Happy Birthday "Shotgun Shorty"!

Jack S. Rife, Jr. celebrated his 90th birthday on July 14th, 2008. Jack (AKA Shotgun Shorty) is my Grandfather and who taught me how to BBQ. Grampo gets his nickname from the old days when he carried several wepons including a shotgun hanging on the gun rack in his pickup truck. He is an avid hunter and expert marksman who is always ready to squeeze one off! While only 5'6" he was a giant to me. He reminds me of John Wayne or Audie Murphy. A honest hard working Texan who served in WWII. While serving in Germany Jack was awarded several medals & awards. A subject I will cover in a future post.

I have been asked "why I love to BBQ so much"? the answer is simple. Some of my fondest memories of Texas & growing up were on any given Friday or Saturday when Grampo would fire the pit up and cook something. Most times it was brisket or cabrito. Sometimes it was a Havelena or deer he shot while hunting. Everyone seemed to congrigate at "Uncle Jack's". Friends, family, hell even people we didn't know would stop by. Grampo always had a cold beer to share. Later her would bitch about the moochers but I know he enjoyed them stopping by. My job was to keep to wood burning, place coals in the pit, check the meat, and get him a cold Budweiser! So my answer to "why I love to BBQ so much" is everytime I fire up the pit I get to re-live those memories. If you don't understand that you never will understand BBQ. You see it's not the rub, injection, or cut of meat. Its not what kind of pit you have or wood you use. Its the concept of family, friends, & tradition that makes good BBQ. I have been fortunate to learn from one of the best. No, Shotgun has never won a BBQ competition but he has won my love & repect and many many others.

So when you see me at competitions having a few beers and listening to old country music, don't think that I dont take the competition seriously. I'm just carring on the family tradition. I can't wait to hand over our first GC trophy to Shotgun Shorty. I love you Grampo.

A Great BBQ Story

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92677223
Check out this story about Snow's BBQ in lexington, Texas. This is what BBQ is all about. Food, Family, Friends, Traditions, and the characters who live and breathe BBQ. I am planning a BBQ Trip someday and I will make sure that Snow's BBQ is on the itenairy.

Here is the link the Texas Monthly which published the "Top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas". http://www.texasmonthly.com/magazine/bbq

Dickson Fiddler's Contest

June 27-28, 2008
Gary & Richard thought I was crazy when I told them we had entered the Dickson Fiddler's Contest. Hell, I don't even have a Fiddle much less know how to play one! Its a good thing they had a BBQ contest at the same time. Richard & I headed West of Nashville about 45 miles on Thursday to get set up. We arrived & got set up before dark. After a few adult beverages we turned in for the night.


Friday morning after heading down to Cracker Barrel for some chow we started prepping. Voncil & Joe of Smokey Mountain Smokers invited us along with Buck & Lou of High on the Hawg to lunch at one of the local Mexican eateries during which Voncil was treated to a birthday treat in the form of a shot of Tequila! Happy Birthday Voncil! Shortly after returning to the contest Gary arrived and DoRagQ was IN DA HOUSE! After bringing Gary up to date on all the happenings we were asked by contest organizer Tim Owings to judge the sausage category. Gary & I accepted and off we went. I tell you, judging is not as easy as you may think. We were treated to some very original culinary delights featuring Tennessee Pride Sausage. Some rocked & some rocked our stomachs! Upon completion of judging the sausage category, Buck & Lou of High on the Hawg treated us to a spaghetti supper complete with garlic bread. I didn't know that 6 lbs of spaghetti could feed half of Dickson! The evening was topped off by yours truly making several of my famous DoRag Margaritas. Luckily the Tequila ran out before the "Grills Gone Wild Crew" arrived. We wouldn't want to be seen on one of those cheesy late-night advertisements selling DVDs. No one was lost or hurt and the evening ended quietly.

Saturday brought the chance of rain, gusting winds, and the hope of a good finish. The rains held off, the winds died down, and we finished in the middle of the pack. A 18th place finish in chicken, 8th in ribs, 22nd in pork, & 9th in brisket combined for a 14th place finish overall. Congratulations to Pig-Pak & Team Allegro for finishing Grand Champion & Reserve Grand Champion respectively. DoRagQ friends High on the Hawg finished 6th, Bigbriq.com came in 9th, and newcomers Gettin'Piggy With It in 12th. Thanks to Gary & Richard for their continuing efforts. We continue to pay our dues & keep learning. Until next time....Keep on Smokin!

P.S.I forgot to mention our 2nd place finish in the desert competition! But then that's another story.......Thanks Lou!

Long Dogs on the Rag or Doggie Do BBQ?

June 20-21, 2008
Dan Watson of Long Dawgs Blue Smoke & I waited to the week of the Franklin Simpson County BBQ Cookoff to decide to enter. We both had planned to take a few weeks off but after talking about it all week we decided to hook up together and cook. On Thursday Dan headed to Franklin Kentucky which is North of Nashville about 40 miles. The cookoff was held in the City park next to a river. Each site had power & water hookups and grass was green and cut like a high dollar golf course. A great setting for a contest. Mark Sexton the contest organizer did a fantastic job taking care of the cooks. We had entertainment on Friday night and a steak dinner to boot!













Our combined efforts resulted in 10th in chicken, 1st in ribs, 5th in pork, & 7th in brisket with a 5th overall. Not bad for a last minute contest. Congratulations to Debbie & Mike Davis of Lotta Bull for taking the Grand Champion. Smokey Mountain Smokers took Reserve Grand Champion. DoRagQ Compadres Bigbriq.com finished 3rd, Team Allegro 8th, & Pig Smokers in Paradise rounded out the top 10. DoRagQ plans to add this cook to our schedule in 2009. It was a beautiful setting, well organized, and just plain fun! Thanks Dan & Jen for putting up with me. Can't wait to do it again!

The BBQ Song

CMA Musicfest BBQ Cookoff, Nashville, TN

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Sundrop Country Cookoff, Pulaski, TN

May 9-10, 2008
Not much to tell. We stunk! Just when you think you have it all figured out; you have a Pulaski! We finished 13th in chicken, 23rd in ribs, 23rd in pork, and 27th in brisket. The only positive things were we were consistent and didn't finish DAL (dead ass last)! Congratulations to Jiggy Piggy (Grand Champion) & our friend Barry of Swiggin Pig (Reserve Grand Champion). The rest of the overall top ten were 3rd Wild Bunch butt Burners, 4th Team Top chick, 5th Tennessee Butt Burners, 6th Bill & the Dixie Chicks, 7th Big Daddy Q, 8th Smokey Mountain Smokers, 9th Late Night Whiskey Smokers, & 10th High on the Hawg. Way to go Buck & Lou. Our only consolation is knowing we had some company down at the bottom. Several teams who are usually in the running joined us with low scores. All we can do is move on to the next one and keep practicing and hope we don't have another Pulaski!