Meet Michael King of Swimmin’ in Smoke in Queen Creek

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael King.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Michael. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Swimmin’ in Smoke was founded back in 2010 by me. Before venturing into Professional Competition BBQ, I had been making my own all-purpose seasoning. I didn’t have a name for it. I first created it some time ago around 1993. I had been making my own rub to enjoy with my family and friends. I didn’t like to bring all the spices I needed out to the grill every time I wanted to barbeque. So, I created an all in one grilling spice I soon called Chik Bait. After competing in competition BBQ for a while, I started to formulate some new rubs for the 4 main meats in competition BBQ (Chicken, Pork Ribs, Pork Butt & Beef Brisket). All four of those rubs have won awards in the professional BBQ circuit (Including the KCBS and BCS sanctioning bodies). I came out with a new rub in 2012 called Fish Bait. In 2014, I came out with 2 new rubs called Cattle Call and a Salt-Free Chik Bait. Since then, I have won numerous awards for my rubs & BBQ from:
KCBS
BCS
IBCA
National Barbeque & Grilling Association
American Royal Barbeque Rub Contest
World Hot Sauce Awards
The National Barbecue Association (NBBQA)
National Barbecue News Rubs of Honor

All of my rubs are made with passion and from the heart.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When I started competing in professional competition barbecue, I went to several BBQ supply stores and spent a lot of money on different rubs and seasonings. I realized that I couldn’t find any rubs that I really liked. After competing for almost 2 years and coming in at the bottom of the pack. I told everyone about my own rub that I created many years ago. They all told me, don’t reinvent the wheel. I didn’t listen!
I worked and worked on 1 rub at a time for the 4 meats of BBQ (chicken, pork butt, pork ribs & beef brisket). I perfected my rub for chicken and then started on the rubs for the other 3 meats in competition BBQ. It took me over 3 years to perfect my rubs! I now have my own rub for all 4 meats, Chicken – Chik Bait®, Pork Ribs – Radical Rib®, Pork Butt/Shoulder – Booty Shake™ & Beef Brisket – Boo Yah Beef™ and Cattle Call. I use my own rubs in the competitions and have received numerous awards for my BBQ, including the 2013 Arizona Triple Crown Overall Team of the Year!

Swimmin’ in Smoke – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I now have a line of 12 rubs!
Chik Bait®, Hot Chik Bait® & Salt Free Chik Bait®
Radical Rib® & Hot Radical Rib®
Booty Shake™ & Hot Booty Shake™
Boo Yah Beef™ & Hot Boo Yah Beef™
Fish Bait™ & Hot Fish Bait™
Cattle Call™ (a coarser seasoning for any red meat)

Chik Bait®
Gluten free and contains no MSG.

Chik Bait is an all purpose rub/seasoning, NOT just for chicken. It is a salt, pepper and garlic based seasoning.

This seasoning tastes great on pork chops, lamb, seafood, hamburgers and even salad. We have heard from some people and the things they use it on are; pork butt, eggs, sandwiches, celery with cream cheese, Ramen noodles, corn, steamed veggies and even bagels with cream cheese. The list goes on.

I use this on “little chicken wings” (My kids call them) as a dry rub. I and the kids love it!

Boo Yah Beef
Gluten free and contains no MSG.

Well… the name pretty much sums this rub up perfectly! It’s for Beef! And it’s the Bomb! Put this on steaks and everyone will call you the Grill Master!

This has a little heat and not too much salt.

This is great on any red meat. Rub it on your Holiday Prime Rib… yup, it’s that good! Hamburgers, meatloaf, roast, veal or even ribs will never be the same. People have used this on a lot of wild game also.
My favorite things to put this on are beef Tri Tip, Steaks & Brisket.

Radical Rib Rub®
Gluten free and contains no MSG.

This is a sweet rub with a little heat.

This was actually created for a BBQ catering company that wanted me to make them a rub for Memphis style Spare Ribs. It was used on the first day and had to be diluted the next day because it was too hot. Well, I went back to the kitchen and took out some heat and added more sweet and BAM! Radical Rib Rub was born. I use this rub on St. Louis Style Spare Ribs or lamb chops.

People have used it on steak, ham, poultry, pork, sautéed onions, wild game and even beans.

Booty Shake
Gluten free and contains no MSG.

Booty Shake actually got its name while I was at a BBQ Competition with my wife and kids. I was shaking my home made pork rub on my competition pork butts while singing to my kids “shake your booty” and the name stuck!

This peppery, woody, sweet rub will have you wanting to put it on everything.

It was made for Pork Butt, but, it is great on steaks, chicken, corn on the cob, pork chops, roasts, potatoes, even potato chips.

Fish Bait
Gluten free and contains no MSG.

I was cooking fish one night and thought it would be nice to have one bottle of seasoning for fish. For the next few weeks, I cooked and cooked fish until I got the flavors just right. Now, every time I cook fish, I grab some Fish Bait.

Use this on, chicken, pork chops, veggies, salads, stir-fry, shrimp and even craw fish.
I Love it on pan fried Cat Fish.

If you like a lil’ heat to your meat! All these flavors above come in HOT also.

Salt-Free Chik Bait
Gluten free and contains no MSG.

Salt-Free Chik Bait is just that. Chik Bait but without all the salt! It’s an all purpose rub/seasoning, NOT just for chicken. This is a healthy way to eat great flavor! Put this seasoning on pork chops, lamb, seafood, hamburgers or even salad. It works great in soups and dips. We have heard from some people and the things they use it on are; eggs, sandwiches, Ramen noodles, corn and steamed veggies. The list goes on.
I use this all the time when he cooks in the kitchen to add a little flavor without all the salt. He even keeps some on the table to use in place of salt and pepper.

Cattle Call
Gluten free and contains no MSG.

This rub is a coarser Boo Yah Beef and is great on any and all red meats! Rub it on your Brisket, roast, veal or even Elk or Buffalo! Mix it in your Hamburgers or Meatloaf. People have used this on a lot of wild game. Try a little or a lot on your steaks. It really adds a lot of flavor to beef stews also. Some of Mike’s favorite thing to put this on is beef Tri Tip and Beef Brisket.

I have my rubs in some stores and restaurants all over the USA and plan to get them in more!

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I have been lucky enough to have had several proud moments I guess! I have received awards from;

American Royal Barbeque Rub Contest

3rd place in the Hot Rubs with Hot Chik Bait

9rd place out of 196 contestants in the overall with Hot Chik Bait

15th place out of 153 contestants in the Mild Rubs with Booty Shake

The National Barbecue Association (NBBQA)
NBBQA Recognizes Locally Made Hot Radical Rib and Hot Booty Shake as “Award of Excellence” Winners

Swimmin’ in Smoke takes home high honors at NBBQA national conference

The National Barbecue Association (NBBQA) announced that local products, Hot Radical Rib and Hot Booty Shake were among the top winners in this year’s Awards of Excellence competition. Hot Radical Rib earned 2 awards!

Hot Radical Rib earned the 1st place in the Barbecue Dry Rub & Seasoning – Cajun Rub category

Hot Radical Rib earned a 5th place in the Barbecue Dry Rub & Seasoning – Caribbean/Jerk category.

Hot Booty Shake earned a 1st place award in the Barbecue Dry Rub & Seasoning – Caribbean/Jerk

The award was announced at the organization’s annual conference held in Nashville, Tennessee.

The annual competition recognizes the very best barbecue products in a number of industry categories.

“BBQ enthusiasts from all over the country come here to measure their products against their peers,” said Roy Slicker, association president. “It’s a competitive field with top-notch products, and a NBBQA Award of Excellence medal is quickly becoming one of the most coveted awards in the foodservice industry.”

The World Hot Sauce Awards

Chik Bait seasoning wins 1st place in the World for the cook-off-Dry Seasoning Rub Fowl category

Chik Bait seasoning wins 3rd place in the World for the Condiments – Table Seasoning

Cattle Call seasoning wins 3rd place in the World for the Cook-Off-Dry Seasoning Rub Beef Category

Fish Bait seasoning wins 3rd place in the World for the Cook-Off-Dry Seasoning Rub Fish Category

That’s in the world!

There were over 1000 entries from 161 Companies that entered this year’s contest from 14 countries: New Zealand, United States, Canada, Hungary, United Kingdom, Austria, South Africa, Australia, Germany, Croatia, Switzerland, Slovenia, Czech Republic & Malaysia.

Pricing:

• All of our rubs can be purchased online or in stores for around $10.00 per bottle

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.swimmininsmoke.com/
• Email: sales@swimmininsmoke.com

Image Credit:
Thing 1 (John O’sullivan), Thing 2 (Kris Hain)

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