Erica Blaire, Champion Pitmaster and Certified Sommelier

Erica Blaire, known as “Blue Smoke Blaire,” is an attorney who went from courtroom to farm and barbecue pit.

Along the way, she picked up a psychology degree from Wright State University, a law degree from Rutgers, a Level-2 Sommelier certificate, and a membership in American Mensa. She has lived in and cooked in Hawaii, Montreal, Quebec, Granada, Spain, Tampa, San Francisco, Napa Valley, Ohio, New Jersey, LA, Miami, and Texas.

By age 10, she happily assumed the primary cook role from her working parents. Around this time, she was helping her father replace a deck while he cooked steaks. He asked her to turn the steaks. This was a major moment because only the men in the family touched the grill. After that, Erica ran to the grill whenever her father started it and began her journey. To nourish her love of cooking, her parents took her to the local bookstore to buy one cookbook a month.

In 2005, Erica entered Rutgers School of Law in Camden, New Jersey. When she graduated, she drove to Miami for work as a public defender. She launched her own law firm, got married, and although she was content, something was missing. On her 30th birthday, she bought herself a grill and began cooking seriously.

She found a part-time job as a wine bartender in a Tampa cheese shop and also worked in a wine store. Although the pay was low, Erica was the happiest she had been in a decade. Six months later, she found herself heading to San Francisco to start her first day at wine school. Thus began her new career as a sommelier in Napa Valley.

Erica’s new passion brought her to San Diego working at The Marriott Marquis as an assistant sommelier. She loved watching the chefs and culinary staff. She began imitating their techniques and plating styles on her food at home.

Married with a young son, her new life left her little spare time, so she turned to competition barbecue on a lark. One cold California morning she landed on legendary Harry Soo’s doorstep for a competition barbecue class. She studied barbecue religiously and entered her first competition. She drove to Kentucky and competed by herself. She came in last. But she kept at it.

In 2020, Erica was approached by a casting agent on Instagram. They asked her to apply for a BBQ competition show. Erica got in and appeared on the Food Network’s BBQ Brawl. After ten weeks, she defeated all contestants and won the coveted title of “Master of Cue.”

She began documenting her journey in BBQ on social media with her hit series, “The Pit Stop With Blue Smoke Blaire,” traveling the country by herself in her Winnebago, hitting up barbecue restaurants from Tennessee to Texas. In May 2022, she competed at the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, Memphis In May, and tied for first place in brisket. She won fourth place in ribs.

When not traveling, Erica can be found on her Texas ranch, lovingly called,

“Hot Mess Ranch,” cooking for her husband, son, and farmhands, while tending her chickens and horses, and teaching at her own championship BBQ school in Houston, Blue Smoke Blaire’s BBQ School.

At AmazingRibs.com, Erica messes with Meathead’s recipes, cooks them on her Texas ranch, and shoots videos showing cooks how to make the recipes with tips, tricks, and variations to make them your own.