Join JT and Leanne for a lively After Hours conversation with Christie Van from Girl Can Grill, where they discuss the ins and outs of barbecue, from competition tips to personal cooking stories. Christie shares her impressive success-to-failure ratio in recipe creation, revealing that most of her dishes turn out well with just a few tweaks needed. The trio dives into fun hypotheticals, like who Christie would cook for if she could dine with any historical figure, and what her decree would be as the supreme ruler of barbecue—calling for more flavor variety in competitions. They also reflect on personal experiences, including Christie's memorable first attempt at grilling, which resulted in beautifully charred yet raw chicken. With a focus on kindness and positivity, Christie leaves listeners with a heartfelt message to always smile and be kind.
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Transcripts
JT:
Welcome to Barbecue Nation with JT And Leanne After Hours, the conversation that continued after the show was done.
JT:
Hey, everybody, it's JT and this is a special version of Barbecue Nation.
JT:
It is brought to you in part by Painted Hills Natural Beef.
JT:
Beef you can be proud to serve your family and friends.
JT:
That's Painted Hills Natural Beef.
JT:
Hey, everybody.
JT:
Welcome to After Hours here on Barbecue Nation.
JT:
I'm JT along with hall of famer, co pilot and Supreme Allied Commander of Pig Powder, Leanne Whippen.
JT:
And today, we're very fortunate to have Christie Van over with us from Girl Skin Grill.
JT:
Christie was one of my first victims on this show years ago, and I've always appreciated that.
JT:
And she's come a very long ways, but now we're really going to test her.
JT:
So we weren't.
JT:
We didn't do After Hours when you were.
JT:
When you were on before.
JT:
Okay, this is all fun.
JT:
Okay, couple of easy ones here.
JT:
What would you say your success to failure ratio is when you're creating a new dish or a new recipe?
Christie Van:
I would say most of the time, it's spot on.
Christie Van:
I would say probably 90% of the time, it maybe just needs a little tweak in seasoning.
Christie Van:
Unless I'm trying something completely new, like I tried yesterday, and I went through four bags of shrimp.
Christie Van:
That was an expensive lesson.
Christie Van:
Yeah, most of the time, pretty good.
JT:
Okay, if you could cook for and then dine with a historical figure, who would it be and what would be on the menu?
Christie Van:
Oh, my gosh.
Christie Van:
I know.
Christie Van:
Maybe Teddy Roosevelt so that we could talk about national parks.
Christie Van:
It would definitely be something meat heavy.
Christie Van:
I don't even know if I've had vegetables on the table for him.
Christie Van:
That's awesome.
JT:
Okay, Christy, if Leanne declared you supreme ruler of barbecue for a day, what would you, as supreme ruler, decree?
Christie Van:
Well, I've been talking about this.
Christie Van:
Now I'm just kind of focusing on competition barbecue, But I've been talking about this on my podcast, is that I want to see more variety in flavor profiles and KCBS competitions.
Christie Van:
So somehow I would decree that.
Christie Van:
Let's change things up.
JT:
There you go.
JT:
What's the biggest mistake you've ever made during a competition?
Christie Van:
Mm.
Christie Van:
I brined my chicken thighs for too long, and they turned into rubber, and I got second to last place in chicken.
JT:
Oh, wow.
Christie Van:
And that wasn't that long ago.
Christie Van:
I think that was last year.
Christie Van:
I should have just pulled the skins off.
JT:
If you could work with one of your barbecue heroes, just you and that person spending a day just doing stuff.
JT:
Who Would it be.
Christie Van:
I'd go with Leanne.
JT:
Well, of course you would.
Leanne Whippen:
Come on.
Christie Van:
No, I'm serious.
Christie Van:
I don't think we've ever cooked together, so that would be really.
Leanne Whippen:
We haven't.
Leanne Whippen:
We've crossed paths a lot, and I've seen the Jack a lot, but I haven't been competing much.
Leanne Whippen:
Although I am doing one next month.
Christie Van:
Uh.
Christie Van:
Oh, hi.
JT:
Uh.
Christie Van:
Oh.
JT:
Cat's out of the bag now.
Christie Van:
Are you going to be in Key west doing that one?
Leanne Whippen:
No, no, this is in Riverview, Florida.
Leanne Whippen:
I'm actually cooking with a team.
Leanne Whippen:
They asked that I cook with them, so.
Christie Van:
Nice.
Leanne Whippen:
It isn't full on me.
Leanne Whippen:
So I'm just going to help out.
Leanne Whippen:
I don't know.
Leanne Whippen:
It's been a while.
Leanne Whippen:
It's been a couple of years since I did my own thing, and I kind of get in the itch again.
Leanne Whippen:
So this will satisfy that, hopefully.
JT:
She's a lot of fun, Christy, most of the time to work around, but if you ever get that chance, just make sure you have some peanut M and M's in your.
Christie Van:
Yeah, okay.
JT:
Backpack, because she'll follow you anywhere for peanut M and M's.
JT:
Okay.
Leanne Whippen:
Right.
JT:
What's the dumbest thing you've ever seen done with a grill or a smoker?
JT:
Any type of cooker.
JT:
The dumbest thing.
Christie Van:
I.
Christie Van:
I don't know.
Christie Van:
Nothing is.
Christie Van:
I mean, nothing's jumping out like that stands out other than people putting meat on before you get clean smoke and then, you know, complaining, why does it taste so bitter?
Christie Van:
But that's not really a dumb thing.
Christie Van:
It's just a lack of understanding.
Christie Van:
So I can't.
Christie Van:
I can't.
Christie Van:
I know there's been crazy stuff on Instagram.
Christie Van:
Just nothing's popping in my mind.
JT:
That's fine.
JT:
Something different.
JT:
If we put Christie skills to music, what would the music be?
Christie Van:
Country music.
Christie Van:
Yeah.
JT:
Okay, now, being an old radio guy, I gotta ask you, real country music or the stuff they play today?
Christie Van:
Actually, most of the time I've got 90s country music playing in my trailer.
JT:
Okay, all right, all right.
JT:
I can live with that pretty easily.
JT:
Do you remember the first thing you ever grilled or smoked?
Christie Van:
Oh, yes, actually, I do.
Christie Van:
It was when we first got married.
Christie Van:
We had a gas grill.
Christie Van:
I made barbecue chicken.
Christie Van:
I think it was quarters or thighs, and I didn't know how to grill, and I brushed them with barbecue sauce and put them on the grill raw.
Christie Van:
And they were.
Christie Van:
They got all crispy, and I'm like, they're ready.
Christie Van:
I was a newlywed.
Christie Van:
And then we cut into them and they were raw.
Christie Van:
They were burnt outside.
JT:
I will.
JT:
I will.
JT:
I'll tell you a quick story here.
JT:
When my.
JT:
My brother's first wife.
JT:
He's had a few.
JT:
No, actually, it was the second wife.
JT:
Anyway, they had a.
JT:
They bought a new house and they invited me over.
JT:
I was a kid.
JT:
And she made this beautiful apple pie.
JT:
I mean, it was gorgeous.
JT:
Tried to stick the knife in to cut it.
JT:
Wouldn't work.
JT:
Wouldn't go in.
JT:
Finally, we got it in and my brother picked it up and the whole pie came out of the.
JT:
The pie dish.
JT:
So that's always kind of my gold standard in things like that.
JT:
If you were an animal, what animal would you be?
JT:
Christy.
JT:
And why?
Christie Van:
Probably a dog, because I'm pretty loyal to people, so.
Christie Van:
Yeah.
JT:
Yeah, that's good.
JT:
What's your favorite movie?
JT:
Leanne's is Animal House.
Christie Van:
No, Just because it's silly.
Christie Van:
Zoolander.
Leanne Whippen:
That's a good one.
JT:
There you go.
JT:
What's one thing you miss about your 20s or your time in college?
Christie Van:
I think I didn't care about things.
Christie Van:
I didn't.
Christie Van:
Right.
Christie Van:
And.
Christie Van:
Well, and I actually, I miss that.
Christie Van:
There was no.
Christie Van:
I miss living a life without a cell phone and social media.
Christie Van:
Like, I preferred life without cell phones and social media.
Christie Van:
So I miss that.
JT:
God bless you for that.
JT:
Name one book that should be mandatory reading for everyone.
Christie Van:
The Barbecue Bible.
JT:
Okay.
JT:
Okay.
Christie Van:
Stephen Franklin.
Christie Van:
Yeah.
JT:
What's the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?
Christie Van:
That's personal.
Christie Van:
I mean, I brush my teeth and then I play and I play wordle.
JT:
Okay.
JT:
Okay.
JT:
Yeah.
JT:
After the preliminaries, you know, like that.
JT:
Although we did have one guest actually lay it out there, so to speak.
JT:
And I was like, oh, God.
JT:
Okay.
JT:
Do you think that cooking with all the.
JT:
And I'm not so much talking about barbecue, but just cooking, conventional cooking can help kids who have trouble learning math.
Christie Van:
Oh, for sure.
Christie Van:
I mean, that's a great way to understand fractions and proportions, so.
Christie Van:
Yeah.
JT:
Yeah, yeah.
JT:
I think it's all good.
JT:
How we doing on time?
JT:
We got.
JT:
I got.
JT:
Leanne's got us on a clock here today, and that's fine.
JT:
Okay.
JT:
What would be your last meal if you were on death row?
Christie Van:
Probably Colby ribs, white rice, and Hawaiian Mac salad.
JT:
Wow, that's.
JT:
That's good.
JT:
That's good.
Christie Van:
And maybe a slice of peach pie a la mode.
Leanne Whippen:
Now I know why you're so totally upset.
Leanne Whippen:
You aren't going to Hawaii for that.
JT:
Yeah.
Christie Van:
Yes.
JT:
I was going to tell you.
JT:
I was going to be.
JT:
I'm going to be in Hawaii at the end of November.
JT:
And I was thinking, man, I got it.
JT:
That's the same time I'll come over and track that down like that.
JT:
Okay, here is the last question.
JT:
Christy Vanna worked from Girl Skin Grill.
JT:
What is your advice to the world?
JT:
Here's your message.
JT:
Here's your chance to give a message to the world.
JT:
What would it be?
Christie Van:
Be kind and don't stop smiling.
JT:
Good message.
JT:
Good message.
JT:
So I'm sorry we have to cut it a little short today, but you are always welcome back on this show.
JT:
We'll try not to make it, like seven years next time or something like that.
JT:
So.
JT:
But, Christy, again, where can people find you?
JT:
How can they look you up?
Christie Van:
Yeah, you can find me@girlscongrill.com Lots of recipes and tips there.
Christie Van:
I'm on all the socials at girlscan Grill and Barbecue Tips podcast every Thursday.
JT:
Excellent.
JT:
Thank you, Christie.
JT:
Thank you, Leanne.
JT:
Thank you.
JT:
We'll be back next week with another edition of Barbecue Nation with JT and Leanne.
JT:
Until then, like I said, remember our motto.
JT:
Turn it, don't burn it, go out, have some fun and be kind.
