For pitmaster Sloan Rinaldi there is but one word she has at the forefront of her mind when she is preparing a meal: Flavor. It’s in her blood and it drives everything she cooks.

“Flavor is my philosophy,” she said. “That’s how I grew up. I grew up with amazing southern, soul food-style cooks. My great-grandmother, my grandmother, my mom were absolutely amazing home cooks who made some of the best food I’ve ever eaten.”

Rinaldi has proved her mettle on Netflix’s “Barbecue Showdown,” where she placed third. She’s also been featured on the shows, “Chopped Grill Masters: Texas” and “Top Chef.” She is the brains and brawn behind the catering company Texas Q and sells her own brand of Texas-inspired barbecue sauces and rubs. 

Tucson will have the opportunity to meet Rinaldi and watch her in action as she breaks down the steps to a succulent brisket at the Southern AZ Home Show, slated for Oct. 16-18 at the Tucson Convention Center. Rinaldi will be appearing from 2:30 to 4 p.m. both Friday and Saturday. She is coming ready to answer questions and chat.

“I love talking about all things Texas barbecue,” she said. “Outdoor living, live-fire cooking, Texas barbecue and I do a demo on the brisket.”

Achieving a complex, delicious flavor on any piece of meat is no small task. It involves layering and premium ingredients. “You get what you pay for,” Rinaldi said. But the other important ingredient? Love. “I show my love through food.”

She’s a perfectionist in the kitchen and at the barbecue. 

“To me, since childhood, the most important thing is when I take a bite of anything that the flavor be right,” she said. “I don’t want to have to salt it. I don’t want people to have to salt or add anything to my food. I want it to be absolute perfection.”

Rinaldi grew up with people who loved to cook and barbecue. Even at the age of 5 she was learning how to make gravy. She learned that just about every dish in Texas begins with the magical three: bacon fat, butter and onion.

Her introduction to barbecue was a handbuilt brick barbecue pit in her great-grandfather’s backyard.

“I was fascinated by it but I was fascinated by the sense of what it could do,” she said. 

For Rinaldi, it comes down to live-fire cooking. 

“Especially live-fire cooking, to me it is the common denominator throughout historical culture from the beginning of time,” she said. “Every culture in history has had live-fire cooking and barbecue.”

Just about all of the competitions that Rinaldi has participated in have been on television. She wasn’t even thinking about competing until she watched “Barbecue Pitmasters” and noticed that there was only one woman contestant, Melissa Cookson, who stood out in a large field of men.

“Watching that show, I was like, ‘I can do that,’” she said. 

Rinaldi built a pit in her backyard, invested in other competition-grade equipment and began practicing. She entered her first competition in 2014. She was the only woman among 20 teams. It was an experience.

“They all roll in in a party bus, margarita machines going off and all the girls and whatnot and I’m over in my tent by myself, this 50-year-old woman,” Rinaldi said. “I could feel them eyeballing me and I’m like, what the h— is going on over there?”

She got a call, which means her team’s name was called during the award ceremony for placing in the top ranks of the rib category.

Today Rinaldi focuses on Texas craft barbecue, which treats Texas barbecue as a culinary art form.

Rinaldi works hard to represent her LGBTQ+ community; she knows what it’s like to be an outsider. She firmly believes that everyone can accomplish anything in life.

“I’m going to hold myself out as an example that no matter what you come from or what your circumstances are, with work and passion there’s nothing you can’t do,” she said.  

Southern AZ Home Show

WHEN: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday Oct. 16 through 18

WHERE: Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church  Avenue

INFO: southernazfallhomeshow.com