Welcome to the official website of Big T'z Q Cru Championship BBQ Team
Iowa BBQ Team of the Year Two Years Running
Seven-time State Champion 2009-2010
2009 Great Pork BarbeQlossal Grand Champion
11.6.11
A Pleasant Weekend in Pleasant Hill, MO
Our last competition was held in Pleasant Hill, Missouri on the Friday and Saturday of Easter weekend. You may be wondering where Pleasant Hill, MO is located...
04.13.10
03.31.10
North Little Rock
The weekend of March 20, Big T'z kicked-off their 2010 season at the USA Barbeque Championship in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Hailed as the World's...
02.26.10
Quick Update
I have been working hard for the past several weeks on a totally revamped, professional website. Like most things,
02.09.10
Banquet Season
The winter seems to be a good month to have banquets celebrating the past year in BBQ. Big T'z Q Cru was busy attending two of them: the KCBS Annual Banquet, and the Iowa BBQ Society Annual Banquet...
02.01.10
Catching Up
First of all, I would like to apologize to everyone (I know there are at least a few readers out there) for the lengthy hiatus I have been on with this blog. This has been due to several factors...
09.29.09
River City Rager
This past weekend Big T'z decided it would be best to get back in to the swing of things and attended the Ak Sar Ben's River City Roundup competition held at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska...
09.18.10
Last week I drove 7 hours to Kenosha, Wisconsin and 7 hours back in one day. I was able to watch the sunrise and sunset on the same trip. I was not traveling to a BBQ competition as one would expect....
09.03.10
The Blessed Tradition
Well today is the drawing for the Jack Daniels World BBQ Championship. It is the championship that all competition bbq cooks dream about when they begin this adventure...
Big T'z Q Cru Championship BBQ Team is a competitive barbeque team headquartered in Ames, Iowa. Featuring Ryan and Sonya Newstrom, Big T'z uses competitions to bring family and friends from all over the region to help out, enjoy delicious barbeque, and celebrate the team's success.
No doubt anyone attending one of their competitions can attest, Big T'z Q Cru livens up awards ceremonies with their exuberant cheering section--namely , the team's head cheerleader, Ryan's Mom--anytime the team's name is called for an award.
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After winning four Grand Championships in 2009--their first year of competition--Ryan and Sonya Newstrom have already made their mark on the competitive barbeque world. A backyard and kitchen cook for years, Ryan learned the beginnings of the art of barbeque from his Father, Terry Newstrom, or as his close friends call him, "Big T". In 2008, longing to hone his skills cooking ribs on his trusty Weber Kettle, Ryan hit the World Wide Web for new recipes and techniques. It was here that he found out about competitive barbeque.
This discovery sparked a flame of more research, culminating in the creation of Big T'z Q Cru and entering the teams first competition in August of that same year. Overall, they did not do very well, but got a call for 6th Place Brisket. This was all it took for Ryan to spend the next several months sharpening his knowledge and skills in the sport.
In 2009 Big T'z Q Cru hit the ground running. They earned a top ten overall call at Minnesota in May, along with a 2nd place for their Brisket out of 70 tough teams. Three weeks later, to get more experience cooking ribs and pork, Big T'z attend the Great Pork BarbeQlossal, one of the most prestigious barbeque championships in the country. It was here against some of the best barbeque teams in the country they earned their first Grand Championship and started a streak of wins that would put Big T'z Q Cru on the map and help them to earn the distinction of the 2009 Iowa Barbeque Society Team of the Year.
Many people who have never been to a BBQ competition wonder what it is all about. Big T'z Q Cru proudly competes in championships sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS). Contests sanctioned by KCBS generally have the same format. That is, every team will turn-in barbeque chicken, pork ribs, pork (pulled pork), and beef brisket.
Teams typically begin cooking the Friday night before and cook all through the night preparing for turn-ins beginning at noon on Saturday. Most of the time chicken will be turned in first at noon, ribs at 12:30, pork at 1:00, and brisket at 1:30. Some competitions have auxiliary categories such as dessert that will be turned-in after the main four categories. Each entry is included in a 9x9 Styrofoam clamshell box. All KCBS contests are judged double-blind meaning the judges have no idea what teams entry they are sampling, and the teams have no idea what judge is sampling their entry.
Judges provide numerical scores from 1 to 9 (9 being the best) on three categories: Appearance, Taste, and Tenderness. Scores are tallied and the teams are ranked based on their scores in each category. The overall score is the cumulative score for the four categories. The Grand Champion of a contest is team with the highest overall score. Teams are generally given awards for placing well in each category, as well as overall. Awards consist of trophies, cash, and sometimes prizes such as a new smoker.
The following is our tentative schedule for the 2010 season. It is subject to change and notice may not be given. If you would like to join us for a particular contest, please check with us to confirm that we will be there.
No events scheduled at this time
12 - 13 -- Kansas Winter Q -- Great Bend, KS
Map
Information
Results
19 - 20 -- Presidential Smoke on the Water
North Little Rock, AR
2 - 3 -- Smokin' On Big Creek -- Pleasant Hill, MO
16 - 17 -- Capital City Cookoff -- Jefferson City, MO
30 - 1 -- Apple Blossom BBQ -- St. Joseph, MO
7 - 8 -- BBQ in the Bluffs -- Council Bluffs, IA
14 - 15 -- Minnesota in May -- Austin, MN
20 - 22 -- Great American BBQ -- Kansas City, KS
29 - 30 -- Smokin' in the Junction -- W Des Moines, IA
4 - 5 -- Smokin' in Steele -- Owatonna, MN
11 - 12 -- O Town BBQ Showdown -- Ottumwa, IA
18 - 19 -- State Center Rose Festival -- State Center, IA
25 -26 -- Iowa State BBQ Championship --
Marshalltown, IA
16 - 17 -- BBQ'Loo and Blues Too -- Waterloo, IA
17 - 18 -- BBQ in the Park -- La Porte City, IA
23 - 24 -- Up in Smoke -- Mason City, IA
6 - 7 -- BBQ at the Summit -- Dillon, CO
13 - 14 -- Michigan State Championship -- Brooklyn, MI
20 - 21 -- State of Nebraska BBQ Contest -- La Platte, NE
27 - 28 -- Kiwanis Club BBQ Contest -- Nevada, IA
3 - 4 -- Central Kansas BBQ Cookoff (P1)-- Great Bend, KS
4 - 5 -- Central Kansas BBQ Cookoff (P2) -- Great Bend, KS
10 - 11 -- SD State BBQ Championship -- Vermillion, SD
24 - 25 -- River City Round-Up -- Omaha, NE
1 - 2 -- American Royal invitational --Kansas City, MO
2 - 3 -- American Royal Open -- Kansas City, MO
29 - 30 -- Degaque -- Talladega, AL
2010
Iowa BBQ Society Team of the Year
(2nd year in a row)
Iowa BBQ Society Reserve Champion--
Chicken
KCBS Team of the Year Awards
17th Overall
12th Place Brisket
KCBS Team of the Year Final Standings (Out of 4,597 teams)
Overall--38th
Brisket--19th
Chicken--43rd
Pork--53rd
Ribs--136th
2009
Iowa BBQ Society Chicken Champion
Brisket & Pork
KCBS Team of the Year Award--
19th Place Brisket
Brisket Champion
Big Island BBQ, Albert Lea, MN
River City Round Up, Omaha, NE
Brisket Reserve Champion
GOBS State Championship, La Platte, NE
Central Kansas Cookoff, Great Bend, KS
Chicken Champion
Smokin' In the Junction, West Des Moines, IA
O-Town BBQ Showdown, Ottumwa, IA
Pork Champion
Rose Festival, State Center, IA
Pork Reserve Champion
Med City BBQ, Rochester, MN
Ribs Champion
Smokin' in Steele, Owatonna, MN
BBQ in the Park, La Porte City, IA
Barn Burner BBQ, Libertyville, IL
Minnesota in May, Austin, MN
BBQ 'Loo and Blues Too, Waterloo, IA
Ribs Reserve Champion
3rd Place Brisket
September Fest Cookoff, Windsor, MO
3rd Place Pork
Great Pork BarbeQlossal, Des Moines, IA
BBQ'Loo and Blues Too, Waterloo, IA
GRAND CHAMPION
RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION
Ribs Rods and Rock and Roll BBQ, Vermillion, SD
Iowa State BBQ Championship, Marshalltown, IA
Every BBQ team has their superstitions and Big T'z is no exception. After Ryan pulls a clean blade bone from the meat, one honored member of the team must hold the hot bone until the pork box goes to the judges.
Scroll over an image to enlarge -- Click to zoom
Competitive Barbeque is one of the fastest growing sports in the country! Thousands of people from all ages and walks of life flock to BBQ contests every year to listen to good music, eat great food, and to take in that uniquely sweet smelling smoke rolling out of the cookers from competitors’ sites. They want to learn more about this growing sport, and how to make their backyard barbeque the best on their block! This provides a significant opportunity for companies looking to market their products towards a specific and growing niche of discerning and eager consumers.
A partnership with Big T’z Q Cru puts your product in the hands of people that have the knowledge and desire to successfully represent it. The only activity Ryan enjoys more than cooking BBQ to perfection is talking about it! Big T’z openly welcomes passersby to stop and ask questions and Ryan takes the time to answer them—sometimes taking more time to answer their questions than they expected! In addition, the team’s success has caused them to be singled out by many newspapers and TV stations for interviews. When the team wins a contest, Ryan is not afraid to speak candidly about the products that help the team succeed.
Big T’z offers several customizable partnership product packages to suit all of your marketing needs, including: displaying a banner and information at the team’s site during competitions; wearing your logo on apparel at competitions and media appearances; signage on the team’s competition trailers; cooking demonstrations at corporate gatherings; catering special events; presence on our team’s website and Facebook page, and many others. Whether you are a small local business or national corporation, we will work with you develop a package to suit your needs.
If you feel a Big T’z Q Cru partnership opportunity may play a special role in your marketing program, please contact us with your business information and ideas.
