EYE QUE!

Blog Res-Que: Catching up since last year

2008-04-06T09:15:00.000-07:00

Well if you were a regular follower of this blog, which I doubt any one is, you would think that I've stopped cooking and given up of my quest for a championship. Not True! I actually just got lazy about my posting and it's now time to catch up and get the blog back on track. There's really nothing spectacular to report. None the less, I've made some changes in a all three of the regular categories (brisket, ribs and chicken) and I'm starting to see some good results which I hope will increase the number of calls this year. So here's where I've been cooking since my last post from July 2007:

September 14-15, 2007: Springtown Wild West Festival and BBQ cook-off. I won an 8th place in brisket. 38 teams entered.

October 5-6, 2007: Keller Lion's Club Cook-off. No awards received. 57 teams entered.

October 12-14, 2007: 24th Annual Traders Village Open and the Obie Cue Backyard Chicken Challenge. I made the finals table in the Backyard Chicken Challenge. 123 teams entered.

October 26-27, 2007: National Championship BBQ Cook-off, Meridian, TX. I made the finals table in Ribs and won a discount coupon to the 2008 event. 140 teams entered.

February 22-23, 2008: Irving Elk's Lodge BBQ Cook-off. Made the finals table in brisket. 48 teams entered.

March 14-15, 2008: West Volunteer Fire Dept. Cook-off, West, TX. I made the finals in all three categories with 114 teams entered. I came real close on this one.

March 28-29, 2008: Irving Knights of Columbus BBQ Cook-off. Made 7th place in Ribs. 27 teams entered.

So that gets us up to date since last year. This year looks like another busy cooking year. My cooking buddy and I have been invited to cook for under the Lost Gonzo Team name in the American Royal In Kansas City later in the year and we just might do it. Meanwhile, the next cook-off is next weekend in Decatur, TX and I promise a full report after the event.

Texas Allstar Shootout BBQ, West, TX

2007-07-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

Leave it to the good folks down in West to put on another great cook-off. This years event, held at the West Knights of Columbus hall, drew 72 teams, including many of IBCA's top cooks. This was also the added money event for the TxBA pit. Sweetening the pot always draws out the good cooks.

This was also the maiden voyage of my new smoker. I managed to get it finished just before the cook-off and was anxious to see how well it performed.

All in all it was a successful cook-off for me for several reasons. First off, the new cooker performed very well. I give it a grade of 90 with points deducted only for the poor performance of the latches I chose for the firebox door. Those will be replaced before the next event. As for cooking, I managed a ninth place finish in chicken and a finals table performance in the rib category. The chicken finish was a miracle because the first chickens I cooked exploded and the skin split into shreds. They looked horrible and I was not going to even attempt to turn them in. As luck would have it, my buddy Tony had some extra chickens in his cooler. He gave me one and I quickly preped it and threw it on the Big Green Egg with only an hour left before turn-in. I cranked the heat up some and it was done just in time. The rest is history. Many thanks to Tony for bailing me out on that one. Tony also did well in chicken with a seventh place finish. Congrats!

Father's Day 2007

2007-06-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

Well I know this isn't BBQ to the purest, but my family bought me a new gasser for father's day. I had my parent's over for lunch today and grilled up some chicken on the new grill. Pretty tasty if I say so myself. Not the same flavor as grilled on the BGE but it's faster to get started and it holds more food. I'm sure we will be using it frequently. Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there!

Colleyville Bar-B-Q and Chili Cook-off

2007-06-02T21:02:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite cook-offs of the year. One reason is it's close to home, but besides that, it's fun and it draws a lot of really good cooks. There is also a lot going on during the event. The event benefits the Texas Special Olympics and the event promoter, Det. Kevin Walling of the Colleyville police department did a heck of a job along with his fellow officers, the mayor and business men like Charley Hall of Hall's Grocery. I believe they raised in the neighborhood of $15,000 for the Texas Special Olympics.

Friday evening there was a free catfish cook-off for everyone. Donations for the TSO were accepted and they raised $1000 for the charity. Congrats to Robert Waters and "Big Robert" Erlason for a job well done.

There was also a chili cook-off Friday put on by the Texas Chili Association. I decided at the last minute to enter and cooked a fairly good pot but not my best. I didn't place in the top ten of the 35 teams that entered. One thing I can say was I did not come in "dead ass last", an award not claimed by any of the cooks.

The barbeque entries were the standard three, chicken, ribs and brisket. I made three good products and managed to reach the finals table in chicken and brisket. A little disappointing but not bad given the 75 teams that entered and the calibre of the competition. Better luck next time.

The next cook-off for me will be at the end of July in West, TX where I hope to unveil the new smoker.

Terrell Heritage Jubilee Cook-off

2007-04-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

The weather could not have been nicer for this cook-off. It was located in a city park with plenty of shade and electrical hook-ups which made it even nicer. There were plenty of cooks and once again some tough competition. This event was designated a Texas State Championship which put the winner in the Jack Daniel's Cook-off. 82 teams showed up to cook in the open division. No winners for me this go round but I did make the finals table in chicken and brisket. That put me in the top 20 or better both those events which isn't all that bad.

Congrats to Eric Holtzer of Deez BBQ for a 4th place finish in chicken!

Irving Knights of Columbus Cook-off

2007-04-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

OK.... I'm now officially in a slump. It's the dog days of BBQ cooking. This was my second cook in a row without a call. I was mildly bummed but I shall press onward.

The weather was really bad on Friday night. Torrential rains swept through dumped inches water on us all. At one point I stepped out of my motor home and found myself standing in about six inches of water. Fortunately there wasn't any bad winds or tornadoes. By Saturday morning, the bad weather had passed and it turned out to be a nice day.

I was hanging with the usual cast of characters, Robert, Dale, Tony and Sheila. Eric and Melissa came over Saturday to cheer everyone on. Despite my lack of success, the group did very well. Robert, a.k.a. Smokin Waters, a.k.a. Picnic Stick, placed first in ribs and second in brisket. It was good enough for him to receive the Grand Champion trophy. Congrats to Robert! Tony, a.k.a. Grillas in the Pits, placed second to Robert in ribs and 9th in chicken. I believe it was his first two calls so congrats to Tony! Another honorable mention was Brian, the Keller Steeler who got three 7th calls in his first IBCA event.

For me, I'll continue to work on my new smoker and hope for better luck next time in Terrell.

p.s. The dog belonged to someone in the area but took a liking to the cooks. I wonder why. Robert still owes me ten bucks because it was a Mastiff!

My Smoker Project

2007-03-27T08:08:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I decided I needed a more efficient and less labor intensive smoker than my current stick burner. I came across the Prairie BBQ Association Forum and started reading about gravity fed, insulated smokers modeled after the popular Stump's Smoker. Being from Texas, I has never seen or even heard of a Stump's. The closest think I've seen used around here was a Backwoods smoker. Anyway, I decided I would build my own gravity fed smoker and add a few modifications that I had in mind. I began drawing the plans and ended up with a cook chamber 40" tall by 30" wide and 24" deep. This was going to be big and heavy so I knew I would have to mount it to a trailer to haul it to competitions. After the plans were drawn I ordered the steel from a supplier I knew and prepared to start building. First off, I had to by a welder and learn how to use it. Yes, I had decided to build my own steel smoker and I had never welded a single scrap of steel. I bought a Hobart 140 at Northern Tool and a cheap plasma cutter from China off Ebay. Lack of experience had never stopped me from other endeavors. I had taught myself how to build and recondition old tube amplifiers just a few years ago with no experience in electronics. Before I knew it, I was welding decent beads and it was time to start my build. So far I have built the frame, drain pan and charcoal chute/fire box.
I think I have a few novel ideas that differ from the traditional "Stumper". I'm going to add a convection fan inside the cook chamber and well as a pellet feeder to serve as the smoke source. I've also decided on a tubular heat diffuser that will go across the full width of the cook chamber bottom. Construction is slow for it's cooking season and I've been going to a few comps. The weekends are about the only time I have to work on it. Maybe I should take a week off and knock it out.

Here is a link to a photo album with the construction picture up to now.

"LINK"

West Volunteer Fire Department Cook-off

2007-03-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

Went south to West for the annual West Volunteer Fire Dept. cook-off. This was my first entry in this event which annually draws a big crowd of cookers. In fact, most of the top cookers in Texas come to this event. The competition was tough to say the least. The event ended up with 101 teams entered. I hooked up with my buddies Tony, Eric and Robert and we cooked in the same general campsite. At the end of the day I didn't get a call to the stage despite some very tasty product. With a 101 teams and the top cookers you have to be on the very top of your game to get a call. Congrats to Eric for his 2nd place finish in chicken and to Robert for his 8th place finish in ribs. I'll be back to this one next year and try again. Those Czech folks in West know how to put it on.

Irving Elks Lodge Cook-off

2007-02-26T09:37:00.000-08:00

There were 35 teams that showed up for this year's Elks cook-off. That was reportedly down a bit form last year but there were two other big cook-offs in the state on this weekend. There were plenty of electrical hook-ups for the RVs which is always nice. The Elks provided a nice, full breakfast for the cooking teams on Saturday morning. The weather was a factor. There was a little rain overnight but the big storms that were predicted never hit. A front did pass through a with it was a strong west wind that nearly blew everyone away. Everything had to be tied down. The wind also brought half of the dirt from west Texas. The sky turned red and a fine layer of dirt covered everything.

I saw some old friends and met a few new ones as well.

As for the competition, I placed 4th in the Jackpot Pinto Beans, just one out of the money, an 7th in Pork Spare Ribs. My ribs have been very consistent an I had another good product this time. I was suprised by my beans, they were really good this time. I hope I can duplicate that effort next time.

The brisket and chicken were a disappointment. I'll have to go back to the drawing board and rethink what I'm doing. For the next few weeks I'll be working on my new pit and trailer. The next competition will most likely be in West where a big group and plenty of heavy hitters will be present.

LSBS COTY Cookoff, Fairfield TX

2007-01-13T06:40:00.000-08:00

This was the annual LSBS Cooker of the Year cookoff. I turned out to be a cold and very wet weekend. Only 22 teams braved the weather. We were fortunate though that there were metal sheds used for the local flea market on the grounds. Some of us pushed our pits under the sheds and we were able to keep mostly dry. Without some cover it would have been impossible and unbearable to cook. The sheds also had electricity so we had lighting and power for heaters etc.

The cooker of the year honor was given to Harvey Gebhard for the second consecutive year. He finished way ahead of the pack with 236 points. His closest competitor had 97 points. The cookoff had 4 entries, chicken, spare ribs, pork butt and brisket. I finished with two 4th places in spare ribs and pork butt. I also made the finals table in chicken and brisket. The top honors went to, you guessed it, Harvey Gebhard. Looks like the favorite for the 2007 COTY without a doubt.

Rowlett Noon Exchange Club Cookoff

2006-11-18T19:58:00.000-08:00

Not much to report on this cookoff. It was a small event with 15 teams participating. I made another decent showing with my spare rib entry by finishing sixth. My chicken entry tasted pretty good by my standards but didn't place. I was disappointed with my brisket entry. It was very tender but didn't have any smoked flavor. Tasted too much like roast beef. Not my best entry. I didn't have any oak wood and used only pecan. I'll buy more oak before the next event.

Fairfield Lion's Club Cook-off

2006-10-29T13:55:00.000-08:00

As I start making my way through my second year of cooking, I return to some familiar places. The Keller cook-off was my first cook-off in 2005 and I was glad to see they were able to double their attendance for 2006. The nice people of Fairfield and their Lion's Club were not so lucky. This year there were only 15 cooks at the event, down by about ten from last year. The Lion's had pre-sold plate lunches in the community and because of the low turn-out, they ran out of food. I hope they were able to work it out to every-one's satisfaction.

Despite the low turn-out, there were some "seasoned" (pun intended) veterans cooking and the competition was not at all weak. I had the good fortune of cooking next to the LSBS two time cooker of the year and I had a great time getting to know him a little better. I also had the pleasure of seeing some old friends and meeting a number of new ones.

As for the results, I had my best ever competition. I managed to place top ten in all 4 meat categories, and top 5 in two. The run down goes (in order of the event turn-ins): 5th place in chicken, 8th place in pork spare ribs, 7th place in pork shoulder butt and 3rd place in brisket. I was particularly pleased with my brisket finish as this was my first time to place in this category. My chicken finish was also my highest. We don't cook butts very ofter so it was nice to place here as well.

Congratulations to all the winners. I hope that the next Fairfield cook-off in January will be better attended. Just bring your long John's. Here are some photos of the awards:

WARNING!! FOOD PORN TO FOLLOW

Please bring a napkin.

Can you believe I forgot to take a picture of my best so fat brisket? Sad but true.

Until next time, smoke'm if you got'm.

Keller Lion's Club Cookoff

2006-10-08T10:55:00.000-07:00

This was a really nice event. The Lion's Club was well organized and they had a really nice turnout. There were 41 teams this year, that's double the turnout of their inaugural cookoff last year. I was very happy to place third in ribs at this event. There were some really good and experienced cooks in attendance. My ribs really turned out great. I also made it to the finals in the beans. My chicken was a disappointment. I haven't cooked enough on my new Big Green Egg to get the timing down. My brisket was dry, not a great effort. All in all though, my ribs saved the day and I am quite pleased.

My New Big Green Egg

2006-10-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

Well the Un-egg experiment convinced me I needed a real BGE. It wasn't that it didn't cook well, the problem was the ceramic pots didn't hold up to the temperatures and the travel. So I bought a large BGE, mounted it on my pit trailer and we're ready to cook. I did an inaugural chicken last night ant it tasted great. It was very moist. We'll see how it works in competitions ( as if it would be the fault of the egg).

Springtown Wild West Festival and BBQ Cookoff

2006-09-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

This was my first non-LSBS cookoff, and ICBA sanction cookoff. They had 38 teams enter which was up from 18 last year. A nice increase for the promoter. I found no real difference between LSBS and ICBA to tell the truth. The rules were the same and I saw several cooks that I have seen in LSBS events. Along with the cookoff there was a parade of locals and a craft fair on the square. The weather had finally cooled off, some anyway. I cooked the standard meats, chicken, ribs and brisket along with the jackpot pinto beans. I made the finals table with my beans and chicken but did not place. Brisket was a wash. I'm not sure what's going on in my brisket cooking. I thought this was one of the best products I've made. I guess the judges thought otherwise or the competition was really good. I did taste the first and second place winners and I must say they were very good indeed. My highlight of the day was a 7th place finish in ribs.

Seventh out of 38 isn't a bad showing and I was happy with it. Given the number of teams it was my highest finish of the year. This event marks the end of my "rookie" year cooking in competition. My next cookoff will be in Keller where it all started. I feel I've made some progress and I'm looking for some higher finishes next year.

Jacksboro Huff 'n Hair cook-off

2006-08-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

I think they should change the name to the Hotter 'n Hell Cook-off. It was really hot. I mean like 108. My results were disappointing overall. I did manage to get a 4th place in the jackpot beans which it my highest finish in that category. My brisket made it to the finals table but didn't place. My chicken fell apart and looked horible. No style points there. Not sure what happened with the ribs. I thought they were pretty good. So I missed my last chance to qualify for Meridian. Not sure that's a bad thing given the temperature will remain in the 100's. Better luck next year.

Hamilton Band Boosters Cook-off

2006-08-06T08:16:00.000-07:00

Well there were a number of brave souls that decided to endure the heat and cook at the Hamilton cook-off. Triple digit temperatures and hot fire boxes will really zap your energy. My success this weekend was mixed. I didn't do as well in my meat categories as I had hoped but I did have some new success in a couple of non-meat categories. This was only my second entry into the jackpot pinto bean category and I managed a seventh place finish. No money but a good effort.
Hopefully this will a good foundation upon which to improve. They were pretty tasty, and nothing fancy. Just good old pinto beans. Personally, I think they got a little too soft so I'll adjust the cooking time in my next effort.

The next entry was chicken. I had high hopes for my chicken this time. After all, I had made a new ceramic cooker just for the birds. Well I might not be a Big Green Egg, but I found out it my invention was still fragile like an egg. I pulled into the cook-off site to find the lower half of the cooker in about twenty pieces. Not a good start.

So the chicken went on the pit a usual and I really was not pleased with the outcome. It tasted great but not the way I wanted it. So I'll be going back to the garden shop for another planter. Next time I'll make sure that it is cushioned enough for the ride. The chicken entry made the finals table but no ribbon.

Next entry was pork spare ribs. I cooked them the same as I always do and got about the same result. A very decent product but not a winner. I got a 10th place ribbon. Not good enough for any money and not a qualifier for the Meridian cook-off.

The next meat entry was brisket. After reading some posts on a popular BBQ forum I decided to cook the brisket a little different this time. They say don't experiment at cook-offs but this was a definite experiment. The point of the experiment was to cook the meat faster and finish earlier so I could get some sleep and not be so wiped out the next day (or two or three). I kept the pit at about 325 to 350 degrees. The briskets were wrapped at 165 degrees and cooked until about 195 degrees. They finished in about four hours. I put them in a cooler and held then until turn-in time. The donation brisket was still hot a full 10 hours later. I did place the my entry back on the pit for an hour or so before slicing. It was still very warm though an incredible 15 hours later. I was very encouraged by the result. No ribbon but it made the finals table. The taste is very different that a brisket smoked for 15 or so hours.
Much less smoke taste so I will need to adjust the seasoning in the rub a bit for the next try. Definitely needed some additional salt. The product looked good in the entry tray so I think this is another good foundation upon which I can build. The six hours of sleep I got was a great improvement. The picture makes it look dry but it actually was quite moist. That's always a good starting point for brisket.

The highlight of the cook-off was a new category for me, dutch oven desserts. Since I have a good dutch oven on my rig I decided to give it a try. I researched recipes and decided to do something a little different than the usual dump cake cobbler. Fried fruit pies was to be my entry. Apricot-nectarine fried pies to be exact. Well there is such a thing as beginners luck. Although there were only six entries, I managed a First place finish! My very first cook-off trophy and finish in the money. An would you believe it, I didn't take a picture of the product.

The folks a Hamilton were very nice and put on a very nice event. I'll be back next year and I hope others will consider making the trip. It's hot and gas prices are high, but they put on a first class event and I have nothing negative to say about it.

The Un-Egg

2006-07-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

No cookoffs lately. I'm trying to go to two in August in hopes of qualifying for Meridian. I've been doing pretty well in the chicken category but never seem to get over the hump. Well I might have made progress this weekend. In an effort to make a juicier chicken, I thought I should try a ceramic cooker. Well, BGE's and Kamados are expensive, so I decided to make one. So here it is, The un-egg ceramic cooker.

I know, not a beauty queen, but it really worked. These ceramic pots were very heavy and held the heat very well. I put a couple of handles on the lid so I could easily lift it off and a good thermometer.

I cooked a whole chicken in about two hours and it was very moist. So you may see the un-Egg at my next cookoff appearance. Don't make too much fun of it.

Ellis County (Waxahachie), TX - Ellis County Youth Expo Center Trade Days

2006-07-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

Went to the cookoff this weekend in Waxahachie. They had a decent turnout, I guess about 18 teams. It was hot but not terribly hot. We were able to snag some free electricity from the pavilion building. Just enough to keep the AC running and the genset not running. I was pleased with my overall performance. I placed 7th in chicken and 8th in ribs. No money but it was my first time to win two ribbons. I guess that's progress. I was very disappointed with my brisket.
Every single digital thermometer I had failed. The one I thought I had working was giving false readings. I thought my brisket had hit 195 degrees but when i cut it I found it very undercooked and tough. I turned in some edge pieces bit they were not good enough. I'll have an analog thermometer with me for every cookoff from now on. Live and learn.

The Road Up to Now

2006-07-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

So let me review what got me to this point:

A couple of years ago I bought an inexpensive backyard smoker. It was a vertical type that used propane for the heat source and had a small wood chip box for the smoke. I really had some pretty good results. My family and friends liked the results which got me thinking I would like to get into this a little deeper, maybe go to some cook-offs. I reviewed the rules of various sanctioning organizations and learned that my propane cooker would be illegal. You had to use wood or charcoal for all of the heat. I started looking for a real pit. It took a while for me to find one, some were really expensive. I finally found one near by on eBay at a pretty good price. I actually made a bid at the starting price which was below the reserve price. No one else bid and the pit went unsold. I received an email from the seller with an offer to by at my original bid and I took it. That was in June 2005.

So this is the pit I bought. It was really a steal! I was very lucky to get on for the price I did. It was well seasoned, had good tires and pulled really easy.

My first time to fire it up was for the Fourth of July 2005. We were invited to our neighbors for a swimming party and everyone was going to bring some food. My wife decided I was going to bring ribs. Since I was going to go fire it up anyway i decided to also some a couple of butts (I know, this is Texas and beef rules). The first thing I found out was that tending a fire in July is HOT and a lot of work. I was constantly adjusting the damper to keep the temperature level. The end result though was the butts pulled easily with a nice bark and the baby backs were fantastic! The neighbors gave me a stamp their approval.

Time for a competition.

I joined the The Lone Star Barbeque Society and decided my first cook-off would be in Keller, TX at the end of September. The temperatures would be cooler and I could refine my technique some. It was also very close to home. The cook-off came and I set up under an EZ-Up. Cooked the brisket all night, sleeping a little in the back of my Tahoe, put the ribs on in the morning and the chickens a little later. Everything was done by their respective turn in times. I was tired and proud of my product. The awards ceremony took place and I won...Nothing. Very disappointing but realistically no unexpected. It was, after all, my first try and I was competing against some seasoned veterans of the society.

The next cook-off for me was about a month later in Fairfield, TX for another Lion's Club cook-off. Here I placed for the first time getting 9th in the chicken category. I was very excited to place. I learned though that sleeping in the back of the Tahoe could get a little cold!

Three weeks later I was in Rowlett, TX for the Exchange Club's cook-off. Once again I placed in chicken coming in at 8th. Now I really knew sleeping in the truck in November got very cold!

Well I quickly realized that the weather was going to be a big factor in these competitions unless I could came by some more hospitable quarters. A motor home was a must. It had to be a motor home because I could not pull both a travel trailer and a pit. Now to find one locally at the right price. I looked at many adds and learned that the newer ones were quite expensive but depreciated very fast. No reason to put a lot of cash into something that would not hold any value. I started looking at older models. I wanted something small as I was not traveling with my entire family. They are not exactly the "camping type". Finally I found one that looked promising in Irving, TX. An '85 model class A with pretty low mileage. I checked it out and decided it met my needs. I bought it. I just don't watch the gas indicator too close. At $3.00 a gallon it hurts.

So here's my rig as it stands:

Now let's back up a couple of months. I realized that it was time consuming an tedious to keep a level temperature in the pit. Maybe it was a design problem. Anyway, modifications were in order. One thing I did was to place a layer of fire bricks under the cooking grates. these would hold heat and level out some fluctuation. But what about the air supply? I came across a novel item at THEBBQGURU.com. It was a temperature control devise that monitored the internal temp of the pit and blew air into the fire box as needed to keep the temperature at a set level. It was called The Pit Minder E-temp. I bought it and installed it on my pit. It works great and I can leave the pit for two or three hours without watching it as long as there is enough wood in the fire box.

They also have versions that monitor you meat temperature and cut down the heat when it's done. Pretty cool (Yes I can hear the old timers grumbling).

So back to cooking:

In April '06 I went to the Cowhill Chili & BBQ Cookoff in Commerce, TX. This was a real fun cook-off with a lot of good, live music. I was glad to have the RV because a spring blue northern blew in and it got cold! The wind was like 30 to 40 mph. I was happy to place 10th in ribs here.

In may I went to the Honeyfest BBQ Cookoff in Burleson, TX. The temperature was up and I was glad to have the AC in the motor home. Came in 9th in ribs.

In June I went to the 5th Annual Colleyville BBQ Cookoff in Colleyville, TX. There were 60 teams, the largest cook-off for me so far. I didn't place but made the finals in ribs. I did palce 10th in the chili competition the next day.

My last cook-off was in Dublin, TX, home of the country's oldest Dr. Pepper bottling plant. The cook-off was held in the city park which was down the street from a cattle farm. Where there's cows, there's flies. Lots of flies! I was swatting flies all day. Anyway, there were 44 teams and I placed 8th in chicken and made the finals in brisket. Not too bad.

So up to now, seven cook-offs and five ribbons. It's a start and the quest continues.

What's in a name?

2006-07-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

Eye Que? What's that all about? Well obviously it's a play on words. If I had named it "I Que" it would be clearly short for "I Barbeque". By why "Eye Que". Well it happens that i have a full time job as an ophthalmologist. An ophthalmologist is an eye doctor. Since this eye doctor cooks barbeque, I came up with the name "Eye Que". It may be a little corny but it works for me. In case you are wondering, I practice in Bedford, TX and yes I do accept new patients. Here I am with my family: Gloria, my wife, Christine and Caroline my daughters, sitting at the tasting bar of the Peppers of Key West shop in Key West, FL. Bring your water bottle and watch out for that stuff in the fridge! A little dab will kill you!