Fire, smoke, and a shared obsession.

How it started

It started at a backyard cookout in 2011. Friends kept asking for recipes, so we started writing them down. A shared love of grills, growlers, and grapes turned into a full-blown passion project — and fifteen years later, we’re still at it.

We’re never far from great BBQ country — Austin, Kansas City, Memphis, and Dallas are all within striking distance, and we’ve eaten our way through every one of them.

The name? We’re lifelong Seattle Seahawks fans. Hawks was already in us.

Sean’s Story

Tulsa BBQ got its hooks in early.

I grew up cooking — weekend catering jobs, backyard cookouts, feeding crowds at church and company events. By the time I landed in Tulsa for college, I was already gone for it. The local BBQ joints stayed open past midnight, smoke hit you from the parking lot, and I made it my business to work through all of them.

Along the way I built my share of improvised cookers — including more than a few oil barrel grills dragged to the lake — took courses from World Championship pitmasters, and eventually co-founded a Big Green Eggfest. Today I’m a KCBS and PNWBA certified BBQ judge, and every recipe on this site has been cooked in my own backyard, usually more than once.

I judge with the same standards I cook with: bark, smoke ring, tenderness, and does it make you close your eyes on the first bite.

SueAnn’s Story

The pilot who pairs Syrah with smoked brisket.

I grew up in the Midwest, went to Notre Dame, and flew for years as a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force Reserve before retiring. Today I’m a full-time Captain and A220 Pilot Instructor — which means I’ve chased good food from Anchorage to Austin and everywhere in between.

A few years back I completed my WSET Level 2 wine certification with distinction. It changed the way I think about pairing — not just what goes with what, but why. You’ll find me at the grill alongside Sean most weekends, usually with something interesting in my glass and a strong opinion about what it brings to the plate.

If a recipe has a wine pairing note on this site, it came from me.