Saturday, August 27, 2016

It All Started with the Humble Little Phrase, "Hey Y'all.....I've Got This Great Idea!"

So how many of us have spent valuable time pondering the eternal questions of life?  You know the questions to which I refer:  what is the meaning of life, the afterlife, what grows in our belly buttons, why have the Olympics in Rio, where do babies come from, why was Top Gear cancelled, why do men have nipples, and why does the dog lick himself so gosh darned much?  Of course the obvious answer to the last question is because he can......we all know that one.  I've had a few original ones myself such as could one open a combination funeral home, crematorium, and BBQ pit all under the same roof?  Think about it, when someone dies, what do we in the south do?  We eat.  Crematoriums create a lot of heat, so why not use it.  I'm not suggesting we use the smoke from the crematorium, just the heat.  I'm not a savage you know.  Realistically, I'm just looking at it from a standpoint of convenience and efficiency.  You'd probably be surprised to note that not many people share an enthusiasm for my creative spirit on this topic and are actually openly resistant and borderline violent.  Hey, people laughed at the person that created the spork too.  With that being said, those of us in the BBQ Know, and I don't know really what 'BBQ Know' means but it sounds good, have many questions of our own which have often led to an evolution in the BBQ competition/business world.  Take for instance the whole concept of BBQ competitions.  Someone, somewhere had the bright idea of getting a bunch of friends together to cook some BBQ and see who did the best.  It's hard to argue that competitions haven't exploded across the country, and they all started as an idea in some guy's backyard.  Same thing with BBQ pits.  The original pit was a hole in the ground or at least some cinder blocks arranged so hot coals could be put under the meat in question.  Pretty simple to say the least and very effective, but someone said, "I wonder if I can come up with a better way?" Now a days, the pits have evolved into look like something NASA with the help of 'ancient astronaut theorists' would have created given the addition of minicomputers, flow valves, draft control systems, gravity feeds, pellet burners, reverse flow, rotisseries, off-sets, propane and/or electric (the horror), metal ones, ceramic ones, wood ones (mine are all made of wood), run by elves, voodoo, and other dark arts.  See my point?  On the money side of the equation, if you think there isn't a dollar to be made in the BBQ world, then you obviously haven't seen the approximately 2,840,223 sauces, 8x10+5 rubs, dozens of gadgets, tools, accoutrements, and just plain ol' goofy BBQ stuff.  Again, someone had the question, "I wonder if I bottle/make/print/build this, will anyone buy it?"  Sauce started out as vinegar, salt, and some pepper flakes until someone asked the question, "What if I add ingredient 'X' to this?"  I guess it is human nature to question things and to try to change or evolve what is there.  Just ask my wife.  I have had about 22, and that's not an exaggeration, variations to my BBQ sauce.  I just keep asking, "What if.....?"  I hope the questions never stop because that's what brings about change.  BBQ is no different.  10 years from now we probably will be using lasers powered by a flux capacitor and hydrogen gas to create smokey BBQ goodness.  That or going to your local crematorium.  Either way, it will be a result of someone asking, "What if...?"  OK, maybe not the crematorium, but you get the idea.  Y'all take care and Riley says....well nothing today.  He's too busy licking himself.  Stupid dog.

Jeffery S. Stone
Grandpa's Pride BBQ