Around the Barrel - Transcript - Ep046/Re045: Tuffy Stone & Brad Leighninger

 

Tuffy Stone: I've said this before, down in Lynchburg, Tennessee, if you get your name called at The Jack, I don't care what color that ribbon is, that's a special moment.

 

Lucas Hendrickson: Of the many things we've learned about the world over the past year and a half, one thing keeps coming to the forefront. Traditions are important. This past October saw the return of one of Lynchburg, Tennessee's most anticipated traditions, The Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue. 

 

On this episode, we talk with two people with both deep history and great affection for The Jack, Tuffy Stone and Brad Leighninger about how this year's competition was different on both personal and wider scales. How winning The Jack can change a pitmaster's life in unexpected ways, and how you can learn something new every time you set up and cook in the holler around the barrel.

 

Welcome back to Around the Barrel, the official podcast from the makers of Jack Daniel's. I'm your host Lucas Hendrickson. If you're a denizen of Lynchburg, Tennessee, you learn pretty early on, don't make any plans for a certain weekend in October. Most of the last 30 plus years, it's been the third weekend in the 10th month of the year, but this year it got moved around, like so many other previously booked plans over the past 18 months. The weekend of October 8th and 9th of 2021 saw the much anticipated return of The Jack. The Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue.

 

While smaller in scale than in years past, The Jack nonetheless brought together competition teams and fans of barbecue from across the country. And much like years past traditions were honored, including celebrating a pioneer of barbecue in the person of three time Jack winner Tuffy Stone, and crowning a new grand champion. This time, the Missouri based team Getting Basted, led by Brad Leighninger. Tuffy and Brad both took time to join us and talk about the special nature of resuming the prestigious competition and how looking to the past helps pave the future for this uniquely American food form.

 

Tuffy: I'm Tuffy Stone. I live in Richmond, Virginia. I grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia, as opposed to Lynchburg, Tennessee, and I am a chef, a pitmaster, a restaurateur, caterer, cookbook author, and competition barbecue cook.

 

Lucas: Tuffy Stone, welcome to Around the Barrel.

 

Tuffy: Well thank you for having me. Good to be here.

 

Lucas: Absolutely. You've been a staple around the Lynchburg we talk about for a long, long time being involved over the years in The Jack, as we call it. Tell us a little bit about how you got started cooking in general and also then becoming deeply involved in the competition barbecue world.

Tuffy:  I did four years in the Marine Corps active duty and moved to Richmond, Virginia to go to college. And while going to college, I had a roommate and we enjoyed cooking a lot. We had a modest collection of cookbooks and I was like many college students having to make some income while going to college, to pay bills. And I was working in a restaurant, tending bar and waiting tables, and one day I just kind of thought about it and I felt like, why am I tending bar or waiting tables? I like cooking so much. Why don't I try and set up an apprenticeship and learn how to cook under a chef? And I was strictly looking at it just as a domestic hobby and skillset.

 

Anyways, long story short, I ended up researching all the chefs in Richmond. Made a prioritized list of which chef would be the best to learn under. At the top of my list was a French guy named Alain Vincey. And ultimately donated two days a week, four hours each day for free to get my foot in the door there. And from there I grew to be his partner and that put me into being a professional chef as my way of earning a living.

 

Lucas:  Okay. Then how did it pivot towards the barbecue side of things?

 

Tuffy Stone: So down the road, I met my wife Leslie and we started a upscale catering company called A Sharper Pallet, which we over time grew to be a big business. And at one point I think we had 50 full-time employees, 100 part-time employees and I found myself managing the business and not cooking, not being the chef that's really my passion. So I felt this need to have a new culinary activity. One thing I hadn't taken on was I learning how to make barbecue. Learning how to take tough cuts of meat with an all wood burning fire and try and cook something great out of them. So I ended up in 2004, I bought my first pit and it was an offset reverse flow pit. And I got some Hickory and I got some pork butts and I made a rub and I seasoned this meat and I lit a fire and I put this meat on the cooker and I ruined a big old load of meat.

 

Lucas: What'd you learn from that initial first perhaps disastrous cook?

 

Tuffy: Oh man, I learned so much. It was very humbling. It was surprising. It was beautiful. I fell in love with this whole process. I had focused so much of my culinary career learning how to make hard to pronounce expensive foods. And barbecue, I always say barbecue's the friendliest food. It's the most gregarious cuisine. It's a food that's historically family reunions and picnics and large gatherings of people and nobody's intimidated by it. But here I was all of a sudden as a French trained chef, so surprised by it. But I fell in love with it and I did what I now say, going off the barbecue deep end. I just, I fell in love with this whole process.

 

And I think anybody, probably your first attempts at making barbecue, if they don't turn out well, it's probably because we either over smoke it, or we don't cook it to be tender enough. And that's what I was doing. I was putting too much smoke on the meat and not getting the texture right. But I just fell in love with the whole process. And while it's such an approachable food, but as a cook, I was like, "Man, there's so much nuance here." There is so much to learn and figure out. And I just, I really dug in and started cooking with fire a lot. Just fell in love with the whole process.

 

Lucas: Sure. Well, and then when you start to introduce the idea of, especially the competition side of things, where you have so many other variables that go into it time and weather conditions, and how did you get involved then in the competition side and learn the nuances of that approach?

 

Tuffy:  So, I think like so many people, when you become interested in a topic, you look for information to feed your brain. And so whether it be cookbooks or finding information on the internet and during my research and reading everything that I could about barbecue I learned about the competition barbecue circuit. And so in September of 2004, I signed up from my very first barbecue contest, which happened to be in my hometown in which I grew up, Lynchburg, Virginia, which is about two and a half hours from where I live here in Richmond. And I just signed up. And my only goals were going to be to turn in all my meats on time. I was going to be cooking chicken, pork ribs, pork butts, beef brisket. Same meats that you cook at The Jack.

 

And the irony in all this was that night I was up with all the stick burners. And for those who don't know what a stick burner is, a stick burner is somebody that uses a pit and the only fuel source to bring it up to temperature is logs. And so anyways, I was up with all the stick burners, and everybody that was cooking on pellet cookers and things like that were asleep. I was talking to these guys who I had met for the very first time. And they kept looking over at this RV with a pit outside and it was dark. And they were like, kept saying, "Man, this guy hadn't even lit his fire yet." And I go, "Who hadn't?" And they go, "Johnny." And I go, "Johnny, who?" They go, "Johnny Trigg." And I go, "Who's Johnny Trigg?"

 

Well, anybody that knows The Jack knows that Johnny Trigg, Smoking Triggers is a legend in barbecue and he's won The Jack Daniel's two times. And I knew none of this at this point. But being the curious guy that I am once he did turn on his light, come out to light his fire, I went over there and introduced myself to him. And I think I was annoying him, but I actually, I saw my first Jambo Pit that morning. And anyways, at awards later that day, Johnny Trigg took all that Virginia money back to Texas because he'd won the contest, but I got two calls. I think I got a second place call in pork and maybe either a seventh or a ninth place in brisket and fell in love with doing competition barbecue. So that was my first go at that.

 

Lucas: So when was your first experience at The Jack?

 

Tuffy: So my first opportunity to cook The Jack was in 2007. And we went down there. We actually ended up being, we were fortunate enough, we ended up being the KCBS, Kansas City Barbecue Society team of the year that year. But we made it to The Jack and the energy of coming into Lynchburg, Tennessee, coming down to the holler was just incredible. My dad had invited my three uncles, his three brothers. And so we went down there and had a great time. We did not get called to the stage for anything, but we still had an amazing time. And so 2007 was my first time being able to compete at The Jack.

Lucas: And then how many times have you been there since?

 

Tuffy: Well, we went back in 2008 and we were third overall. I don't remember, we went back in 2009, 2010. We're not there for 11 and 12. Went back in 2013, where we won it for the first time. Went back in 2014. 2015 we won it again. 2016 we won it again. Anyways, long story short, I think this year 2021 made our 11th time of cooking at The Jack.

 

Lucas: Gotcha. So talk about now how it differed this year then into years past. We're all still learning about what the world's going to look like moving forward. And obviously we missed the opportunity to be in the holler last year, but compare and contrast for me a little bit how this year's event and competition compared to things in the past.

 

Tuffy: Well, I think this year having missed it the year before, a contest, it's in the hearts of so many people. The community of Lynchburg, Tennessee is amazing. The people of that community are incredible. Jack Daniel's, the people that work there and that company is, they're just so special. And so anybody and I would probably say anybody, whether you're a judge, a volunteer, a cook just loves that contest so much. So having missed it, just built up this excitement about being back at The Jack in 2021.

 

I would say also with COVID and how the world has gone through this, I think my experience has been people want to be around people and want to be social and want to be in these gatherings. So this year being at The Jack, it was a lot of things going on. I was having missed it, really wanting to be there. It was seeing so many people that you care about that you haven't seen in a longer period of time because of COVID. And then this year was a different year for me at The Jack because it was the first time that I was cooking it without my father. And the last time that I had cooked a competition with my father was at The Jack, the last one that was held before 2021.

 

Lucas: 2019.

 

Tuffy: So we were going into there with a lot of emotions. We went down there this year and on Saturday morning at 2:00 AM me and my good friend Chet Gentry, we lit a fire and sent a whiff of smoke up to dad and the heavens above.

 

Lucas: That's very cool. That's very cool. Tell me a little bit about how prepping for The Jack differs from other competitions. You've got those extra three categories between the sauce and the cook's choice and the dessert categories. And I don't know, again KCBS has hundreds of events across the year, I don't know if some of those others have some similar adjunct categories if you will, but how does adding those three things into the timeframe and your turn-ins and all that stuff, how does that differ from other competitions?

 

Tuffy: Well, I think first of all, we got to also understand that The Jack is a world championship. And if you're fortunate enough to win that competition, part of your resume will always be a world champion barbecue pitmaster. And I've got lots of sayings, and one of my sayings is the harder I work, the luckier I get. And when I cook at a world championship, I work my butt off. And I think you'll find that mindset very common down there. So yeah, The Jack is a hard contest to get into.

 

Lucas: Absolutely.

 

Tuffy: It's a really special competition within a special community. So there's that intensity. You're cooking against the best of the best. You have got to have your best cook if you're going to stand a chance at walking to the stage. So you got those complications. Well, you got those things adding to the event. This year we moved it up I think three weeks, but historically The Jack has been very chilly.

 

Lucas: That last week in October.

 

Tuffy: That's right. So the ambient temperature usually can provide some challenges for the pitmasters down there competing. And then you have the sauce and these ancillary categories and that can be elected. We entered the sauce, but we did not do the other ones. We do the sauce and the four meats and we focus on that. And I'm going to tell you what, and I said this before, down in Lynchburg, Tennessee, if you get your name called at The Jack, I don't care what color that ribbon is, that's a special moment.

 

Lucas: Absolutely.

 

Tuffy:  And so any team that gets to walk the stage and get their name called at The Jack it's very thrilling for that team and that cook.

 

Lucas: Absolutely.

 

Tuffy: So watching Brad and Joe do a one two finish down just was, just a continuation of an amazing year that those two teams and those two cooks have been having.

 

Lucas: Sure. At the same time though, do you change your cook approach at all seeing that there are more, for lack of better term, celebrity or inexperienced judges that end up being part of The Jack? A lot of these people are getting trained up in KCBS's judging approach the day before. The ink isn't even dry on their certification yet. What kind of things do you think about as a cook to not necessarily counter that, but take it into a consideration?

 

Tuffy: Well, it's sort of interesting that you asked me that, because I had some people text me and shoot me notes. We've been so fortunate to have having won The Jack three times and so people will reach out to me for advice and they'll ask just what you asked. For me, the real truth is we have got to learn how to cook food that's got broad appeal.

 

Lucas: Of course.

 

Tuffy: And so you might like it spicy and someone else might like it sweet and somebody else might like it tangy. And you've got to put down a product that appeals to a bunch of different pallets. Probably the only thing I would say to a listener that if you're a competition cook, I would probably just say this, you have got to nail that tenderness. You have got to nail the tenderness to a point where if those ribs or that brisket or whatever it is cools down a little bit that it's still got a nice tender chew. So you've got to nail that texture and then you need to have a flavor that's got a little bit of all those things. So it's got to have a little spice, a little tang, a little sweetness. I like to say, I like to treat smoke like salt and pepper. So I don't want that smoke to overwhelm my barbecue, but I certainly want it to be there like it's a seasoning.

 

Lucas: Is there any tip or trick that you can remember picking up specifically at The Jack?

 

Tuffy: Well, so I look at the weather a lot and being down there in the holler by that creek, it's damp and it's very chilly. And I pay attention to the ambient temperature a lot. And so I looked at the weather in 2013 and it was going to get down to 27 degrees in the middle of the night. So I said to my father, I said, "Dad, I want you to run the pit 300 degrees." Which is about 25 degrees hotter than normal. And I said, "I want you to keep that pit temperature there the whole time." And I knew that the cool weather was going to probably create a challenge for everybody down there. And so I was going to try and work through that by having a higher pit temperature. So anyways, that cool air made for a very challenging cook and we won The Jack for the first time. So you got to put your best meat in the box and you got to work through catastrophes and challenges. So, that's what I learned in October 2013 at The Jack.

 

Lucas: There you go. This year, you were presented with the Pioneer of Barbecue Award that The Jack gives out. What was that like for you and how does that make you kind of reminisce back on your career at The Jack?

 

Tuffy: Well, first of all, anybody that's listening, Carolyn Wells, all the folks that made this happen, Greg Leers, I thought awards were at 5:00. And so we were walking to awards when all of a sudden my phone started blowing up and next thing I know there was two golf carts coming to get me to bring me to awards. And when I realized that what had happened and the award that was given to ... and they put my father and myself on that barrelhead, I became very emotional. And evidently I pulled some tears from some of the other people out in the crowd when I spoke. So it was like winning The Jack for the fourth time. It was really sweet.

 

Lucas: Yeah. I imagine. Couple things related to the product itself. What's your favorite way of enjoying Jack Daniels? And do you have any tips for cooking with Old No. 7 Tennessee whiskey?

 

Tuffy: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So my favorite is just on ice with just a splash of water. I love as the ice starts to melt that, that drink just changes over the course of ... and I like it in a really nice crystal glass, heavy crystal glass. And that's my favorite way of having the product. But, when it comes to cooking with it, it's like, there's so many different things that ... and this is where I get to bring in a little bit of my Frenchy background, but ... and I will use it in a lot of different things. So I can make a bread pudding, or I can put it in a sauce. So sometimes I like to cook the alcohol off and the way I'll do that is it'll be in a saute pan and over high heat and a little bit of flame will happen and I'll burn off the alcohol, but still have that really delicious flavor of The Jack.

 

Tuffy: Sometimes I can reduce it down and it'll sweeten it up a little bit. And sometimes I just splash of it straight up to finish a sauce or something like that. So I might make a barbecue sauce, a tomato-based barbecue sauce, and I might at the finish just put a teaspoon or a capful sure of Jack Daniels. And I want that assertiveness. I want that little bit of that bite. But Jack Daniels is great with lots of desserts. It can be a really delicious steak sauce. And if you think about maybe cooking with vanilla extract or something like that, well, anywhere where you could use vanilla, you could use Jack.

 

Lucas: Sure. Absolutely. And then as we're getting into the late fall, early winter season here, what kind of simple tips do you have for folks about barbecuing and grilling in the colder weather as we're approaching it here in the U.S.?

 

Tuffy: So, a lot of people tend to pull out their grills starting in the summer and putting them away in the fall. And I'm not that person. The flavors from the grill, the flavors from charcoal and cooking with wood are just so nice. And I would say that if it's just too chilly and you feel like you can't get ... do a short cook. So maybe we're not barbecuing. Maybe we're just going to the grill and get that grill going and do some grilled pork chops or grilled steak or grilled chicken legs. So sometimes I will just if it's super, super cold, I'll just do a quicker cook.

 

Tuffy: Another thing I like to do is I will start something off on the grill, and maybe you do it in the daytime where it's a little bit warmer and before the sun is set, and I will get some char on a pork butt or a bigger cut of meat and I'll start it on the grill just to get that char flavor, get some of that smoke, get some of that sear, but then I'll move it into a Dutch oven and put it inside my oven to cook, to tender and kind of braise it. So I'm getting that grilled smokey flavor, but I was only outside for a little bit.

 

Lucas: Sure. Tuffy, if people are interested in interacting with you on social media, where can folks find you today?

 

Tuffy: Today I did my very first TikTok, which is kind of funny. But anyways, you could find me at Tuffy Stone on Facebook, at Tuffy Stone on Instagram and now TikTok. Or you can just go to my website, tuffystone.com. I share a lot of recipes, very similar to what I cook at The Jack. So just Tuffy Stone.

 

Lucas:  Well, sir, thank you for making me hungry now. But again, congratulations on being named a Pioneer of Barbecue for The Jack. And we look forward to seeing you again in the holler, in the very near future, in 2022. But Tuffy Stone, thanks for joining us Around the Barrel.

 

Tuffy: Thank you so much for having me and look forward to seeing you in Lynchburg, Tennessee in the future.

 

Lucas: And now our conversation with the man who got to hold a loft, this year's grand champion banner, at The Jack.

 

Brad Leighninger: Hi, my name is Brad Leighninger and I am from Springfield, Missouri. I'm the pitmaster at Getting' Basted barbecue.

 

Lucas: Brad Leighninger, welcome to Around the Barrel.

 

Brad: Thank you for having me.

 

Lucas: And again, right off the top, congratulations for being the grand champion at the 2021, The Jack. I'd say the actual title of it, but it's way too long. We don't have enough time. How does that feel? I mean, I've been to a bunch of versions of The Jack and that moment when the name gets called and people go nuts and you get up there and you hold up that banner. What is that specific moment like? Because it's been a long day, it's been a long couple of days, that moment when you've been named the best.

 

Brad: Well, I mean, we spend all year just trying to get to the contest to cook it in the first part. So we go around and we're cooking and I got there via seven wins and that's why we're cooking just for the opportunity to cook at the contest. You don't know how many opportunities you're going to get there and to get the chance to win it, I mean, it's literally the pinnacle of competition barbecue. And it's still sinking in, frankly. I mean, it just, when it first happened, it was almost just like, "Okay." It's just adrenaline and everything kind of went down and it didn't sink in for a few days. But I mean, it really is when you put on the short list of things you want to accomplish in competition barbecue, winning The Jack Daniel's is right at the top of it.

 

Lucas: Sure. Go take us all the way back. How did you get involved in not only be interested in cooking itself, but then always logical transition into the crazy world of competition barbecue cooking?

 

Brad: Well, I was an old fashioned line cook back in college. I worked in restaurants, did some bartending, did some stuff until I got out in the world and got a real job, quote unquote, or whatever, but I always worked in restaurants and kitchens and I always enjoyed it. And that's why I did it. And I continued to cook at home and cook for my family. And competition barbecue allowed me an avenue to get back into cooking, and cooking for people without having to put in the 60 to 80 hours and low pay that a restaurant job gives you. So I played some college football and this allowed me for my competitive outlet and my cooking outlet. So it was kind of a match made in heaven. I'm as competitive as they come and I just started, we started watching Pitmasters with I know you guys know Tuffy Stone, very well-

 

Lucas: Of course.

 

Brad:  ... and Mr. Johnny Trigg, and those guys. Watching them on TV kind of opened it up and said, "Hey, this competition barbecue looks like fun." So we entered our local competition. It's been about 10 years ago, here in Springfield, Missouri, we got three meat calls that day finished in the top five. And it's cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars since then.

 

Lucas: That was my next question. I mean, at what point does this go from being a very expensive hobby into something that can not only be sustainable for the team itself, but obviously you've turned it into restaurants and other concerns. I mean, what's that transition to go from looking at the bank accounts, obviously you're still going to be doing that running a restaurant as well, but into something that can, can then grow into a larger concern, if you will?

 

Brad: I mean, it's a leap of faith. It truly is because you have to put in the time, you have to put in the work, and you have to spend the money before you realize if you're good enough to be at a level that is self-sustaining. So we're fortunate enough now that we teach classes all over the world. We've been to Australia, been to Europe teaching barbecue classes. That's how we fund the majority of our season. As far as just the prize money versus the expenditure outlay, we pretty well break about even. But we have some sponsors and our classes end up actually making it a profitable venture for me. But there's not very many people that can say that. So I had to put in the time. I had to jump in there and believe in myself and frankly have a family and a bank account that could handle it, to go in there and put in the time and the work to get to the top of this game.

 

Lucas: Yeah. How is competition cooking different or harder than for doing a restaurant concept?

 

Brad: Well, the difference is in a restaurant you can go out and make a dish and you can do some stuff that's polarizing and have some fun. So if I'm going out to make a dish in a restaurant, I always sit there and the last thing I think about is, "Okay, how do I kick this up over the top? What am I going to do to really blow somebody's mind with this dish?" And what that is, 50% of the population may sit there and think it's the best thing they've ever had. And 50% of the population may hate it and that's okay. They can order something else off my menu. But that's what I'm trying to do is really make the best piece of food that somebody else had, which ironically in competition barbecue, that's not what you're doing. You are putting your table in front of 24 different people. Your food, I'm sorry, in front of 24 different people on four different tables.

 

And you've got four pieces of meat and you need to put food out there that they all can agree on. So what you're really trying to do in competition barbecue is not make the best piece of barbecue that one person's ever had. You're trying to make the best piece of barbecue that those judges can agree on. And so that means a lot of the times you're playing a little bit safe. You're trying to put things down the middle. Balance is the key. So really the difference between restaurant and competition cooking is a philosophy. I mean I'm really trying to just go out there and put good, solidly cooked, perfectly tender piece of meat that's really just down the middle flavor wise, that's not going to offend anybody.

 

Lucas: Sure. Well, and we asked this of Tuffy the other day, especially with a competition like The Jack, where you are going to have more celebrities or inexperienced, or focus who just literally went through the KCBS training the day before, the judging aspect is going to be a little different than some of the other things you may have competed in prior in the same year, do you use that knowledge at all to tweak what you're going to present to them?

 

Brad: Yeah. No, absolutely. I mean, we do, I cook on 55 gallon barrels over direct coals, so we've got the direct heat aspect of it. And so we do what I like to call backyarding it up a little bit. I do this at all the major contests. So I'll take my meat, normally I'll take my meat and I'll put it back on and maybe sear it a little bit before you put it in there and give you a little bit more of that kind of that traditional backyard flavor that I think new judges are more used to that more traditional KCBS judges might judge you down on.

 

So I did that at this Jack. I made a commitment to doing that, to all my meat and I, and I love it. It adds a good flavor, but it is a distinct flavor. So you are taking a risk doing it, but obviously it paid off for me that weekend. But at those majors, The Jack is one of them, that is the opportunity where you might want to stand out a little bit. The judges are there, they know they're judging the best of the best. So at that point they're already coming in there with preset expectations. At that point it might not be a bad thing to stand out or give them something a little bit different.

 

Lucas: Right. Right. How long do you remember a subpar cook? Does it linger in your mind like a bad golf shot, or do you sit on it and go, "Oh, I just should have did this one thing different"?

 

Brad: Yeah. Ask my wife forever. I think, she'll finally lean over at me on the ride home and just tell me to shut up. But I hate self inflicted wounds. I don't mind, you guys know there's an aspect of subjectivity and luck involved in competition barbecue. Not everybody's going to like your food. You need to get your food in front of the judges. And if I get beat, because the judges don't like my food or somebody out cooks me, I can live with that. But if I get beat, because I just flat out make a mistake, I just, I really, really have a hard time getting over that. So yeah, it doesn't happen very often, thank goodness. But when it does, I certainly remember it.

 

Lucas: Sure. Do you have a favorite category within KCBS standard competitions or The Jack? I mean, obviously The Jack has some extra added ancillary categories on it, but do you have one thing that you feel like you are strongest in?

 

Brad: Well, I mean, we won dessert this last year, which-

 

Lucas: Oh, there you go.

 

Brad:: ... is a funny story, I mean, on its own. But on that, my wife normally does the desserts and she didn't get to make the trip down to Lynchburg this year. Well, in 2019, she got second place. Tied for first with a perfect score.

Lucas: Oh, wow.

Brad: And then we went to the American Royal this year, she got second place tied for first with a perfect score. And then I went to The Jack and I ended up getting first place, which was tied, with a perfect score. The only thing I beat her in was a tiebreaker. But I certainly gave her a hard time about letting her know that me going down there. But my favorite thing to cook right now and it changes, but my favorite thing to cook right now is ribs. I just really, there's such a finesse and it's such a craft to cook a good rib and hitting that perfect KCBS tenderness is one of the hardest things. So ribs are my deal right now. I mean, but like I said, I'll go through phases where what I like to cook and what I don't like to cook changes, but right now ribs are my thing I'm really enjoying cooking.

 

Lucas: So just to back up a second, what did you turn in for the dessert category this year? Which again, so many people who will listen to this probably haven't had a chance to go to The Jack, but if they have, they know what a visual spectacular extravaganza, and any other adjectives you can use, that the turn in process for the desserts is. But then again, you got to land on that flavor profile on it. What did you turn in?

 

Brad: We did a bananas fosters cheesecake-

 

Lucas: Oh, man.

 

Brad:  ... I did this year. So yeah, It was pretty solid.

 

Lucas: Did you light it on fire? Was it actually flambeed?

 

Brad:  It was flambed in the trailer, which is lighting it on fire. That’d be weird to do tableside on that. But no, we did flambé it in the trailer and put it over the top. And I mean, it's a fantastic dessert. I mean, there's always a joke in competition barbecue that what kind of cheesecake did you make, whenever anybody wins dessert? But man, if you do one right, it's hard to beat.

 

Lucas: That's very, very true. Talk a little bit about what this past year and a half has been like for you as a restaurateur. I mean, things had to shut down and open back up and shut back down again. Where are things situated in your part of the world right now, as far as your shop goes?

 

Brad: Well, we've come through it pretty well. I mean, we started off last March, probably March of 2020, was when we're sitting there going through and everything's shutting down and we're a tourist town. It was one of the hardest days of my life when you're sitting there and I'm talking with my business associates and we're sitting there looking at them, we're like, "Man we're going to have shut the restaurants down." And we laid about 130 people off, for ended up being for about two or three months. And it's still one of the most difficult and heart wrenching decisions I've ever made. And when we were able to open back up, we were down, we ended up opening back up about June, middle of June, and got to bring everybody back on, it was a relief. And since then, we're in Southern Missouri, and it's been pretty well business as usual. We're not through the woods yet, but that's a challenge every day, for sure.

 

Lucas: Sure. Well, this grand champion win might bring some more eyeballs to the business and some more feet into the building itself. So hopefully that will be the case.

 

Brad: So we opened a new one in Springfield. We have three locations. And our business in Springfield, and we've only been open two or three months in Springfield. We were up 50% just based off of this win.

 

Lucas: Oh, wow.

 

Brad: I mean, I knew it was a big deal in the competition world in our neck of the woods. I didn't realize how much it would resonate with the public. We've done some pretty cool things in the competition barbecue. But for some reason when you throw the name of Jack Daniels behind it and all that, that signifies man, I mean, it's really resonated with the public. So yeah, it has been tremendous for our business.

 

Lucas: That's very cool. Have you ever picked up a trick or tip specifically at The Jack for cooking barbecue, whatever from it might be competition or restaurant or just backyard grilling, that kind of stuff?

 

Brad: Oh man, I mean, it's just the amount of knowledge walking around that place. I mean, it's incredible. And if you go down to The Jack and this is if you're a spectator, another competitor, whatever, and you can't pick something up from some of these people that are walking around and the knowledge that's there at The Jack, then you're just not paying attention. I mean, it truly is a who's who a barbecue and that's what makes it such a cool event. And it's so intimate and that's what makes it so neat versus like the Royal or Houston or Memphis in May, and some of the other big majors. This is really more like, if you equate the majors, this is more like the masters where it's the smaller, more intimate crowd. And it's a really, really, really cool event to attend because of that.

 

Lucas: That's a great analogy. And you're also likely not going to find any pimento sandwiches in Lynchburg. You might.

 

Brad: A lot of fried chicken.

 

Lucas: A lot of fried chicken, yeah. That weekend you'll get your fill of barbecue. I personally, the years that I've gone down there, I try to abstain from any sort of barbecue, certainly brisket for a good month, month and a half beforehand. So I can sample some of the best of the best as part of all that goes. How do you enjoy your Jack Daniels?

 

Brad: Oh, well man, just with a little bit of ice.

 

Lucas: There you go.

 

Brad: I've always been a simple whiskey cipher. So ruin a good thing? That's my motto.

 

Lucas: Exactly. And are you already thinking about how you're going to defend that title next year down in the holler?

 

Brad: I am. I'm super excited. Everybody's always worried about what contest is a qualifier or not a qualifier and this. And I just, I like to remind them, humble brag that, "Hey, I don't have to worry about it. I'm already qualified." So I've been having a good time with that. So yeah. I'm, obviously now that I've won it, it's going to mean even more to me to get down there. And I'm very excited to get down there and defend, and man, I'd like to make it two in a row for sure.

 

Lucas: Exactly. Exactly. Tell the folks, not only about your three locations right now, but where can they find you on social media and all that stuff, if they want to congratulate you or get in touch or pick your brain or whatever, with being a championship pitmaster?

 

Brad: Yeah. We're at, @GettinBasted. That's G-E-T-T-I-N B-A-S-T-E-D. And you can find us on everything, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, even I think Facebook obviously. And our three locations, if you come down, if you're ever in Southwest Missouri, our flagship is in Branson, right on the tourist strip there. We've got one in Nixa, Missouri, and we've got one in Springfield, Missouri. And then I also have a concept which is kind of like more of a tap house, kind of burger. You know, we serve Wagyu burgers and do some fun stuff there. And that is in Hollister, Missouri, which is basically part of Branson. So if you're ever down in the Southwest Missouri area, it's hard to miss us. I love talking barbecue. So if you got any questions or want to do anything, definitely hit us up on the Facebook page and send a message. And I monitor that pretty closely and yeah, just come and see us.

 

Lucas: Very cool. Well, Brad, again, congratulations. And we look forward to seeing you back down on the holler again in 2022.

 

Brad: I can't wait. Thank you for having me on.

 

Lucas: Thanks for joining us Around the Barrel.

 

Thanks for checking out this episode of Around the Barrel. For more inside looks at The Jack, check out our onsite coverage of the 30th anniversary edition of the competition in 2018 with episode one of season two. And for a look inside another Lynchburg tradition, Miss Mary Bobo's, check out our conversation with Debbie Baxter on season one episode 12. You can find archived episodes of Around the Barrel on all major podcast platforms, including Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify, and more, plus on the web at jackdaniels.com/podcast. And if you like what you hear, please follow, rate and review while you're at it. Cheers y'all and join us next time for more conversations around the barrel.

 

Your friends at Jack Daniel's remind you to drink responsibly. Jack Daniel's and Old No. 7 are registered trademarks, copyright 2021, Jack Daniel's. Tennessee whiskey, 40% alcohol by volume, 80 proof, distilled and bottled by Jack Daniel Distillery, Lynchburg, Tennessee. Around the Barrel is intended for listeners 21 years of age and older.