Page 32 - Barbecue News Magazine September 2021

Tips for Flying Cooks:
• Cheaper grills can be bought in the state and then donated for kids awards or door prizes
• Smaller grills, like PKGOs, can fit in large suitcases and Craftsman boxes, with a little disas- sembly and padding.
• Remove heavy cast iron grates and replace with a lighter rack made from old metal smoker racks. (Your back will thank you)
BIG D' Danny Montgomery ar- rives in Homer, Alaska and points the way to the SCA cookoff.
Rodney Jones and Danny Montgomery take in the shoreline in Homer, Alaska.
A few days later, SCA vol- unteers from all over showed up to make sure the SCA kicks off the first Alaskan cookoff with a bang. Volunteers gave of their time to join Ken Phillips and Brett Gal- loway at a judging class. On the day of the event, the newly certified judges were surrounded by an army of Prime Judges and seasoned cooks offering mentorship on slicing a
• Try TURO! This new car rental service (website/app) al- lows you to rent cars from locals. Similar to the concept of AirBnB/VRBO. Rates are similar to other rental car compa- nies.
ribeye loin, steak selection, and managing the flow of a four-turn-in event. Three Bears, a local business, ensured that quality steaks, pork chops, and Boston butts were available.
Cookoffs would not be possible without folks like Arizona- based judges Tatianna Bitsilly
• Borrow, borrow, borrow! Reach out to the promoter to see if locals have tables, chairs, spatulas, etc.
Destination cooks like Alaska provide a great mix of locals and travelers. One can literally show up, fish for seafood, and turn it into an ancillary later in the week. Tracey and Heather Hayes, invited us to join them on their salmon fishing trip. We brought in quite the haul, thanks to a few tips. Later that week, we could repay the favor when Rodney provided a “grill marks 101” class in their home.
Rodney Jones catches his 4th salmon of the day.
Jackson Hayes, Kids Pork Chop Champion.
and Chip Lewis. They have logged several frequent flier miles lately, traveling to Lib- erty, TX, Salem, OR, Semi Val- ley, CA, Bakersville, CA, and Fort Worth, TX. Another group of judges flew up from Georgia and Florida, including Earle & Martha Theus, Thomas & Sue Rodgers, and Jerry & Amy Buchan. Big D’ Danny Mont- gomery also came to support judges and encourage first- time and veteran cooks.
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John Green took home the top prize for Steak. The pass down Golden Ticket went to
Alaskan Tracey Hayes, who is excited to join us in Fort Worth. Tracey’s son, Jackson took home the top prize in the kid’s pork chop event!
If you missed your chance to cook in Alaska this year, you will get another in 2022. Local organizers are working on
IMG 3190: 1st place winner John Green passes the Golden Ticket to loal Alaskan cook, Tracey Hayes.