Thursday, March 28, 2024

Lipan barbecue team hopes to smoke the competition

Posted

I had to constantly dry the keyboard while writing about Lipan High School’s mouth-watering barbecue.

I could just taste the tender, generously seasoned brisket and ribs, savory smoked chicken and heavenly dessert — pecan pie muffins with whipped cream and caramel drizzle.

Smack, smack, smack … can you say food sensory overload?

The fare is produced by young and talented students. Lipan High has had a barbecue team for three years, qualifying for state competition every year.

Lipan competes at state Friday, April 23, against 60 Texas high school teams. The event is in Llano, home of the famous Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Q.

Lipan barbecue coach Justin Bullock, also LISD’s transportation director, didn’t know why Llano was picked to host the event.

“Not sure if Cooper’s has anything to do with it, but my kids are going to eat there,” he assured.

Bullock was more than willing to mentor the barbecue team when he joined Lipan ISD this school year.

“It was a no-brainer for me since smoking meats has been a passion of mine for several years,” he said. “I always loved the smell of a smoker and still remember my dad firing up a couple times a year when I was little. I finally decided to get serious about seven years ago. After doing a ton of research I decided to build my own smoker and haven’t stopped smoking since.

“There is something about cooking meats with a traditional offset smoker. It’s like a dance with keeping the right amount of fire to get the right temperature for several hours. It’s definitely a passion and isn’t for everyone. That’s what makes these kids so special. They have that desire.”

Bullock has shared valuable tips to his students, including being ready to adjust on the fly.

“No matter how well prepared you are, inevitably someone will forget something and have to improvise,” he said. “Or Mother Nature may throw a curve ball at you. A good example is at our last competition. The wind was wreaking havoc with everyone, including Emma (Moran) trying to cook her dessert in a Dutch oven. The wind was cooling the charcoal briquets. So Emma took a table and laid it on its side creating just enough wind block to get the job done.”

Competitions are hosted throughout Texas. There are five categories — brisket, chicken, ribs, beans and dessert. The top 10 from each competition qualify for state.

“We qualified for state in the first competition this year winning second brisket, second chicken, third ribs,” Bullock said. “Then we went to the Mansfield competition and placed first brisket, first dessert and third chicken. Mansfield was a huge confidence booster for us with 20 teams competing that week.”

The students prefer to smoke over oak or pecan wood or “any wood that is donated to us,” he said with a laugh.

Time management is crucial for good ’Que.

“We have set turn-in times for each category,” Bullock explained. “If you miss it then you are out of luck. We have a dry erase board that the kids take notes on, such as smoker temperature. They keep time of when they check the internal temp of the meats to get sort of a timeline of when it will be done. If it doesn’t look like they will finish in time they can add wood to heat the smoke chamber up. So time management is crucial to get that perfect barbecue by internal temperature.”

The students learn more than just smoking delicious barbecue. They learn teamwork and life skills, the coach said.

“We raise the money we need for travel expenses and entry fees with raffles, work concessions, etc.,” Bullock said. “I can’t say the word dedication enough. We get up at 3:30 a.m. the day of competition and cook all day. The cooking area is roped off, and only the kids can be in it. It’s all done by the kids. I can only watch and coach outside the cooking area.”

Jarrett Blevins, a senior, is the team’s “seasoned” cook who manages the fires and has the biggest category to cook … brisket.

His younger sister, freshman Audrey Blevins, cooks the chicken and is the team’s biggest fan. “She brings spirit to the team and is a huge morale booster,” Bullock praised.

Emma Moran, a junior, makes desserts and is pit boss.  She won state with her pecan dessert in 2019. “She is a great leader and always has a game plan,” Bullock said.

Sophomore Hayden Shockley is the beans and ribs cooker. “She is a huge asset to the team, being she picked up the slack this year and cooks two categories,” Bullock said.