It looks like we’ll have BBQ on TV yet again with BBQ Pitmasters Season 3.  Just a few days ago John Markus posted on twitter(below) to stay tuned for an announcement.  Hit the jump for details.

To all our great diehard BBQ Pitmasters fans, good news in the works.Check bbqforum.com for an announcement.Things are moving quickly!

— BBQ Pitmasters (@BBQPitmasters) January 26, 2012

We hope this new format is more like season one but we’ll take bbq on tv anyday!!! See below for the presser.

We have yet to determine which contests we’ll be attending but casting has begun and we want YOUR video auditions.

We’re looking for the best and brightest BBQ Pitmasters with the biggest personalities!

DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 9 TH!!!!!!!!

How do you apply to be on the show?

Send us a 3 to 5 minute audition video. We want you to showcase your personality, your desire to win, and your incredible skills. Prove you have a shot at being and beating the best of the best. Be creative and sell us on why you and your team should be on the show.

Don’t worry, we’re not expecting videos with Hollywood productions values. More than anything, it’s the cook’s personality that matters. For a taste of the stuff BBQ Pitmasters are made of, go to:

http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/bbq-pitmasters-bbq-pitmasters-returns-august-12.html

Send your audition tapes & DVDs to Original Media, Attn: BBQ Pitmasters 175 Varick St New York, NY 10014

Or, send a file of your audition to bbqpitmasters@originalmedia.com Direct any and all questions there as well. Shoot schedule runs until the end of April. Good luck, and get goin’!

 Shotgun Fred Pirkle A true BBQ visionary has been profiled in 2 philadelphia area media publishings in recent weeks.  Hit the jump for the video and link.  Good luck and Godspeed Fred

We’ve met fred personally tons of times and love his contributions to industry and most important to us, the BBQ world.  We’ve interviewed him on occasion here and this is truly a role model in the BBQ world as well as Industry for that matter.

Below is the link which talks about his generous donation to his alma mater amongst other things

Paralyzed Bucks inventor puts his money where his heart is

Hey all we finally found some lost footage of last year’s Big Apple BBQ Block Party.  Feast your eyes on all of this wonderful BBQ and equipment!!

Hey gang Sr. and I have had this discussion several times and I want to exchange dialog with our readers to see what would your ideal pit temperature control device would do for you.  Hopefully the manufacturers are listening and can include this in their upcoming products.  Let’s first speak about what’s currently on the market.  We have the BBQ Guru line of pit temp control devices and they start from the display-less nano-Q unit that increases/decreases temperature increments at the push of a button.  They just released a new unit called the Party-Q which controls one pit and operates off of batteries.

BBQ Guru's Party Q Unit

Then they have the top of the line Cyber-Q unit which lets you do everything the others can do(not battery operable) including regulate your temps via a computer that is directly connected via a usb cable and control more than one pit.  The Guru line has a few other controls in between but the aforementioned is their list of features across their product line.

BBQ Guru's Cyber Q Unit

You also have the Stoker line of products.  The stoker has often been referred to as the techie’s choice for a pit temperature control device.  Per various forums, owners laud the guru’s ease of use over the stoker however that does not stop the stoker from having it’s respectable user base.

The Stoker Front View

The unit you see here has built-in wifi(wifi firmware available 1/2012) and can control what looks to be up to 3 pits and meats at once.  One feature that the stoker has with both the non-wifi and the wifi version is that it can connect to your home router and can be controlled via a web interface w/o having to be directly connected to your computer like the cyber-Q.  While we have not gotten a chance to review the Stoker(either version), that should not hinder us from our goal of this article.

We ask you, our readers what would you like included in your future pit temperature control device?  Now, it would be easy to simply say, “I want all features rolled in one” but we’d like to find out if you all have any features in mind that you would like added in addition to that “all rolled in one device”.  I’d like to start the discussion off with a list of features that we have not seen in the above devices or any of the others on the market:

1) The ability to schedule a temperature increase or decrease based a predetermined time

2) A unit that has a rechargeable battery with the lifetime of 24hrs

3) The ability to program and store different preset profiles based on the meat you’re smoking and those presets can be dialed up at any time.

4) The ability to control your unit via an android phone (I have a thunderbolt)

5) The ability for my “dream unit” to communicate with the fans and meat probes wirelessly thus keeping the control unit free of the elements

6) The ability to control via voice

Check out footage from wiredbbq of what happened this past weekend in St. Louis.  This will be an interesting story in the weeks to come.  What’s your reaction?  Let us know in the comments.  Video after the jump.

BBQ Radio is alive and doing well in the world of BBQ, and “radio” is becoming a good source for the latest BBQ information. Most shows are not going to be dialed up on your old AM/FM radio, they stream the shows, live via the internet. Very easy to pick up the show no matter where you are, and if you happen to miss your favorite show, you can listen, at your convenience in the archived shows.

www.OutdoorCookingChannel.com has really been taking off with the on-line talk show shows. Outdoor Cooking Channel has been started by Kevin Bevington of www.HomeBBQ.com. Great shows offered on this site, always some great BBQ information available. One of the most popular shows offered on the Outdoor Cooking Channel is Greg Rempe’s BBQ Central Radio Show.

Greg always has good BBQ information going out on his show, and he always gets the top names in BBQ and grilling as guests on the show. Tune in live every Tuesday at 9:00pm EST.

Another very popular show on the Outdoor Cooking Channel is “In The Hut” with Huck Jr. If you are reading this post, you are probably familiar with this show, yes it is the same Huck’s Hut………

Bruce McCall, aka, Huck Jr., has been diligently working on his site, and show. I use to download his shows onto my i-pod through i-Tunes, which you can still so, but now I prefer to listen to the live stream on the Outdoor Cooking Channel. Bruce is a true BBQ die-hard, and also gets great BBQ information out to his listeners. As of late, Bruce has had a regular panel of BBQ experts on his show, consisting of :

George Hensler from, Who Are Those Guys? A GREAT KCBS BBQ Competition team. Author of Startin’ the Fire. George always has good information, and can explain things where even the novelist cooks can benefit from his segments.

Another regular guest on Huck’s by-weekly board is Chad Ward from Whiskey Bent BBQ. If you want BBQ passion, Chad has it! More about Chad in a bit.

Huck Sr. is also a regular on In The Hut, talk about BBQ knowledge, Sr. has it. There is always a wide variety of BBQ topics discussed on Huck’s show, and Sr. has had experience with most of the topics. He is a walking BBQ encyclopedia, he just needs some help with his hats. Part of the entertainment is to check in every show to see what hat Sr. is sporting. I do have a suggestion for an upcoming show…….……..some how, I don’t think he will be taking my suggestion! lol

I really enjoy “In The Hut”, please join in by-weekly on Tuesdays at 9:00pm EST.

Darryl Mast has been doing a lot of shows on his BBQ Super Stars.

Darryl has numerous BBQ videos on you-tube, some great interviews, and how to BBQ videos.  I saw Darryl working at the FBA Smoke on the Water event, this past February, in Winter Haven, FL. Darryl is very dedicated  to BBQ, and he shows his passion through his shows. Please check out Darryl’s web-site for times & days of his show.

The latest BBQ radio show on BBQSuperStars.com is Chad Ward from Whiskey Bent BBQ hosting “In The Pit, with Whiskey Bent”. Chad has been doing this show now for, I believe 4 weeks, and I have thoroughly enjoyed his show!!! I have had the pleasure to met Chad and the Whiskey Bent BBQ team, and I know their passion for putting out top notch BBQ. These guys are professionals through and through, and are always willing to extend a helping hand to their BBQ brethren.

Chad started his show doing only a one hour show every Tuesday at 7:00pm EST, but quickly has realized that there is just so much content that they are trying to get into each show, they have been extending his show by a half hour each week, I do not know if this will be a regular schedule for “In The Pit”, I, for one, hope it will be.

One theme that Chad focuses on is helping folks that are interested in BBQ, take that next step and throwing their hat into the competition BBQ arena. There is a lot of interest in competition BBQ out there, but most folks do not know how to, or are unsure of taking that next step into competition BBQ. Chad has been more then happy to answer any questions to help teams reach their competition goals, and at the same time help the growth of BBQ as a sport.

One thing about all these shows, when watching the live stream, that I really enjoy, is the live chat during the show. This is a good way to not only listen and enjoy the show, but to have an active part in the show. Many of the host will answer some questions directly from the chat, and it is a good way to met other BBQ folks that are passionate about this sport. I know that many times, for Chad’s show, the chat has started before the show is on the air, and continues after the show ends, great way to catch up with what’s new in the world of BBQ.

If you are into the BBQ scene, or just curious and want to find out what the BBQ family is about, check out one, or all of these great shows, and make sure to participate in the chat, it is a great way to met some new friends.

Keep your fire stoked…

Doug

If you look back over the many improvements and or innovations in the realm of outdoor BBQing and grilling in the past 20 years or so, few could argue that one of the most innovative is the development temperature control devices for use on BBQcookers.

When you mention temperature control devices the name BBQ Guru comes to the forefront almost immediately. http://www.thebbqguru.com/ Shotgun Fred Pirkle,the founder and developer of the BBQ Guru temperature control devices would be considered by many to be Thee BBQ Guru. Especially when you look at the definition of the word guru: an influential expert; somebody who has a reputation as an expert leader,teacher, or practitioner in a particular field.
I first met Fred back in 2007 when I was in the market for a BBQ smoker. I called him with some preliminary questions and Fred spent a long time explaining the advantages to his product and answering the questions of a complete BBQ novice. I didn’t make a decision right away and what further impressed me was two months later when Fred made a follow-up call to me asking if I had found a smoker yet. Eventually I decided to purchase a new unit from the BBQ Guru. When I picked the unit up at their WarminsterPennsylvania facility, Fred spent several hours with me going over the operation and careof the unit. I was impressed then and continue to be impressed by the level of service provided by his firm.
Over the years I have had the privilege of hanging with Fred and his crew at numerous
BBQ contests all over the northeast, many times sharing a cold drink and swapping stories. It is easy to see how Fred comes up with many of his products and ideas; hereis a guy that is always thinking of ways to make something better. His parent company,Thermomegatech is a leader in the field of manufacturing temperature control values and devices for use in numerous industries and applications all around the world.
Fred’s talent as an inventor is evident both by the number of patents he holds as well assome of the many ideas and prototypes he has developed, many of them outdoor cooking related. I enjoy nothing more than running into Shotgun Fred at a cook off and seeing what his latest project is. I think what I enjoy most is listening to Fred as he explains the reasoning and or particulars regarding his latest development, passionate would be anunderstatement.
Not long after they began to distribute BBQ Guru products, Fred and business associateBBQ Bob Trudnak became interested in the growing sport of competition BBQ cooking.They started their own team “The BBQ Guru” in 2005 and have become a force to be reckoned with when competing in BBQ contests all over the Country. During their short time on the circuit, the Guru Gang has collected numerous accolades as well as several grand and reserve championships. In 2010 they took home Reserve Grand Championship honors from the 22nd Jack Daniels Invitational BBQ contest held each October inLynchburg Tennessee, an accomplishment Fred is quite proud of, and deservedly so.
In the spring of 2008 while at a BBQ contest in Salisbury Maryland Fred suffered a stroke. He has worked very hard at his therapy relating to his recovery in the years since the stroke and had begun to once again become more of a regular on the BBQ circuit. InJune of this year, Fred received a setback when he was diagnosed with ALS or what is more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Fred stopped by the BBQ Guru site last month in New Holland, Pennsylvania and was inundated with visitors and well wishers.His spirits were high and I know he will continue with the struggle and challenge resulting from this latest development.
In the past, while watching Shotgun Fred take his walk to the stage at a BBQ contest it was very evident that this is a guy with great passion for BBQ as well as life itself. Few can dispute the fact that the BBQ world has benefited greatly as a direct result of the vision and numerous contributions made by Shotgun Fred Pirkle. He recognizes problemsand finds solutions in a way that few others have done. I am proud to call him a friend and look forward to seeing what Shotgun Fred, Thee BBQ Guru, has up his sleeve to make outdoor cooking and BBQ easier and more efficient today as well as going forward into the future. Godspeed Shotgun Fred.

The panel discuss charcoal vs. pellet cookers, pork butt prepping for competition and backyard, the thermapen, Diva’s invite to the jack and more!!!

In case you’ve missed it BBQ Bob was on the 10 show today cooking on a WSM and BBQ Guru’s own Onyx Oven.  Hit the jump for the video.

View more videos at: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com.

It seems like every time I look at the calendar it is the 15^th of the month. The deadline for some of my monthly scribblings is the 15^th and no matter when I have just sent in a submission, the next time I look at the calendar, it is the 14^th or 15^th. This month was no exception.

Sometimes I sit and stare at an empty screen just waiting for a random thought to pop into my head so I can begin my article or story for the month. Occasionally it is somewhat of a struggle, this month was a bit different. I needed a story, the deadline was fast approaching (of course it was) and I had nothing (of course I didn’t). The upcoming weekend had us cooking a contest, no problem; I would just knock it out my article on Sunday after the cook-off. Just what you feel like doing on the Sunday after a BBQ contest is sitting down at your work station and trying to be creative. Of course that wouldn’t  have been so much of a problem if I had already selected my topic, this time, being completely honest, I had not.

While at the contest it hit me, the subject just dropped out of the sky like a huge rock, right onto my alcohol soaked brain. The contest rep was giving us their short informational pep talk during the meat inspection process.

Authors note: The upcoming bit of commentary and banter is by no means directed towards the contest reps or organizers, who by the way did a swell job of organizing and running this first time event. I will also mention that the point of view you are about to read is mine and is not the opinion or position of the site host.

“The County health department, wants to make sure that all teams are building their boxes underneath their canopies or easy-ups, you are required to wear gloves when handling any and all food products”, we were told by the contest rep. “Also, you shouldn’t be surprised if you receive a visit from a County Health Department representative to look over your site.” I had no problem with the overlying theme of the message, to use your head and practice safe food handling, which for the most part, is SOP at a BBQ contest.

The more I thought about his message, the more I realized I had my story right in front of me and didn’t know it. I had heard about more and more Health Departments poking their noses into the world of competition BBQ cooking, inspecting teams, wanting to see thermometers, requiring coolers to be placed on wood blocks up off the ground. I even heard of an instance a while back where some dolt from the HD thought it should be a requirement that all BBQ teams cover the ground of their assigned contest site with a plastic tarp while preparing their submissions for the judges.

In this instance, what if I didn’t have a canopy or an ezy-up? What then? Would the Health Department official ask me to prepare my boxes in the cab of my truck? (I’ll bet after some minion from the HD took one look at the inside of my vehicle they’d be rethinking that request.) But seriously, what if I didn’t bring a pop-up cover? Is this going to be a requirement for the future?

Of course, the supposed reasoning behind all of this madness is they are simply looking out for the general food consuming public right? WRONG!!!!!!!! JUDGES AT A BBQ CONTEST ARE NOT THE GENERAL PUBLIC, THEY ARE NOT PAYING FOR, OR PURCHASING FOOD FROM THE TEAMS. (Sorry for screaming, but this is a topic that really gets me going, so much in fact that my fingers hurt just from punching the keys while typing)

The fact of the matter is teams are actually paying an entry fee, driving long distances, getting very little sleep, spending large amounts of other monies on sauces, rubs, cooking equipment, and really working their butts off to get their products to the judges on time. We aren’t selling anything to anybody; we are spending money to pursue our passion. The judges are volunteers; they do not have to pay to sample our wares, they are there freely and are not being forced to eat our que.

How in the world can any reasonable thinking person in their right mind justify this process? Is this where we are headed? Do we need the Government to protect us from ourselves? What is next, will you have to draw a permit and subject yourself to a complete Health Department inspection just to have a few of your family and friends over for dinner? Don’t laugh, think about it. If I think about it too much it makes my head explode.

A BBQ contest is nothing more than a large scale family picnic. Some of the competitors and judges are friends, some are even family. The organizers have invited them in to eat a little BBQ. At some of the more prestigious and popular events, judges are asked to remain on waiting lists for years an years before being given a chance to judge.

Do we really need to have the Government involved in this process? My answer is a resounding no. With all of the recent talk about local and State governments being strapped for operating capital, does it really make sense to encourage more and expanded inspection processes? I have got news for you out there in BBQ land, this stuff is not going away, it is here to stay and will get nothing but worse. More and more of these local jurisdictions are going to be sticking their long and pointed noses into more and more places where they don’t belong, and of more concern to me, where they think they belong.

I am by no means encouraging civil unrest or asking people to cause a scene when the person with the pocket protector meat thermometer shows up at your contest site. I am, however, just suggesting that when presented with this situation you not just roll over and comply. Voice your displeasure with their interference and meddling all in the name of public safety. Ask THEM a million questions, play dumb, make them work for their money while costing them time. If just one team in 50 does this, they will think he is a nut job and probably ask him to leave. But if all 50, I say ALL 50 pit masters do it they will think it is a movement. And you know what? They’ll be absolutely right. (thanks to Arlo Guthrie)

Maybe, if it takes these inspectors 6-8 hours to work their way through a 50 team competition which then causes them to show up late at their favorite Friday night martini bar, they might think twice about picking on a few guys and gals that are doing nothing more than making a little something for their friends and family to nibble on. The next time a Heath Department employee shows up at your site to poke around before a contest, just tell em to THINK SMOKE!

George Hensler (www.watgbbq.com)