March 22, 2019
Welcome to the March 2019 HOT From The Pit!
It might be slowly warming up outside, but it's definitely HOT inside!
Farewell, Old Friend
It's with heavy hearts we announce the passing of our dear Pitmaster Club friend Dan "Danny" Johnston, a.k.a. Danjohnston949.

Danny was an active Charter Member of our Pitmaster Club, and although very few of us met him in person, he touched all of us. He was always in good spirits, always had a cheerful word and humorous quip, and his use of smiley emojis in each one of his posts really let his happy personality shine. He passed away February 22, 2019.
Signing nearly every one of his 4,638 posts in our forum "From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo, North Dakota" , Dan loved to grill, smoke, modify his collection of grills & smokers, and share pics of his "mutts". And as far as any of us could tell, Dan didn't really "cremate" anything in his back yard, that man knew how to cook up some good BBQ!

To view the remembrance video pictorial and to sign the guestbook for the family, you can visit the Funeral Home's listing here . To hear the classic PitCast interview Dan sat for with Greg Rempe in summer 2017, click here .

All of us at AmazingRibs.com will miss the smiles brought to us nearly daily from our friend, The Backyard Cremator in Fargo North Dakota.
February & March Gold Medal Giveaway Winners!
Lining up a winner for February took 2 re-draws due to no response to our emailed winner notifications! Finally landing on our 3rd winner for February, let's give a congratulations to "Crash", a.k.a. Kurt Schrader.

"Wow, fantastic, and thank you so much", Kurt said. "[I] have been looking to replace my aging smoker and get a larger charcoal grill for awhile".

"I have had my eye on Hasty Bakes. Looks like a great charcoal cooker and can't wait to get cooking on it," he said. "Also, thanks to everyone for a great, informative website that I thoroughly enjoy".

March's winner was a little easier to come by. "Creature" , a.k.a. Jeff Mullett, was the lucky winner, and thankfully he answered us in time. It also seems very apropos that he too enjoys a good cigar like Kurt, February's winner!

"Thanks for all the congrats, guys!!!", Jeff said. "What an incredible surprise getting the notification e-mail, I had to do a double take to make sure it was real."


" I do most of my work on a Kamado Jumbo Joe and like the idea of being able to rock a kamado with gas on those short time-frame orders", he said.
"Thanks to the guys at AmazingRibs.com!!! The information you make available to all of us is priceless, such a great resource for those of us who enjoy the grill works", he said.

We usually announce the winner each month on or around the 8th to 10th of the month, and love of cigars is optional. We will make a post in the Pitmaster Club forum, mentioning (tagging) the winner, and we will email the winner at the email address they gave us when they registered their account, which is most likely the address where you received this newsletter you're reading now. The winner has 5 days from when we notify him or her, and once that time's up and a contingent winner is drawn, the forfeiture is non-reversible.

Don't be like the first two winners from February! Make sure the email address in your account settings is one you use regularly, and make sure you have us (@amazingribs.com) whitelisted or added as a contact, that way if that email comes to you, you see it!
Give A Friend a Free 30-Day Trial Membership
Share the love! Remember to send a friend, family member, or co-worker who loves BBQ, grilling, and cooking in general this link to snag a free 30-day trial membership to the Pitmaster Club ( o ne free trial per person) : https://amazingribs.com/pitmaster
Trial members get:


Once a Free Trial member loves us and becomes a $23.95/year paid member, they'll also get the comprehensive temperature guide magnet & automatic monthly entry into the Gold Medal Giveaways.
Maybe they're not ready to join yet? That's OK too. Point them toward our free semi-monthly public newsletter, Smoke Signals , where they can get to know us with free seasonal recipes, tips & tricks, and links to fun & informative content to their email inbox. We never spam or sell their email addresses, and we're happy to share our privacy promise .
Candy Sue For President!
...of the Kansas City Barbeque Society that is!

Congratulations to our very own moderator Candy Sue Weaver ( CandySueQ ) on once again holding the prestigious title of KCBS President!
Candy Sue has been involved with KCBS in various capacities since 2009 ranging from Board of Directors, President from 2011-2013, Secretary and Chairman of the Education Committee. She has held the title "President Emeritus" since her first term ended, and we're happy to say she is back in the lead again! You can read more of her bio here.
She is also VP of sales & marketing for BBQr's Delight, a manufacturer of food-grade wood smoking pellets. Don't miss her video interview with Meathead on pellet cooking , or her PitCast audio interview with Greg Rempe on competition BBQ to get some interesting tidbits!
In addition to leadership positions in the business side of BBQ, Candy is also a well-seasoned (pun intended) competition pitmaster with a room full of trophies, including 1st place in sauce at her first ever competition!

Meathead had a chance some years ago to accompany Candy on one of her competitions, and he wrote an in-depth article on the several-day experience. Click here to read "Behind the scenes with a real iron chef".
Congratulations, Candy!
New Recipes For The New Book!
As you likely are aware, Meathead has been posting excerpts from his next book in the Excerpts From Meathead's Next Book channel in the Pitmaster Club forum. As a Pitmaster Club member you get sneak peeks long in advance!

Here's only a few of the latest sneak peeks:

Keep your eyes peeled for more eye-popping, mouth-watering, and artistically-inspiring content showcasing the unique science-meets-art perspective of the up and coming book " The Meathead Method: Barbecue Science Meets Art "!
Show Us What You're Cooking!
Here we go folks, some highlights from our most popular thread!

Every season we create a new topic to showcase the outdoor culinary masterpieces your fellow Pitmaster Club members create. These are only some of the highlights that we've had over the past month. Make sure to check out the now-retired Show Us What You're Cooking! (SUWYC) - Volume 12, Winter 2018/2019 topic for these and many other posts, and share your cooks in the new Volume 13- Spring 2019 topic which began March 20th.
Well it is March and the spring thaw is here (for most of us)! As temperatures become more bearable, more and more cooks are sure to come out of hibernation. Here are a few highlights thus far.

Let's kick this off with an epic rib cook by gijsveltman on his new 250-gallon smoker! "Here it is, in all its glory".
Ernest killed it with this lamb shank and bacon! This was a spectacular presentation, as usual!
hoovarmin cranked out some kabobs on his PBC. Who doesn't love some Korean Kalbi kebobs? If you have the chance, you need to check these out.
Jerod Broussard got on the sous vide train this month and threw together some blackberry wine sauce for this perfect tri-tip sirloin that was seared in clarified butter.
Troymeister whipped up some "heart-health BBQ". Ribs, broccolini and artichoke hearts. Never mind that these were made in the oven.........I would still take those down!
Attjack is back folks! Check out these pork chops, sweet potatoes and mixed greens. This was done on his 26-18 Weber conversion. I will let him explain that one to you! :)
The fire is burning and the smoke is rolling up in Anchorage, Alaska! Below Zero Smoker had his behemoth of a smoker rolling. On this round he threw on some pork butts for the family to enjoy.
As we all know Troutman is not afraid to go full caveman on us, and he certainly did here. Check out these 2 1/2" steaks he threw on his kettle/SnS combo!
Marvinpotter had one heck of a weekend when he smoked up this full packer brisket. Those slices look like they are to die for! Wonderful smoke ring too!
Polarbear777 did double duty on these wings. First they were smoked and then they were deep-fried! How amazing this must have been! Nice cook Polarbear777
Check out this rolled pork belly from MeatMonster ! Holy smokes, look at that color. Now that is something I could get on board with, what a cook!
JoeSousa had more than 30 pounds of pork belly rolling on his Ranch Kettle. Can you imagine the smell emanating from those vents? That Ranch Kettle is a BEAST!
treesmacker made up one of my very favorite dishes. Pork belly burnt ends Banh Mi! How about that color? I can only imagine how flavor packed that sandwich was. Great job, sir!
Your assignment- sharpen up your photography skills & make it hard on us to pick which pics make the cut next month.

Be sure to visit the brand new "Show Us What You're Cooking (SUWYC) - Volume 13, Spring 2019 " topic to show off your cooks!
Henrik Ends His Tenure At AmazingRibs.com
We're sad to say "happy trails to you" to a very talented and helpful staff member, Henrik Oscarsson.
Henrik has been a wonderful addition to our moderator team for about 2 years, since April 2017. Hailing from Stockholm, Sweden, he runs a successful home IT business, a successful BBQ business & a great website chock full o' recipes and how-tos . He now has his own line of [fantastic, if you ask me] BBQ rubs, specially formulated with help from some expert palates, and a wonderful book he's written, BARBECUE, fire and smoke .
Henrik says he'll stick around as an active Pitmaster Club Charter Member, so don't worry- his entertaining posts, his knowledge, experience, and his advice won't go anywhere!

Henrik , the team here at AmazingRibs.com will indeed miss you. Thank you for your years of assistance, and best wishes in your future endeavors. We have no doubt that you will continue to expand the passion that is BBQ and all manner of world-class outdoor cooking throughout your homeland and surrounding areas!

For more of Henrik's bio, click here.
Catch Up On The PitCasts
Don't forget to learn a little about your fellow Pit members and others in the BBQ biz by listening to Greg Rempe's recent weekly interviews on his members only PitCasts, posted each week on Thursday in The "PitCast" with Greg Rempe channel.

Be sure to let Greg know what you think of the PitCast in this 2019 PitCast Input topic and offer any suggestions you may have.

You don't have to be a pro pitmaster or chef, you don't even have to know much about cooking or BBQ, you just have to answer his questions and tell us a little about yourself! He does most of the work and makes it very enjoyable.
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" HOT From The Pit " is the exclusive members-only monthly newsletter of the AmazingRibs.com Pitmaster Club by
Pit Boss Aaron "Huskee" Lyons
& Moderator John "Spinaker" Bowlsby.

You're receiving this because you're awesome and you're a member of the Club!
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