I’ve always heard that if your goal doesn’t excite you and scare the hell out of you at the same time, then it’s not big enough.
I put that quote to the test without even knowing I had a goal.
Could this ‘Querator & ‘Que Crew operate Apostle ‘Que without Pitmaster, Joshua Jones?
Abso-effing-lutely!
Josh asked me “hey, what do you think about Huntersville Hay Days? I’m out of town and I really want AQ to participate.” Me having some weird burst of confidence, “Let’s do it! I can do it! But someone’s gotta drive the AQ Mobile.” Nic piling on with his total confident yolo self, “I’ll get us there! But someone’s gotta do the cooking.” Me, fully forgetting my imposter syndrome existed responded, “I can handle the food. After all, I am a KCBS judge and from Texas. I’m sure bbq is in my DNA.”
Then the immediate ‘what did we sign up for’ scaries kicked in. I questioned our ability to get the trailer there, while Nic questioned our ability to smoke bbq. Nic and I struck a deal, I wouldn’t stress over the AQ Mobile and Nic wouldn’t stress over the food. Deal!
We each learned what we could from the AQ Pitmaster himself before he left.
It wasn’t until two nights before the event that it actually hit me. I’ve never smoked anything ever, except our cheez-it’s. Let alone, trim a brisket! I’ve actually been banned from cooking bacon in our house, how in the heck am I going to keep a live fire going for hours?!? And you want me to serve this to the public?!
Who signed me up for this?!
Next thing I knew, I was out of learning time and Josh was away.
The day of the event arrived. It was 1am, I was sitting on the floor of the trailer, tears in my eyes, asking the smoker “how do I know if your coals are ready?” I sent out a pleading text to our ‘Que Crew to only receive a google screen shot reply from our newest ‘Que Crew Member, Jeff. In utter defeat and panic at 1:30am, I called Josh, who very tiredly explained to me how coals turn grey and gave me a few words of encouragement before hanging up on me.
Start the actual fire, check! Now, just to actually smoke the meat.
Surviving my first “I’m not ok” attack, it was 2am and I sat in front of the smoker, sipping an espresso, intensely staring at the thermostat, waiting for the right temp of “low” to match my “slow”.
Over the next 14 hours I watched the meat so closely, I was like a private investigator out to catch a cheater. In between my meat investigations, the smoker and I would have some intense talks about her temperature regulation.
“Look chick, I get it, it’s windy, it’s raining and I just fed you a seasoned log, could you please just increase a few degrees?” And “What is your deal? I left for like 20 min and you decide to get all hot on me.” And “You win! I guess the meat will be done when you say it’s it’s done. Fine.” And “Listen lady, I know you’re holding 3 briskets and 8 Boston butts, it’s a lot of meat, but, if you could be done cooking soon, I would be thankful.”
The early morning with her went by in 20 minute intervals. The sun slowly crept up reminding me that there were only a few hours left until opening.
With each break of sunlight I hustled the truck to get ready to roll. Then, it was go time! Nic appeared with his ‘I’m gonna get us there’ swagger and we were off to Huntersville.
One wrong turn and a curb tap later, we arrived in plenty of time for AQ Transportation Engineer Nic to navigate the parking lot. Let the record show, no cars were hurt in the making of his wide left turns.
We were parked and ready to set up.
I headed to the smoker like a nervously excited child on Christmas morning. I carefully pulled out a tightly foil wrapped pork shoulder, ripped off the foil present wrap only to be smacked in the face with a woodsy hickory scent. There she was, the happiest pig I’ve ever seen! In her pure pork perfection, her shoulder bone glided out and she melted through my fingers.
I reached for the pinnacle of all meat presents, the brisket. As I whispered to myself “please let this be good” over and over, I sweetly maneuvered the folds of the layered foil over the cutting board to retain the beefy juices, ultimately revealing a salt and pepper grainy bark gripping onto an aerodynamically trimmed brisket from what I assumed came from the ‘Dick Butkus’ of the cow herd. Powerful, beefy, relentless, and intimidating.
The clock struck 2pm, the Meat & Greet window was open, and this ‘Que Crew was ready!
Our first order came in!
Jamming along with Red Hot Chili Peppers,
‘Que Crew newbie Jeff pulled together his first ever AQ plate with such ease. A heaping pile of meaty goodness here, rich and smokey beans there, velvety golden mac and cheese neighboring the beans, golden Hushpuppies tossed in, and sweet crunchy coleslaw delicately placed for the perfectly delicious meal a three compartment tray has ever held.
Wrapped in a protective thank you bag, the tray was passed into the hands of a very lucky customer. Served with a smile, words of encouragement for a fun time, and a silent prayer that they would enjoy their meal.
The moment of truth arrived when a gentleman came to the window. He proceeded to say (pause for dramatic effect) “this is the best brisket I have ever had.” I lit up with excitement!
A few minutes later, another gentleman, then a family, and another guy named Joe, who came by five times, each time ordering more and more, all raved at how delicious the food was. (Hi, Joe!)
As the sun faded into the night sky, my heart melted in joy, love, and gratitude and appreciation for everyone that came to the window to meet us.
Our night came to a close as this ‘Que Crew stood outside watching the fireworks. Each of us staring at the color burst in the sky and then at each other saying “I can’t believe we pulled this off.”
What started as Josh making a seemingly innocent request transformed in to a goal dripping in excitement and scaries.
That fateful Huntersville Hay Day, this ‘Que Crew conquered fears, banished imposter syndrome, made new friends and served up some damn good bbq. Thank you Huntersville!
Until next time, may you be surrounded by great friends and better bbq.
Your ‘Que Crew,
Pitmistress, Jen Jones
Pitmobile Engineer, Nic Sacco
Pit Sidekicks, Jeffrey Sacco & Jeffrey Clarke
