Page 14 - May 2021 Barbecue News Magazine
P. 14

bbq trends
The Secrets Out! Seasonings That Are Shaking Up the SCA
 CHRISTY JONES
bigdsqtn@gmail.com
  Zipping around on his golf cart, long-time Rep Danny Kennedy did more than ensure the day’s events went off without a hitch. If you could catch him at the SCA World Championship this past March between long runs across the auditorium grounds, you might be fortunate to hear him talk about how the SCA world has grown and is changing.
On one of his stops, Danny stayed long enough to talk about how the number of seasonings coming out on the SCA trail is growing. The golf cart rolled the opposite direction. What he said stuck in my mind.
When I started attending SCA events in June of 2020, I was a spec- tator. Recovering from chemotherapy, I had the privilege of sta- tioning myself in a rocking chair under Joey Gilmore’s tent (Heavenly Manna out of Wenasoga, Mississippi). I had the advan- tage of watching and learning from Joey and a prime location in view of the other cooks’ tents.
It became evident to me at the first contest in Hartselle, AL, every cook in view had on average three to five seasonings. Some with shiny labels, some with black tape around the bottles, and some in unmarked bottles. When awards were called out, each person might share one to two seasonings. The names called out were often the usual suspects that are popular in the SCA.
While I had no plans to be a cook at that time, it got this girl to thinking. How many seasonings are sprinkled on beef each week- end that are the best kept secrets out there?
Since last June, I learned that there are secret flavors, and there are also various approaches how to apply them. Some layer each side with an even coat, some have specific finishing dusts, some have a formula of what to put on each side of the steak, and some mix all the seasonings to form one layer of multiple products.
The other big realization was that some cooks were hand-making their own mixture, often providing to friends to test out. Friends, three of those secret seasonings have been released for commer- cial sale in the last six months and I’m not good at keeping se- crets.
I had a chance to interview the developer of each seasoning. While you may not have heard of each yet, with the pace each is currently dominating SCA contest, you will.
Each seasoning is available at bamabbqsupply.com
STEAK OUT by Big D’s Q
– Developed by Rodney Jones
I know, I know, I am biased on this one. But you can not ignore its performance in the last 9 months. STEAK OUT has only been available commercially for three months. Even as its handmade version was being tested, it picked up several wins.
Wins of Notes in the Last 9 Months for Big D’s Q:
World Championship Finalist
Three Golden Tickets
2nd Place Alabama State Championship Grand Champion
21 Top Ten Calls
How would you describe your primary flavors?
I wanted to create something to compliment beef, primarily steak and brisket. I was tired of having to buy several ingredients when we cooked briskets. I play around with the flavors until I was happy with it and realized the seasoning goes great on everything.
What inspired you to sell your seasoning commercially?
We had so many people asking to buy while we were still making by hand, it just made sense to add it to my Father-in-laws World Champion seasoning line. The first week we got our product from the co-packers, we sold 22 cases. Each time we win, more people
want to try it. We are very thankful it has done so well.
How does it feel when someone gives your sea- soning a shout out?
People take pride in what they are cooking when they take photos. We are very humbled to see all the social media posts showcasing how they are using STEAK OUT. My buddy, Chris Turner from Corinth, MS, has tried to test out my claim in is
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MAY 2021





































































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