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The Grilling Life

Brion Leshok works at Georgia Power in Forest Park. I don’t know what he does at Georgia Power, but I know what he does on weekends.

By day Keith Caine is a Regulatory Monitoring Analyst (???????).  But on weekends he’s a GRILLHEAD, transformed into KC’s Real Deal BBQ Catering.

Adam Lindler sees things differently. By day he’ll examine your eyeballs and fit your glasses. He’s been a licensed optician for years for Lenscrafters.

What do these men have in common….it’s called ”the grilling life.”

Brion started in the Navy, cooked at events along the way, developed a reputation with family and friends, and now spends his weekends as a competitor. The event this past weekend at the Atlanta BBQ fest was his third. His team consists of himself, best friend Chris, and brother in law Michael. The cooker he uses is a very unique design and by admission constructed of a “discarded propane tank, old utility trailer, and some scrounged up scrap metal” and was built in his backyard with the blessings of a “very understanding wife.” I hear that a lot.

Keith’s path to hot iron was cemented with the purchase of a used 150 gallon barrel cooker. After watching his Dad smoke for years, he began his own quest for smoking immortality in 08, won his first competition in 09, and started his catering business shortly thereafter.

Staying true to the beginnings of so many of these kinds of endeavors of love, his team consists of himself, his brother, and his Dad. Keith and the guys created their own signature rubs and sauces and his secret to success is the the old method of “low and slow” that so many still practice. Contact Keith for catering @ [email protected]. I tried it…it’s good.

 

Adam started following his primal instinct to grill meat over an open fire when he was at Clemson. His intramural college softball team was called The SwampCats, and now his catering business carries the same name. Adams progression through the smoker world started with a small Webber, then a custom brick and concrete concept in his backyard, then on to a used propane tank, then to the big boy world of Lang. In 2009 his team placed 4th at the Branau Barbeque competition. He’s the only guy at this weekend’s event I saw cooking brisket. Doing brisket the right way separates the men from the boys. The sampling I tasted was perfectly cooked, slow smoked over Pecan wood, a mild rub consisting of coarse salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, and paprika was all he used. Check him out at www.swampcatbbq,com.

 

The Atlanta Barbeque Festival is hosted by the Atlanta Barbeque Club. Some of the best bbq restaurants in the area participated in the event, and along with two days of great music was well worth the price of admission. The club offers discounts, road-trips, and monthly “meatings.” Whether or not you are a professional or backyarder you should join up and support the local smoking scene.

 

Here’s a simple rub recipe:

in equal amounts; cumin, paprika, garlic powder, granulated onions, chili powder, brown sugar, coarse sea-salt, coarse ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper.

My method for smoking large hunks of meat is to generously rub the meat with the dry rub, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, refrigerate overnight, take out the next day allowing the meat to reach room temp., and then placing on the hot grill. Always get your grill up to the temp you want first.

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