Only a handful of legendary cooks have won every major contest, like the Memphis in May, the American Royal, and the Jack Daniels Invitational. Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q is among those rare champions. The California BBQ Association brings Chris Lilly to Los Angeles on July 27 - 29, 2007 for a master barbecue class.

Lilly makes promotional appearances at barbecue events, but rarely teaches an in depth cooking class. We discussed his travel schedule during an interview I conducted for the National Barbecue Association’s Q Magazine earlier this year “I don’t normally do a lot of cooking classes per se. I do a lot of catering, some appearances and lectures when I can fit them in…” he said, highlighting the very special nature of this opportunity.

Two separate classes will simulate a contest timeline: a night session to prep and begin slow cooking of beef brisket and pork shoulder, followed by a morning session with pork ribs and chicken. The timeline is geared for contest cooks, but the secrets of low and slow cooking will improve anyone’s backyard barbecue skills.

• Saturday session runs from 7 - 9 pm on Friday July 27, and from 8 am - 4 pm on Saturday July 28.
• Sunday session runs from 7 - 9 pm on Saturday July 28, and from 8 am - 4 pm on Sunday July 29.

Classes will be held at the L.A. County Fairplex in Pomona at a cost of $350 per person, or $400 for a married couple. Those flying in (Ontario airport is within a twenty minute drive, even during rush hour) can arrange for a cooker to use. More details and an entry form are on the CBBQA website.

About the instructor:

Chris Lilly is the head cook of the Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q Team.Their record includes ten World Champion titles, eight state grand championships across the Southeast, and numerous other victories not listed below.

Memphis in May World Championship BBQ Cook-off
1997 1st place BBQ sauce
1999 1st place BBQ sauce and 1st place Pork
2000 1st place Pork and Grand Champion
2001 1st place Pork
2002 1st place Pork
2003 1st place Pork and Grand Champion
2004 1st place Pork

American Royal International Cook-Off and BBQ Sauce Competition
1995 1st place White BBQ sauce
1998 1st place BBQ Sauce “Best Sauce on the Planet”
2002 1st place Chicken and Reserve Grand Champion
2004 1st place Brisket and Grand Champion

Jack Daniels World Championship Barbecue Contest
2003 1st place Pork

My barbecue team, Four Q BBQ, spent the weekend with twenty others competing at the Go For the Gold Route 66 BBQ Championships in the high desert town of Victorville, California. At KCBS sanctioned contests, teams competing for the overall Grand Champion title submit entries in chicken, pork rib, pulled pork, and beef brisket categories. Our first place in ribs and a solid fifth place in beef brisket netted us an eighth place overall.

Congratulations to Grand Champion All Hogs Go to Heaven, and to Reserve Grand Champion Otis and the Bird, both consistent performers on the Southwest barbecue contest circuit. Our team’s not quite at their level of repeatable success just yet, but we’re working on it!

First place trophy

The winning ribs. Photo by the BBQ Junkie

Auspicious street sign on the San Bernadino County Fairgrounds

Half Penny Kenny, one of our favorite BBQ buddies, brings us a bouquet of meat.

While parts of the country are still thawing from the long winter, we Californians are already out cooking real barbecue. Barbecue author and contest champion Ray Lampe will be teaching his competition secrets this weekeend in San Jose.

If you don’t own a smoker, or are flying in and can’t bring your equipment, other attendees from the California BBQ Association may be able to share space on theirs.

Classes start at noon on Saturday March 10, 20007 and continue through the night to simulate an actual contest timeline. See Eggs By The Bay or DrBBQ.com for more details.

Did I mention that I’m freelancing for Q, the quarterly trade journal of the National Barbecue Assocation? Now you know. I had the pleasure of interviewing barbecue cookoff legend Chris Lilly for Q’s second issue. Barbecue fans might recognize him as the host and executive producer of All Star BBQ Showdown and BBQ Championship Series. Both of these competition BBQ shows aired on the Versus Network.

For copyright reasons, I can’t publish that interview on this blog, but I can share an upcoming appearance where New Yorkers can meet Mr. Lilly.

March 12, 2007 New York, NY Madison Square Park (23rd Street and Broadway) Kingsford Charcoal presents the “Spring Forward, Get Griling” event. Grilling and barbecuing demonstrations from 7am - 7pm by champion pitmaster Chris Lilly, barbecue expert Rick Rodgers, and grilling authority Aaron Sanchez. The public is invited to celebrate the earlier start of Daylight Savings Time and get a jump on the grilling season.

Bitter Irony Alert: Most Manhattan residents don’t have outdoor patios on their apartments, and therefore don’t own grills.