03.14.08
Grill like a pro – Kansas City style, of course!
Have you ever been deep in thought in the midst of smoke rising from your Heat Beads® BBQ Briquettes barbecue and fantasised about becoming a professional griller?
The US professional circuit kicks off in Kansas City this weekend (March 14-15) with the North Kansas City Missouri State BBQ Championship. The state championships work on a system of points allocation, for the winners of the 15 to 20 events that may take place across the season. First place in just 3 or 4 of these events could secure you the position of state champion!
John Ryan, recent ‘griller extraordinaire’ at the Heat Beads® Degustation BBQ for Steven Raichlen, is a serious backyard BBQ chef. He travels the world, and particularly the US, entering BBQ world championships. John is moving to the US later in the year and hopes to be able to explore more of the renowned professional US BBQ circuit.
Drawing on his years of experience cooking on Heat Beads® BBQ Briquettes he hopes to tackle both the backyard and professional circuits, of course the ultimate being the Kansas City – The American Royal BBQ Contest, held in the first weekend of October. This is the largest contest of its type in the world and John describes it as, ‘really good fun’, having participated in the event before.
This festival is held over two days, with most contestants wishing to pursue the title of Kansas City BBQ Legend. This delectable event also involves a sauce competition and entertainment for all those who flock to Kansas City.
The Southern states in the US thrive on a barbecue culture, the pinnacle of which is Kansas City, Missouri. It is famous across the world for its unique barbecue style that involves char-grilling and wood smoking (mainly hickory wood chips) to infuse flavour into the food. According to the Kansas City Tourism Website today there are over 100 barbecue establishments in the Kansas City area, each boasting its personal house specialty from ribs, to pork, ham, sausages and even fish.
So if you’re sitting at your computer, still fantasising about being a Kansas City BBQ Legend, your dream may come true! Happy Grilling!
N Neufeld said,
April 8, 2008 at 12:38 pm
I happened on this website, linked from Steven Raichlen’s BBQ Bible website. I just wanted to say, I have lived in Kansas City for most of my life, and known in passing of the American Royal contest, and only very recently gotten hooked on grilling and smoking food…reading something like this post from halfway around the world makes me more appreciative of my city than I have been in a long time!
Cheers from Kansas City!