Dyslexia specialist Alicia Joseph was recently featured on "BBQ USA" on the Food Network. 

Joseph and her husband Clarence (CJ) have a competition barbecue team, Mama & Papa Joe’s Barbecue, and the show followed the pair and four other competitive barbecue groups as they competed at the Briscoe Ranch Cook-Off last winter. 

“Mama & Papa Joe's BBQ was selected to be on the show for a number of reasons,” Joseph said. “We are growing quite the following with our successful You Tube Cooking Channel. We are also consistent winners on the barbecue competition circuit.”

They traveled to Uvalde this competition and filming in December. 

“Briscoe Ranch Cook-off is a competition that we really love to compete in,” Joseph said. “It's the last competition of the year and the promoter and community really do a great job with their hospitality to the competitors. It was only a two-hour drive from home.”

During the filming, host Michael Symon and the Food Network film crews followed the teams over a two-day period. Symon would visit the campsites periodically interviewing team members and sampling and giving feedback on each category — chicken, ribs, brisket, and fajitas.

More than 100 teams were competing in the event. Though the timed entries can be stressful, Mama & Papa Joe’s has more than a decade of experience in the competition circuit, earning some significant awards already, including Grand Champion of the San Antonio Livestock Rodeo Cook-off in 2015 and 2020, Reserve Grand Champion of the Houston Livestock Rodeo in 2022, The Western Wood Series 3 in 2014, and fifth place in the World Food Championship BBQ Category in Orange County, Alabama in 2017.

“My husband and I are very competitive people, and this is definitely competition,” Joseph said. “When you win, you can win big. But a lot goes into getting to the point of being able to win big.”

Joseph said they started firing up the pit after CJ retired from the military. 

“He and a buddy had retired from the military and were missing that comradery they had when they were active duty,” she said. “They would always have soldiers or other NCOs over for barbecues. After the original ‘BBQ Pitmasters’ aired, they decided that they could do this.”

And now it was their turn to be on television.

The episode, “Smokin' at the Crossroads,” was the third in the second season of “BBQ USA” and aired July 24.

“When the show aired, CJ and I watched it from home with our dog, Trooper,” Joseph said. “Our daughter lives here in San Antonio and she watched from her home while sending constant text messages. We just wanted to relax and watch from home.”