Justin Tweedy, Award-Winning Griller, Creates ‘Ribs 4 Her Pleasure’

Justin Tweedy, Grand Champion winner at Pros & Joes BBQ Grilldown.

Q: Justin Tweedy, welcome to A News Cafe.com. I’m delighted to talk with you today because you and your team – “Ribs 4 Her Pleasure” – earned the Pros & Joes’ highest award as Grand Champion, with combined scores from placing 4th in chicken, 2nd in ribs and also 2nd in tri-tip. That’s quite a feat. Congratulations!

This is second in a series of Q&As with the winners from the Pros & Joes BBQ Grilldown, hosted by Results Radio on Memorial Weekend in downtown Redding.

So, before we get to the cooking questions, you know I have to ask about your team’s name: “Ribs 4 Her Pleasure”. Do you care to share how you arrived at that team name? Dare we go there?

We get that a lot, so I am not surprised you ask. The first year of Pros & Joes our name was Beyond Limitations, a group I had created to bring awareness to children with rare disabilities. I have a 9-year-old boy with Joubert Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder.

However, I was attending the culinary program at Shasta College and Chef Brad Peters pointed out that it was a great cause, but if I want to be successful in the restaurant world I needed a name that described what we were – something that was not easily forgettable.

I came up with a few other names, like “Tweedy’s BBQ” and such, but when we talked about “Ribs 4 Her Pleasure” the class was buzzing and I took notice. We are best known for our ribs, so it just worked.  It’s kind of funny but more people ask if our shirts are for sale than for samples of BBQ.

Q: I am not surprised to hear that. Well, your team name is certainly memorable, that’s for sure. Moving on to the team members, can you tell us a little about them, and what part each person played?

My team is all family. My kid brother Dustin Hale, who is now 21, has competed with me at all six  Pros and Joes. He has lived with me and has been my sidekick for many years, so sharing this passion and success with him means a lot. He knows my BBQ as well as I do, and is involved in everything. Dustin works at Kent’s Meats and Groceries in Redding.

Then there is my amazing wife Bryana Tweedy who I met in culinary school. She is what makes everything go, from taste-tester to toughest critic.  She currently works at Safeway in the bakery.

As far as the team; that is it. Every year we have many family and friends come enjoy the event with us. We would not be where we are without their support.

Q: And how about you, Justin Tweedy? Tell us a bit about you, please.

I was born and raised in Shasta County. I graduated from Anderson High School in 1999 and got my Associate in Science for Culinary Arts Hospitality Management from Shasta College. I am really close to having a degree in Early Childhood Education and Business as well. I am a definitely a family man. I met my beautiful wife Bryana while attending the Culinary Arts program at Shasta College.

We have three amazing children. Kacey is our oldest boy who will be 9 next month, then Noah, who just turned 3, and little Isabella, who will be 2 in September. I have worked at IHSS (In Home Support Services) as a care provider for the last nine years, but my passion is in the kitchen.

Q: Pros and Joes BBQ Grilldown is only six years old, but you’ve been there every year, too. Can you remember how you did each year?

The first year we entered a week before the competition and I had never done anything like this, so I was anxious. My brother Dustin and I took my little backyard BBQ up and only entered in the ribs category.  We cooked two slabs of ribs and came away in 2^nd place. Between the 2^nd place in ribs and the friendly atmosphere, we had to have more. We have got a call (or a trophy) every year. More importantly, every year has been such a good time. Family, friends and BBQ. How could you go wrong?

Q: What do you know now, in your sixth year of this contest, that you wish you’d known then about participating in barbecue contests?

Most importantly is just don’t stress, don’t change.  If you are entering a contest then you make good food already.  Don’t overthink things. Imagine the judges as your house guests, and make things the exact same way as you have a thousand times, and then turn it in.

Q: So, you won second place for ribs and tri-tip, and fourth place for chicken. Is that about what you expected?

Yes and no. I have been told how good my BBQ is, but at the same time, you don’t know if what you are making — the rubs or the smoke you are using — is what the judges are looking for.  It’s a bit intimidating seeing all of the amazing smokers at the event and I’m cooking on the BBQ that I use to grill burgers for my children’s birthdays.

It worked out perfectly this year.  I know there is a bunch of great head grill masters that attend every year – both Pro and Joe. I’ve tasted a lot of their food, so even though we hit our goal, it was by no means a given.

Q: Have you stuck to the same methods and recipes each year, or do you do something different?

For the most part yes, everything we use I’ve come up with myself, from rubs to sauces. Every once in a while I will adjust it a bit, more for what I think is missing or has too much of.  A small tinkering here and there but everything is how we’ve made it for years.

Q: I don’t want to steal any secret family recipes, but generally speaking, how did you ensure delicious chicken, ribs and tri-tip?

The biggest key is know your grill, if you’re not familiar with indirect cooking, look it up. It’s key, whether you have a little $25 charcoal grill or a couple hundred dollar propane gill. Ribs 4 Her Pleasure uses two $100-dollar grills from Lowe’s, and it works. As for recipes, I’ll give you two today. One for baked poppers, and the other is for the rub I created.

Q: It’s really nice of you to share those, Justin. Thank you. Now, about barbecuing, are there some things you like to barbecue more than others? Likewise, are there simply some foods you aren’t wild about barbecuing, and why?

To be honest; no. I love to BBQ, living in this northern California heat, just so I don’t have to crank up the AC or run the oven. I have turned my BBQ into an oven, and have used it to make everything from Competition BBQ on my grill to my own wedding cake.  Seafood can be a bit tricky, but with a bit of practice it’s not so difficult.

Q: Wait. Back up the bus. Did you just say you baked your wedding cake in your barbecue?

Yes I did. It’s a nice little story and ties in with Pros & Joes, actually. Bryana and I didn’t have a wedding or reception. Being two college students who were getting married, I decided to put my savings into our first house rather than the wedding. A couple of months after we got married it was the third year of Pros & Joes and we had family coming to town for the contest. So a couple of days before the competition I did my usual practice run, but I threw cake on the BBQ, too.

Yes, those are cake pans full of batter.

Bryana and I decorated it and we took it up to the contest and after the last turn in we got to share our wedding cake with our family and friends. It was really good and to be honest if we didn’t tell anyone it was made on the BBQ they would have thought it was baked in the oven.

The wedding cake layers were baked in the BBQ.

Q: Wow. I’m impressed. A barbecued wedding cake. That’s incredible, and it looks delicious.

Now, about the more pedestrian barbecuing, for people like me who wouldn’t dream of barbecuing a wedding cake. I’m a good cook, but I guess I’ve always let the guys handle the barbecuing. Consequently, I never really did learn how to properly barbecue. What are some tips – just basics – that should help people like me to overcome being intimidated by the grill?

You sound a lot like my wife. I don’t know what it is, but in the kitchen she is amazing.  On the grill she gets intimidated. I’m not sure if it’s the fire or the unfamiliarity with BBQ, or maybe she’s is an over-thinker, but she burns everything. She is much better now and that’s because she knows indirect cooking and has more patience with it. Best advice I could give is just have fun with it and keep practicing, Like anything, it gets easier the more you do it.

Q: Speaking of the grill, what are your preferences? Gas, wood or coal? Brine or rubs? Low and slow, or fast and hot? So many choices.

Depends on what you are cooking, A good steak, hot and fast. Chicken at 325 to 350 degrees,  but pork shoulder, brisket, tri-tip, or ribs I prefer the low-and-slow method. My BBQs are coal, and I use wood chips, too. I prefer rubs, and a little bit of sauce. I’ve actually got a pork butt on my BBQ now that I started at 9 a.m. , and it should be done in time for the Warriors game at 6 p.m.  I’ve got a nice rub on it (see my recipe for it, below), cooking it at 225 degrees with apple wood, and every hour I spray some apple juice on it. It’s going to make some great pulled pork sandwiches.

Q: Wow. That’s a fantastic idea about spraying the pork with apple juice, especially if you’re cooking it with apple wood. Very clever.
So, back to the contest itself. What’s the most difficult part about entering a contest like this?

The timing. At home you have all the time in the world to cook ribs, but at a competition, if the turn-in time is 12:30 p.m., that’s it. They need to be done and turned in. Making sure you have everything you need packed and ready to go is quite stressful, as well.

Q: Let’s say I work up the courage to join the Pros and Joes contest next year. How should I prepare?

Just do what you do at home, practice is the hardest thing for me meat is expensive so we BBQ when we can.  Leading up to the competition about a month out I will practice all three meats once just to mark down a rough time on each.  That being said, if you have the courage to enter, there is a reason for that. Just see it through.

Q: Yes, I think you actually hit the nail on the head for one reason I’ve not embraced barbecuing. Meat is expensive, and it’s a huge waste if I mess up and make something inedible. With baking, if I screw up, I’m just out some eggs, flour and maybe butter. The risk isn’t as great with baking.

We’ve covered a lot, and you’ve been so generous with your tips. Anything else you’d like us to know?

If I could I would just like to thank all the people that have become all my taste testers over the years, my sisters Erica Close, Tosha Valle, Anna Webb, and My father Jack Tweedy. Then the great minds I have picked to be able to make some good BBQ, Brother Vince Hill, Uncle Mike Foster, and my step father Mike Webb.  There are many more but this group of people are the reason I am able to do what I love to do. And you can find Ribs for Her Pleasure on our Facebook page.

Thanks for taking the time to chat with me today. Maybe I’ll see you next year at Pros & Joes BBQ Grilldown. First, I’ll need a catchy name …

Justin Tweedy’s Jalapeno Popper Dip

Mix the first 6 ingredients together. Spread in a greased, 2-qt. casserole dish. Combine panko, melted butter, Parmesan and remaining bacon in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over top of dip. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Or preheat BBQ to 375 degrees and cook for 20 mins. Serve with butter crackers, tortilla chips or anything. This is a knockout side dish!!

Justin’s Amazing Competition-Winning BBQ Rub

(Great on pork or chicken)