Joe Poteet, right, selects a ribeye during a competition. Organizers at these events provide the steaks to ensure a level playing field for all competitors. A draft order is assigned randomly and the teams then get to choose the steaks they will prepare for each round.
Christy Poteet of J & C Barbecue and Catering holds the first-place prize they won at a ribeye competition last month in Longview, Washington. Winning the event also earned the couple a golden ticket to the World Championships, which will be held in Fort Worth, Texas, in March.
For Joe and Christy Poteet, 2020 was going to be a year of competition.
The owners of J & C BBQ and Catering in downtown Lebanon love to test their skills on the steak and barbecue competition circuit and planned to attend seven or eight events this year with the goal of qualifying for the major national cookoffs.
They started off the year by competing in Puyallup, Washington in January and followed up with an event in Albany in February. The Poteets were at a competition in Redmond in mid-March when the shutdown occurred and all of their plans - both for competitions and for their restaurant - were scrambled.
“As this whole COVID thing has evolved, we’ve really had to be able to adapt to the mandates. We’ve had to figure out ways we can still provide services, especially with catering,” Christy Poteet said.
The foundation they laid for their business over the years has helped them survive these difficult circumstances. They started out with a food trailer in Sweet Home in 2016 and built a dedicated customer base.
After establishing a reputation, they moved into their Lebanon location, the former Korner Kitchen, in November 2018 and the business continued to grow. The restaurant drew steady customer traffic and became a popular choice for company parties and other events.
The loss of those events during the pandemic has been painful, but the company’s experience with catering helped maintain stability.
“We ended up moving toward a no-contact buffet service, so that way we can keep people safe, we can continue to provide a service,” Christy Poteet said. “We want to survive this. We’re hearing reports all the time that businesses are shutting their doors permanently, and it’s devastating.”
And in October, they were able to rejoin the competition circuit. The couple traveled to Longview, Washington for a ribeye competition on Oct. 17. There were three separate rounds, which were each judged separately.
The five judges rate the steaks based on appearance, doneness (aiming for a perfect medium), tenderness, flavor profile and overall impression.
Their first ribeye placed 13th out of the 20 competitors and their second placed 12th.
These results led them to change their approach for the third effort and they came away as the champions for that round.
“It’s huge. We’re competing against some of the best cooks in our area,” Christy Poteet said. “It’s not a backyard barbecue. These are judges that have been taught to taste barbecue. That lets us know we’re on the right path.”
Joe Poteet operates the huge smokers every night for the restaurant and cooks the meat at the competitions. He compares the job itself to a competition, noting that every night he is up against the conditions - the wind, the rain and the cold temperatures - as he operates the two commercial smokers for the restaurant.
The events provide a different way to test his work.
“I enjoy the challenge and the camaraderie with others who also like to barbecue and grill. I don’t have any culinary training. Everything I’ve learned has been by trial and error, as well as things that I learned from my dad and grandpa when I was younger,” he said. “I’ve spent the last 25 years perfecting my techniques. So to be able to compete against trained chefs and place in the top is greatly satisfying.”
Winning the competition earned the Poteets a spot at the Steak Cookoff Association’s World Championships, which will be held next March in Fort Worth, Texas.
The couple will attend another event in Gig Harbor, Washington, this weekend to continue to prepare for that event.
“We’re going to take that opportunity to take that flavor profile and build on it,” Christy Poteet said.
In addition to bragging rights, the competition also helps the business develop products for its customers. They plan to package the dry rubs they use in competition and offer them for sale at their shop. They also plan to expand their steak menu, using the lessons they learn at competitions to serve their customers.
Even though the year did not go as expected, there is a sense of pride in still achieving their goal of qualifying for a national competition and for finding a way to keep the doors open at their restaurant.
“We figure if we can survive this, we can survive anything,” Christy Poteet said.
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November 03, 2020 at 04:41AM
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Lebanon shop wins steak competition - Lebanon Express
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