You Say It's Snowing ? Fire Up The Grill...!

I guess you all know by now that folks in Texas like their bar-b-cue.

Doesn't take much of a reason to fire up the ol' grill. The weather doesn't make much difference either! Rain, cold, hot, snow, or ice...all considered to be good for grilling! Freshly grilled meat from the outside, fresh baked bread from the inside! Talk about a winning combination of aromas! Makes my mouth water, that's for sure!

Of course, there always seems to be folks competing to see who's the best at the art of the grill! One thing I always wanted to do was to get a job as a taster! Not necessarily a judge, but a taster!

Thought you might like to read about just how seriously these cook-offs can be taken!

Houston team wins tailgating championship

By KEN HOFFMAN Copyright 2011 Houston Chronicle
Feb. 4, 2011, 4:02PM

FORT WORTH — Hundreds of fans crowded into Sundance Square to watch America's best parking lot chefs compete in the Bing National Tailgating Championship.

Or maybe they were just trying to stay warm.

Tailgating contestants started cooking at 5 a.m. Thursday and fans began gathering around 10 a.m. The temperature was 26 degrees at eatin' time.

When the smoke cleared, the Bull's Eye Tailgaters from Houston won the top prize of $15,000 and a gold-colored, fully functional gas barbecue grill.

It's a little glitzy.

The event was hosted by New Orleans Saints star Reggie Bush and Joe Cahn, the "Commish" of the Tailgating Institute of America.

The Bull's Eye team won the Houston semifinals back in November. The judges were former Texans lineman Steve McKinney, H-E-B president Scott McClelland and me. Ah, we remember those pork ribs well.

The Houston cookers defeated tailgate teams from Denver, New York, Phoenix, New Orleans and Seattle.

Do they even know what barbecue is in those cities? From now on, the winner of the Houston event should be given the national trophy to save everybody time and trouble.

The Bull's Eye team cooked (take a deep breath) brisket, jalapeño cheddar sausage, bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin, smoked Cajun sausage, beef ribs, pork ribs, Cajun pork tenderloin and chicken. Plus all the fixin's.

"We're a Southern state so we wanted to impress the judges with our volume of beef and other meats," said Jason Saldivar, who founded the Bull's Eye Tailgaters with his brothers Troy and Ray.

"This was definitely the coldest weather we ever cooked in. We were prepared with propane heaters, though. The biggest hurdle we had was timing everything so it would be hot off the grill when we served the judges. That's what we do: timing and execution."

ken.hoffman@chron.com

Gotta love guys that are always thinking ahead and prepared for the competition! Probably some good people to have on your team, don't ya think?

What say we have fresh coffee and hot chocolate in the kitchen! That way we don't have to mess with the ice on the patio table!