DAKOTA DUNES, S.D. – Tyson Fresh Meats, the beef and pork subsidiary of Tyson Foods, is entering competitive barbecue. The company is excited to announce its partnership with an elite team of well-known pitmasters who will compete in signature events including the Memphis in May International Festival and the American Royal World Series of Barbecue® using products from the Tyson Fresh Meats portfolio of brands.
Barbecue is seeing tremendous growth as its popularity continues to rise – both on the barbecue circuit and in backyards across America. Tyson Fresh Meats hopes to capitalize on the category’s popularity through this partnership, ultimately driving barbecue sales across retail and foodservice.
“Barbecue has long been one of America’s favorite pastimes because it is uniquely universally loved,” says Ozlem Worpel, senior brand manager for Tyson Fresh Meats. “We’re thrilled to partner with these talented pitmasters who can draw on their deep expertise to showcase our breadth of high-quality products paired with America’s favorite flavors.”
Barbecue-loving fans who follow the competition circuit will recognize the pitmasters comprising the Tyson Fresh Meats brand ambassador team, including Tuffy Stone, Sterling “Big Poppa” Ball, Fred Robles, Tim Scheer and Justin McGlaun.
“Whether I’m cooking for friends and family, competition, or culinary development, I can count on Tyson Fresh Meats for great ribs, pork, chicken or beautiful prime beef,” says pitmaster Ball of Big Poppa Smokers. “Tyson is my absolute go-to for any protein I might want to cook. They are the only protein company that can cover all my bases.”
“We’re confident that the Tyson Fresh Meats portfolio of brands offers barbecue enthusiasts high-quality beef and pork products they can count on,” adds Worpel. “For example, Chairman’s Reserve Meatsis well-known to deliver a consistently exceptional eating experience and we’re thrilled to bring it to the competitive barbecue circuit this year.”
The complete Tyson Fresh Meats competitive barbecue team is as follows:
- Tuffy Stone: Tuffy Stone is a six-time world champion pitmaster most recently awarded at the 2019 Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Festival. He’s also a former Marine, a French-trained chef, author of Cool Smoke: The Art of Great Barbecue, and an acclaimed restaurant owner. His legendary precision and “smoke science” obsession make him one of the most influential icons on the barbecue circuit. In fact, in 2016, Stone and his Cool Smoke BBQ Team made history at the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational, becoming the only team to ever win the contest three times. Stone was inducted into the BBQ Hall of Fame in 2018.
- Sterling Ball: With more than 30 years of cooking experience, Sterling “Big Poppa” Ball’s passion for cooking has led him to have his hand in almost every aspect of the barbecue world. He has won over 40 Grand Championship titles and more than 35 Reserve Grand Champion titles. In addition to those awards, Big Poppa Smokers has also won the American Royal, been named the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) National Pork champion (2015), Tri-State Champion (2016), CA Team of the Year (2016, 2017, 2018), has been inducted into the CA BBQ Hall of Fame, and has consistently ranked in the top 20 in KCBS since 2012.
- Fred Robles: From the great state of Texas comes Rio Valley Meat BBQ pitmaster Fred Robles. Robles has won accolades including 95 Grand and Reserve Grand Championships, 2019 American Royal World Champion, 2019 National BBQ Grand Championship, IBCA Team of the Year in 2017, Pitmasters of Texas Top Cook in 2017 & 2018, and the 2017 World Food BBQ Champion. Robles says that barbecue has become a way of life, allowing him to meet friends that have become like family.
- Tim Scheer: Tim Scheer, Pitmaster of Shake ‘n Bake BBQ, has been cranking out competition-winning barbecue since 2009. He is perhaps most well-known for his “hot & fast” cooking philosophy. In 2012, inspired by a perfect rack of St. Louis spareribs cooked for a mere two hours, Scheer designed the Gateway Drum Smoker. Scheer has won 36 Grand and 45 Reserve Grand Championship titles including Pork, Ribs, and Brisket Grand Champion as well as Reserve Grand at the American Royal World Series of BBQ. Shake ‘n Bake BBQ has not only been named KCBS Pork and KCBS Ribs Team of the Year, but also KCBS Overall Team of the Year Reserve Grand Champion.
- Justin McGlaun: Justin McGlaun of Lucky’s Q started competing in 2010, when he made a smoker out of an old air compressor tank and he and his wife Kate hit the barbecue circuit. Barbecue is a family affair for the McGlauns: Their 8-year-old son Gavin competes in kids’ competitions and recently won first place at the 2019 American Royal in Kansas City. To date, they have cooked in almost 190 contests with 24 Grand Championships and 22 Reserve Grand Championships. Some of their bigger wins are the Sam’s Club National Championship and the 2018 King of the Smoker.
For more information on Tyson Fresh Meats, please visit https://www.tysonfreshmeats.com/.
About Tyson Foods
Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN) is one of the world’s largest food companies and a recognized leader in protein. Founded in 1935 by John W. Tyson and grown under three generations of family leadership, the company has a broad portfolio of products and brands like Tyson®, Jimmy Dean®, Hillshire Farm®, Ball Park®, Wright®, Aidells®, ibp®, and State Fair®. Tyson Foods innovates continually to make protein more sustainable, tailor food for everywhere it’s available and raise the world’s expectations for how much good food can do. Headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, the company has 141,000 team members. Through its Core Values, Tyson Foods strives to operate with integrity, create value for its shareholders, customers, communities and team members and serve as a steward of the animals, land and environment entrusted to it. Visit WWW.TYSONFOODS.COM
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