February 22, 2009 Hello BBQ Gang! Welcome to the unpredictable, wild and mildly remunerative world of the Illinois BBQ Society's Weekly(ish) eNewsletter. Thanks to your double-opt-in subscription; you'll now be receiving regular to semi-regular emails from ILBBQS. Perhaps even a random delivery or two to keep you on your toes. You might want to alert your spam nanny so that valuable information and critical news release information are not unduly delayed. Now to the good stuff. Here's what's going on the world of the Illinois BBQ Society... ~ The Pathetic Suburban Males' Grill Club ~ 2009 ANNUAL MILK DAYS OUTDOOR GRILLING COMPETITION – RECESSION PROOF ~ The Rib Rubber's Report by Peter Cravath ~ Member Report: Rib Class at Backyard BBQ ~ The BBQ Kings - ACS' Relay For Life Team ~ Radio Show Update... ~ Upcoming Non-Sanctioned/Backyard Contests... ~ Upcoming KCBS Contests... ~ Upcoming MBN Contests... ~ Upcoming Classes... For additional information on these stories, and more, be sure to visit the Illinois BBQ Society online at http://www.ILBBQS.com . x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x This eNewsletter brought to you by: The BBQ Kings - ACS' Relay For Life Team Cancer is a NASTY beast! Three Southern Illinois BBQ teams have joined forces to help raise awareness, and money, for the American Cancer Society by participating in community events, vending opportunities, and catering jobs to benefit ACS' Relay For Life. Find out how you can help by visiting http://www.QKings.com ... or http://www.SmokinForCure.com . x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x The Pathetic Suburban Males' Grill Club Just wanted to let the group know about our website and who we are. We're the Pathetic Suburban Males' Grill Club. We are a group of 160 members spread out over nine states. Basically, our club is a cyber-collection of middle-aged men who have almost no peace in our lives due to demanding wives, bratty kids and tedious jobs. We drink beer and grill and share our creations with each other in the club. The site is www.psmgc.com.  *************************************** 2009 ANNUAL MILK DAYS OUTDOOR GRILLING COMPETITION – RECESSION PROOF The Fourth Annual Milk Days Outdoor Grilling Competition will be held on Saturday, May 30th at Milky Way Park in Harvard, IL. Outdoor grilling enthusiasts are encouraged to enter one or all of the categories: Hamburgers/Cheeseburgers, Chicken, Pork and Ribs. Put a team together, come out and show off your talent for outdoor cooking.  Deadline for entering is May 23. Registration is free!! Set up will begin at 10:00 a.m. The judging will begin at approximately 4:00 p.m. Judging is based on taste (counts double), texture and appearance. There will be a cash prize awarded for first, second and third place in each category. A trophy and cash award will await the Grand Champion. A plaque will be awarded to the Reserve Grand Champion (only those competing in all four categories are eligible for the Grand Champion/Reserve Grand Champion Competition). First Place                   $100 Second Place $35 Third Place $15 Grand Champion Trophy AND $100       For more information, contact the Milk Days office at 815.943.4614 or register on line at www.milkdays.com. Any questions may be directed to Doug Hawthorne at foodman52@aol.com. *************************************** The Rib Rubber's Report by Peter Cravath Winter Burnoff Cooking...a Fund Raiser for N.O.A.H. Neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night shall stay these curriers from...oops, wrong anthem... Lets try that again, the 4th Annual Winter Burnoff in Des Plaines, IL February 15th, 2009. These hearty souls once again braved the savage elements of the Illinois tundra. This in the perennial quest for BBQ perfection. If you hadn't seen their winter clothing, you'd have to venture that this pungent aroma of smoky barbecue wafting over Rand Road was an early sign of Summer. These folks made it look like positively hot out; albeit for the presence of a lumberjack coat; both for the teams and many of their smokers as well. Today the weather warmly cooperated under a relatively balmy 31° sunny sky. Winds were light, but the cooks and their smokers were in full swing mid-morning. These aficionados were in great spirits, as it's a great way for BBQ'ers to reconnect during the long Illinois winter until the competition season really begins to heat up. Without a doubt, all these teams came out as winners today. The Winter Burnoff organized by KRE Smokers' Keith and Rebecca Engstrom is a non-sanctioned BBQ contest held annually in Des Plaines, as a benefit for N.O.A.H. National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation. Here are the Top 10 Places... (Courtesy of Dann & Diane Boland of 2 Skinny Cooks) Grand Champion: Porkrasinators Reserve: Wind City Smokers 3. Church of Swinetology 4. KRE Smokers 5. Dr. Porkenstein 6. Smokey Joel/Cubby Bear 7. The Smoke Hunters 8. Kow's BBQ 9. Son of a Bub's 10. Pappy's Pork a Palooza We managed to eek out 2nd place in pork! Dann and Diane 2 Skinny Cooks Scenes from the 2009 Winter Burnoff in Des Plaines, Illinois - Pictures by Peter Cravath - are available online. *************************************** Member Report: Rib Class at Backyard BBQ - January 31st, 2009 Demo by Alex Cothell of Dr. Porkenstein and Scott Johnson of CancerSucksChicago.com. Walking into the Backyard BBQ Store we were met by Dan Marguerite Proprietor. We were offered beverages of choice: beer, wine, soda, or water. After getting a seat in the party room at Backyard BBQ Store we then had chili appetizers with bacon wrapped stuffed jalapeno. Alex, then demo'd the different styles of ribs: St. Louis and baby back. Removing tips from the slab for cooking. We then had tips smoked for about an hour then put in a pan of BBQ sauce with apple juice simmered for another hour - which was prepared already. They use Smoking Gun Rub. We tasted the baby back and the St. Louis style ribs. We looked at different types of cookers and smokers. There were 21 people as far away as Detroit. Alex and Scott did a great job and Dan's staff was very hospitable. Myself and two of my friends (Nick and Kip) would go back again. Phil Wingo www.tailgatecharters.com Thanks for the report Phil!! *************************************** The BBQ Kings - ACS' Relay For Life Team Cancer is a NASTY beast! Three Southern Illinois BBQ teams have joined forces to help raise awareness, and money, for the American Cancer Society by participating in community events, vending opportunities, and catering jobs to benefit American Cancer Society's' Relay For Life. Find out how you can help by visiting http://www.QKings.com ... or http://www.SmokinForCure.com. *************************************** Radio Show Update... Well, I have two shows down and the next episode of a new radio show called BBQEmergency.com is coming up this Sunday, March 1st @ 4pm Central / 5pm Eastern / 2pm Pacific / 10pm GMT. The show has shaped up to be a fun little program designed for 'backyard gourmets' to learn a few tips, tricks, and recipes to wow their family and friends during their next outdoor cooking adventure. In addition to the radio show on BlogTalkRadio.com, a website has been launched to support the show so that listeners can see what is coming up on future shows and, more importantly, communicate with other listeners via the BBQEmergency.com Listener Forum. Show segments are currently listed as Que-News & Scuttle; Guests & Hot Topics; Tips, Tricks & Recipes; and Contests, Events, & Festivals. Callers are welcome to join in the show and ideas for future show are always welcomed. The show will be available for RSS News Feed to your computer and in Podcast format as well. To find out more, visit http://www.BBQEmergency.com . *************************************** Upcoming 2009 Non-Sanctioned/Backyard Contests... (All info & web addresses are posted on http://www.ILBBQS.com -> Contests/Events) ~ May 23 - The Bonifest Rib Cook-Off - Contact: Ryan Hentz, 110 N. Buchanan, Edwardsville, IL 62025 - Phone: 618-656-6450. Fax: 618-656-7669 - Email: bonifestbbq@yahoo.com ~ May 30 - Harvard, IL - 4th Annual Harvard Milk Days Outdoor Grilling Competition - Contact: Doug Hawthorne, Phone: 815-403-1266 - E-mail: Foodman52@aol.com ~ June 5 & 6 - Alton/Godfrey, IL - Contact: Pete Williams, Phone: Email: ~ June 12 & 13 - LeRoy, IL - 5th Annual Smokin' in the Park - Contact: Hap & Becky Zook at 309-397-1815 - E-mail: bjzook@verizon.net ~ Please check http://www.ILBBQS.com for current updates. *************************************** Upcoming 2009 KCBS Contests... (All info & web addresses are posted on http://www.ILBBQS.com -> Contests/Events) ~ April 24 & 25 - Hazelwood, Missouri - 2009 Kick-Off Cookoff Classic, Contact: Greg Wilkinson, Phone: 314-955-1104, E-Mail: gawilk@swbell.net ~ May 1 & 2 - Southwestern Illinois Spring Festival - Contact: Shane Swartzlander - Phone: (618) 533-5703 - E-mail: 2chubby@sbcglobal.net ~ May 15 & 16 - The Randolph County Pig Party - Contact: Jason Vallett, 402 E. Broadway, Steeleville, IL 62288 - Phone: 618-965-3414 ~ Fax: 618-965-3177 - Email: jason@gregvallettautosales.com ~ May 23 & 24 - Red, White & Bar-B-Q - Contact: Jim Addington, 337 E. Traube Street, Westmont, IL 60559 - Phone: 630-443-2013 Fax: 630.443-2017 - E-mail: jaddington@ambankqc.com ~ May 29 & 30 - Anything Goes Fair, Barbecue and Blues - Contact: Paul Mizeur, 108 W Market / PO Box 350, Taylorville, IL 62568 - Phone: 217-287-1876 Fax: 217-287-1876 - Email: paul.mizeur@usbank.com ~ June 5 & 6 - Flat Branch Bar-B-Q in the Park - Contact: Al Long, 2602 East 1800 North Road, Moweaqua, IL 62550 - Phone: 217-768-4663 - E-mail: BABBQ@shelbywb.coop ~ June 19 & 20 - Elk Grove Rotary Ribfest - Contact: Ron Nunes, 701 E. Irving Park Rd, Ste. 200, Roselle, IL 60172 - Phone: 630-307-8744 ~ Fax: 630-307-8755 - E-mail: rnunes9457@aol.com ~ July 10 & 11 - Illinois State Championship & Butt to Butt Pork Invitational - Contact: Connie Smith, 301 E. Sunrise Drive, Shannon, IL 61078 - Phone: 816-864-2542 ~ Fax: 815-864-2825 - E-mail: rrribs@frontiernet.net ~ September 24 to 26 - Murphysboro Barbeque Cook-Off - Contact: Gary Strothmann, PO Box 382, Murphysboro, IL 62966 - Phone: 618-684-8902, Fax: 618-687-4311 - Email: catering17@egyptian.com ~ October 9 & 10 - Super City Blues & Ques - Contact: Priscilla Abell, 106 W. 5th Street, Metropolis, IL 62960 - Phone: 618-524-1696 Fax: 618-524-2582 - Email: metropolisparks@verizon.net ~ October 16 & 17 - King City BBQ Showdown - Contact: Troy Heitmeyer, 104 N. 9th Street, Mt. Vernon, IL 62864 - Phone: 618-242-4020 x 15 ~ Fax: 618-242-3383 - E-mail: troy@cmacsoft.com ~ October 16 & 17 - Barn Burner BarBQ at Lamb's Farm - Contact: Claudia Stevens, 14245 W. Rockland Rd, Libertyville, IL 60048 - Phone: 847-990-3750 ~ Fax: 847-362-0742 - E-mail: crs@lambsfarm.org ~ Please check http://www.ILBBQS.com for current updates. *************************************** Upcoming 2009 Memphis BBQ Network Contests... (All info & web addresses are posted on http://www.ILBBQS.com -> Contests/Events) ~ September 11 & 12 - Wabash Ribberfest State Barbecue Championship, Contact: Chuck Johnson, 5 Lambert Place, Mt. Carmel, IL 62863, Phone: 618-262-6822, Email: cjohnson@shawneelink.net ~ September 24 to 26 - Murphysboro Barbeque Cook-Off - Contact: Gary Strothmann, PO Box 382, Murphysboro, IL 62966 - Phone: 618-684-8902, Fax: 618-687-4311 - Email: catering17@egyptian.com ~ Please check http://www.ILBBQS.com for current updates. *************************************** Upcoming Certified BBQ Judge's and Certified Table Captain's Classes... (All info posted on http://www.ILBBQS.com -> BBQ Classes) ~ None currently scheduled. (That I know of...if you know of any, let me know!) *************************************** Upcoming BBQ Cooking Classes... (All info posted on http://www.ILBBQS.com -> BBQ Classes) ~ April 2 & 3 ~ Shannon, Illinois ~ Old School versus High Tech Competition Cooking Class; Instructors: Rod Gray (Pellet Envy) & Johnny Trigg (Smokin' Triggers); Contact: Rod Gray; Email: rod@pelletenvy.com *************************************** These stories, and more, can be found online at http://www.ILBBQS.com . Most of the stories online have active links for ease of finding more information...be sure to visit the website for your full ILBBQS experience! If you have a BBQ related news item you would like to share with the group, be sure to send it in! There is an easy-to-use 'Submit News' button on our website at http://www.ILBBQS.com ...use it often! As always, if you have any pictures, stories, news items, comments, suggestions, questions, or ideas, let me know! Carpe 'Que, Jim Rhino