As a crowd of over 8,000 hungry people gathered in Yelm, Washington, PNWU Student Doctor Brandon Perry orchestrated a plan to leave the Nisqually Valley Barbecue Rally a champion. By the end of the day, he’d raise four trophies, including the competitions Grand Championship, in support of the PNWU Veteran’s Club.
Pulling into Yelm City Park — his truck weighed down by a BBQ smoker, some local applewood, meat, sauce, seasonings, and enough beer for four thirsty chefs – PNWU Student Doctor Brandon Perry looked at the Veteran’s Club banner folded across his empty passenger seat. His fellow club members were unavailable this July Saturday – some occupied by military training – but as the new club president, Perry wasn’t backing down.
“Our student clubs faced a unique problem this year,” he explained. “We inherited no funding from the previous year due to COVID.” When he became president of the PNWU Veteran’s Club, Perry began researching fundraising opportunities that he and Student Doctor Jocelyn Wensel, a fellow club officer, could pursue. As he contemplated the perfect team building/fundraising opportunity, memories of his previous BBQ competition experiences sizzled in his mind. “We should start a PNWU Veteran’s Club BBQ team!” he thought.
“I planned to start with amateur competitions so that other team members could learn the ropes and then move up to the professional competitions, where prizes can reach $10,000-plus,” Perry explained. When the team’s first BBQ competition arrived, however, his training aspirations went up in smoke. The Nisqually competition more closely resembled a pro-competition, requiring teams to prepare ribs, pork shoulder, beef brisket, and chicken – a step up from the typical amateur menu of only chicken and ribs. Add that to the fact that he was a one-man team, and the odds seemed slimmer than cheap bacon. Thankfully, Perry had his own professional preparation to lean on.
Perry co-owns The Red Rooster, a local bar and grill just a few miles from PNWU’s Yakima, WA campus. He and his business partner, Dan Gamache, purchased the “five-star dive bar” in 2019, using previous BBQ competition winnings to fund the venture. As he arrived at the Nisqually Barbecue Rally, Perry slid on a pair of rubber gloves — not unlike those he’d wear in his medical training — and began orchestrating the perfect palatable plan.
“Everything has to happen at the correct time and in the correct order,” explained Perry. From meat preparation (trimming, injecting, rubbing, etc.), maintaining “cleanliness” of the fire (efficient combustion via well-regulated fuel/oxygen ratio), managing cooking times and temperatures (“Different meats have different protein concentrations that denature at different temperatures”), and presentation (“It has to look pretty; one drop of sauce on the container and they dock points”), he had his work cut out for him.
“Thankfully, these are all principles learned in undergrad physics, chemistry, and physiology,” he smiled, mentally blending two rarely combined ingredients: barbecuing and medical training. “Really, medical students are the most dangerous BBQ competitors of all.”
Coming off the big win, Perry has scheduled the Veteran’s Club to compete in more barbecue competitions this year. All winnings will continue to be directed towards scrubs, medical kits, and test preparation materials for PNWU Veteran’s Club members.
“We are excited to welcome the Class of 2025 and new club members,” said Perry, “and I encourage anyone interested in joining the Veteran’s Club can contact me at bperry@pnwu.edu.”