Kilt-N-It BBQ

In his free time, you can find Jacob Beine near his offset smoker practicing his barbecuing skills in a kilt.

“Barbecue is just one of those things I always loved to do,” Beine said.

The idea for the kilt came from the costume he wears for reenactments of the Seven Years War as a soldier of the 42nd Sterlings Company, a Scottish regiment.

“I figured it’s the one hobby I wear a kilt, so why not bring it into this hobby as well and be a little different,” he said.

Beine is the one man barbecue team called “Kilt-N It BBQ” that is part of the St. Louis BBQ Society at the professional level. He was born in St. Louis, raised in Jackson and currently resides in Altenburg. He watched his grandpa and mother cook growing up, which first introduced him to the art.

Jacob Beine sprinkles rub on ribs he is about to cook in his offset smoker on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020.Sarah Yenesel ~ sarahy@semissourian.com

“It’s relaxing to me,” he said.

During his years of working in law enforcement, safety inspection and other jobs, Beine said, “I’d done nothing but work and any time I went home to rest, relax, I’ve cooked food.”

These past few years, he attended Western Kentucky Technical Community College to receive an associate in applied sciences for food and beverage management. He now works at SuperFresh Kitchens in Cape Girardeau as the executive chef.

He said around the time his son was born 13 years ago, he got more into barbecuing. He would watch barbecue competition television shows, such as “BBQ Pitmasters,” and “I watched those religiously, like, man, I wanna compete so bad. I wanna try that so bad,” he said.

Beine’s first competition wasn’t until the BackStoppers Jackson Backyard BBQ in 2019. He placed second in ribs and second in pork with the overall highest points. “That was just me having fun that year, knowing I just wanted to do competitions,” Beine said.

Jacob Beine puts on gloves before touching the meat on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. "I just like to know I am giving the best product I can - The cleanest product I can, he said.Sarah Yenesel ~ sarahy@semissourian.com

He then went onto his second competition in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he won first place for pork and second place for ribs.

This past year, he only did four professional competitions that did not allow those outside from the competition to visit the event due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Beine said that the crowds were the “best part” of his first two competitions and he lost the joy of the crowd being there, but it gave him the chance to focus more on the barbecue.

“And when you’re sitting there and you give that to the crowd, and this guy says, ‘Oh that’s the best I ever had.’ And then 10, 15 minutes later, they come back with three or four people, and they say, ‘You gotta try this, you gotta try this,’ it really makes you feel like you know what you’re doing and that you know you’re on the right track,” Beine said.

He plans to take part in the “Freeze Que” St Louis BBQ Society competition this upcoming March and all their other competitions for the year that he can.

He hopes that further in the future he can grow his barbecue beyond competitions into catering and even his own food truck or brick and mortar store in the Cape Girardeau County area.

Jacob Beine brushes sauce on the finished ribs as the final touch on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020.Sarah Yenesel ~ sarahy@semissourian.com

“To bring a little bit of joy to somebody just from a bite of meat, it really makes everything worth it,” Beine said.