Franklin Simpson Fair BBQ

June 19-20, 2009

This would be my second time competing at the Franklin Simpson Fair BBQ but DoRagQ's first. Last year good friend Dan Watson (Long Dawgs Blue Smoke) & I decided to throw in together & have some fun. This year Dan & I decided to divide & conquer. The contest location is in a park which is equipped with water & electrical connections for each site. The sites are all on level ground in a nicely maintained grassy area surrounded by tall shade trees. A great location. Defiantly one of our favs. Richard was on his annual fishing trip with one of his friends & would not be making the trip. Gary"Nickelback" was planning on making the trip until his knee gave out on him & his Mom had surgery earlier in the week! Looks like ole DoRag may have to go solo on this one! To top it off I had to work on Friday to boot! No step for a stepper!

On Thursday after work Gary & I took Casa DoRag to the contest site & set up. We figured to do as much as we could to make things easier on me on Friday. After setting a few things up Thursday night, we joined Voncil & Joe of Smokey Mountain Smokers, Mike & Barry of Swiggin Pig, & Jim & Johnny of Son Seeker's & headed to the Franklin Square to have some Wangs & Burgers @ "Burgers on the Square". What a great place. They even had a band! OK it was a Dude with a guitar but he was really good. I highly recommend checking it our. The Wangs were great & the beer was cold, what more could you want? After some food & fun, Gary & I headed back to Nashville for the night.

Friday was a wild & crazy day. I went in extra early & with all the extra time I had put in during the week I was hoping to slip out early afternoon. Once on site, I finished unloading & started prepping. Gary called to say his knee was a little better & his Mom was recovering so he was hoping to catch up with me later Friday evening. I finally got finished prepping & got our cook site organized. Finally some time for socializing! Long Dawgs & Big & Twig were our neighbors to each side while Team Allegro was across the driveway. Smokey Mountain Smokers, Lotta Bull, & Swiggin Pig were just down the way a bit & Old Dave of Ribs & Bibs was hangin out amongst us all! It was good to see Old Dave again. His sidekick Ziggy did not make the trip. Too bad we had some "Blue Yummies" iced down for him. Maybe next time!

Gary limped in & DoRagQ was officially "In Da House"! After a beer or two "G" settled in to make boxes. I threw on some pork chops & sausage for supper. Swiggin Pig fixed some taters & Long Dawgs threw together a salad & just like that dinner was ready! Good friend & sometime sponsor Mark Walker showed up with Chip & Chuck just in time to grab some grub. Work buddies, Kari & Denise paid us a visit along with Chris, Denise's hubby. They live in the area & had been wanting to check out all the fun we have. Hey the more the merrier right! Scott & Suzanne of South Pork also joined us. Dan made Margaritas & Voncil of Smokey Mountain Smokers made 'Nanna Puddin' for desert.... and Life Was Good! Friday nights at a contest with friends, good food, music, & some adult beverages is hard to top! After some socializing & a sip or two of "Apple Pie" it was time for them to leave! After all I gotta cook & Gary is on crutches!

Saturday morning was quite & peaceful. A nice change from the rain & wind of recent contests. Gary's knee (& other things) were hurtin so I had no choice but to step up & gut it out solo. Most everything went according to plan. I wish I had a $1 for every step I took. I have a new respect for Byron (Buttrubb.com) & Pete (Bean Bandits) who cook solo. You really have to be organized & keep focused. Somehow I was able to do that and got everything boxed & turned in on time! Gary did lend a hand as he got to feelin better. I was happy with chicken & brisket but our ribs were tough & I never know about our pork! So it was time to pack it up & see if were were hero's or zero's!

Thanks to Gary & Roxy of Governor's BBQ we had 25 teams. Category winners were South Pork in chicken, Swiggin Pig in ribs, The Pit Crew in pork, & Smokey Mountain Smokers in brisket. The DoRagQ Gang (less the Gang) managed a 3rd in chicken, 17th in ribs, 13th in pork, & 5th in brisket, finishing 8th overall! South Pork took the GC & The Pit Crew took RGC! Congrats! Other notables were Smokey Mountain Smokers 4th, Swiggin Pig 7th, Long Dawgs 9th, & Lotta Bull 10th.

Overall I am very happy with the outcome. I made a few tweaks to chicken resulting in our best score to date. Brisket is still solid. The ribs were below our standards that was no surprise. Pork was better, but not where it needs to be. I have gotta make a decision. This year's pork just isn't scoring well. Gotta come up with something new or go back to last years or even 2007's recipe! Looks like I am gonna be cookin lots of pork in the next few weeks!

Thanks to Mark Sexton & his staff. They did a great job & took good care of us. Franklin is one of my favorite cooks & I look forward to returning next year. It was also good seeing our BBQ family. Some we see often & other's like ZZ-Que, Hoosier Crawdaddy, Monty Pigthon & The Holy Grill, Ribs & Bibs, Son Seekers, Rockin Rooster's BBQ, Shadetree Cooks, & Castaway Cookers we don't see as much but it's always a blast catching up with them & hope we see them again soon. As for the DoRagQ Gang, it's off to Lawrencburg, TN for the Tennessee State Championship BBQ Cook-Off June 26-27. Richard will be back but "G" is gone on vacation. I guess Richard & I will have to make our own boxes again! Stop by if you are in the area, we love company & if you can make a box, your hired!

Haleyville 911 BBQ Results

On February 16, 1968 the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system in the nation went into service in Haleyville. First Haleyville Alabama is a long way from Nashville! I guess I shouldn't complain. There were teams from further away like Lotta Bull from Oklahoma and Pop's Blazen Smokers from Louisiana to mention a few. But I am here to tell you, it's a long frickin way from DoRag's house! OK you get the point, so I will stop wining. To start with Gary "Nickelback" was not making the trip. His knee & his mom's recent surgery would keep him home this time. So I headed down to Lewisburg solo to pick up Richard. We got an early start on Friday & Richard was looking to score some breakfast on the way. Mental note: when heading off the beaten path, eat at Cracker Barrel. Once we exited off I-65 onto the state roads there was not much to be had. We ended up stopping at the McDonald's right beside the contest site! I almost lost ole Richard!

After a hearty helpin of simulated egg-like substance we finally got set up right next to Barry & Mike of Swiggin Pig! They arrive Thursday & were kind enough to save us a spot. So we squeezed Casa DoRag in among the big rigs of Lotta Bill, Jiggy Piggy, Wild Bunch Butt Burners & Big River BBQ & commenced to prepping the meat. Prepping went relatively well and we were finished before noon. Once again, Richard was on the hunt for food! We had our choice of KFC, A&W, Captin D's, & McDonald's. After careful thinking we decided on KFC. Mike & Barry joined us & chauffeured us over on the UT Golf cart. Yes we were living dangerous driving the Big Orange cart around in Crimson Tide country, but when we told them we drove it all the way down from Nashville they grinned & shook their heads in dis-belief. I just had to grin with them and ordered up some hot wangs! After lunch the Alabama Power Company informed us they were taking the electrical grid down to install & transformer & heaver wire cuz we were pullin to much juice! So after a couple of hours of on for a while, off for a while they got 'er done right before the sky's turned dark & the winds began howllin! That's right, we were fixin to be right smack dab in the middle of a bonified Alabama thunderstorm! We quickly tied everything down & started saying our prayers. The wind gusts were fierce & the rain was heavy but Casa DoRag managed to make it through with only a few scratches. We did manage to find time to make our turn in boxes since our "Box-Boy" was laying out on us. BTW...Cell phone coverage is spotty at best in Haleyville so you have to use a pay phone to call 911 in case of an emergency. Anyway, we managed to make it to the 6 PM cook's meeting hosted by two of our favorite KCBS Reps, Ron "Cooks, Cooks" Harwell & his trusty side-kick Richard Preston. After laying down the law, we headed back to the cook site & once again we were in search of food! Luck was on our side & we weaseled our way into a spread put on by Jiiggy Piggy, Swiggin Pig, & Wild Bunch Butt Burners! They had salads, potatoes, steaks, & these little pigeon lookin things. Holy Crap, we done hit the Mother Lode! Later we found out those were Quail, not Pigeons. Either way they were outstanding! Thanks to all involved for letting us hang out. A good time was had by all in-spite of the continued rain. There wasn't much partying going on due to the weather so we headed back to Casa DoRag for a nite-cap & turned in.

Morning brought the loudest clap of thunder I think I have ever experienced along with more rain. In between showers we got pork & brisket finished & chicken & ribs cooking. About mid morning, the rains stopped & we managed to get everything cooked & turned in on time. We just weren't hittin on all cylinders without "G" plus the turn in area was a good 2 city blocks away! DoRag was huffin & puffin. After turn in Richard & I agreed that our food while not bad was not our best. We figured middle of the pack for our overall finish. If we had a chance at a "call" it would be in ribs. So we packed up & got ready to hear the results.

The awards were in a church so I was already a little on edge. If they had bells ringing, I figured I was a gonner. (That's a long story for another time). After the announcements & speeches from the dignitaries, it was time to "Fear the Reaper". The DoRagQ Gang (minus G) managed to pull off a 9th in chicken, 8th in ribs, 20th in pork, & 3rd in brisket! Finishing 9th overall out of 34! A very pleasant surprise! Category winners were South Pork in chicken, Pop's Blazin Smokers in ribs, The EGGseQuetive Council in pork, & South Pork in brisket. The overall Grand Champion was Mike & Debbie Davis of Lotta Bull BBQ with South Pork Reserve Grand Champion. Other notables were in 4th Joebeaz Blazin Butts, 5th Jiggy Piggy, 6th The EGGseQuetive Council, 7th Wild Bunch Butt Burners, 8th Late Night Whiskey Smokers, & in 10th Swiggin Pig. Congrats to all!

It was good to see & visit with out BBQ family again. After a 4 week hiatus we were a little rusty but still managed to pull off a decent finish. Better than we expected! Next week we head to Franklin Kentucky for the Franklin Simpson County Fair BBQ Contest. Again we will be with out one of the Do's in DoRagQ as Richard has a prior fishing commitment with an old friend. We will miss him but friends & traditions are important so catch a big one Richard! Gary & I will do our best to carry on without you! One thing is for sure, we are going to have a great time with our BBQ fam ily! Drop by if your in the area! Until next week, may your coals be read, & your smoke be blue, grab your meat and let's BBQ!

Sundrop Country BBQ Cookoff

May 8-9, 2009

Friday morning I found myself driving to pick up Richard & Casa DoRag in one of the wildest electrical storms I have ever seen. Around 5 AM the Nashville sky's were full of lightening & the rumble of thunder. I have never seen such a display! I lost count of the bolts that lit up the skyline. The rain was heavy but luckily the winds were not very strong. I arrived at Richards & we were able to get hooked up before the rain caught up with us. We pulled into the picturesque cook site & began to setup. We tied down everything we could expecting to get hit sometime during the weekend. Like last week in Huntsville the forecast was rain, rain, & more rain!

This would be the 5th weekend out of six we were cookin' BBQ & 2009 would be our 3rd visit to the Sundrop Country BBQ Cookoff. There is a large "Back-Yard" division (cooks only chicken & ribs) as well as 30+ "Pros". It's always good too see our Back Yard friends like Rooster, T's, & Gooby's as well as the rest of our BBQ Family. After meat prep we settled in for some socializin! We were flanked by High on the Hawg & E.M. Azing BBQ. Our friends Jobeaz & Carl Counce of Coldwell Bankers BBQ we also in our neighborhood. We also got to visit with Smokers Wild & Chad Hayden of Moonswiners (2007 Jack Daniels World Champion). Chad was one of the first friends I made in the BBQ community. He was competing in 2006 at the Fiddlin', Brewin' & BarBQ'n @ Opryland Hotel. That was our first contest & Chad was setup across from us. He was kind enough to give us a few tips. Then in 2007 I ran into him again in Benton, KY. Later that year Richard & I decided to stay for the awards at "The Jack". Moonswiners got several calls and eventually took the GC! What a great night that was! A great BBQ memory.

After the "Cooks Meeting" we had some ABTs, pork chops, & baked potatoes. Lou & Buck turned in some incredible smoked salmon for Anything Butt. Gary "Nickelback" finally arrive after a 2 week hiatus and DoRagQ was officially "In Da House"! After dinner we just hung out and socialized. Then it dawned on us, it had not rained since we had arrived! Maybe "Mother Nature" was going to give us a gift for "Mother's Day". More on that later. The rest of the evening was spent listening to the music from the arena & sipping on some "Apple Pie". An occasional "Freebird" was yelled out to carry on the tradition but the band never granted our wish. I guess thats better than the year they did play it & forgot most of the words! What respectable redneck bar-band doesn't know the words to frickin FREEBIRD! The party broke up around 10:45 PM & we all headed off to get some shut eye.

We made it through the night without any rain or winds but daylight did bring cloudy skies. About 7 AM it began so sprinkle & by 10 AM the sprinkles turned into showers. We keep on cooking making the best of the wet conditions. With Gary back we were hittin on all 3 cylinders. He was making boxes while Richard & I did out cookin thang. By noon we were ready for chicken turn in. We had been tweaking our technique & recipie since the beginning of the year & we were happy with the outcome. Our rib box was awesome! One of our best looking boxes we have ever produced. We also thought our ribs were pretty good as well. Our pork had a great taste but our results have been inconsistent. We put together a nice box & thought it was pretty tasty as well. Brisket was a challenge. We thought it was dry & tough so we beat it with a hammer & set it outside in the rain but I thought it was a lost cause. Whats done is done. It's all up to the Judges now.

It did quit raining before turn ins and we even got a peak at the sun every now an again. After turn in we had a few minutes to enjoy a beverage & then it was time to pack it all up! Sure wish there were BBQ Roadies to do this. We managed to get it all packed up and have a few minutes to reflect before awards @ 4 PM. We all thought our chicken was good. Gary predicted "top 5"! We all like the looks & taste of our ribs, Gary predicted "top 10". Again we all thought we had a great looking pork box & we all liked the flavor but pork is hard to predict so Gary had no prediction. A dry tough brisket never scores well so we all felt we would "tank" again no prediction.

It was finally time to "read em & weep"! As we all congregated around the PA system, Jay thanked Linda, Tana, & Mark for being great contest reps. The Back Yard results were announced, Gooby's got some calls. Sorry I can't remember & no results are posted yet. Then it was on to the "Pros"! Wild Bunch Butt Burners took 1st in chicken, Team Top Chick was 1st in ribs, Colonel E's BBQ was 1st in pork, & Charcoal Cowboys took 1st in brisket. Smokers Wild took the overall win with Team Allegro taking 2nd! Congrats! DoRagQ was 5th in chicken (Gary called it), 13th in ribs (actually tied for 11th Gary almost called it), 20th in pork (WTF?) & 6th in brisket! Guess the hammer & rain helped! DoRagQ came in 8th overall! No complaint here! rounding out the overall top ten starting with 3rd was Swiggin Pig, 4th Lotta Bull, 5th Team Top Chick, 6th Big River BBQ, 7th Jobeaz Blazin Butts & Wings, 8th DoRagQ, 9th High on the Hawg, & 10th Smokey Mountain Smokers! Congrats to all. Thanks to Jay, the event staff, & contest reps that helped put on the contest. Special thanks to Sundrop & Wallmart for supporting BBQ. We appreciate your participation. We are looking forward to coming back in 2010. Maybe less the rain & mud!

As I look back on the last 6 weeks, I would have to say we are happy with our results. We have improved in some areas and still need some work in others. It's harder that you may think to produce 4 categories that 6 judges all think are good. Lots of factors enter into a finished product, the quality of meat, rubs, technique, equipment, organization, weather, cookers, & recipes all play important parts. When its all said & done, if you turned in the best you could on that day & had a good time, you have won the battle. You may not get the prize but hey, you got to cook some BBQ & be with friends & family, what more could you want?

We are taking a short break from competing. We need too clean up, get some rest, do some "Honey-Do's", & spend some time with family. We are looking forward to cooking in Haleyville, AL June 12-13, Franklin, KY June 19-20, & Lawrenceburg, TN June 26-27. Come by & visit! We love company! Until then, keep the heat low & cook it slow!

DoRag

Click the link below for pictures of the Sundrop Country BBQ Cookoff

http://www.flickr.com/photos/doragq/sets/72157617950904082

DoRag in the News!

Hey check this out! We got some press coverage & it is not for a criminal offence (although I have cooked some BBQ that I should have been arrested for)! Click here for the link!

Whistle Stop BBQ Festival

May 1-2, 2009

Huntsville, AL

Let's just say that Buttrubb.com's pit would have felt right at home at this contest. It rained, & rained, & rained! There was water & mud everywhere but it didn't dampen the spirits of 62 pro cookers and 60+ backyard teams as they competed in the 2009 Whistle Stop Festival & Rocket City BBQ. This was DoRagQ's first time to visit the Huntsville contest and we were excited to compete against many of the top teams and certainly the largest contest so far this year. Due to a work obligation I would not arrive until Friday evening. Richard & our good friend Buck of High on the Hawg were able to get "Casa DoRag" pulled down on Thursday night to secure a good spot. Buck & Lou would not be competing at this contest so they volunteered to help and hang out! Richard, Buck, & Lou arrived on Thursday & got set up in time to attend a Mexican buffet with all you can handle Margaritas! From what I hear Richard & Blindog have a "Good Time". But you know the saying, "What happens in Huntsville....".

Richard & Buck were at it early Friday morning despite the rains and got meat inspected & prepped. All the hard work was done! All I had to do was to show up. Hey I'm kinda liking this setup but showing up wasn't as easy as it sounds. After work I set off for the 100+mile trip from Nashville to Huntsville. Once I arrived in Huntsville & found the festival site, finding my way in was a different story. Glad I had my pills with me as my frustration level was building. Buck & Richard finally found me and got me directed to the parking lot that "was not on the map". I even asked directions breaking one of the basic "Man-Rules". The Dude I asked was more lost than I was! Once I was at Casa DoRag my stress & frustration level was diminished by a cold beer. Soon it was time for the "Cooks-Meeting" but it was cancelled due to the heavy downpour. There wasn't much socializing going on, most were keeping dry by staying at their cook sites. Once there was a break in the rain we got a quick tour. We ran into Barry of Swiggin Pig, & Melinda & Mike of J-Mack Cookers. They were set up across from Voncil & Joe of Smokey Mountain Smokers. We also visited with Kathy & John of WBBB, & met Bubba & Shannon of Bub-Ba-Q. JoBeaz Blazin Butts, & House of Q were set up close to Casa DoRag. We also saw old friends Bobby of Team Bobby-Q, & George & Crew of The Dead End Society. It was great to see our BBQ Family even in the rain! The night was really quiet we mostly sat in Casa DoRag & visited with Lou & Buck. Later Joe & Voncil dropped by for a visit and a great time was had by all. With "quiet time" approaching we all decided it was time to turn in so after I tucked Richard in & read him a story I set off on my own to see what was going on, surely there was somebody having some fun. Sure-enough J-Mack had a trailer full of Kentuckians & they were having a good time! Mary Jo & Terry Stinett & friends from Owensboro, KY had come down to judge. It was great seeing them and laughing about our "past" experiences. They party "big" & when them & the DoRag Crew get together it is a LARGE TIME for sure! I had a midnight curfew so I headed back to Casa DoRag & settled in for the night.

Saturday brought the hopes of clear skies but Mother Nature was not going to cooperate. We had short showers all morning but did see some gaps with no rain. Our cook went off without a hitch except for a broken electric knife. Thanks to Swiggin Pig for the loaner! We got all 4 + desert categories turned in on time and all we had to do was wait & pack up cuz they were saying the "big storms" were headed our way. So we sprang into action & got most everything packed up before the 4 PM awards ceremony. About 10 minutes till we started over to the awards when the rain intensified! We were soaked! (note to self....put umbrella in trailer).

Blindog did a fine job as the awards emcee. The place was packed and loud. When the dust (mud) settled DoRagQ finished a respectable 16th overall out of 62 teams! We had a 17th in chicken, a 13th in ribs, a 30th in pork, and a 16th place brisket. Taking top honors was Bub-Ba-Q with House of Q a close 2nd overall. DoRag friend's Smokey Mountain Smokers finished 3rd, WBBB was 4th, JoBeaz was 5th (great job), Big & Twig was 6th, J-Mack was 10th, & Swiggin Pig was 13th. Great showings in a very talented field. A shout out to category winners JoBeaz for chicken , Bub-Ba-Q for ribs, Smokey Mountain Smokers for Pork, & Killer's Dirty Pit BBQ for brisket. Oh I almost forgot! Lou fixed a desert for us to turn in and we finished 10th! they were great Lou! Thanks!

OK, in spite of the rains we had a great time. I can see why this is the premiere contest in Alabama. Lots of people, music, food, and good times. DoRagQ will defiantly return next year and maybe stay the whole weekend (if the weather ever clears up). To all my BBQ Family it was great to see you again. Hope you all have a safe return home. For DoRagQ, thanks to Brenda & Terry for their help & support. We love you guys & look forward to many more good times with you. Richard, again you are the Do in DoRagQ. Thanks so much for your friendship & your desire to cook good BBQ. I couldn't & wouldn't want to do this without you. Gary (Nicklback)...we missed you. Hope you can join us next week in Pulaski. Ok..so next is the Sundrop Festival BBQ in Pulaski, TN. In 2007 we got our 1st two calls there, in 2008 we fell flat on our pork butts. What will happen in 2009? I don't know but one things for sure, DoRagQ will have a good time, see our BBQ family, & get to cook BBQ! What else matters? Hope to see you there, drop by & give us a shout! Until next week, remember, BBQ is not just for breakfast anymore!

For a complete rundown on the contest results click here!

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The Best Buckin' BBQ Cookoff

April 24-25, 2009

Athens, AL

This marked DoRagQ's first experience cooking in Alabama. We had great weather, actually it was very warm on Saturday. The contest layout was good & the contest was well organized. Richard & I arrived early Friday morning and were greeted by Barry & Mike of Swiggin Pig & Voncile & Joe of Smokey Mountain Smokers. It's always great to see our BBQ Family. We found our spot, unloaded, & started meat prep. Fairly routine except we were missing "Nickelback"! Seems that Gary had a previous commitment & DoRagQ was going to have to forge on without him. During prep Buck, of High on the Hawg arrived and pulled in next to us. We gave him a hand unloading and got back to work.

We all worked up an appetite so Joe suggested we head down to the town square in Athens to a Pizza place called Village Pizza. We arrived & Joe asked to inspect the Pizza ovens & kitchen. Ok this was either going to be a good thing or trouble. I think he is doing some research for a secret project! Joe gave them a "thumbs up" on his inspection & we were cleared to check out the menu. We ordered some Cheese Stix & two kinds of wings, The Village Honey (Carolina's honey BBQ) & The Village Jerk ( Jamaican jerk style wings with a little heat and a hint of cinnamon). That gave us more time to check out the Pizza selection. We finally decided to "Build our Own" with Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Mushrooms, Sun Dried Tomatoes, & Feta Cheese. After a round or two of beer the Cheese Stix arrived accompanied by a marinara sauce & garlic butter. Very tastee! Then the Wings arrived. The Carolina Honey wings were my favorite. Very moist and juicy with lots of flavor. I could have eaten the whole basket myself. Joe liked the Jerk the best. Both were top notch. After another brew out came the Pizza. WOW! A work of art! I forgot my phone & camera so there are no pics but it gets 9's on appearance. Now for the real test, let's see if the flavor has as much punch as the appearance. We were not disappointed. I want to go on record as saying "This was the best frickin pizza I have ever had in my entire life". I ain't playing! It ROCKED! We all gave it 9's on taste & the crust was cooked to perfection. I also noticed a 99 on their health rating. Very clean & fresh atmosphere. I hope they open one in Nashville! Pay them a visit if you are in their area. Check out their website @ http://www.thevillagepizza.net/ You won't be disappointed! We also visited an old hardware store across the street that was very cool. It was like going back in time. Athens is a cool place. Check it out.

OK, back the the BBQ Thang. After our fun trip downtown we got back to the cook site & did some socializing. We saw Kathy & John of Wild Bunch But Burners, Bobbie, & Lee of Music City Pig Pals, Marty of Big River BBQ, Randy & Elien of Team Allegro, Wayne of Bubba's Tennessee Smokers, & the Governor himself Gary Roberts! We also met some new peeps like Justin, Carrie, & TJ of Killers Dirty Pit BBQ. Very nice young people who like to Q. Its great to see new faces getting involved. Later in the afternoon Ron Montgomery & Trent of Team Top Chick arrived with out the Chicks. BTW this contest has a large Backyard Division. I am not sure but I think around 60 Backyard Teams were there to compete. Very cool contest if you are a Back-Yarder!

The Cook's Meeting was standard stuff. Six pieces, no red lettuce, number on top, & DoRag behave! After the meeting we were treated to a catfish & hush puppy supper with all the trimmings. I think I gained 10 lbs on Friday! Friday night was pretty calm by DoRag standards. Brenda's son Jeremy & his "squeeze" (I can take you by surprise & make you realize) Amanda joined us and we settled in for the night. Later Dan of Long Dawgs drove down to visit. He just can't stand it when we are having a good time without him. The rest of the night went off without a hitch. Before we knew it morning had brought us another beautiful day of sunshine & BBQ.

Richard & I struggled through without Gary (we missed you G) and got everything sliced & diced & turned in on time. After a brief rest, we started packing & loading up Casa DoRag. The awards were being held in the Limestone County Sheriff's Rodeo Arena so we all filed in like cattle & took our place among the BS. The Backyard Awards were first. Congrats to Three Little Pigs for taking the GC. Please excuse me if I got the name wrong. The team was a father & his 3 daughters! What a great way to spend time with the kids. Congrats! It was then time for the Pro Awards! Of the 35 Teams DoRagQ finished 12th overall with a 8th in ribs & a 7th in brisket. We can't seem to get all 4 workin for us on the same day but hey we're gonna keep on trying. Congrats to Kevin of The EggseQuetive Council on his first GC & Jiggy Piggy on their strong RGC. There was ony .0002 of a point difference in their overall scores. Other notables were Swiggin Pig in 3rd & High on the Hawg 10th overall. High on the Hawg had their second consecutive 2nd place finish in Chicken. They have go it goin on! A shout out to Barry of Swiggin Pig for 1st place chicken (177.7144) a perfect score is 180! House of Q was 1st in ribs, TNT Southern BBQ placed 1st in pork & The EggseQuetive Council took the brisket category with a 177.1430. Hey and our new friends from Killer's Dirty Pit got a 10th place call is brisket! Great Job all!

Well that about covers it. We had a great time cooking BBQ & hangin with our BBQ Peeps. We plan to do it again this week in Huntsville, AL at the Rocket City BBQ Cookoff. Stop by and say "What Up Dude" if you in the area. Who knows we may have a adult beverage or two to share. Can you say "Apple Pie"! Thanks to Lou & Buck for their friendship, guidance, & help. Richard as always you are one of the DOs in DoRagQ. We will keep praying (yes I remember how) for your Father. Until next week, keep the fat side down or you'll burn your butt!

DoRag!

High on the Hog, Winchester, TN

April 17-18, 2009

Winchester Park is just outside of Winchester, TN on Tims Ford Lake. This would mark the 22nd year of the High on the Hog Bar-B-Que Cook-Off & DoRagQ's 3rd time to compete. Winchester is known for a well managed contest and one of the most competitive in these parts. We have never finished well at this contest (32nd in 2007 & 46th in 2008) but it is still one of our favorites. In '07 we met now DoRagQ team member Richard Finley for the first time & in '08 we got a 3rd in Pork! So we were cautiously optimistic after our Clarksville top 5 finish. One thing I have learned from this "BBQ Thang" is that it is very humbling. One week you finish good and the next week you tank! All we can do is cook consistent and hope we get a good group of Judges who like our product. If they do or if they don't, just cook the best you can and forget about the last contest.
DoRagQ converged on Winchester on Friday afternoon and began prepping. Gary had brought his boat and was out on the lake wettin a line. Richard & I forged on and finished prep. Our good friends Lou & Buck of High on the Hog were set up next door and would be competing for the first time in 2009. Other DoRagQ friends such as Team Allegro, Scenic City Smokers, Wild Bunch Butt Burners, Team Bobby-Q, Music City Pig Pals, Gettin Piggy with It, Swiggin Pig, Team Top Chick, & ULIKA, just to name a few were all present. We did niss Jen, Dan, & Louie of Long Dawgs Blue Smoke who could not compete due to a previous obligation called WORK! We missed you guys! Gary finally returned (empty handed) with some tail of hooking a smoker in the shallows but we all discounted that as a "Fisherman's Tall Tale". LOL.... Supper was finally done (smoked pork chops & baked taters) and we were joined by Mark & Karen of BBQTV.Com and Lou & Buck. "Big" of Big & Twig joined us for some "Adult Beverages" & a stogie and we settled in for a quiet evening. Winchester is known for its bad weather during the contest and we were all crossing our fingers that we wouldn't see any this year.

Friday night was un-eventful by DoRag standards, seems all the excitement happened on Thursday. Our friend Byron of Buttrub.com had a small mishap with his smoker while unloading ending up in Tim's Ford Lake! Luckily both Byron & the pit were not injured and with the help of a forklift the smoker was rescued! We all pitched in and ordered some Pontoons for next year.

After dinner we got some sleep and woke up to a beautiful morning. We kicked into high gear and finished cooking without any incidents. What? No Drama in Camp DoRag? Something must wrong! Maybe this would be the year? Well don't hold your breath! We placed 19th out of 47 teams! A big improvement from our last 2 visits. We finished 14th in chicken, 30th in ribs, 37th in pork, & 5th in brisket. Congrats to Lou & Buck with their 5th place overall finish! A great way to start the year. Also congrats to Wild Bunch Butt Burners & Jiggy Piggy for finishing in the top 2 spots overall. Other notables were Scenic City Smokers with a 1st in ribs, & Gettin Piggy With It finishing 8th in ribs, ULIKA 8th in pork. Great Job! At the awards Mike Davis of Lotta Bull gave a wonderful speech inducting Fred Gould into the BBQ Hall of Fame & Dan Watson gave Bad Byron an award for "Underwater BBQing".



Next week we are headed to Athens Alabama to the Best Buckin Bar-B-Q Cookoff. Be sure and stop in for a visit if you are in the area. It will be our first time competing at this contest and we are looking forward to giving it a taste of DoRagQ! Thanks Richard & Gary for being the Do in DoRagQ! Until next time....May your beer be cold & your sauce be sweet, keep the temperature down or you'll burn your meat!

Click here to view more pics of this event!