Bob Baumann of Big Bobby’s Q begins each day at 6 AM by sending A Daily Positive Affirmation to his Text Chain Group comprised of his 14 BBQ Community “Family” Members, sometimes simply just texting them “Have A Blessed Day.” For the remainder of the day, the 14 Member BBQ Family Group text back and forth discussing all things BBQ related; information regarding upcoming competitions, who won or scored well at the previous weekend’s competition, impending events to gather and meet up at and who can attend, and helpful hints regarding BBQ recipes and new BBQ smoking data and knowledge tidbits. The sense of Community and Camaraderie that Bob has found within the BBQ Culture has been astounding. He believes that The BBQ Culture lends itself to “Competitions that have turned into Social Gatherings.” The 14 BBQ Family Members in Bob’s Daily Affirmations Text Group met one another through The World Of BBQ Competitions! Bob originally hailed from Chicago, his wife Cindy grew up in Glocester, RI.
He and his wife Cindy now reside in Harmony, RI. In 2019 Bob was gifted his first smoker…and from then on, his passion for BBQ grew and GREW until he created a BBQ Team= Bob is the procurer of spices, ingredients, and packing materials. He is the meats prepper, the smoker, the griller, and the cook; His wife of nearly 26 years, Cindy is his CFO= Cindy is literally in charge of financially mapping out the NEBS-Northeast Barbeque Society Competitions, The Jack Daniels Invitational Qualifying Competitions, and the KCBC-Kansas City Barbeque Society Sanctioned Competitions that Big Bobby’s Q will attend for the season. In the Northeast, the BBQ Competition Season runs from April to early November. The remainder of Big Bobby’s Q Team is “whatever family members happen to be around and available during event weekends,” and possibly any of Bob and Cindy’s 3 sons. A childhood friend of Bob’s from Chicago who is a Graphic Designer, designed Big Bobby’s Q LOGO and his Team’s Competition shirts and gear. Bob adheres to the mantra, “TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK.”
A typical weekend competition begins when Bob picks up a rental trailer. Then on Friday, he and his Team pack the trailer. Bob has an exceedingly understanding and flexible boss who allows him the ability to participate in various competitions by permitting Bob malleability with his work schedule. Fridays are chock full of packing, traveling, and setting up the BBQ site on the competition’s premises. After Big Bobby’s Q Team has settled into their specified spot, the jovial GREETINGS amongst the participants commences! I asked Bob where he and his wife sleep when they compete in the Northeast far from their home and he informed me that they sleep in their rental trailer after they have unloaded and set-up their paraphernalia! Competition Saturdays are comprised of readying equipment and preparing sauces. Big Bobby’s Q uses meat rubs as well as sauces for their competition meats, Bob confirming that “We use a combination of rubs and sauces to form a balanced flavor profile.” Sunday is COMPETITION DAY when Bob arises at approximately 3:30 AM to begin marinating and further prepping the meats. There are very specific rules and guidelines for these BBQ Competitions: The 4 standard types of meats required by most competitions are: Chicken, Pork Ribs, Pork Shoulder, and Brisket. There are vast amounts of informative articles, websites, Facebook Pages, and Social Media Posts explaining and precisely describing detailed Rules and Regulations for sanctioned BBQ Competitions; please avail yourself of these multitudinous volumes of materials. Competitive BBQ is entirely it’s own REALM.
Competitions require precise scheduling:
- By Sunday at Noon- Chicken is due for Judging
- By 12:30- Ribs are due for Judging
- By 1 PM- Pork is due for Judging
- And by 1:30 PM- Brisket is due for Judging
Bob’s sage advice is, “We stick with our program. We use the same cuts of meats from the same suppliers, and we stick with our timelines. Be consistent with your cooks; you HAVE to know the timing of your cooks. And, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!”
In answering the question, “What is your favorite type/brand of smoker/grill?” Bob states that, “I’m a Weber Guy. I have 5 Weber Smokey Mountains and 2 Weber Kettles.” Bob loves his Green Mountain Grill Pellet Smoker. I asked Bob if he would be willing to share any of his expertise regarding if he mixes the flavors of his wooden pellets, and yes, he did indeed share his learnedness, “Yes, I do mix; My ‘Go-To’ smoking wood recipe is Pecan- then based on what meat I’m smoking, I’ll add in a different wood: if it’s beef, I’ll add in Hickory, and if it’s Pork, I’ll add in Peach.” Bob uses mostly online BBQ suppliers, such as BBQ Pro Shops and Lancaster BBQ Supply.
Fascinating Facts about Big Bobby’s Q that I garnered from our interview were; when I asked Bob if there was “A Favorite Chef/Cook/BBQ Gift” that he had received, he thoughtfully answered and said, “My middle son was up in Maine, in a store called ‘The Maine State Prison Showroom’ where all of the items in the store were specifically made by inmates…and my son bought me a huge, and I mean it is HUGE cutting board. The cutting board is stamped, ‘MADE BY MAINE STATE PENITENTIARY.’” Bob also confessed that even though his Wife/CFO Cindy had implemented “A Competition Budget For Big Bobby’s Q 2024 Season,” he has NOT adhered to it. He explained that just last weekend at the “Operation Up In Smoke” BBQ Competition in Epping, NH, Big Bobby’s Q did not take home any prize money…However, it was a charity event fundraiser. The approximate cost to compete was $1200 but Big Bobby’s Q Team were thrilled to contribute to the event which raised funds for “Fishing For The Mission 22” – an organization aiming to help heal our armed forces veterans through various avenues, including “First Line Wellness Group; Passionate About Making A Positive Impact In The Lives Of Veterans, Active Duty Personnel, First Responders, And Their Families.” Once again, reinforcing the kinesthesia of COMMUNITY that the BBQ Culture encapsulates.
I cannot THANK Bob Baumann enough for generously devoting his time to RIBBQNews in order for me to conduct my interview with him regarding Big Bobby’s Q in such a considerate, kind, prompt and entirely enthusiastic manner. It was an unequivocal pleasure to meet you, Bob! When RIBBQNews asked Big Bobby’s Q to answer the question, “Can you share a particularly memorable experience/achievement since your BBQ Journey began?” Bob was absolutely ecstatic to say, “We will always remember the time that we clinched the 2023 Northeast Barbeque Society’s Rookie Of The Year Award…My wife ran up to receive the award faster than I could get out of my chair!”
Big Bobby’s Q ALSO won the coveted “NEBS KEN DAKAI CUP TEAM OF THE YEAR” for 2023. The Ken Dakai Cup is The Team with the Best 5 Overall Scores for NEBS sanctioned events normally (but not always) grilling events held the same weekend as a KCBS event, utilizing the KCBS scoring rules under license from KCBS.
