In search of barbecue perfection

The familiar scent of smoky, grilled goodness is returning to Whitefish this weekend.

The Stumptown BBQ Smoke Off brings the food, music and frantic competition of a Pacific Northwest BBQ Association-sanctioned event to Depot Park beginning today and lasting through Sunday.

Among the competitors this year is Kalispell resident Ryan Garnache and his KnucklHed BBQ team. Garnache competed in the first Stumptown BBQ Smoke Off in 2010, competing by himself in all four categories — pork butt, brisket, chicken and ribs.

This year, Garnache’s father, Bob, is flying in from Shoreline, Wash., to help out, and Garnache also will be joined by his wife, Zoe, and 12-year-old daughter, Bailey.

“I don’t take myself too seriously and have a sense of humor, and realized I’m just a knucklehead doing my own thing,” Garnache said of the origin of his team name.

His history of competitive barbecue goes back eight years to when he took part in an annual event held by a small grocery store in Washington.

“I thought I had great ribs, so when I saw the sign up at the store, I thought I could do that,” Garnache said.

He participated in other barbecue events with his father for five years before taking part in his first sanctioned event.

“In those five years I took fifth all the way through first place, and it was my last year that I took first place,” he said.

Garnache said he started cooking in his family’s kitchen at an early age and really enjoyed it. Then, when he discovered grills, he started cooking everything on them.

“I’ve got my charcoal grill fired up probably three times a week — even when the temperature’s 20 below zero,” he said, joking that “it keeps the beer colder in the winter that way.”

Garnache’s proudest barbecue performance came in September 2010 when he made his longest trip for a competition to the American Royal in Kansas City. He called it the “Super Bowl of barbecue.”

In that competition, Garnache cooked with a friend and came in 223rd overall out of 499, plus 23rd place in the chicken category.

“We were absolutely over the moon,” he said. “That was an incredible day.”

Garnache has his own way of explaining what the competitions are like to people who have never participated in one.

“I usually tell people: ‘You’re going to go camping for the weekend and you’re going to make the best barbecue you have in your life for six people you’ll never meet that you have no idea what they like,’” Garnache said. “You’ve got to want to do it. It makes success even sweeter.”

His love of the events runs deep, he said.

“I like to compete in general, it’s the thrill of seeing whether you’ve got it or not,” Garnache said. “I’ve always loved to cook, and barbecue is a never-ending quest for perfection. You’re always learning something and you’re never going to have it down 100 percent. You’ve always got room to learn.”

That love of all things grilling extends to his father as well.

In 2009, Bob Garnache invented a rotisserie device with four trays for a total of 340 square inches of space that fits inside a standard grill. The device, called the Rib-O-Lator, uses the concept of indirect heat to ensure cold and hot spots don’t interfere with proper cooking.

The Rib-O-Lator has drawn praise from competitive and home cooks alike and has even been featured on the Rachael Ray Show.

The Stumptown event opens at 6 p.m. today and concludes at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.