(7/30/2011) - This was a new location for "Racing for the BBQ", this year, the third year event was being held at the Blue Springs Lake campground, a great location for a contest with shower facilities and electric hook ups at every camp site. In 2010, Big Creek BBQ finished 3rd overall in this contest. This year, the team was sponsored by Mark Gipple, a local real estate agent with Keller Williams in Lee's Summit. Friday evening was fun and relaxing, as we were joined by Valerie Wilson from TheSlabs.com who met us for dinner at a local Mexican Restaurant and who returned to the contest site with us to enjoy drinks and friendship for the evening and on Saturday morning. Our cook went very well and we were highaged by all of our entries this day. During the awards ceremony, we learned that the judges agreed with us. Big Creek BBQ received top ten calls in all four categories (one of only three times this has happened to us in seven years), finishing 1st in chicken, 3rd in ribs, 8th in pork and 1st in brisket. Subsequently, Big Creek BBQ was named Grand Champion and received a very nice "title belt" like a boxing world championship belt. Made of leather and metal, this was one of the most unique and fun awards we've won in barbecue! The 2011 season continues in late August when Big Creek BBQ will travel to Albert Lea, Minnesota for the Big Island BBQ Competition.

(7/15/2011) - If anyone was looking for an escape from the heat, they surely would not find in in Forth Worth, Texas in mid July! With temperatures well over 120 in the Sam's Club parking lot, 31 teams set up and prepared to battle it out for the right to attend the National Championship in October. Fortunately, the parking lot was concrete which helped only slightly. Texas was in the midst of a very long stretch of consecutive days where the high temperature was over 100 degrees. Big Creek BBQ had decided they would not play out in the heat any more than necessary. They reserved a hotel room only one mile from the contest location and after setting up Friday morning, spent a large portion of Friday afternoon and evening holed up in the air conditioning, returning to the site only to attend the cook's meeting and then to season meat later in the evening before remaining onsite for the remainder of the time as of Saturday morning. The team received two top ten calls - 9th in ribs and 10th in brisket. They were also 11th in chicken and a painful 23rd in pork. This was not good enough to finish in the top ten to move on to the National Championship. Once scores were received, Big Creek found they ended up 11th overall, one spot out of the next round. And to add to the frustration, the team was only 0.0002 of a point out of 10th! Needless to say, it was a long drive home to Pleasant Hill! Big Creek will fire it up again in two weeks at "Racing for the BBQ" in Lee's Summit, Missouri.

(7/2/2011) - On a blazing hot holiday weekend, Big Creek BBQ took the short trip over ot Overland Park, Kansas for round one of the Sam's Club National BBQ Championship series. With temperatures on the asphalt soaring to over 120 degrees, 30 teams set up and began the battle with heat and other great competitors. To make matters worse, there was a water main break in town and the city, including the area where Sam's Club is located, was under a boil order for water. That meant Sam's Club and the contest had to distribute cases and jugs of water to all of the teams from the store for the entire weekend. Jeff spent a large part of Friday afternoon sitting in the adjacent Mexican restaurant with members of TheSlabs.com, enjoying the air conditioning, a couple of margaritas and bottled water. The night time provided little relief from temperatures with temps still in the mid 90's when the big meats went on the smoker at 2:30 AM. The top seven teams overall in this event would move on to the regional finals in two weeks at Sam's Club in Fort Worth, Texas to compete for the right to go to the National Championship in Bentonville, Arkansas in October. Big Creek BBQ received first place in chicken and 6th place in pork to finish 5th overall and qualify for the regional finals.

(6/25/2011) - The final weekend in June was spent in the southwest Missouri community of Seymour. Rockin' Freedom BBQ is organized by our good friend April Hepko who does a fantastic job in accomodating the teams and generally putting on a top notch event that should be an your schedule in 2012. It was also our first time competing against Stan Hays, a former member of Big Creek BBQ who went out on his own, forming County Line Smokers in 2011. To uphold recent "tradition", several folks involved in the golf cart shenanigans in Springdale repeated some of the fun when our friend April left the keys in her ATV vehicle! While McDonalds was too far away in Seymour, that didn't stop said people from cruising the contest site in April's ride! We believe she would have found it more funny had she not fallen and been in some pain that morning. Oddly enough, she fell at McDonalds. After all of the fun and comraderie, the awards culminated with Big Creek BBQ finishing 5th in brisket, 6th in pork and 11th in chicken, good enough for 5th overall out of 41 teams. Here, we also put the finishing adjustments on our new rib recipe and process and, while we finished 20th in that category, we were very encouraged by the 165 points they scored and believe maybe after all this time, we finally have them fighured out. No changes next week! Speaking of next week, Big Creek BBQ will be in Overland Park, Kansas for the first round local contest in the Sam's Club National BBQ Challenge.

(6/4/2011) - After taking a month off, Big Creek BBQ resumed its season the first weekend in June, travelling to Huron, South Dakota for the second consecutive season to compete in the Original South Dakota State Championship BBQ at the South Dakota State Fairgrounds. This is a favorite contest for Big Creek BBQ. As it is only one of two competitions in the state of South Dakota, the champion has a 50/50 chance at being selected for the Jack Daniels World Championship. The contest organizers are very aware of this and make it a big deal for the teams. Trophies are very unique and the prize money is very good for a contest this size. It's also at a fantastic location that includes level spots, good electricity hook ups and hot showers on the grounds. After finishing as Reserve Grand Champion in 2010 (2nd place overall), Big Creek followed it up this year with three top ten calls (ribs, pork and brisket) to finish 4th overall out of 31 teams. The team hopes to return in 2012 to this fun contest up north. The season will continue in Seymour, Missouri in three weeks.

(4/30/2011) - The season continued for Big Creek BBQ as the team traveled to Springdale, Arkansas for Smokin' in the Ozarks. The really exciting part of this event? No bedding and extra gear needed for sleeping needed to be hauled along as the contest took place at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Springdale. A multi-team dinner took place on Friday evening with Lee Keith (Sloppy's Backwoods Smokers) providing fresh crappie fillets, Big Creek BBQ provided fresh morel mushrooms (courtesy of my step-sister Kristina and her husband!), MoKan Meatheads contributed homemade onion rings and tater tots. Other teams contributing and partaking of the meal included R Butts R Smokin and Dead Pigs Tell No Tales. After a fun dinner and socializing, the work began, followed by a late night golf cart ride that involved a couple of trips to a nearby McDonalds drive-thru, courtesy of Rob Magee of Munchin' Hogs! On Saturday, Big Creek received calls in chicken (4th) and brisket (3rd) and was nailed by ribs (37th) again. The team finished 4th overall out of 47 teams. Next on the schedule for Big Creek BBQ after yet another month off, is a return trip to Huron, South Dakota and the South Dakota State BBQ Championship June 3-4. This season, the team has not scheduled so many competitions and will be returning to a normal 12 to 15 contest season. In addition, there's still a little burn-out from such a gruelling and long 2010 season (27 contests).

(4/16/2011) - The season continued for Big Creek BBQ as they traveled for the first time to Washington, Missouri to compete in the Main Street BBQ and BluesFest. Arriving about noon, the team had barely completed set up of their camp when the local storm sirens went off and organizers rushed to all the teams advising them to take cover in a nearby church. After quickly securing items and lowering EZ Up canopies, the team made it to the shelter but not before becoming soaked from torrential rain and 50+ mph winds. After the storm blew through town, the team returned to their site to find it pretty much unscathed. The next emergency... Jeff forgot to pack the ThermaPen thermometer! This is one item that Jeff says he absolutely cannot cook without. Thankfully Dennis Keck had an extra to loan the team... a PINK one! Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Jeff thankfully accepted, girl color or not. The contest didn't go as hoped. Big Creek finished 15th overall out of 50 teams, this time, being sunk by ribs (40th) and brisket (29th). Next up for the team in Smokin in the Ozarks April 29-30 in Springdale, Arkansas.

(3/12/2011) - The 2011 season opened after an all too short break in the action for Big Creek BBQ. With weather being much nicer than in previous years, the team traveled to North Kansas City for the Missouri State Championships. The hope that such a short break would mean not being so rusty to start a season was short-lived. Big Creek BBQ finished a very respectable 12th overall out of a field of 104 teams but pork and brisket finished a very disappointing 64th and 31st respectively. Jeff and Tammy will take about a month off as Jeff, along with Stan Hays of County Line Smokers, are organizers of the upcoming "Smokin' on Big Creek" BBQ competition in Pleasant Hill. Next up for Big Creek BBQ will be Main Street BBQ and BluesFest in Washington, Missouri on April 15-16.

(1/15/2011) - In celebration of the 2010 barbecue season as well as the 25th anniversary of Kansas City Barbeque Society (2011), teams, judges, organizers, reps and board members gathered at Kansas City's Hyatt Regency Hotel this weekend for the annual Banquet and national awards. The weekend had a trade show, numerous breakout sessions and meetings. After a rules meeting on Friday afternoon and dinner with over 30 friends at a local Mexican restaurant, Jeff took part by being selected as a panel member during the Contest Organizers Roundtable meeting on Saturday morning. After more meetings and demos Saturday afternoon, the weekend was highlighted by the annual awards banquet where Big Creek BBQ was recognized for the 2010 season as being 3rd ranked in brisket, 5th ranked in chicken, 19th ranked in pork and the 5th ranked team overall in the National Team of the Year Chase. (Ribs... well, you know how that went for Big Creek in 2010!). Afterwards, Big Creek BBQ hosted an after-party in the hotel Empire Room for over 200 people who generously donated over $2,200 in admission tickets and raffle tickets! Thanks especially to Dennis Keck of 4 Smokin Butts (Illinois) who donated a pair of half carat diamond stud earrings, valued at over $1,500! Several other folks donated items as well. The $2,200 raised was split 50% to Kookers Kare (helping feed the hungry) and 50% to Cancer Sucks Chicago (helping fund research for a cure for cancer), both charities that are tops on the list in the barbecue community. In addition, WiredBBQ.com was onhand to broadcast live streaming video on the Web of the event where they interviewed many top teams and other happenings from a very fun evening.

(12/31/2010) - As a finale to the season that just would not end, Jeff flew to California for a December 30-31 contest in Wildomar, CA, the Tom's Farm Wild West BBQ Showdown. The contest was done solo with mostly borrowed equipment with the exception of what Big Creek BBQ could send out with the 4 Smokin' Butts team from Illinois. The expectation of warm weather in December was short-lived as temperatures on Thursday night dipped into the mid 20's in the high desert of California. Regardless of the difficulties and odds stacked against Jeff, he was able to secure a 6th place chicken, 27th place ribs, 5th place pork and 4th place brisket to finish the contest 5th overall. While this did not help improve any of the team's 2010 rankings, Big Creek was able to defend their places in all categories and overall. The Big Creek team wishes to thank Simply Marvelous BBQ, BigMista BBQ, 4 Smokin Butts and Ribs a Rockin' BBQ teams for their generous help and for the use of many items needed to make competing even possible at such a distance from home. Also, a huge thank you to Stan Hays who gave up two Southwest Airline flight credits to allow Jeff to fly to California for practically nothing. Next up, Big Creek BBQ will join many, many barbecue friends and family at the 25th anniversary KCBS Banquet January 14-15 to celebrate a memorable and successful 2010 season. The event will take place at Kansas City's Hyatt Regency Hotel. After that, it's a two month rest before the 2011 season begins in North Kansas City in mid-March.

(12/5/2010) - In the team's first ever competition in December, Big Creek BBQ traveled to Demopolis, Alabama (an 11 hour drive from Pleasant Hill) to compete in the Christmas on the River Alabama State Championship December 3-4. After driving straight through in one day, the reward was getting to participate in the catfish dinner put on for teams, judges and volunteers. Big Creek team members had the opportunity to meet several people in the barbecue world whom they had not had the pleasure of meeting previously. A good night's sleep and a hot shower in a hotel and Big Creek was off to the contest site Friday morning. After a relaxing, sunny afternoon where temperatures hovered near 70 degrees, Jeff and Tammy enjoyed a nice dinner in a seafood place at the marina across the bridge from the contest site. Then it was down to business. Although temperatures dropped down into the upper 30's the Spicewine did well and Saturday, all categories looked great. And the judges agreed! A 13th in chicken, 4th in ribs, 1st in pork and 5th in brisket gave Big Creek BBQ the Grand Championship by one point over Bub-Ba-Q from Georgia and five points ahead of Jack's Old South, also from Georgia.. Christmas on the River was a fantastic event and drew at least seven of the nation's top 25 ranked KCBS teams along with several very talented teams from the South. The community of Demopolis gives great support to the entire event on the riverfront. After winning the Grand, Big Creek BBQ moved back up to 5th place in the nation overall and will now plan a trip to Corona, California for a contest on Thursday/Friday, December 30-31 (the final KCBS event of 2010) to take a shot at moving up further.

(11/6/2010) - In our second to last contest of the 2010 season, Big Creek BBQ traveled to Harrison, Arkansas to compete in the 1st Annual Cookin' on the Creek BBQ Contest. Friday was chilly and very windy and Friday night added to the fun with clear skies and a low temperature of 27 degrees! Thankfully, we had plenty of propane for the heaters. We weren't so fortunate in the van for sleeping. The small space heater we carry for the van in cold weather stopped working around mindnight on Friday night and we were forced to start the van, run the heat for awhile and then shut it off periodically. The team was very satisfied with our entries after all were turned in to judging. During the awards ceremony, Big Creek received 3rd in chicken, 13th in ribs, 9th in pork and 2nd in brisket, finishing 5th overall. As a big wrap up to the 2010 season, Big Creek BBQ will travel to Demopolis, Alabama in four weeks for the Christmas on the River Alabama State BBQ Championship.

(10/30/2010) - Big Creek BBQ competed in the Bates County BBQ Championship in Butler, Missouri this weekend and finished 7th overall. Calls in ribs (3rd), brisket (6th) and a 13th place chicken finish (out of 67 teams) boosted the team up but a poor 45th place in pork pulled Big Creek down to finish 7th. In the KCBS points race, a 7th place doesn't help at this point, as our lowest finish to drop overall is a 3rd. This was a cold contest on Friday evening as temperatures plunged into the low 40's. Friday evening team potluck was a soup theme and several teams brought some great hot pots of tasty soup to warm everyone up.

(10/17/2010) - Big Creek BBQ received notification today that we had moved up the waiting list at Demopolis, Alabama and was offered a spot in the December 3-4, 2010 "Christmas on the River" Alabama State Barbecue Championship. The team will be making the trip to west-central Alabama the first weekend in December to wrap up a very successful 2010 barbecue season.

(10/16/2010) - Big Creek BBQ continued the 2010 season at the Fountains at Greenbriar in Independence, Missouri where Jeff spent nearly two years employed as an HR manager. It was the first time Jeff returned to the community since leaving in January of this year. It was a great experience, getting to see so many residents again who were like grandparents. Organizers Jon and Clara Williams arranged for a meet and greet with all the teams and residents, complete with beer, wine and pretzels. Fantastic idea! Jeff didn't feel very well all weekend, most likely attributed to allergies or a cold. The contest was a success for Big Creek when it came to ribs, a 4th place finish, one of the best of the season. In chicken, the team finished 13th. Pork was 8th and brisket 5th. Overall, Big Creek BBQ finished the weekend 4th place overall. After a weekend off next week, Big Creek BBQ continues the season Halloween weekend at Butler, Missouri.

(10/9/2010) - Big Creek BBQ scheduled a last minute contest after meeting the Golden City, Missouri organizer at the American Royal in Kansas City. The team traveled two hours south to this small Barton County community and came away with a Grand Championship, our fifth of the year. Big Creek finished 5th in chicken, 10th in ribs, 1st in pork and 1st in brisket. We felt really fortunate and blessed to win this event because out pork, even though it won the category, we very inferior in my eyes. It was extremely overcooked but we're happy and are thrilled with the results. This is a very good contest and the organizer runs an exceptionally cooker-friendly event. In addition to the KCBS title, Big Creek captured first place in the people's choice salsa category on Friday evening. The trophies were very unique and some of our favorites in the six years we've been competing. This will definitely be on our schedule for 2011.

(10/2-3/2010) - Big Creek BBQ was in both the Invitational and the Open contests at the American Royal, the world's largest BBQ competition over the weekend and did well with only one call in categories all weekend. In the Invitational, Big Creek received 12th in pork and finished 10th overall in a field of 132 championship teams, a very respectable showing! The next day, the team got no calls in categories but was called for 14th overall is a huge field of 490 teams! It was a very long and tiring weekend but fun and it was great to see many friends we only get to see once or twice per year.

(9/18/2010) - In a last minute scheduled contest, Big Creek BBQ went to the Battle of the Brisket in Mission, Kansas and finished 8th overall. The team;s best finish was 6th in brisket in a field of 60 teams.

(9/11/2010) - In a very disappointing contest, Big Creek BBQ turned in their worst performance of the season, finishing in 19th place at the Blue Springs BBQ Blaze-Off in Blue Springs, Missouri. The best category was chicken at 11th place. Once again, the teams at this contest battled a late evening storm that had everyone holding onto canopies for all they were worth. Big Creek suffered only a bent leg on a canopy and a lot of wet equipment. The team hosted Tammy's family in from Michigan for the weekend and had a lot of great help in set-up and tear down. Big Creek will be back at it next weekend, September 16-17 at Mission, Kansas' Battle of the Brisket, a contest that is a little confusing in its name. It is actually the same as any other KCBS event with all four of the normal categories being turned in.

(8/28/2010) - Things cooled off considerably (if you can call the low 90's cool!) compared to last weekend in Oklahoma for the Northwest Arkansas BBQ Championship, a Smoke on the Water Production. This event in Springdale, Arkansas drew some of the top teams from the midwest to the parking lot of Arvest Park, home of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, the AA minor league affilliate of the Kansas City Royals. After enjoying the best potluck dinner ever with many great friends on Friday evening, it was down to business in Arkansas! Although we were happy with all of our entries, once again, we took it on the chin with our ribs, finishing 22nd out of 28 teams. Otherwise, it was a successful event for Big Creek BBQ. We finished 2nd in brisket, 5th in chicken and 7th in pork to wind up 5th overall. Thanks to Ronnie Cates for another great event! Next up for Big Creek BBQ is the Blue Springs Blaze Off in Blue Springs, Missouri, beginning on September 10. Tammy's family will be flying in to Kansas City once again for this contest.

(8/21/2010) - If last weekend wasn't hot enough, this weekend topped it! Temperatures above the pavement in Midwest City, Oklahoma for the Sam's Club Invitational reached 106 degrees as 25 of the best teams in the United States gathered to slug it out in this new competition. Big Creek BBQ made the five hour trip to this suburb of Oklahoma City after being invited due to the team's ranking as of the July 9, 2010 cutoff date. The team list read like a Who's Who in competition barbecue and Big Creek was very honored to be among those invited. The team meeting had a surprise for those in attendance - Sam's Club had loaded a flatbed cart for each team that included over $300 worth of supplies, including over 100 cans of Pepsi, five cases of bottled water, a case of Red Bull, a 12 pack of paper towels, a double pack of heavy duty foil, Chinet plates, 360 piece plastic flatware, lots of barbecue sauce, hot sauce and hot wing sauce, Tone's seasonings, clam shell containers, aluminum full and half pans, grease remover and many other items. An hour later, the teams gathered at the Sheraton Hotel for a VIP reception with food and drinks. After that, it was back to the contest site where the work began. On Saturday afternoon during the awards, Jeff requested to go to the stage to announce his and Tammy's 12th wedding anniversary where he presented her with roses. Big Creek ended up 2nd in chicken, 10th in ribs, 16th in pork, 12th in brisket and 3rd overall in this very tough field of teams. Next up is another road trip, this time to Smoke on the Water's Northwest Arkansas BBQ Championship in Springdale, Arkansas August 27-28.

(8/14/2010) - The team continued a steamy and scorching hot month of August at the Cass County Square off in Harrisonville, Missouri this weekend. Although the contest was a few teams short of last year's total, it was still a fun competition. With the temperatures in the mid to upper 90's, it was our great fortune to be staying in the office working all day on Friday after setting up some of our equipment on Thursday evening. Our friend Stan Hays, who has not been able to cook with us this year, took his time to go down to Harrisonville to unload some more of our equipment and get our meat checked in. Once again on Friday night, storms rolled through in about four waves from 8:30 pm until around midnight. It was clear sailing from there. Big Creek BBQ was 3rd in chicken, 13th in ribs, 4th place in pork and 1st place in brisket and finished the weekend as Reserve Grand Champion, just about a half point behind Kelly Wertz of 4 Legs Up BBQ. Next up is the inaugural Sam's Club Invitational in Midwest City, Oklahoma next weekend.

(8/7/2010) - Big Creek BBQ has replaced all the destroyed equipment from the Mason City, Iowa storm and is back at it this weekend. "Racing for the BBQ" was a contest to benefit the Whatsoever Community Center in Kansas City. It was an outstanding event put on by Kenneth Morgan. Teams looking for a competition with loads of family entertainment and the BEST of service to teams by many of volunteers will want to put this contest on their schedule for 2011. Free 5 gallon bottles of Culligan water were distributed to teams and ice delivery and trash haul off were constantly going on. We even had a volunteer on a golf cart coming around after 10 pm Friday night who yelled out "Big Creek, you all ok? Need anything?" Wow! Big Creek BBQ scored a 2nd in brisket and 5th in chicken to go along with a 12th in pork and a disappointing 35th in ribs to finish the event placing third overall. Friends from Boondoggle BBQ and Pellet Envy took grand and reserve grand respectively. The Big Creek team will be back at it next weekend, only eleven miles from home, cooking in the Cass County Square Off competition in Harrisonville, Missouri.

(7/24/2010) - In a contest that won't soon be forgotten, Big Creek BBQ traveled 5 hours north to the Up in Smoke BBQ Championship in Mason City, Iowa over the weekend. The results (2nd in chicken, 5th in ribs and 8th overall) won't be remembered as much as the fantastic park setting, great service from the organizers and the massive storm that rolled through the contest Friday night around 2 AM. Jeff and Tammy literally stood in the teeth of a 60 mph wind and driving rain holding onto canopies and belongings as long as possible. When it was all over about 30 minutes later, Big Creek BBQ was out both canopies, the Guru electronic pit temp control unit, an iPod and noise cancelling headphones, Tammy's glasses, and our atomic clock. In keeping with good spirits, Tammy joked "...and two rolls of paper towels!" Big Creek received a LOT of assistance from neighboring teams such as E & D's BBQ, The Smokin' Pelletheads and Doghouse BBQ to get moved out of the lake we were in and up under a park pavilion to be able to continue cooking. Jeff was only 30 minutes late getting pork and brisket on the smoker, which is amazing, given the situation the team found themselves in only an hour prior!

(7/17/2010) - In the second of a three consecutive weeks of competitions, Big Creek BBQ traveled to central Missouri to compete in the Smokin' on the River event at Glasgow, Missouri. We were joined by our next-door neighbors, Tim and Laura Long. Laura grew up in Glasgow and still knows many people there. Only a couple of weeks ago, this park, Stump Island Park, was flooded and the local folks did a fantastic job of removing all the sand and silt the Missouri River had placed in the park. It was dry but only for a short time as storms rolled in overnight Friday night, dropping a ton of water in an area that did not need it. Although it did not cause an already high Missouri River to once again escape its banks, many teams were swamped and had to try their best to move. Only one team gave up and went home. Everyone else persevered and overcame the mess. Huge Kudos to Paul and Marlee Walz of the Smokin' Walzs BBQ team! They woke up Saturday morning to almost disasterous conditions at their cook site and were close to bowing out. Paul got some help from the great BBQ family and was able to partially move his site up out of the mud and water along the river bank and continue to cook. What a huge and incredible effort by the Smokin' Walzs! Big Creek BBQ was 3rd in ribs, 1st in chicken and 5th in brisket. Pork, normally one of our best categories, was overcooked and finished 18th. In spite of the pork score, Big Creek BBQ was still able to win the Grand Championship at Glasgow, finishing 16 points ahead of the Reserve Grand winner. For a complete listing of results, click here. Next up for the team is the Up in Smoke BBQ competition in Mason City, Iowa next weekend.

(7/11/2010) - After a week off for a family vacation on St. Louis over the Independence Day holiday, Big Creek BBQ travelled to Weston, Missouri for a rare Saturday/Sunday contest. This event is in a small historic town on the Missouri River in northwest, Missouri. Big Creek BBQ was sponsored at this contest by David and Helen McKinney, real estate agents at Reece and Nichols Weston Bend. The team finished very strong at 3rd place overall. For a complete listing of results, click here.

(7/9/2010) - Big Creek BBQ today received an invitation to compete in a newly organized competition in Midwest City, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City. The Sam's Club Invitational competition will be on August 20-21, 2010 and will host the top 25 ranked teams in the KCBS nationally as of July 9. Big Creek BBQ is currently ranked 5th in the nation and accepted the invitation tonight. We are honored to be competing with such a "who's who" of barbecue for a $25,000 prize purse.

(6/26/2010) - Big Creek BBQ added another event to the schedule to wrap up a very busy month of June where the team competed every weekend. The long drive to Independence, Kansas was made longer due to road construction and detours. This contest, although small at 25 teams, was host to several top KCBS teams. Big Creek BBQ earned three top ten finishes in categories and their third Grand Championship of 2010. For a complete listing of results, click here.

(6/19/2010) - This week, the schedule took Big Creek BBQ east to Sedalia and the Missouri Blues and BBQ Festival Competition at the Missouri State Fair Campground. This has always been one of our favorite events due to the tremendous amount of space for the teams and it has electric and water at every site. Big Creek got four top ten awards and finished 5th overall. For a complete listing of results, click here.

(6/12/2010) - In staying a lot closer to the house this weekend, Big Creek BBQ rolled only 25 minutes from home to compete in the Raytown State Championship BBQ in Raytown, Missouri. It was our first time cooking at the Raytown contest and it was a memorable one. After celebrating Brent Richardson's high school graduation at a party hosted by his mother, Stephanie Wilson of TheSlabs.com on Friday night, Saturday morning brought in a huge storm with incredible downpours. It hit Raytown between the two Kids Q turn-ins. Taylor was a little scared but took off with her mom to turn in her second entry in one of the biggest downpours of the storm. It was worth it to her as she took the Kids Q Grand Championship later that day during awards. The teams continued to battle the storm that just wouldn't die down until just before the first entry was due. We were fully prepared to put together entries in the back of the van on a small 4 foot table if need be. But things calmed down and we weren't forced to move. During the storm, we were standing in running water coming off the parking lot well over our ankles. It shorted out our power and the Guru unit on the smoker went out, as did our fire. As a result our ribs did not get done as well as they should. Big Creek finished as Reserve Grand Champion in this battle of the elements and walked away feeling like we'd been through a war! For a complete listing of results, click here.

(6/5/2010) - In a late addition to the schedule, Big Creek BBQ made the eight hour trip north to Huron, South Dakota for the Original South Dakota State BBQ Championship this past weekend. This contest is a fantastic little event that should be much bigger. The spaces are good size, level and have electric (it's in a campground), the organizers are extremely cooker-friendly and the prize purse is very large for a contest of this size. Big Creek finished as reserve grand champion, second to Parrothead Smokers. We hope to return to South Dakota in 2011 to compete in and support this top notch event. For a full list of results from this event, click here.

(5/22/2010) - In what can undoubtedly be considered the team's greatest achievement, Big Creek BBQ captured the Grand Champion title at the 2010 Great American BBQ Open in Bonner Springs, Kansas over the weekend. Big Creek finished 3rd in brisket, 8th in pork, 15th in ribs and 49th in chicken in a field of 190 teams from across the country in route to the championship. Lee and Arlene Keith (Edwards, MO) from Sloppy's Backwoods Smokers joined Jeff and Tammy in this contest. Full results from this contest may be found by clicking here.Ironically, Big Creek BBQ was next door neighbors to friends Bob and Don Denner of Boondoggle BBQ who captured the Great American BBQ Invitational title the previous day. The month of May has been incredible for the team with two Grands and a Reserve Grand. Next up for Big Creek BBQ is the Raytown BBQ Cook-Off in Raytown, Missouri on June 11-12.

(5/8/2010) - Big Creek BBQ fired up at the Basswood Resort (Platte City, MO) Legacy Cup BBQ this weekend and walked away with our first-ever Grand Championship as Big Creek (won Warrensburg in 2008 cooking as Sloppy Creek BBQ with Lee Keith of Sloppy's Backwoods Smokers). In this event, which hosted 47 teams, Big Creek scored first in chicken, 3rd in brisket and 4th in pork. Once again, ribs finished poorly but the 34th place finish was overcome by a very high 178 chicken score which topped the second place chicken team by nearly 13 points. Full results from this contest may be found by clicking here. Next up for Big Creek BBQ will be Oklahoma Joe's World Brisket Open and the Great American Barbecue Open on May 20-22.

(5/1/2010) - Big Creek BBQ came up big in St. Joseph, Missouri at the Apple Blossom BBQ Challenge this weekend. In addition to a 3rd place in chicken and a 6th place in pork, Big Creek's great 2010 brisket run continued with a first place finish in the category, giving Big Creek BBQ a 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in four contests so far during the young 2010 competition barbecue season. A poor finish in ribs did not prevent Big Creek BBQ from capturing their second ever Reserve Grand Championship (2nd place overall). In addition, Big Creek spent the weekend next to good friends from R Butts R Smokin, who took home the Grand Championship honor. Full results from this contest may be found by clicking here.

(4/22/2010) - Big Creek BBQ and Majinola Meats, located in Panama, Iowa, will be partnering for the 2010 competition season. Big Creek BBQ will be competing with Wagyu beef briskets from Majinola Meats and promoting the company during competitions. If interested in taking a look at a Wagyu beef brisket, look Jeff up at a contest on our competition schedule. Wagyu beef originated in Japan and is often referred to as "Kobe Beef". This breed of cattle is genetically predisposed to store more fat within the animals' muscles, otherwise known as marbling. And, it's the marbling that gives the meat its extraordinary flavor, tenderness and juiciness. Majinola Meats is a family-owned and operated business that is proud to be a small company and dedicated to producing the best beef available.

(4/19/2010) - Weekly KCBS Top 25 rankings are out. Big Creek BBQ is ranked 15th in brisket and barely out of the overall top 25. The top 25 rankings are determined by taking the ten best finishes in each category and overall from each team for the year. Before most teams reach ten contests, there is a lot of movement within the rankings each week.

(4/17/2010) - The 2010 season continued for Big Creek BBQ with a trip to Enid, Oklahoma for the Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ Competition on April 16-17. The weather was cool and rainy during the entire event with a break in the showers only for awhile on Saturday morning. Rains began again shortly before the first turn-in time. The weather prevented Jeff and Tammy from getting out and visiting other teams much. During the awards ceremony, Big Creek BBQ received 9th in chicken, 10th in pork and 4th in brisket. A 46th place finish in ribs cost the team a higher finish but they finished a very respectable 6th place overall in a field of 75 teams, which included some of the best teams in Oklahoma. Full results from this contest may be found by clicking here. Next up for Big Creek BBQ is the Apple Blossom BBQ in St. Joseph, Missouri on April 30 - May 1.

(4/12/2010) - Weekly KCBS Top 25 rankings are out. Big Creek BBQ is ranked 18th in brisket and dropped out of the top 25 overall after three weeks off. Time to get back to business!

(4/5/2010) - Weekly KCBS Top 25 rankings are out. Big Creek BBQ is ranked 14th in brisket and 23rd overall after two straight weeks off.

(4/3/2010) - In her first Kids Q competition of the 2010 season, Taylor cooked some outstanding burgers at the Smokin' on Big Creek BBQ Competition here in Pleasant Hill. In a field of 17 kids aged five to ten years old, Taylor finished in second place, less than one point behind the Grand Champion, Brittany Marshall, a local friend, classmate, softball teammate and Girl Scout sister to Taylor. Big Creek BBQ is proud of Taylor and Brittany for representing Pleasant Hill so well! Great job, girls!!!

(3/29/2010) - Weekly KCBS Top 25 rankings are out. Big Creek BBQ is ranked 10th in brisket and 19th overall after one week off.

(3/22/2010) - This week's KCBS Top 25 rankings came out today. Big Creek BBQ is ranked number 7 in the nation in brisket and number 16 overall. This is the highest our team has ever been ranked in any category. It will, however, be dropping as Big Creek BBQ is off for the next three weeks while organizing Smokin' on Big Creek BBQ competition here in Pleasant Hill, Missouri. Nonetheless, the team is very excited to see this ranking!

(3/13/2010) - In an unexpected continuation of the 2010 season, Big Creek BBQ attended the Smoke on the Water 2010 USA Barbecue Championship in North Little Rock, Arkansas on March 19-20. In the last minute entry, Jeff traveled to Arkansas with good friend Randy Robinett from R Butts R Smokin' and fared quite well. This contest is the richest paying barbecue contest in the United States with a $100,000 prize purse up for grabs and attracted 227 of the best barbecue teams in the country. The top 40 teams in each category were announced with each receiving prize money. Big Creek BBQ finished 36th in chicken, 30th in pork and 3rd in brisket. This enabled the team to finish a very exciting 5th place overall. Full results for this contest can be found by clicking here. Next up for Big Creek BBQ is the Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ in Enid, Oklahoma.

(3/13/2010) - Big Creek BBQ opened their season in 2010 much earlier than usual, competing in the North Kansas City Missouri State BBQ Championships during their Snake Saturday festival. The event hosted 109 teams from across the midwest during what turned out to be a cold and rainy weekend. The team had good results, finishing 5th overall with the best category being a second place finish in brisket. Full results can be found by clicking here. The brisket finish also propelled Big Creek BBQ into the Top 25 ranking of KCBS teams for the first time ever, appearing ranked number 14 in the nation in brisket.

(1/15-16/2010) - Jeff and Tammy attended the KCBS Banquet in Philadelphia, PA over the weekend and got the opportunity to see some great places in our nation's history and try some of the world famous cheesesteak sandwiches in town. In addition, they attended a rules committee meeting and the Board meeting. On Saturday night, they attended the banquet where the election results were announced. Jeff fell 51 votes shy of a seat on the KCBS Board of Directors. The voting totals were as follows: Candy Weaver receives 1071 votes, 43.55% of the total. Linda Mullane receives 1037 votes, 42.17% of the total. Mike Lake receives 1018 votes, 41.40% of the total. Paul Kirk receives 1006 votes, 40.91% of the total. (Top four win a seat on the board) Jeff Stith receives 956 votes, 38.88% of the total. Randy Bigler receives 857 votes, 34.85% of the total. Barbara Milroy receives 628 votes, 25.54% of the total. Jim Stancil receives 531 votes, 21.59% of the total. John Kirby receives 390 votes, 15.86% of the total.

(12/15/2009) - Big Creek BBQ Chief Cook Jeff Stith appears on the BBQ Central National Radio Show with Greg Rempe to talk about his campaign for the KCBS Board of Directors. The election begins January 2, 2010 with online voting going through January 15, 2010. The archived version of the interview can be found by clicking here and scrolling down to the December 15, 2009 show details.

(10/1/2009) - Today, Big Creek BBQ Chief Cook Jeff Stith was officially nominated to run for the KCBS Board of Directors. All nominated candidates will be announced on November 1. The campaign season officially kicks off now. The election results will be announced at the annual KLCBS Banquet, held this time in Philadelphia, PA.

(9/12/2009) - Big Creek BBQ continued its 2009 season with the Blue Springs BBQ Blaze-Off this past weekend. The team hosted Tammy's family who was in town from Michigan. They also hosted many family and friends and family and friends of sponsor Jay Greco, a local Farmers Insurance agent. Also in attendance was Donna Pittman of Curt's Famous Meats in Independence. Donna sponsors Big Creek BBQ in the chicken category each contest. Big Creek BBQ finished 2nd in brisket, 8th in chicken and 8th in chef's choice for a 7th overall finish. In addition, my sister-in-law, Kim came down from Michigan and put the hurts on the salsa competition and claimed first place in the hot salsa category and we can tell you it rocked!

(8/21/2009) - During a barbeque contest at Harrisonville, Missouri, Big Creek BBQ Head Cook Jeff Stith was nominated by Stephanie Wilson of TheSlabs.com to be a candidate for the Kansas City Barbeque Society Board of Directors. This came during the Friday evening potluck dinner hosted by Big Creek BBQ at their site. Although official nominations will not be accepted by the KCBS until October 1, Stephanie made it known publicly and to the KCBS office that she intends to nominate Jeff on that date.Jeff currently has a Web site up at www.VoteJeffKCBS.com and from there, you can find his campaign site on Facebook. The election will begin in early January, 2010 and voting will continue up to the KCBS banquet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during which winners of the election will be announced.

(7/29/2009) - Next up for Big Creek BBQ is a competition in California, Missouri on August 7-8, 2009. This contest holds special meaning as it marks the first time Jeff will get to return to his hometown where he grew up and cook in a contest. After moving away with family in 1979, Jeff has not had much opportunity to visit California other than passing through. Hopefully there will be some fun reunions. After this event, Jeff and Tammy have invited good friends Rich and Bunny Tuttle of K Cass BBQ to cook with them at the Cass County Square-Off BBQ in Harrisonville, Missouri on August 21-22.

(7/25/2009) - During the spring and early summer of this year, Jeff coached Taylor's 7 and 8 year old softball team and he said it was one of the most rewarding experiences of his volunteer career. It was very gratifying to hear parents say how much their daughters enjoyed playing on our team. While the team finished with a respectable 5-4-1 record, Jeff was proud as can be of their overall growth and learning of the game. To reward the girls and their families, Jeff and Tammy spent the day on July 25 cooking pork, ribs, chicken and Big Creek Beans and served a barbeque dinner at the local city park that evening. It was well received and when Jeff and Tammy told parents to grab clam shell boxes they brought and load up to take the leftovers home with them, within minutes, the chafing pans were EMPTY! It was a fantastic season that ended with good food, fun for the girls and enjoyment in meeting lots of folks!

(7/11/2009) - The long drive to Great Bend, Kansas paid off for Big Creek BBQ / Sloppy Creek BBQ. While Big Creek didn't fare so well in the Chest to Chest National Brisket Championship, finishing 13 out of 18 teams, cooking as Sloppy Creek BBQ on Saturday, we received calls in five of seven categories. Results included 10th in dessert (with a blackberry cheesecake), 5th in Anything Beef (with a grilled ribeye steak and grilled shrimp), 5th in beef sirloin roast, 1st in chicken and 2nd in pork. Overall, Sloppy Creek finished 8th overall in a very tough field of 41 teams.

(6/22/2009) - Big Creek BBQ has received an invitation to compete in the Chest to Chest National Brisket Championship. This special event will take place in Great Bend, Kansas on July 10, 2009. The team qualified for this invitational competition by winning the brisket championship at the Blue Springs BBQ Blaze-Off in Blue Springs, Missouri in September, 2008. After this event finishes, Big Creek BBQ will once again join forces with Lee Keith of Sloppy's Backwoods Smokers to compete as Sloppy Creek BBQ in the same location during the Central Kansas Barbeque Championship.

(6/20/2009) - Big Creek BBQ was back in competition mode over the Father's Day weekend, this time in Sedalia, Missouri at the Missouri Blues and BBQ Festival at the Missouri State Fairgrounds. Jeff's father came down from Odessa, Missouri to hang out and watch the team in action. Results included a 4th place finish in both chicken and ribs. Pork and brisket both finished 13th. There were 28 teams entered in this year's contest. Daughter Taylor once again captured the Grand Championship in the Kids Q 5-10 year age division for the second time in three years at Sedalia. She finished in first place in both hamburger and sausage to take the title. She now possesses one of the largest trophies that Big Creek BBQ has accumulated over five years!

(5/23,24/2009) - Big Creek BBQ joined together again with Lee Keith of Sloppy's Backwoods Smokers to compete in the Great American BBQ Invitational and Open contests in Bonner Springs, Kansas over the Memorial Day weekend. Competing as Sloppy Creek BBQ, the team qualified for this invitational by winning the grand championship at Warrensburg, Missouri in July, 2008. The invitational resulted in a 4th place in pork and 7th place in ribs and 9th overall out of 44 teams. The open contest saw Sloppy Creek finish 8th in brisket and 18th in pork to finish 21st overall out of approximately 165 teams.

(5/2/2008) - Big Creek BBQ continued the 2009 season at the Richmond, Missouri Mushroom Festival. In this event, we took 6th in pork and won our first-ever championship in ribs, taking first out of 23 teams. Overall, Big Creek BBQ finished 5th.

(4/11/2008) - Big Creek BBQ opened the 2009 season at Osage City, Kansas where we finished 2nd place in chicken and 9th place overall out of 69 teams.

(10/5/2008) - Big Creek BBQ again teamed with Lee Keith of Sloppy's Backwoods Smokers to compete as Sloppy Creek BBQ at the American Royal Barbeque. Due to the championship at Warrensburg earlier in the year, we got to compete in our first ever Invitational contest. We didn't fair so well, finishing in the lower third of the field. However, the next day in the Open Contest, Sloppy Creek finished 24th out of 450 teams!

(7/12/2008) - Big Creek BBQ teamed with Lee Keith of Sloppy's Backwoods Smokers to compete as Sloppy Creek BBQ during the Johnson County Fair BBQ Cook Off in Warrensburg, Missouri and captured a Grand Championship! The team took 1st place in chicken, 1st place in pork, 6th place in ribs and 6th place in brisket to win the overall title by a total of over 13 points ahead of the reserve grand champion team. In addition, the weekend was rounded out with a 2nd place in desserts and Taylor winning the Kids Q championship in the 5 to 10 year old division!

(9/8/2007) - Big Creek BBQ celebrated their first ever Reserve Grand Champion finish at Blue Springs this weekend! They finished poorly (30th) in chicken but strong in all other categories to finish second overall to Smoke on the Water. Big Creek's 662.2854 total score was 0.5718 points out of first place! Tammy's mom and dad and Jeff's mom were present at the awards to witness the announcement. Also this day, Taylor took 3rd place in the age 5 to 10 Kids Q. This gave her 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th place finishes in 2007!

(8/13/2007) - Big Creek BBQ traveled to Dillon, Colorado to compete in the BBQ at the Summit contest. Dillon is at 9,100 feet elevation! Our niece Ashley came in from Michigan to go with us to help as we were vending BBQ to the public. Taylor and Ashley entered the Kids Q as well with Taylor taking Reserve Grand Champion (2nd place) in the 5 to 10 year old group and Ashley took 3rd place in the 11 to 15 year old age group! Big Creek finished 10th in pork and 34th overall out of 67 teams. We took a much-needed break and stayed another day in Colorado to relax and do some sight-seeing before driving home on Monday. Serious injury was avoided when Jeff's BBQ van blew a tire going 75 mph on I-70 in eastern Colorado on the trip home. Luckily, he was able to get the van out of traffic ands over to the shoulder without losing control and after a sweaty job of changing the tire, the trip home continued with no further incident!

(6/16/2007) - Taylor captured her second Grand Championship in Kids Q in as many seasons with her title at the Missouri Blues and Barbeque Festival in Sedalia, Missouri. This contest required kids to enter two categories, sausage and hamburger. Taylor took first place in hamburger to propel her to the title!

(5/27/2007) - Big Creek had a successful contest at the Great American BBQ held Memorial Day weekend at the Woodlands Race Track in Kansas City, Kansas. Jeff and Tammy finished 16th place in brisket and in the top 60 in the other three categories to finish 12th overall out of 212 teams.

(4/28/2007) - The 2007 season continued for Big Creek BBQ this weekend when we competed at the Osage River Bottoms BBQ and Blues Festival in Warsaw, Missouri. Big Creek finished 2nd in brisket and 4th in ribs. This was the first time in Big Creek history that we finished top five and earned team of the year points in ribs. Previous best was 6th place at Columbia last October. We finished 7th place overall. Also, during this contest, Stan Hays, also of Pleasant Hill, Missouri, joined Big Creek BBQ on a part-time basis. Stan has a lot of barbeque experience but is new to the competition circuit. He will be a great help to Big Creek BBQ!

(4/24/2007) - Big Creek BBQ gained it's second KCBS Certified BBQ Judge when Tammy attended the CBJ class in Sugar Creek, Missouri tonight. The class was taught by Rich and Bunny Tuttle and the cooking was done by Rick Kline (Road Hogs BBQ).

(4/13/2007) - Big Creek BBQ fired up the pit and got 2007 rolling in a wet and cold way at the first annual Capital City Cook-Off in Jefferson City, Missouri. This event drew the biggest names in BBQ and it showed. Big Creek BBQ came in a respectable 25th out of 66 teams entered. The weather didn't help. we experienced rain, sleet, cold, snow and wind all within a 36 hour period. Check out the photo gallery for some shots of just how miserable it was.

(9/9/2006) - Big Creek BBQ took home first in chicken and fourth in pork at the Blue Springs BBQ Blaze-Off in Blue Springs, Missouri. We finished 12th overall out of 76 teams. Our ribs and brisket scored too low to finish higher overall. Tammy also scored first place in the mild salsa category.

(8/5/2006) - Taylor scored the big one! She placed first out of 18 kids in the 5 to 10 year old age group Kids Q at the Laurie Hillbilly BBQ Contest in Laurie, Missouri. She received a blue ribbon, a trophy and a $50 savings bond. Big Creek could do poorly all year and this would have made our season a success. Talk about a proud dad and mom! Congratulations to Taylor!

(7/15/2006) - Big Creek BBQ traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan this weekend for the Taste of Grand Rapids BBQ Competition. We scored a 10th place finish out of 56 teams with our highest places being 3rd in pork and 8th in ribs. The contest itself was a little disappointing in that water and ice were far away, the few restroom facilities they had were filthy with no paper products and not much attentiveness to teams by organizers.

(7/1/2006) - Big Creek BBQ took another step in our growth on Saturday with our first ever first place finish in a category. At Cameron's Crossroads BBQ Cook-Off, Big Creek scored a first place finish in brisket with a score of 172. Additionally, we scored a 172 in pork to receive our first ever 2nd place award. Overall, we were very honored to have finished in 4th place out of 35 teams, including several very successful and respected names.

(6/3/2006) - In what has been our biggest success to date, Big Creek BBQ came away with third place overall at Platte City, Missouri, trailing only Smokin' 101 and Smokin' Guns in the final tally. We received three ribbons (chicken, ribs and pork) with pork (5th place) being our highest finishing category.

(5/27/2006) - With the big guns showing up from all across the country, Big Creek BBQ went up against some of the best barbeque folks and finished 63rd of 217 teams in the 2nd Annual Great American BBQ at the Woodlands grayhound and horse racetrack in Kansas City, Kansas. Our best showing was 29th in pork and 54th in brisket. The contest is a very well run event with volunteers catering to every need of the teams. It included a balloon rally/glow and an incredible fireworks display. Our team hosted a dinner on Friday night for family and friends.

(4/29/2006) - Big Creek BBQ continued to be on a roll to start the 2006 season. At the Osage River Bottoms BBQ and Blues Festival, Big Creek finished 3rd in chicken, 3rd in brisket and 6th overall out of 34 teams. The weather was horrible as we saw lots of rain but everyone survived and had fun.

(4/15/2006) - Big Creek BBQ got our first call at Osage City. In only our fourth contest and third KCBS sanctioned event, we placed 4th in Chicken, good for a trophy and a paycheck. Overall, Big Creek BBQ finished 21st out of 65 teams entered. Hank Smits has decided not to continue in competition barbeque and to instead focus on his real estate career. Big Creek BBQ is now Jeff and Tammy with support from Taylor!

(4/11/2006) - The Big Creek BBQ smoker is now home! Jeff picked it up in Columbia today. It is a beautiful piece of equipment, although Jeff lovingly refers to it as his baby. The Spicewine single axle trailer smoker has 23 square feet of cooking space and an large water pan that replenishes itself from a reserve as levels drop in the cooker. It's double walled and insulated to hold the heat and gets up to 4 hours on a single load of charcoal. For photos, visit our smoker page on this Web site.

(3/25/2006) - Big Creek BBQ participated in the Kookers Kare Charity Cook at the Wyandotte County Fairgrounds in Kansas City, Kansas. This is the 10th year for Kookers Kare, a 501(c)3 organization that raises money all year and purchases meat to cook at this event. The meat is donated to Harvesters who distributes it to needy families and shelters throughout the Kansas City area. As our smoker isn't quite ready, we took part by volunteering our services to help with the fish and fries dinner served to all volunteers on Friday evening, clean up, wrapping of cooked meat and whatever need there was. Aproximately 20 teams came out to help the cause.

(2/11/2006) - The "contest-mobile" rolls into our driveway on Saturday afternoon, February 11. Jeff has purchased a 2002 Ford Club Wagon van to haul contest supplies and pull the new smoker that will be arriving in a month to six weeks. It's a good running vehicle with fairly low mileage and lots of space for equipment and sleeping at contests. The plan is to have Big Creek BBQ Competition Team, Pleasant Hill, Missouri and the Web site address placed on the side rear windows and some sort of personalized license plates ordered.

(2/10/2006) - Big Creek BBQ launches new Web site featuring the newly designed logo by Patrick Carlson at www.bbqlogos.com. It also contains our 2006 schedule of contests and an online team store. It will be updated with news, recipes and photos as the season progresses.

(1/29/2006) - Head Cook Jeff Stith traveled to St. Louis, Missouri on January 28, 2006 to complete the KCBS Certified BBQ Judge (CBJ) class taught by Ed Roith at St. Richard's Catholic Church.

(1/22/2006) - Jeff and Tammy Stith attended the 2005 KCBS Awards Banquet at the Clarion Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri on January 21, 2006. KCBS Team of the Year Twin Oak Smokin' Crew accepted their honor to highlight the evening. Also, friends from Squeal of Approval were awarded 10th place for 2005 in Chicken.

(1/20/2006) - The order has been placed! Big Creek BBQ Head Cook Jeff Stith has selected the Spicewine Smoker as the "weapon of choice" for 2006. Jay Curry, owner of Spicewine Ironworks in Columbia, Missouri, makes outstanding quality insulated cookers that are fast becoming a big name in the BBQ world. The smoker will be built and ready by mid to late March, plenty of time to practice with it before Osage City, Kansas.

(10/22/2005) - We thought our brief initial season was over after De Soto... not so. Got a call from Kurzweil's Meats in Garden City, Missouri asking if we'd enter their newe contest and for $100 entry, we figured this non-sanctioned event would help edge us along the road to success. The contest used KCBS rules, contest reps and computers. There were only eleven teams entered. Big Creek took home it's first "hardware", getting 4th in ribs and 7th in both chicken and brisket. Each earned a small plaque. The weather was cold and miserable and we were glad it was over! Taylor competed in her first Kids Q and while her results were not outstanding, she did earn a plaque for her work. Hank did not cook this one with us.

(10/15/2005) - We followed up our initiation to the world of competition barbeque by competing in the Kill Creek Farm BBQ contest at De Soto, Kansas where we were more encouraged by the results. We finished tenth in chicken (and didn't get our name called because they only called the top five!) and 16th overall out of 35 teams.

(10/1/2005) - In our inaugural barbeque contest, Big Creek BBQ (Jeff Stith, Hank Smits and Tammy Stith) learned a lot of valuable lessons and just how far we need to go as we finished 400th out of 475 teams at the world's largest barbeque competition, the American Royal Open. We ended up being on the "dark side" of the contest area where all the big corporate parties took place. We weren't prepared for some of the things we saw!

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