Welcome to Barbecue Nation with JT And Leanne After Hours, the conversation that continued after the show was done.

Hey, everybody, it's JT and this is a special version of Barbecue Nation.

It is brought to you in part by Painted Hills Natural Beef.

Beef you can be proud to serve your family and friends.

That's Painted Hills Natural Beef.

Hey, everybody.

Welcome to After Hours here on Barbecue Nation.

I'm JT along with hall of famer, co pilot and Supreme Allied Commander of Pig Powder, Leanne Whippen.

And today, we're very fortunate to have Christie Van over with us from Girl Skin Grill.

Christie was one of my first victims on this show years ago, and I've always appreciated that.

And she's come a very long ways, but now we're really going to test her.

So we weren't.

We didn't do After Hours when you were.

When you were on before.

Okay, this is all fun.

Okay, couple of easy ones here.

What would you say your success to failure ratio is when you're creating a new dish or a new recipe?

I would say most of the time, it's spot on.

I would say probably 90% of the time, it maybe just needs a little tweak in seasoning.

Unless I'm trying something completely new, like I tried yesterday, and I went through four bags of shrimp.

That was an expensive lesson.

Yeah, most of the time, pretty good.

Okay, if you could cook for and then dine with a historical figure, who would it be and what would be on the menu?

Oh, my gosh.

I know.

Maybe Teddy Roosevelt so that we could talk about national parks.

It would definitely be something meat heavy.

I don't even know if I've had vegetables on the table for him.

That's awesome.

Okay, Christy, if Leanne declared you supreme ruler of barbecue for a day, what would you, as supreme ruler, decree?

Well, I've been talking about this.

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.

So somehow I would decree that.

Let's change things up.

There you go.

What's the biggest mistake you've ever made during a competition?

Mm.

I brined my chicken thighs for too long, and they turned into rubber, and I got second to last place in chicken.

Oh, wow.

And that wasn't that long ago.

I think that was last year.

I should have just pulled the skins off.

If you could work with one of your barbecue heroes, just you and that person spending a day just doing stuff.

Who Would it be.

I'd go with Leanne.

Well, of course you would.

Come on.

No, I'm serious.

I don't think we've ever cooked together, so that would be really.

We haven't.

We've crossed paths a lot, and I've seen the Jack a lot, but I haven't been competing much.

Although I am doing one next month.

Uh.

Oh, hi.

Uh.

Oh.

Cat's out of the bag now.

Are you going to be in Key west doing that one?

No, no, this is in Riverview, Florida.

I'm actually cooking with a team.

They asked that I cook with them, so.

Nice.

It isn't full on me.

So I'm just going to help out.

I don't know.

It's been a while.

It's been a couple of years since I did my own thing, and I kind of get in the itch again.

So this will satisfy that, hopefully.

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.

Yeah, okay.

Backpack, because she'll follow you anywhere for peanut M and M's.

Okay.

Right.

What's the dumbest thing you've ever seen done with a grill or a smoker?

Any type of cooker.

The dumbest thing.

I.

I don't know.

Nothing is.

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?

But that's not really a dumb thing.

It's just a lack of understanding.

So I can't.

I can't.

I know there's been crazy stuff on Instagram.

Just nothing's popping in my mind.

That's fine.

Something different.

If we put Christie skills to music, what would the music be?

Country music.

Yeah.

Okay, now, being an old radio guy, I gotta ask you, real country music or the stuff they play today?

Actually, most of the time I've got 90s country music playing in my trailer.

Okay, all right, all right.

I can live with that pretty easily.

Do you remember the first thing you ever grilled or smoked?

Oh, yes, actually, I do.

It was when we first got married.

We had a gas grill.

I made barbecue chicken.

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.

And they were.

They got all crispy, and I'm like, they're ready.

I was a newlywed.

And then we cut into them and they were raw.

They were burnt outside.

I will.

I will.

I'll tell you a quick story here.

When my.

My brother's first wife.

He's had a few.

No, actually, it was the second wife.

Anyway, they had a.

They bought a new house and they invited me over.

I was a kid.

And she made this beautiful apple pie.

I mean, it was gorgeous.

Tried to stick the knife in to cut it.

Wouldn't work.

Wouldn't go in.

Finally, we got it in and my brother picked it up and the whole pie came out of the.

The pie dish.

So that's always kind of my gold standard in things like that.

If you were an animal, what animal would you be?

Christy.

And why?

Probably a dog, because I'm pretty loyal to people, so.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's good.

What's your favorite movie?

Leanne's is Animal House.

No, Just because it's silly.

Zoolander.

That's a good one.

There you go.

What's one thing you miss about your 20s or your time in college?

I think I didn't care about things.

I didn't.

Right.

And.

Well, and I actually, I miss that.

There was no.

I miss living a life without a cell phone and social media.

Like, I preferred life without cell phones and social media.

So I miss that.

God bless you for that.

Name one book that should be mandatory reading for everyone.

The Barbecue Bible.

Okay.

Okay.

Stephen Franklin.

Yeah.

What's the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?

That's personal.

I mean, I brush my teeth and then I play and I play wordle.

Okay.

Okay.

Yeah.

After the preliminaries, you know, like that.

Although we did have one guest actually lay it out there, so to speak.

And I was like, oh, God.

Okay.

Do you think that cooking with all the.

And I'm not so much talking about barbecue, but just cooking, conventional cooking can help kids who have trouble learning math.

Oh, for sure.

I mean, that's a great way to understand fractions and proportions, so.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

I think it's all good.

How we doing on time?

We got.

I got.

Leanne's got us on a clock here today, and that's fine.

Okay.

What would be your last meal if you were on death row?

Probably Colby ribs, white rice, and Hawaiian Mac salad.

Wow, that's.

That's good.

That's good.

And maybe a slice of peach pie a la mode.

Now I know why you're so totally upset.

You aren't going to Hawaii for that.

Yeah.

Yes.

I was going to tell you.

I was going to be.

I'm going to be in Hawaii at the end of November.

And I was thinking, man, I got it.

That's the same time I'll come over and track that down like that.

Okay, here is the last question.

Christy Vanna worked from Girl Skin Grill.

What is your advice to the world?

Here's your message.

Here's your chance to give a message to the world.

What would it be?

Be kind and don't stop smiling.

Good message.

Good message.

So I'm sorry we have to cut it a little short today, but you are always welcome back on this show.

We'll try not to make it, like seven years next time or something like that.

So.

But, Christy, again, where can people find you?

How can they look you up?

Yeah, you can find me@girlscongrill.com Lots of recipes and tips there.

I'm on all the socials at girlscan Grill and Barbecue Tips podcast every Thursday.

Excellent.

Thank you, Christie.

Thank you, Leanne.

Thank you.

We'll be back next week with another edition of Barbecue Nation with JT and Leanne.

Until then, like I said, remember our motto.

Turn it, don't burn it, go out, have some fun and be kind.

Take care, everybody.