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!