Johnson County fathers and sons bond over competitive barbecue

To the casual observer, the boisterous group milling around an Overland Park driveway one recent Saturday afternoon could be mistaken for neighbors enjoying a block party or friends gathered at a cookout. Or perhaps members of a large family celebrating a reunion.

But the anecdotes swapped between swigs of Busch beer, puffs of cigar smoke and ribbons of fragrant apple wood emanating from a gleaming black smoker reveal the revelers are inextricably bound by a narrative considered sacred in these parts: barbecue.

The two generations standing, reclining in lawn chairs or perched atop coolers in Zach Miller’s driveway and garage represent Mad Cow Angry Beaver, a competitive barbecue team with a rich legacy and several wins to its credit.

The team was established in 2002 by a bunch of suburban dads with two things in common: a love of barbecue and their young sons, enrolled in the Blue Valley School District, who they coached in various sports and mentored in a YMCA Indian Guides group.

One dad, Kevin Schwede, was already on the barbecue circuit as a member of the award-winning Lipton Tea Brewers N BBQuers. His team placed first overall and won first-place in the chicken and brisket categories at the National Capital Barbecue Battle in Washington, D.C., in 1994. His chicken claimed top honors at the prestigious Memphis in May in Memphis in 1996.

“The dads decided to build a team with the sons,” he says, watching the beehive of activity at the smoker on the driveway’s edge. “Generations coming together. Camaraderie. That’s what we really wanted. Barbecue was the perfect way to extend our friendship and involve our sons.”

The founding fathers include Schwede of Shawnee; LaMont Eanes of Lenexa; and Jeff Havens, Gary Kidwell and Greg Miller of Overland Park. The team’s story began inauspiciously when it entered the Laurie Hillbilly BBQ in 1997 in Laurie, Mo.

The fathers nicknamed themselves Dick’s Smokin’ Sausage Sleeves and the sons — Garrett Schwede, Drew Eanes, Matt and Scott Havens, Kyle Kidwell and Zach Miller — were called the Kensington Kids Q, a nod to the Overland Park subdivision many lived in.

“We weren’t exactly prepared — we had 7-year-old Weber grills,” Greg says.

The sons entered the event’s Kids’ Que and, as the tale goes (and with a few embellishments), great fellowship was enjoyed by all. Garrett and Kyle demonstrated surprising chops, winning first- and second-place, respectively, in the hamburger category despite their equipment issues.

The dads entered the American Royal World Series of Barbecue in 2001. Problem No. 1, according to Kevin and Jeff: The team didn’t own a smoker.

“We met some Continental Airlines pilots from Dallas who had a couple of Kingfisher Kookers in the Kemper parking lot, and they sold one to us for next to nothing,” Kevin recalls. “So there we were, rolling a smoker through the crowd to our tent.”

In 2002 the father-son team was christened with a new moniker, borrowing part of its name from the so-called mad cow disease that gained international attention in 2001: Mad Cow Angry Beaver.

Father-son bonding

The ensuing years found the fun-loving, barbecue-crazy team competing at the Great Lenexa BBQ Battle, now its favorite competition. But the team was better known for the freewheeling, good-natured party it threw on opening night than its smoking skills.

“Around 7:30 the Friday night of the barbecue there might be 14,000 people in the park,” Jeff says, “and it seems 1,000 of them are clustered in our tent. We are good barbecue guys, but perhaps better party hosts.”

In 2006 at Lenexa’s Sar-Ko-Par Park, when the temperature soared to 102 and a fierce thunderstorm unleashed its fury on the festivities, the dads had a revelation that changed the course of Mad Cow Angry Beaver.

Greg Miller recalls that a huddle ensued. To keep the team going, the solution was to hand the reins of the team off to the sons. “It was time for the dads to fade to the background,” he says, “and let the kids take control.”

In 2007 the fathers proudly passed the mantle of Mad Cow Angry Beaver to their obliging students, and today the grown-up sons command the team’s cooking and competing.

“Most men pass flesh and blood on to their sons,” Jeff says, “but we passed on flesh, blood and barbecue.” Kevin nods in consensus.

“We decided passing down our passion for barbecue to our sons was a good thing, but passing all the hard work associated with barbecue is a great thing,” Kevin says with a laugh.

“Mission accomplished,” Gary agrees.

LaMont, watching Drew inspect the ribs, pork, salmon, chicken and sausage in the smoker, appreciates his emeritus member position on the team. “The dads provide oversight and advice,” he says. “It’s been fun — and sometimes painful in the early days — to see these young men assume responsibility for the team.”

Especially during the college years, when it was more fun than work.

“It’s evolved into something they love, just like we did. They take it a bit more seriously than we did — it was a vehicle to strengthen our bonds as fathers and sons,” he says.

Passing the torch

Each son is accountable for a protein; each has also developed a recipe or tweaked one handed down by his father.

Garrett, of Westwood Hills, has been dubbed the team’s head chef, oversees chicken and is a certified Kansas City Barbeque Society judge.

Ribs are the specialty of Drew. Matt, the assistant head chef, and Scott, social chair, lend their expertise with miscellaneous meats. Kyle usually smokes the salmon; Zach is the team’s brisket man. All live in Overland Park

Friends Sam Evans, Kansas City, smokes sausage and is the team’s official culinary liaison, and Richard Alspaugh, Lenexa, assists with pork.

Dan Petersen, who now resides in Rochester, Minn., is the team’s self-proclaimed global ambassador.

“Before moving, Dan was instrumental in plating and presentation prior to handing something in to judges,” Garrett says. “Now he just sings our praises up north.”

Under the sons’ direction, Mad Cow Angry Beaver has collected several awards: Top 20 in the sausage category, Lenexa, 2011; first-place ribs, smoked by Drew, at the Rock and Ride & Barbecue Competition at Carroll Cycle Center in Carroll, Iowa, in 2014, and first-place overall.

“We’re also in the top 500 teams in the world,” Garrett says. “The American Royal in 2014 and 2016. It’s the world’s largest barbecue contest and we placed in the top 500, so technically …”

Several sons stop duties to playfully acknowledge their teammate’s tongue-in-cheek reference to one of the most revered competitions on the barbecue circuit.

The team maintains a Google barbecue hangout, and there’s a constant text message thread among fathers and sons with the latest challenges and advice — and, of course, some jokes. “No matter where we are, we’re talking and thinking barbecue,” Kyle says.

A new generation of barbecuers

Team decisions are arrived at democratically, as illustrated by the brand-new Deep South Smoker that the sons chipped in on this spring.

“The Kingfisher our dads bought on the fly at the American Royal had serious problems, not the least of which were grease fires because of holes,” Kyle says. “It was time we owned something that illustrated the sons’ dedication to the art of barbecue.”

For four years the sons researched and debated the merits of different smokers. Ultimately Kyle and Zach found the smoker the team purchased, and it was put through its paces in a trial run in Zach’s Overland Park driveway in early May.

“It’s a good one,” Drew says, patting the smoker on its side before poking his head inside to check the temperature of the meats. “The cool thing about this group — we don’t argue. We might have disagreements, but we respect one another. OK, boys, let’s do it.”

On this particular Saturday, the sons wear the official dark-blue logoed shirts of Mad Cow Angry Beaver, each emblazoned with the member’s high school or college sports number. Notable among the younger generation are Drew for his 2004-08 Drake University track career (No. 8) and Richard Alspaugh, who was a defensive end for the University of Kansas in 2008 (No. 90).

One by one, the sons of Mad Cow Angry Beaver pull the pork, ribs, chicken, brisket, salmon and sausages from the smoker, cutting, tasting, adjusting seasonings and adding the meats to the buffet spread in Zach’s kitchen.

The fathers pile their plates high, smiles all around, savoring the barbecue and the sweet taste of their legacy.

This story was originally published June 14, 2016 at 10:11 AM.