Slap Yo Daddy BBQ achieves Way Out West three-peat
By Harry Soo
harsoo@yahoo.com
 Winning a Grand Championship in the highly competitive world of competition barbecue is an accomplishment – winning three back-to-back-to-championships is a rare feat, especially in California, where it’s not been done before. Slap Yo Daddy BBQ achieved this historical accomplishment at the Way Out West BBQ Championship in Stockton, California in May 2011.
It’s an honor to be able to say we’ve won three Grand Championships three years in a row at the same event, especially since Way Out West is such a great contest with some of the best teams in competition.
Our two-man team, Slap Yo Daddy BBQ has been cooking competitively since 2008 and has since worked hard to make our mark in the sport. I’ve cooked with several cooking partners over the years and my latest assistant cook is Benny Adauto who joined me last year.
The first win in our Way Out West three-peat came in 2009, when we not only won the Grand Championship, but also took home first place in all four competition categories – ribs, chicken, brisket and pork. According to the Kansas City Barbeque Society, this particular feat had never been achieved by a professional team in a State Championship contest with more than 25 teams.
 In 2010, we were once again called to the stage for the Grand Champion trophy – this time finishing first in brisket, fourth in ribs, eighth in pork and eleventh in chicken.
Our third win at Way Out West came on May 21. We finished first in ribs and pork, second in brisket and eighth in chicken among the 30-team field. I actually learned of the win while I was on the tarmac waiting for my Southwest flight to Las Vegas to take off – my teammate, Benny, was already there, preparing to compete at the Orleans Casino USA Barbecue Championship.
Despite our absence, we were well represented on stage – a fellow BBQ’r walked on stage with a cardboard cutout of my face glued onto a Home Depot paint stirrer to accept the check and trophy.
This really shows that competition barbecue is about more than just low and slow; it’s also about the camaraderie and friendships we are fortunate to share. We cheer loudly when they win, and they cheer loudly when we win. The barbecue community is like one-big family – and they keep us going during the long months of competition while juggling a 50-hour work week with the thrill and challenge of the weekend cook offs.
Benny and I are trying to make it to the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue this October. This prestigious contest is considered by many to be the Mount Everest of BBQ. To get an automatic invitation, a team must win seven grand championships. Otherwise, the team has to rely on a lucky draw, as only one Grand Champion is drawn from all the winners of that state. Each year, only a handful of teams out of 4,000 teams who compete are able to achieve an automatic entry. Our win at Way Out West was our fifth; and as of this writing, we won our sixth on June 4 at the Penn Valley BBQ Cookoff. We will have until August 31 to make the lucky 7th to earn an automatic invite to The Jack. More importantly, in doing so, we’re having tremendous fun cooking and putting our Fire, Faith, and Focus into what we love to do. The visceral draw of smoke, meat and rub brings out the joy from within. We look forward to continuing our goal quest and sharing in the support and camaraderie of our BBQ friends.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SLAP YO DADDY BBQ |
