American Royal BBQ
 

Anyone going to the giant party disguised as a BBQ contest? Might be a little cool this year.

Some big-time competitors, as always.

Johnny Trigg. He will be inducted into the BBQ Hall of Fame.

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Myron Mixon.

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Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson's BBQ:

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And last but not least, Guy Fieri:

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The Royal sucks now. All the parties are "private tents." Like a big clique fest.
It used to be a lot more open and friendly. Now it's a big corporate dick sniff. Pass.

Hmmm... That's not my experience, but I know a couple of teams that compete every year. I don't know what it's like if you go down not knowing anyone.

yea prolly the dick-sniff crowd only .. a shame .....

Hung out a couple of years with the KCBT people and it was fun. That was early 90's though, so it has probably changed.

I went last year, and this wasn't my experience at all. I was welcomed into countless tents where I didn't know anybody. Only the ones with the private outhouse and such were really "off limits"...

Most parties are welcoming especially if you're willing to provide a small donation. We hang out with a team and bounce around to others. The whole thing is really an exercise in how ****ed it is to get in an out of the West Bottoms, though.

I've always wanted to go... and saw the episode on BBQ pitmasters.

I def wanna make it out this year, but probably won't because I am a baby making machine.

I used to go about five or six years ago. We were friends with a team from Waverly, MO. Very nice people. Always had a good time hanging out at their tent. But unless you are an invited guest to a private party, you're basically just a party crasher. So I would say if you've been invited to a private party tent, go for it. If not, be prepared to be treated like a stray dog sniffing around for food.

Johnny Trigg won this season of BBQ Pitmasters, cooking a couple of things he'd never cooked before. The guy is a master.

And the only thing bigger than Mixon's trophy case is his ego...

I was a bit surprised how foreign some of the proteins were to a couple of those guys. I mean tri-tip throws you for that big of a loop?

Heh, yeah, Mixon is an asshole as far as I can tell. I find it interesting that his team is only competing in the Open competition, not invited to the invitational. Must not have done very well this year.

I thought the opposite. When I first started going (corporate tent), there didn’t seem to be much to do for people not invited to a tent. The last couple of years, teams have been selling BBQ out of trucks, and the events seem more open to the public.

The thing I liked best is you could buy BBQ sauces from all over the country for $5 a bottle. Got some great stuff out there that you can't find in stores.

You have to remember that most competition BBQ teams (the ones that don't also run restaurants mostly) focus on a small set of meats/cuts, primarily because that's what competition requires but also partially because that's how they get so good.

Add to it that some of those guys, especially from the southeast, don't cook beef at all and it's easy to see how that happens.