Meat + Poultry - February 2005 - 78

often influences the rollout of new
menu items.
Product developers regularly accompany the chain's Rib Team to contests to keep them abreast of what's
hot. "They (R&D) have to be able to
respond to market conditions and consumer trends," as they try new recipes.
One thing is clear, says Schmiesing:
Barbecue will always be popular. "It's
hand-crafted and has a quality halo
hovering around it," which consumers
are obviously gobbling, as evidenced
by Famous Dave's sales totaling $187
million in its most recent fiscal year.
Besides adventurous flavors and
zesty tastes, barbecue offers consumers the two attributes pursued by all
food companies. "It's a constant quest
for convenience and quality," says
Schmiesing.
Big guns
Ten years ago, Phil and Linda Hopkins began traveling to regional barbecue competitions along with their
two children. "It was a family thing,"
says Phil. "We camped, cooked and
enjoyed the competition." Within a
couple of years, the team, Smokin'
Guns BBQ, began winning a few
categories at some of the contests. The
publicity spawned a few catering jobs,
which led to more publicity. The trophies and prize money kept mounting.
They eventually won the prestigious
Jack Daniels contest and the American Royal.
Back then, Hopkins was working as
a metal fabricator by day, but he had
dreams of taking his "camping and
cooking" hobby to the next level. In
2002 his dream became reality when
Hopkins quit his job so he and Linda
could open the doors of their restaurant to the public in early 2003. With
trophies and ribbons covering nearly
every square inch of the restaurant's
walls and shelves, it's obvious Phil
knows a thing or two about selecting
the meat he uses to win contests and

now, to make a living.
When he was a rookie, Phil would
make a quick run into the nearest
grocery store and buy the first brisket,
chicken, pork butt and ribs he saw
in the meat case. After a couple of
years, he befriended a local butcher
who agreed to custom cut Hopkins'
meat for the competitions. He soon
realized the value of quality meats.
Nowadays, he picks through the thousands of pounds of meat delivered to
his restaurant and selects the ideal cuts a Cryovac
when a contest is drawing near. "My bag, for bephilosophy is 'good in, good out,'" he tween 30 days
says, meaning the product coming out to 45 days from
of the smoker is only as good as the the date on the
quality of the product going in.
package.
Cooking expertise is valuable, but
Next, he addresses his
there's no substitute for starting with preference for the pork
the right meat. "A good cook can only shoulders he cooks. Again,
make the difference between a good size is important, especially
piece of meat and a great piece of for a cut that cooks in the
meat,"
smoker for 12 to 14 hours. "I like
He rattles off his requirements for them to be 8 to 12 pounds each and
briskets like he's cooked thousands of two per pack," says Hopkins. "And
them...because he has. "For brisket, I they must be Cryovac packed and not
only use certified Angus or Prime, 12 frozen. I use Boston butts, with the fat
pounds and up, 72 pounds per case or cap on; quarter trimmed and bone-in
up," he says, leaning on a dolly full of - to give it a better flavor.
boxes emblazoned with Creekstone
Whole shoulders work best with the
Farms'
logo.
"I'll reject anything less. He
(the
supplier)
knows I like big
briskets."
When cooking large pieces
of meat, size
does
matter.
Cooks like Hopkins base their
recipes, cooking times and
temperatures
on a consistent
size cut. For
competitions,
Phil Hopkins knows a thing or two about selecting the meat he uses to
win barbecue contests and now, to make a living.
most cooks wetPhoto by Kevin Blayney
age briskets in
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