Shownotes
The central theme of this episode revolves around the profound culinary artistry inherent in barbecue, as discussed by our esteemed guest, Tori Campbell, from Felton and Mary's Artisan Foods. Our conversation delves into the intricate processes and personal stories that shape one's barbecue journey, highlighting the significance of familial influences and the communal aspects of this cherished cooking method. Tori articulates the transformative potential of barbecuing, revealing how it elevates even the most unassuming cuts of meat into gastronomic delights through the application of low and slow cooking techniques. Moreover, we explore the emotional connections tied to barbecue, emphasizing its role as a medium for social interaction and shared experiences among friends and family. As we traverse various anecdotes and culinary philosophies, the episode serves as both an homage to the art of barbecue and a celebration of the bonds it fosters within our communities.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Painted Hills Natural Beef
- Felton and Mary's Artisan Foods
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcripts
Welcome to Barbecue Nation with JT and Leanne After Hours, the conversation that continued after the show was done.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody, it's jt and this is a special version of Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:It is brought to you in part by Painted Hills Natural Beef.
Speaker A:Beef you can be proud to serve your family and friends.
Speaker A:That's Painted Hills Natural Beef.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody.
Speaker A:Welcome to After Hours here on Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:I'm JT along with hall of Famer Leanne Whippen.
Speaker A:You know, some people might say he says hall of Famer every time.
Speaker A:If you knew what it took to get into the hall of Fame.
Speaker A:Leanne deserves those accolades.
Speaker A:Every time I mention her name, a.
Speaker B:Lot of sweat and tears.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:But I don't call her up and go, hey, hall of Famer.
Speaker A:I save it for the show.
Speaker A:So I call her other names when we're just talking on the phone or whatever.
Speaker A:And they're all nice.
Speaker A:They're nice.
Speaker A:They're nice like that.
Speaker A:But like I said, we have Tori Campbell with us from Felton and Mary's Artisan Foods.
Speaker A:Quick backstory there.
Speaker A:I didn't put two and two together.
Speaker C:I.
Speaker A:Golf tournament, benefit tournament.
Speaker A:I play in.
Speaker A:In Portland every year.
Speaker A:Two years in a row, I've won the sauces and.
Speaker A:And I knew about Campbell's, his grandfather's and grandmother's restaurant.
Speaker A:And then I met Tori at Oregon State last fall, and I took my slow ass brain a while to put all three together, but here he is, so.
Speaker A:And he has been kind enough to submit to the after hours abuse.
Speaker A:So we thank you for that.
Speaker A:All right, let's start out with something easy here.
Speaker A:If Leanne declared you supreme ruler of barbecue for one day, what would you, as supreme ruler, decree?
Speaker A:Tori,.
Speaker D:That all people cook their slow smoked meats with applewood.
Speaker A:Okay, okay, that's fair enough.
Speaker A:That's fair enough.
Speaker A:Do you remember what the first thing was?
Speaker A:You ever grilled, barbecued, or smoked?
Speaker D:Oh, man, that's a good one.
Speaker A:Not what your grandpa did, but what you did.
Speaker C:Yeah, what I did.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:I think I modified, like, a little hibachi, little grill in.
Speaker C:In college because I was hankering for it.
Speaker C:So I, like, put the.
Speaker D:I modified it so all the heat.
Speaker C:Would be on one side.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:And tried to protect the meat.
Speaker C:And I think I grilled some chicken that day.
Speaker B:That's great.
Speaker D:In our apartment complex.
Speaker D:And people were like, what is that smell?
Speaker C:That is so good.
Speaker C:And it was me.
Speaker C:I was fighting it because the, you know, the temperature was horrible, but I.
Speaker D:Really craved barbecue that day.
Speaker A:We did that.
Speaker A:We Had a little.
Speaker A:There was a walkway my senior year.
Speaker A:Lived on the second floor.
Speaker A:And those apartment complexes aren't there.
Speaker A:I looked for them last fall when I was down there.
Speaker A:They're long gone, but we had a covered walkway, and I had a little hibachi out there that people would actually have to kind of walk around because we were the second apartment on the floor, and there was like 20 of them on that floor and know.
Speaker A:And they'd have to walk around it.
Speaker A:But I would cook out there.
Speaker A:Made a lot of friends that way.
Speaker A:Okay, so if we put your skills, your barbecue skills, your cooking skills, your marketing skills, Gotta put them all together.
Speaker A:Now, Tori, if we put your skills to music, what would the music be?
Speaker D:Oh, man.
Speaker D:I would be like some Thelonious Monk jazz.
Speaker D:It'd be very phonetic.
Speaker C:It'd be a.
Speaker C:It'd be a little bit of this, a little bit of that.
Speaker C:You know, you.
Speaker C:You could tell that, you know that I'm skilled, but you can see there's.
Speaker D:A lot of art.
Speaker C:Like, I don't know where this brother's going with it, but I think it's gonna turn out okay.
Speaker A:And I got it.
Speaker A:I got it.
Speaker A:I like that.
Speaker A:I like that.
Speaker A:How much barbecue do you eat on a regular basis?
Speaker A:And use a scale from 1 to.
Speaker D:10, I would say we're probably at a 7.
Speaker D:So obviously the northwest, the weather is not always conducive, but we push through, try to barbecue year round?
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:You consider yourself a barbecue pitmaster, A master at any level?
Speaker D:I would say master in that I have.
Speaker D:Have able to own what our family did and what we offered.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker D:I don't do competitive barbecuing.
Speaker D:So in that regards, I wouldn't say that that defines what mastery means to me, but knowing what my grandfather delivered consistently, how my grandmother plated it, I believe I have that and own that.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker A:What's the dumbest thing that you've ever done with a.
Speaker A:A grill or barbecue?
Speaker A:True confessions here, Tori.
Speaker C:Yeah, I mean, just the classic keeping.
Speaker D:It on way too long to, you know, trying to make some burn ins and they just were burnt.
Speaker C:You know, just.
Speaker C:Just all the juice and just.
Speaker C:It's just it mush and.
Speaker D:No, no, nothing to it, you know, like, that was a little too long, brother.
Speaker D:You know, you need to take an hour earlier.
Speaker D:So I think something like that.
Speaker A:It's kind of like you put something on the grill and you go in and you're watching the football game or something, and you kind of forget about it.
Speaker A:You know, by the time halftime comes around, you're like, oh, my God.
Speaker A:You go out there and it's like this.
Speaker A:Yeah, charred, nasty.
Speaker A:Nasty looking thing.
Speaker A:What's the worst thing about owning your own food business?
Speaker C:I think the.
Speaker D:You're always in the back of your.
Speaker A:Mind.
Speaker D:Thinking about the what ifs, right?
Speaker D:Because this is you.
Speaker D:There's food safety, you work with a co packer.
Speaker D:But there's just always things that could happen, you know, with food and transportation of it, shelving, you know.
Speaker D:And so I think that that oftentimes is difficult.
Speaker D:It's never just sell it and you're done.
Speaker D:There's always that you have to be conscientious.
Speaker D:Obviously, you keep your.
Speaker D:Your insurance high and you want to think about the end user and what their experience is with your product.
Speaker D:And so I think that's, for me, oftentimes the most frustrating.
Speaker D:And the thing that in all of it, obviously, there's just the grind of business, right?
Speaker D:Making sure things.
Speaker D:Pencil.
Speaker D:I mean, that's just life.
Speaker D:But I think that piece oftentimes tends to be more looming and ominous at times.
Speaker A:Well, when you're doing, whether it's sauces, rubs, whatever, it's not really an inert object.
Speaker A:It's a consumable.
Speaker A:And so there's always that little,.
Speaker C:If.
Speaker A:You allow me, gut twist when you're doing that and you're putting it out there to the world.
Speaker A:I think as time goes on and you become more and more confident, some of that apprehension goes away a little bit.
Speaker A:But it's still there.
Speaker A:Deep inside, it's still there.
Speaker A:If you were gonna tell somebody what's good about barbecue, why.
Speaker A:Why should people try barbecue that have never tried it before?
Speaker A:And honestly, there are people that have never tried barbecue before or they've had something that's prepackaged at a Safeway that is not even close to barbecue.
Speaker D:I would say two things.
Speaker D:The first is barbecuing as a culinary skill.
Speaker D:As you know, it opens up so much more that you can enjoy.
Speaker D:In terms of meats, I think there's so many cuts of meats that people just pass over because they're like, it's too tough.
Speaker D:I've never heard of that.
Speaker D:What would you do with that?
Speaker D:And it's something that's really beautiful.
Speaker D:That indirect heat, low and slow for two or three hours to tenderize.
Speaker D:Even the toughest cuts of meat open you up to things you have never even thought were palatable and enjoyable.
Speaker D:I would say that's the.
Speaker D:For me, that's the first and foremost thing.
Speaker D:And I think second is the communal aspect to it.
Speaker D:There are very few foods that are really about inviting people over to hang out.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker D:I mean, unless you want to have it ready for them when they get there and eat and then they leave.
Speaker D:But barbecue, oftentimes you come over.
Speaker D:I'm going to put it on.
Speaker D:Or it's on right now, but we got two more hours.
Speaker D:Seven more hours.
Speaker D:So let's get out the biz, whiz the uno.
Speaker D:Let's, you know, let's open up some suds.
Speaker D:Let's enjoy life together.
Speaker D:And I feel like that's another real cool element to barbecuing that I know our family has always loved, and it is a huge thing for people.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Do you describe yourself as corn fed or grass fed?
Speaker C:Oh, man, I don't know.
Speaker C:I don't know what to say about both of those.
Speaker C:That's a good one.
Speaker C:Can you define those?
Speaker C:I feel like I'm doing on spelling.
Speaker C:Be.
Speaker D:Can you put that in a sentence?
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker A:Let's see here.
Speaker A:Let's put it in a question.
Speaker A:You know you're corn fed if you are blank.
Speaker A:Oh, man.
Speaker D:Almost corn fed.
Speaker D:Feels like you really from the country, perhaps.
Speaker D:You know, like, that would be my guess.
Speaker D:But I would say I'm probably grass fed just because I've grown up in an urban environment.
Speaker D:But I don't mind getting down on some corn because of so much of what my grandparents modeled for me of, like, the beauty of.
Speaker D:Oh, yeah, you know, rural community, agricultural life.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker D:I'm a city boy.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Boxers or briefs?
Speaker D:Briefs.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Have you ever cooked in a thunderstorm in your underwear?
Speaker A:Now, I didn't write these specially for you.
Speaker A:This is the weekly oh, man challenge.
Speaker D:Oh, I haven't.
Speaker D:I've.
Speaker D:No, I've never done that.
Speaker D:I've chased a raccoon out of my backyard trying to kill my chickens.
Speaker A:I bet you that was a hell of a sight.
Speaker C:It was my wife's like, get in the house.
Speaker C:You don't.
Speaker C:You don't have anything on.
Speaker C:I'm like, they got me chicken.
Speaker D:I gotta get it.
Speaker A:We should.
Speaker A:We should hook him up with Chris Lilly.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:What do you.
Speaker A:What, barbecue skill or culinary skill?
Speaker A:Tori, took you the longest to be comfortable with and.
Speaker A:And master.
Speaker D:Yeah, it was definitely going to be that brisket.
Speaker D:You know, I think just the time that it takes.
Speaker D:And there's some critical moments where you have to be mindful of.
Speaker D:You get the bark, you want to tenderize it, whatever.
Speaker D:Let it stay, let it take it off.
Speaker D:The importance of taking it awesome and letting it rest.
Speaker D:Like the chemistry and all those things, you know, just season it, put it on.
Speaker D:Seven hours are done.
Speaker D:Twelve hours, you're done.
Speaker D:Like, there.
Speaker D:There are things you're looking for along the way, and that patience.
Speaker A:How long?
Speaker A:I'm sorry, go ahead.
Speaker D:I said the patience to sit through all of it and be conscientious.
Speaker D:That something's happening there.
Speaker D:There is a reaction happening in this moment.
Speaker A:That's why God let us invent beer for those long days.
Speaker A:How long did it take you to learn not to peek under the lid?
Speaker D:Oh, man.
Speaker D:Yeah, right?
Speaker D:If you're looking, you're not cooking.
Speaker D:I think it took me a few years, only because I wasn't sure of the kinds of, you know, I use, like the Webers, just stuff in the backyard.
Speaker D:That's one thing I always try to model to our customers, is a lot of good barbecue can happen in your backyard.
Speaker D:So you just got to get familiar with your.
Speaker D:Your tools and how your heat works.
Speaker D:And so for me, that it took a few years, even about a year or so, to figure out how my smoker would.
Speaker D:Would work.
Speaker D:And so that meant I was peaking more than I should be at times.
Speaker A:Okay, all right.
Speaker A:That's an honest answer.
Speaker A:If you could work with one of your barbecue heroes, who would it be?
Speaker D:Oh, man, that's a great one.
Speaker D:Honestly, you know, my grandfather passing.
Speaker D:I would love to work with him again.
Speaker D:I think now that I'm the age that I am, I appreciate what he did and model, and I would love to just talk, cut meat, make sausages, and using his grinder, like, those are really.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker D:Moments for me that I would love to have back.
Speaker A:There's so much I don't think you appreciate that when you're 10 years old.
Speaker A:I mean, you enjoy being with your grandpa, but when you.
Speaker A:But when you get a little older and you've got some wisdom and experience, and then you could really go back, because you're trying.
Speaker A:In your brain, this is me.
Speaker A:You're trying to remember what your grandpa said or your dad said, and they're.
Speaker A:They're gone.
Speaker A:And you're what?
Speaker A:You know, and because there was pearls in there.
Speaker A:I guarantee you there was pearls.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker D:We take that pork trim, and he say, I'm going to cut it off the.
Speaker D:You know, the spare ribs.
Speaker D:I'm going to use that for the sausage.
Speaker D:And he knew the blend and the texture of making.
Speaker D:That's a great example of something that I made with him that I'm like, man.
Speaker D:And he had this this breakfast sausage, it was like sage and flavor profile.
Speaker D:And even to this day, my family's like, Tori, if you can nail that,.
Speaker C:That would take you to the next level.
Speaker D:So I wish I could just have him here and we could do that together.
Speaker A:Well, there you go.
Speaker A:So what is Tori Campbell's best day look like as far as activities?
Speaker D:It's great.
Speaker D:I love my family, so I have three kids and my wife.
Speaker D:My wife and doctor celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary in Saint Brule.
Speaker D:So family is huge for me.
Speaker D:Just spending time with them in the morning.
Speaker D:I also, I love.
Speaker D:I have a motorcycle, so my dad and brother and brother in law will ride sometimes.
Speaker D:So if I can get a ride in, that would be great.
Speaker D:Obviously, that's spring and summer in the Pacific Northwest.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah.
Speaker D:And just being in the backyard too.
Speaker D:I keep bees.
Speaker D:I try and garden, have dogs.
Speaker D:So real low key time with family, time with friends, able to decompress.
Speaker D:I'm.
Speaker D:I'm an introvert with social skills.
Speaker D:So oftentimes that means having some time away just to chill out, collect, be in my head is also really important to me.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:What is one thing you miss about your 20s,.
Speaker D:Man?
Speaker D:Just that snapback physically, like, right?
Speaker C:I mean, you know, your 20s, you want to get in shape.
Speaker C:I mean, just thinking about it, you halfway there, you know, you don't even got to go to a gym yet.
Speaker C:You just think about it, getting in shape.
Speaker C:All of a sudden, things start straightening up.
Speaker C:Oh, got that now.
Speaker C:I think about it and I add three pounds.
Speaker D:I'm like, man, yeah.
Speaker A:I think once.
Speaker A:Once you get past that by a couple of miles, the brain synapses is trying to tell you, yeah, you know, think.
Speaker A:Nah, it's not working.
Speaker A:It's not working.
Speaker A:What's your favorite movie?
Speaker D:Oh, man, this is hard.
Speaker D:I'm a sci fi junkie, so.
Speaker D:Gosh, I know you're gonna.
Speaker D:This is a tough one.
Speaker D:Let's just say I love Star wars trilogy, okay?
Speaker D:I can go on and on.
Speaker D:I mean, there's so many quirky ones that I can pull up, but I'll just leave it at that.
Speaker D:That's.
Speaker D:You can't go wrong with that one.
Speaker A:I'll give you $5 if you can guess Leanne's.
Speaker B:You'll never guess it.
Speaker D:I was gonna say.
Speaker A:And no, it's not Beavis and Butthead Go to the mall.
Speaker D:Oh, what's the Patrick Swayze one?
Speaker B:Dirty Dancing.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're going Dirty Dancing.
Speaker B:Oh, my God, No.
Speaker B:I love the movie.
Speaker B:Amadeus.
Speaker A:Amadeus.
Speaker D:Okay.
Speaker D:Yep.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I can't say that it's my absolute favorite, but when somebody asks me, that's what I tell them.
Speaker B:It isn't in my 10.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Mine is either Casablanca or the Godfather.
Speaker A:I always thought the Godfather was your introduction to business 101.
Speaker A:Was.
Speaker B:See, I like Scarface, and.
Speaker B:Whereas dogs, they're up there.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:That's great.
Speaker A:Well, this is an obvious question because of what you're wearing there, but I was going to say, are you more sweatshirts or more formal wear?
Speaker D:Yeah, I'd like to be less formal if I can.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:I can.
Speaker D:I can put a suit on and clean up, as they say, if you need to.
Speaker A:But, yeah, I think you clean up pretty good.
Speaker A:I've seen you like that.
Speaker A:So when and what do you want to do when and if you retire?
Speaker D:It's great.
Speaker D:Definitely.
Speaker D:Travel would be important for my wife and I.
Speaker D:My wife's El Salvadorian, so we also would love to be able to stay in her home country, you know, three to six months out the year, if possible.
Speaker D:Maybe even, you know, similar to my grandparents, like, get to a place where the retirement bug has been, you know, satisfied and we want to do something, but we.
Speaker D:It's not because we have to, but it's out of love, whether that be on something entrepreneurial or giving back in a meaningful way of our time and energies to help the next generation.
Speaker A:Good for you.
Speaker A:Good for you.
Speaker A:What's your favorite sport?
Speaker D:Favorite sport?
Speaker D:I'd have to say football.
Speaker A:Good man.
Speaker A:Go Bees.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker A:This is the one that always makes people kind of go, huh?
Speaker A:What would your last meal be on death row?
Speaker A:We don't have death row anymore, so.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker D:You know, I would say.
Speaker D:I mean, there's so much good food out there.
Speaker D:I would say I love fruit in its season.
Speaker D:Like when it's.
Speaker D:So when.
Speaker D:When it's strawberry season and that's the season, I love it.
Speaker D:It tastes good when it's BlackBerry.
Speaker D:So I would say a.
Speaker D:Just a big bowl of the ripest fruit in its season at that time.
Speaker D:That would, to me, would.
Speaker D:I'd be straight.
Speaker B:That's the healthiest answer we've gotten so far.
Speaker A:That is.
Speaker C:I could have gone a lot of different places, y'.
Speaker A:All.
Speaker C:I mean, I, you know, picking in dumplings.
Speaker C:I could have.
Speaker C:Know some.
Speaker C:Some beef ribs, but I do.
Speaker D:I love fruit in that way.
Speaker A:Well, most people are going, well, if it's my last meal, I guess I don't need to worry about my waistline.
Speaker D:No, that's true.
Speaker D:That's true.
Speaker D:Yep.
Speaker A:So they they do that.
Speaker A:Tori Campbell, again, how can people find you?
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:So for our food company, Belton&Mary.com you can find all of our products in our story.
Speaker D:We also, too, we just got on Amazon in November, so a few of our products are there as well if you'd like to check us out there.
Speaker C:Cool.
Speaker A:Thanks, buddy.
Speaker A:I appreciate it.
Speaker A:Tori Campbell from Felton and Mary's Artisan Foods and also Oregon State University Alumni Association.
Speaker D:Yay.
Speaker C:Yes, sir.
Speaker A:That's the connection.
Speaker A:I got to tell you, we really appreciate it and thank you for taking the time.
Speaker A:I know you got to get to work, but.
Speaker A:I do.
Speaker A:I do.
Speaker A:And we will continue to check back with you.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:My pleasure.
Speaker D:Thanks for having me.
Speaker B:Pleasure.
Speaker D:Take care of you, too.
Speaker A:I will do.
Speaker A:Thanks for being with us, everybody.
Speaker A:For Leanne and myself, we'll be back next week with another edition of after hours.
Speaker A:So remember our motto again, turn it, don't burn it.
Speaker A:Take care.
Speaker A:And one other thing, go out there and be kind.
