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| Jeremiah Johnson Starting Nor Cal BBQ |
Fall of 2002 I was enjoying some barbecue at a Raiders game
with some friends and was asking my buddy Joe a few questions about what he was
doing on the grill. I realized I had no idea how to grill or barbecue. Hell at
that time I didn’t know the difference between the two. My pops wasn’t a big
grill guy and I can only remember going to a few backyard barbecues as a kid.
This realization maybe me want to learn everything I could about Barbecue.
I picked up a few of
Steven Raichlen books, a Weber Kettle, a few bags of Kingsford Charcoal and a
few whole chickens. Got home and went right work reading and setting everything
up. Got up early the next day and burnt the chickens to a crisp. It was bad.
Had a few big fires that took the meat form pink to black in no time. All it
did was make me run to the store and get a few more.
After that weekend I was hooked. I grilled every day for
about 3 months. I tried one recipe after another. While reading a few chapters
of the Barbecue Bible I started to realize that I was doing a whole lot of
grilling and not enough barbecuing. I started setting up the grill with more indirect
methods and cooking larger hunks of meat like ribs, brisket and tri tips. The meats
were coming out good but not perfect. Not like what I was seeing at some BBQ
joints I was researching at. That’s when Smoking came into my life. I went to
Home Depot and bought a Brickman Smoker for $65.
I was doing 3 racks of ribs at a time. Still not getting the
look or the right taste. I had to modify the smoker to hold heat higher and
longer. I was researching all kinds of techniques on the internet. The money
was low and couldn’t run out to get an expensive smoker to do what the pros
were doing but after with a few changes the Brickman it was doing fine for the
backyard. I was going to local BBQ events and talking to Pitmasters all over
the place. If there was a book, a blog or a show about barbecue I was all about
it. My wife and I were moving all over Golden State following our dreams of
finding the dream job. We met a lot of people and some of those folks had the
same BBQ addiction as me and showed me what they were doing.
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| Jeremiah Johnson working the Pit |
One day we moved back to Nevada County to start our family
and my wife tells me about the Best of the West Rib Cook Out in Sparks Nevada. It
changed my life forever. We walked around and saw 25 of the best Pitmasters in
the Nation doing what they do best. These teams had huge set up. Four or five commercial
smokers pumping out 100’s of racks of ribs. 100,000 people a day lining up to
get their favorite. It was our first year so we did it up big and hit every
team we could. There was this one team, Bone Daddys BBQ that had this long line
and we just kept putting it off and finally got into the line right before they
sold out for the final day of the event. Thank God we got in that line. Those
ribs were the best I have ever had. I was eating around 10 racks of ribs a week
at this point from every place I could find mind you.
Later on that day Bill Wall owner of Bone Daddy’s Barbecue
wins Grand Prize and bragging rights. My wife and I drove home and I told her that’s
what I wanted to do. I wanted to be on that stage with that trophy, making that
many people happy with my ribs. For the next coming years I entered small BBQ
contest not winning a single thing, I started the Nor Cal BBQ blog, went to
culinary school and started working in kitchens. I did everything I could to learn how to barbecue
like the best of them. After my second kid was born I know I had to jump in
with both feet into the barbecue world.
Every job I took was another step closer to doing my own
barbecue for the masses. I started mixing my own rubs and creating a California
Flavor profile. People started hearing about me. Every now and again I get a
random phone call or email from someone who wanted to say Hi and work together
on projects. Big Tex from the Moonshine Bandits was one of those folks. We
started working together on his own rub to sell at shows and online. We crated
the Big Tex Rebel Rub and its one of the top selling dry rubs in the music biz
today.
Another phone call I got was from someone that I had be
watching for a few years. I never thought anyone of this magnitude would have
any interest in what I was doing at this point. Bill Wall himself called me and
wanted to know what my dream was. I told him excepting to get some smart ass
remark or a laugh. Instead I made a new friend. He even offered me a job working
in Sparks at the 2013 Best of the West. I jumped at the offer. I had gotten offers from other Pitmasters before but there was always a price tag attached. All
year the Best of the West was in my head. I couldn’t stop thinking about It. I
wondered what it was going to be like on the other side of the gate. What’s it
like looking out at all those people eating ribs you helped put out. It was
nothing like I thought.
The first thing I learned was these people are nuts. I was
even nuttier for wanted to do it. The most important thing I learned was it’s
not about the prizes, the money or even the fame. Those will come with hard
work . It’s about putting out the best
product you can while having fun with your friends making memories that will
last a lifetime. It’s about earning the respect of the other Pitmasters. It’s
about team work. The Bone Daddy Team took me in and showed me the real deal. I
was blown away by the hard work, long hours, the devotion everyone had on the
team to put out the best rib possible.
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| 2013 Bone Daddy Crew |
It’s a tough 8 days
to be rushing around in the heat and we had the fires going in the dessert so
we had a lot of smoke for the first half of the event. Man it was hard to
breath at times, but you had to keep going. It was a rush. Being in the middle
of a killer team and being able to take part in some of the behind the scenes
stuff that no one sees was a big eye opener. I was introduced to some of the
top of the top Pitmaster. These guys and gals have been doing this not for
years but for generations. Being from California and being able to be part of
this event was a game changer. It's an experience that most will never have.
It’s an experience I hope to keep having for the next coming decade. I drove away
with a ton on knowledge, some new friends, and my very own Ole Hickory Pit . The
dream was growing. I was getting closer to my goal.
After sleeping for a few days and drinking off my rib hang
over I created the Buffalo Boys BBQ Company. Today with the help of a few buddies we’re doing small shows all
over Northern California. In 2014 we’ll do around 50 events selling our ribs
and award winning sauce and rub combination. For the next coming years the plan
is to work our way a crossed America doing the big shows in North and South
Dakota, Florida, Texas and everywhere in between. I’ll give it a few years then
open our first location in Northern California. Around that time we hope to be
one of the teams you see at the Nuggets Best of the West alongside our friends
Bone Daddy’s BBQ.
A few weeks ago at our second contest of the year we took 2nd
for Beef Ribs and ended up 7th overall. It’s been over 10 years on
the back roads of the barbecue world. These next 10 years we’re jumping on the
highway and brining a little California Love everywhere we go. We are going to
use this blog to try to show you what it’s like to build a reputation and a
career following the Barbecue Dream.
Thanks to Bill Wall and the other Pitmasters I have met
along the way that have given me a little chunk of their knowledge to help mold
my barbecue style. Thanks to all my
friends and family that have support me on this journey. My barbecue dream
started with friends around me and I hope it ends the same. Let the Smoke
Shine!
We are now Catering and Vending for your pleasure. Give Jeremiah Johnson a call 530-615-6233 if you need some of the best barbecue you ever put in your mouth.
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| Call Buffalo Boys for Catering |
Check out the Buffalo Boys Website
Like Us on Facebook
Buy our Award Winning Sauce and Rub Opensky
Buy the Big Tex Rebel Rub from the Moonshine Bandits Store
Check out Bone Daddys BBQ on Facebook
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