Bob Gibson is famous for its white BBQ sauce, or as some call it, Alabama White Sauce. A mild mayonnaise, vinegar, and black pepper-based sauce that goes great with chicken. Next time you are in Decatur plan to stop at this BBQ icon!

Ribs, mac & cheese and potato salad
Pulled Pork, slaw & beans
Competition Pit               
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Sweet P’s BBQ & Soul House

Traveling from Ashville, NC to Huntsville, AL Marcia and I thought it time to find another BBQ joint to try. About seven miles southwest of Knoxville, TN we found Sweet P’s BBQ & Soul House. Tucked in just off a marina of the Little River, this is a classic BBQ joint with tent covered tables, an enclosed dining room, and a beer garden. Pitmaster Dillon greeted us and explained his menu. We decided to order the Meat Sampler including brisket, pulled chicken, and ribs. Recommended sides were kale greens, macaroni & cheese, along with red beans and rice.

The beer garden is shady and has a view of the river, so it was the perfect place to have our meal. Our pups, Eli and Brooklyn, were allowed to be with us in the beer garden, a definite plus in our book! I mentioned to Dillon that I don’t judge restaurants, but I if did, the Yummms between Marcia and I would have earned him a Grand Champion.

Sweet P’s is a definite stop for delicious BBQ next time through the area!

Watch our video of Sweet P’s BBQ & Soul House.

To learn more about Sweet P’s click here.

Mike

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Rockahock Pickin’ n’ Pullin’ BBQ Competition – April 28, 2018

The Pickin’ n’ Pullin’ BBQ Competition occurs in Lanexa, VA, 45 minutes East of Richmond, at Rockahock Campground RV Resort. This RV Resort is a terrific venue for teams and judges. The Rockahock folks were very accommodating, including the use of campsites for teams, indoor event hall for judges and their covered amphitheater for musical entertainment and award presentations. Over 48 pro teams and 54 backyard amateur teams competed. Some of the top teams including Tuffy Stone’s Cool Smoke BBQ* (Three-time Jack winner) and Old Virginia Smoke (World Food Championship winner) competed.

The charity supported by this event is Proclaiming Grace Outreach, a non-profit organization whose mission is to help those in need in the New Kent and James City County area. Proclaiming Grace offers help through a food pantry, thrift shop, small home repairs and scholarships to New Kent students. Click here to learn more.

The organizers from Rockahock Campground were terrific! We would like to thank all the KCBS representatives for being so welcoming to RVBBQTrail and for them allowing us to photograph the judging process. Thanks also go to the BBQ teams who enthusiastically greeted us, posed for pictures and offered their BBQ wisdom in the interviews. Unfortunately, we had technical issues and did not capture the audio with the teams and the organizer. This is just one of the road bumps we’ve encountered in our startup year so please forgive us.

Pickin’ n Pullin’ BBQ Competition is a can’t miss event for next year and a great way to start the BBQ competition season!

*Tuffy’s new book, Cool Smoke, was just released. To learn more about Tuffy and his book click here.

  • Wrapping the ribs
  • Sometime Ribs, 2nd Place Ribs, Backyard
  • 2018 Rockahock Campground Pickin’ N Pullin’ Awards
  • Tuffy Stone & Mike
  • Brisket turn-in box
  • Judges ‘plate’
  • People’s Choice, 2nd Place
  • Teams anxiously awaiting awards anoucements
  • John Busch , KCBS Representative, Maryland
  • Notorious P.I.G. BBQ Team, Backyard Reserve Grand Champion
  • Taste of Grace BBQ Team
  • KCBS Judging
  • 1st Place, 2018 People’s Choice
  • 1st Place, Pork
  • Carolina Smoke
  • Cool Smoke smoker
  • yum, ribs!
  • Pork judging
  • Firehouse BBQ Team
  • BBQ Cook Team set-up
  • Smoke-Aholics BBQ Team
  • 1st Place Ribs
  • Reserve Champion, Professional
  • Cool Smoke BBQ Team, Tuffy Stone
  • 2018 Pickin’ N’ Pullin’ BBQ Cometition
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Velvet Smoke BBQ

Watch Velvet Smoke’s video!

Matt & Andi Schneider, owner’s of Velvet Smoke BBQ, rolled out the red carpet for RVBBQTrail’s inaugural kick-off event. VSQ is known for championship BBQ, as Matt’s team, Velvet Smoke, has more awards and trophy’s than any BBQ joint in town.

Velvet Smoke’s style is championship Kansas City style. He’s known for all his offerings, but his brisket and burnt ends are legendary! Burnt ends are not overdone; it’s just a way of preparing the point of the brisket.  Cow Candy… that’s the ticket! Matt explains this in the above video.

Neil, VSQ’s Pitmaster, has been doing ‘Q for three years. He’s a classically trained chef but has found his way through the smoke! Matt’s wife Andi runs the catering business. I’ve had them cater several meetings for me with important clients. At the end of the meeting, a VP said, “good meeting, but the BBQ was the best part… you’ve got our business”! True story!

Full disclosure, I’m a member of the Velvet Smoke Professional BBQ Cook Team.

Visit Velvet Smoke’s website for menu and additional information.

Mike

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KCBS Sanctioned BBQ Events

This is where professional BBQ all comes together! I love the smell of BBQ smoke in the morning! Each team is required to turn in four of the qualifying meats; Poultry, Pork Ribs, Pork Shoulder or Butt, and Brisket. Chicken turn-in typically starts at 12 noon followed by 30-minute increments for the other meats. The cook teams easily spend more than $1,000 just to compete. Yes, there is prize money, typically ranging from $7k – $25k, however, no one is in it for the money… Just getting a call, or better yet, being Grand Champion is rewarding enough!

KCBS is a non-profit organization as are each of the sanctioned BBQ competitions. Most KCBS events are raising money for charitable causes and all workers, including judges, are volunteers. Many are sanctioned State Championships with the winner eligible to compete in the Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational.

Location plays an important reason as to why we love KCBS BBQ events. Most are in small out-of-the-way towns that you normally would not have a reason to visit. We leave enamored with the town, community, and rich history each has to offer… and can’t wait to return next year! Many have a Blues, Brews, & BBQ type theme – which just happen to be the three necessities of life!

Mike

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Welcome to the World of BBQ!

Our adventure into the world of BBQ begins in one week. Mike and I are making final preparations for our nine week RV road trip to judge professional BBQ Competitions, seek out local BBQ joints, explore small towns and have fun with our two canine companions, Eli and Brooklyn.

Follow along with us on our blog and Instagram @rvbbqtrail to see Kansas City Barbecue Society @KCBS competitions, meet professional cook teams, learn how the judging process works and how to become a judge yourself to taste the best bbq you’ve ever eaten. We’ll also tell you about the bbq joints we find along the way.

Mike and I are veteran BBQ folks. Mike is a Master KCBS Judge (he’ll explain more about that in another post), and I enjoy attending the competitions and the festivals surrounding them. Some of the best people we’ve met are from the BBQ world. We’ve also listened to great music groups at the festivals, Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds and Midland to name two.

We may be veteran bbq people, but we are newbie RVers. I’m sure we’ll have a few stories about our early trips with our RV, Quinn. Yes, we named our RV. We’ve also given our black Ford F150 a name. Her name is Black Betty.

So off we go in one week with Black Betty, Quinn (BBQ, get it?), Eli and Brooklyn to explore the United States by RV and eat bbq!

It’s All Good…
Marcia

@kcbs, #kcbs, #bbq, #roadtrip