2009 Competition Schedule

Here are the first few events of the 2009 season.

• Red, White and BBQ, Westmont, Il – May 23 and 24
• Main Street BBQ, Blues and Cruise, Taylorsville, IL – May 29 & 30
• Flat Branch BBQ in the Park, Mowequa , IL – June 5 & 6
• Elk Grove Rotary Ribfest, Elk Grove Village, IL – June 19 & 20
• Illinois State BBQ Championship, Shannon, IL – July 10 & 11

A Google search on the event name will usually get you more info including the exact location.

For all of these events, the first evening is the best time to socialize since we usually don't start cooking until 8 or 9. We're usually on site by noon and have everything set up by 2:00 or so. We do some trimming and seasoning of the meat during that afternoon and usually build our turn in boxes that evening, but we also have time to sit and have a beer and talk. On the second day we start turning in meat to the judges at noon and we'll be done with turn ins by 1:30. During that time we'll have some food to sample but we'll also be very busy. A lot of the other teams also give out samples during this time as well, so if you want to try the different team's food this is a good time, but please remember that all of the teams are very busy and probably wont have time to answer question. Visitors are welcome at any time but will be running around like nuts from about 11:00 on the second day until 1:30 so please don't be offended if we don't have time to sit and talk. After 1:30 we'll be cleaning up and waiting for the awards ceremony. Everyone is always welcome to help with the cleanup and pack up :) We're usually done packing by the time the awards are announced and back on the road shortly after they are over (usually by 5:00pm).

There will be more competitions throughout the summer and early fall and I'll update the schedule as we get closer to those events. I think the only other event in the Chicago area is in October at Lambs Farm in Libertyville.

A little more about us...

I am an avid outdoor cook with over 35 years of grilling and BBQ experience. I have been involved in BBQ and grilling competitions for the past 5 years. For the first four years I was a member of a team that was run by a good friend. When he stopped cooking competitions due to a business obligation my wife, Amy and I started our own team, Captain Ron’s Brew-n-Que. Our first year as a team was 2008 when we cooked in 8 competitions.

Our achievements in our first year include:

• Reserve Grand Champion at Elk Grove, IL
• First Place in Beef Brisket at Elk Grove, IL
• First Place in Beef Brisket at Menomonee Falls, WI
• First Place in Pork Ribs at Racine, WI
• Second Place in Chicken at Dubuque, IA
• Second Place in Sausage at Arthur, IL
• Fourth Place overall at Shannon, IL

In addition to the above we finished in the top 10 overall in 6 of our 8 competitions.

New sponsor!

We're thrilled to announce that Plowboy's BBQ has agreed to sponsor Captain Ron's Brew-n-Que for the 2009 season! Plowboy's was the 2008 American Royal Invitational Pork Champion and sells two incredible rubs; Yardbird Rub and Bovine Bold.

Thanks to Todd and Plowboy's BBQ!

Getting Ready for 2009

We're lining up out competition schedule for this year. We're probably going to expand our radius from home a little bit to be able to include more competitions. So far this year we've lost two competitions that we attended last year; Dubuque, IA and Menomonee Falls, WI. I have also heard rumors that the Racine, WI competition will also be canceled. This is a shame since all three were fun competitions and fairly close to home. Look for our 2009 schedule to be posted shortly!