Porkin in the Park 2008
April 5, 2008 marked DoRagQ's first competition of the 2008 season. Heavy rains and cool weather did not dampen the spirits of the 29 Teams that converged on the Clarksville Fairgrounds. Richard & I left Nashville on Thursday hoping to get a prime spot while Gary joined us on Friday. This was also the maiden voyage of DoRag's new Toy Hauler and new cookers. The comforts of a dry warm place to rest and prep made a world of difference compared to the primitive E-Z Up of last year. I don't know how we made it through last year!
Richard and I got some sleep between heavy rains on Thursday night and woke up early on Friday to grab some breakfast. We came upon a out of the way dinner that cooked up a mean omlete. After feeding our faces we returned to prep the meat. It seemed to take longer than usual, I guess we were a little out of practice. We finished up the pork, brisket, and ribs about the time Gary showed up. We let him relax for a few and then started in on the chicken. We brought extra chicken so we fired up the new FEC100 and made some supper. After supper the organizers asked us over for some left overs from a fish fry. Needless to say we all had plenty to eat. We then adjourned to the confines of Casa DoRag and started making our turn-in boxes. Once completed we all turned in for some shut eye.
Saturday brought us hopes of warmer, dryer weather. While it was dryer it wasn't much warmer. We stumbled through our routine trying to remember what to do next. We somehow managed to get everything turned in on time and there were no reports of ill health! When the dust settled, 2007 KCBS Team of the Year "Cool Smoke" took Grand Champion with "Learn 2 Q.com" finishing Reserve Grand Champion. Nashville based team Ulika finished a strong 3rd, with Jacks Old South & Smokey Mountain Smokers rounding out the top five.
Richard and I got some sleep between heavy rains on Thursday night and woke up early on Friday to grab some breakfast. We came upon a out of the way dinner that cooked up a mean omlete. After feeding our faces we returned to prep the meat. It seemed to take longer than usual, I guess we were a little out of practice. We finished up the pork, brisket, and ribs about the time Gary showed up. We let him relax for a few and then started in on the chicken. We brought extra chicken so we fired up the new FEC100 and made some supper. After supper the organizers asked us over for some left overs from a fish fry. Needless to say we all had plenty to eat. We then adjourned to the confines of Casa DoRag and started making our turn-in boxes. Once completed we all turned in for some shut eye.
Saturday brought us hopes of warmer, dryer weather. While it was dryer it wasn't much warmer. We stumbled through our routine trying to remember what to do next. We somehow managed to get everything turned in on time and there were no reports of ill health! When the dust settled, 2007 KCBS Team of the Year "Cool Smoke" took Grand Champion with "Learn 2 Q.com" finishing Reserve Grand Champion. Nashville based team Ulika finished a strong 3rd, with Jacks Old South & Smokey Mountain Smokers rounding out the top five.
Other locals, Pig Smokers in Paradise and High on the Hawg finished 6th & 9th respectively. DoRagQ placed 15th in the 29 team field with a 14th in chicken, 26th in ribs, 13th in pork, and 8th in brisket. We are not sure what happened to our ribs. We thought they were a winner and we normally finish strong in that category. For complete results go to: http://www.kcbs.us/events.php?year=2008&month=04&id=1065
Overall, not a bad start to our sophomore season. New environment, new smokers, and new ideas take time to get the kinks worked out. We have high hopes heading into Winchester. Until then, Peace Out!
