Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Run for the Ribs

Gettin organized for the inaugural "Run for the Ribs" BBQ Contest in Louisville! Looks like it will be a muddy track but we will make the best of it! Lots of good teams will be there. Hope the DoRagQ Gang can hang with 'em! Stop by if you are in the area...just look for the "Early Times" EZ-Up & we won't be far! Good luck to all my BBQ friends & family cookin this weekend especially the fine folks down in Huntsville! We will miss being there with ya...it will be a special weekend for sure! More later!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

DoRagQ Update!

What up Peeps?  It's been a while since I have updated "The Life & Times of a BBQ Man" but that does not mean that we have not been busy.  Over the next few days I will be posting what we have been up to since Fall of 2010.  Lots of cool things have happened to DoRagQ & I can't wait to tell you about them. 

I have posted DoRagQ's "2011 World Tour" dates (tentative) & we are excited to get started so be sure to check back for a recap of 2010 & weekly updates on our progress in 2011.

Thanks for checkin us out!

DoRagQ 2011 World Tour Dates




April 1-2 Benton, KY
April 8-9 Gadsden, AL
April 15-16 Winchester, TN
May 6-7 Louisville, KY
May 20-21 Lebanon, KY
June 3-4 Memphis, TN
June 10-11 Halleyville, AL
June 24-25 Lawrenceburg, TN
Aug 5-6 Birmingham, AL
Aug 12-13 McMinnville, TN
Aug 26-27 Nashville, TN
Sept 10-11 Cookeville, TN
Sept 16-17 Decatur, AL
Sept 23-24 Franklin, TN
Sept 30-Oct 1 American Royal Invatational
Oct 1-Oct 2 American Royal Open
Oct 7-8 Jackson, TN *
Oct 14-15 Bentonville, AR *
Nov 18-19 Cumming, GA

*Assuming we qualify

Sunday, August 22, 2010

DoRagQ Update!

Damn!  Where does the time go?  Seems like only yesterday we were treadin water here in Music City & now it's almost "Football time in Tennessee"!  Time does fly when you are having fun.  Thought I would summarize what's been happenin with DoRagQ since early May.  My last entry told about our good fortune in Pell City Alabama. Since Pell City we have competed in Lawrenceburg, TN, Clarksville, TN, McMinnville, TN, & Kuttawa, KY.  We had some good contests & some not so good contests but overall we have been pleased with our results.  Check it out!

June 26th - Tennessee State BBQ Championship Lawrenceburg TN
Chicken - 22nd
Ribs - 14th
Pork - 7th
Brisket - 1st
Overall - 4th



July 10th  Porkin in the Park - Clarksville, TN
Chicken - 13th
Ribs - 6th
Pork - 13th
Brisket - 4th
Overall - 8th



August 14, 2010 Smokin in McMinnville - McMinnville, TN
Chicken - 7th
Ribs - 6th
Pork - 1st
Brisket - 17th
Overall - 4th

August 22, 2010 BBQ on Barkley - Kuttawa, KY
Chicken - 1st
Ribs - 8th
Pork -13th
Brisket - 4th
Overall - 3rd

We are please for the most part with our finishes.  We would have liked to have done better but hell we could have done a lot worse!  So far this year we have posted 7 category wins in 10 contest!  Nothing to complain about there.  We still have 7 contests remaining who knows we may get lucky again!

I want to congratulate our good friends Jen & Dan of "The Long Dawgs" for winning 2 Grand Championships & placing 1st in Pork at the Sam's Club Invitational.  They have really stepped up their game this year.  Also sending "congrats" out to High on the Hawg!  Brenda & Terry won their first ever Grand Championship recently at "Smokin in McMinnville" in McMinnville, TN.  It was really a special day & we are so glad we were there to share it with them.

As I mentioned, we have a busy schedule to finish out the year.  Check out our schedule below.  I hope you can stop by for a visit if you are in the area. 

August 28 - Music City BBQ Festival - Nashville, TN
September 4 - Pig'n in the Grove - College Grove, TN
September 11 - Cookeville Cook-Off - Cookeville, TN
September 18 - Riverfest - Decatur, AL
October 9 - Goats, Music, & More Festival - Lewisburg, TN
October 16th - American Bass Anglers BBQ Tour - Bainbridge, GA
November 6 - American Bass Anglers BBQ Tour  - Guntersville, AL

Our next contest August 27-28 will be right here in NashVegas!  The Music City BBQ Festival will be held right down on Lower Broadway @ Riverfront Park!  They have some great entertainment scheduled as well as food & craft vendors.  If you can make it down on Friday night be sure & look us up.  We are throwin a BBQ for our friends complete with ribs, pork, & all the fixins (sorry you are on your own for beer).  We will begin serving around 7 PM & go as long as the food lasts!  So come on down & party with the DoRagQ Gang!  Call me or email me if you need more info!

Thanks to our sponsors "Early Times Whisky", "Wireless Plus" & "Motorola" for their support.  We appreciate what they "Do" for DoRagQ!  Hope to see you soon!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

ABA Early Times Whisky BBQ Cook-Off Pell City, Alabama

Richard & I headed out late Thursday afternoon for the third stop on the ABA/Early Times BBQ Tour without our partner Gary “Nickelback” Lacky. Gary was out of town on business & would not be returning until Saturday, so Richard & I would have to make do without his box making & tasting skills once again. The three hour drive was un-eventful & we arrived at Pell City which is East of Birmingham early evening. We were greeted by our good friends David & Pam of “Getting’ Piggy With It” & Bill & Jan of “Gooby’s”, & of course Debra Talley & the ABA BBQ Crew! After a self induced anxiety attack I settled down with the help of some meds & a few shots of ET 100 proof! To my friends & family that have experienced my “melt-downs” in person, I can only apologize & hope you do not take it personally. You deserve a trophy for putting up with me & I am fortunate that you don’t take out a restraining order against me. Once I got that out of my system the rest of the weekend would go off without a hitch! After a late dinner at the Pell City Steak House the rest of the evening was spent hangin out & visiting with our BBQ friends & family.

Friday morning began with neighbors Jan & Bill (mostly Jan) cookin up some breakfast as Richard & I finished setting up our equipment & getting organized. Shortly after breakfast Sonny arrived for meat inspection & we commenced to injecting, marinating, & rubbin. Richard & I have finally got this part down to a science & by noon we were all done & ready for some socializing. Jan had once again fired up the grill & provided delish hamburgers for lunch! That woman is amazing! All she does at a cooking competition is cook! Jan we really appreciate you takin care of our nutritional needs! After lunch the temperature reminded us that it was summer in Alabama as the thermometer rose well into the 90’s. With the heat & a full stomach, a nap seemed in order in the air conditioned “Casa DoRag”!

I awoke in time to head over to the “Cook’s Meeting” to get the low down from KCBS Reps Ron Harwell & Tana Shupe. Pretty much standard operating procedure for an ABA contest. So we headed back over to the cook-site to prep for Friday night’s dinner. If you follow my blog you know that we love to cook up some chow on Friday night & this would be no different. Gooby’s, JoBeaz, Team Top Chick, & Getting Piggy With It all pitched in as we strapped on the feed bags. We fed most of all of the ABA Peeps, cookers, fisherman, & several people that were just passin by! A good time was had by all & no-one left hungry. Of course as usual the after dinner “Apple Pie” was a-plenty as we congregated over at “Getting Piggy With It’s” camp. David & Pam had the music jammin & the disco ball turning as we all enjoyed some socializin until quiet time!

As our alarm went off at 4:00 AM our big meats (pork butts & brisket) had been on since Friday evening & it was time to get chicken & ribs ready. Again, it was biz-as-usual. And again, Jan was cookin up some breakfast! She should get a award for the most cookin at a contest! As the morning progressed, our big meats seemed to stall throwing our timing off. We usually have the big meats holding in the Carlisle & use one cooker for chicken & the other for ribs. After some re-arranging we were back on track & we went back to our normal routine. One of our routines is the 10 O’clock Early Times Shot! Ron Montgomery of “Team Top Chick”, David Wilson, Victor Fisher, Allison Smith of “Getting Piggy With It” joined ABA VP David Haygood & Richard & I for a shot of “Early Times 150” which is a limited edition release celebrating ET’s 150th birthday. ET is normally bottled at 80 proof but ET 150 is 100 proof! Very smooth & cool retro packaging. Be sure & get you a couple of bottles of this limited edition Kentucky Whisky, one for drinkin & one for putting up for special occasions!

So after the 10 AM shot it was time to get bizzy. Most everything went off without a hitch although I was not happy with two of our boxes. Our boxes just did not live up to Gary’s but we would have to improvise & make them work. We managed to get everything turned in on time in spite of a storm that arrived just as we were putting our brisket in the box. We kept our focus & got through it without any mishaps. After turn in it is customary for us to sit down & discuss our product & predict where it would finish. This was a strong field & any of the 29 pro teams are capable of taking the GC. We have gotten very consistent with our chicken & today’s offering was about our average. We have cooked better but then we have certainly cooked worse (Cookeville 2008)! We both agreed our ribs were pretty good & should finish well. We also thought our pork was better than we had been turning in but weren’t sure how it would stack up against the other’s. Hopefully top 10? For us brisket is our most consistent product. For many teams it is the most difficult. We again agreed it was good but not our best & I did not like our presentation. So as we headed over to the awards we both thought we may end up somewhere in the top 10 overall. All that was left now was to wait & see.

We arrived at the stage in time to see the last part of the fishing tournament weigh in. Remember, BBQ is the supporting act at ABA events & fishing is the star! I am always impressed at the passion each of the Anglers have for their sport & the care the ABA gives to the fish. They strive to return each fish to the lake in the same condition as they were before ending up in the live well of a fisherman’s boat & I commend them for their commitment. Ok it was finally time to hear the good, bad, & ugly! Desert was the first category. While we don’t participate in desert we are always excited to cheer on our BBQ friends that do. Taking top honors for the 2nd ABA contest in a row was Nancy Montgomery of “Team Top Chick” with her 2nd 180 score! Nancy had scored a 180 in desert at Anderson, SC last month & struck again in Pell City! I had the privilege of tasting her “Hawaiian Orange Cake” & it is awesome! Congrats Team Top Chick! Now on to chicken. Taking top honors was Bub-Ba-Q, followed by Wicked Que, Smoke of the Shoals, TNT Southern BBQ, & Team Top Chick. No call for DoRagQ! BTW, in ABA contest they only call out the top 5. This makes it hard to gauge where you stand in the overall but it does keep you guessing! On to ribs it was Boat-n-BBQ taking the win with House of Q in second. Wicked Que took 4th & Justice Smokers took 5th. DoRagQ managed to place 3rd! Nice! Next in pork it was Swamp Sauce Cookers taking 5th, Smoke of the Shoals in 4th, 2 Men & A Pig in 3rd, & E.M. Azing BBQ in 2nd. Drum roll please…….in 1st was (Hell Yeah) DoRagQ! This was our 1st win in pork completing a win in each category! Sweet! Now on to brisket, it was Smoke of the Shoals taking 1st with Smokin’ Butt Crew, Jiggy Piggy, House of Q, & Bad Boyz of BBQ taking 2nd-5th. Again no call for DoRagQ. Smoke of the Shoals was lookin good on my scorecard for the overall. I was still holding out for a top 10 as they announced the overall results. In 10th 2 Men & A Pig, 9th Cajun Mojo, 8th, Jiggy Piggy, 7th Boat-n-BBQ, 6th Smokin’ Butt Crew, 5th Bub-Ba-Q, 4th Smoke of the Shoals, & 3rd Wicked Que. At this point I did not hear Smoke of the Shoals was 4th & thought they were still going to get the GC with House of Q taking the RGC, well I was correct on one count as House of Q took RGC! Then Bub-Ba-Q came over & offered his congrats! I said “WTF? Smoke of the Shoals has this”. David Wilson said “no they got 4th”! Boy was I corn-fused! Then David Haygood said “and the Grand Champion from Nashville Tennessee, DORAGQ”! No way! Wow……How cool it this! It turns out we tied for 10th in chicken but lost the tiebreaker so we were scored in 11th, & took 7th in brisket. Add those scores to our 3rd in ribs & 1st in pork for a 681.1428 score taking the win! Holy Crap-Ola Batman! David reminded us that we are the first two-time Grand Champions of the ABA as we had won last year in Guntersville. Sweet!

After the shock we headed back over to Casa DoRag to hang out with friends that had come to visit us from Birmingham. Lenny & Angela Morris & their girls Rachel & Claire, George Hadgraft, Wayne Silva, & Michelle Greene & her children Ryan & Shelby & many others came over to hang out & party. Even the Mayor of Pell City Bill Hereford was there to offer his congratulations & enjoy the leftovers! Kevin Rake the Early Times Bass Pro & several Anglers also joined in the celebration & “Apple Pie”! It was out-of-control! The Mayor made Richard & I “Honorable Residents” of Pell City & in turn we made him a “Dishonorable” member of the DoRagQ Gang! He looked cool in the ET DoRag! Hope this is not an election year! Check this out, when DoRagQ won our first GC last year in Guntersville, Alabama, Lenny & “The Girls” were also in attendance! Coincidence or not I informed them they would be accompanying DoRagQ on the rest of our 2010 World Tour! I may have to set up a college fund for the girls! The party lasted several hours with many of our BBQ family paying us a visit & offering their congratulations. The evening ended with a few of us hangin out having a few cocktails, listening to tunes, & enjoying the evening. At some point a second bottle of ET 150 was consumed! Thanks to Pam, David, Allison, Victor, Jan, Bill, & the Dude from Clarksville with the jug of Jack Daniels for the after-celebration & thanks to all for making it a special day for DoRagQ!

Sunday morning it was pretty much back to normal as we finished loading up & headed out for the return trip to Nashville. We arrive home safe & sound & full of great memories. We wished Gary had been there with us as DoRagQ is not the same without him. Hope you can re-join us soon. As for Richard, what a great friend! He makes me laugh & keeps me focused. I would not want to do this without him. You have taught me much about BBQ & life & I treasure your friendship. Thanks for being the “Do” in DoRagQ! Thanks to our sponsors Wireless Plus, Motorola, & Early Times Whisky! We appreciate your support! And finally thanks to the ABA for putting on a great contest. We look forward to the fall leg of the tour. Maybe I can get Lenny & The Girls to visit us again in Guntersville! (No pressure, no pressure)! Our next appearance is next weekend at the Tennessee State BBQ Championship in Lawrenceburg, TN. It will be a tough field, I just hope we can hang with them boyz & don’t make anybody sick! Come by for a visit if you are in the area!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Elvis Has Left The Building!

Last year our good friends Jen & Dan Watson of “The Long Dawgs” told us the Variety BBQ Bash in Memphis was our kind of contest. Lots of drinkin, music, & general all around partying. That sounded good enough to me so earlier in the year we made plans to participate. Nickelback would not be making the trip as he was in East Tennessee helping out a friend so Richard & I got everything ready, loaded, & headed out to Memphis after work on Thursday. We arrived to find many of the teams already there or at least their rigs were on-site. This event attracts many of the MBN (Memphis Barbeque Network) teams and is one of the few KCBS sanctioned events in the area. Upon arrival we were met by many familiar faces such as Jen & Dan of “Long Dawgs”, Barry & Mike of “Swiggin Pig”, David & Mark of “Getting’ Piggy With It”, Bobbie, & Lee of “Music City Pig Pals to mention a few. We set up the cook site & commenced to mosey on over to the Variety Club’s Clubhouse. The Variety Club is a national & international organization which focuses on raising funds for children’s charities. The Variety Club’s mission statement is to “provide life-enriching assistance to children challenged by physical and/or mental disabilities, poverty, abuse and neglect”. They do this in various ways. One is through their “Clubhouse” which has all the makings of a nice bar/restaurant. The organizers provided the Thursday arrivals with a fantastic spaghetti supper with all the trimmins & of course a cash bar! Sweet! It was great to catch up with our friends & we even managed to make a few new ones. After dinner we headed back to the cook site to meet our neighbors for the weekend the “Flamin Kajun” BBQ Team from Denim Springs, LA. On the other side of Casa DoRag were our good friends “Team Top Chick”. We finished off the night socializin & having a few adult beverages until it was time to “hit the hay”.


Friday morning Richard & I finished setting up the cook site & prepared for meat inspection. Pretty much routine, no surprises. We were most worried about making our boxes since Gary “The Box Bitch” wasn’t there. So right after we finished prepping meat we started on boxes. We managed to get them made although not a good as Nickelback’s, but hey we all have our own talents! Richard & I headed over to the “Cajun Catfish” restaurant for sum lunch & to talk strategy. The strategy we came up with was 1. Don’t get drunk. 2.Don’t oversleep. 3. Don’t get drunk!. Ok we got it! Time to Rock & Roll! After lunch we took a tour of the grounds to see who had slipped in on us. We found several celebrities such as Johnny “The Godfather” Trigg of Smokin Triggers, & Myron Mixon of “Jacks Old South” both from the TLC show “Pitmasters”. There was Rod Gray of Pellet Envy the 2009 KCBS Team of the Frickin Year, & 10 Bones BBQ a 2010 Memphis in May finalist & Sweet Swine O’Mine the 2009 winner of Memphis in May. Wow! Holy Crap Batman, all the top teams were here! “Ok calm down DoRag” Richard said, “We’ve been beat by all the top teams”. Oh, Ok…thanks for putting it in perspective “Boy Wonder”! The rest of the afternoon was spent just hangin out & tryin to stay & look cool until the “Cooks Meeting” @ 5 PM.

The “Cooks Meeting” was your standard run of the mill meeting except for the fact that our good friends Bill & Debbie Gauge & Wayne & Maria Lohman were the KCBS Reps. They are all such cool people & great Reps. We don’t get to see them much so it was fun to catch up with them & find out what they have been up to. Soon it was off to “Casa DoRag” to practice for the Margarita contest! Oh yeah, I had loaded up my portable bar complete with my favorite “Don Edwardo Silver” Tequila & all the fixins. If I didn’t win the contest I was gonna have a great time losin it! I bet I made 20 different practice batches before deciding on the one to turn in. I had forgotten my favorite mixer so I had to do some substituting to get it just right. I had quite a “buzz” by turn in time! Once that was over we headed over to “Getting Piggy With It” for dinner. And what a dinner it was. David & Mark out-did themselves for sure! They started out with a sausage & cheese tray, followed by basil stuffed bacon wrapped BBQ Shrimp, Pecan encrusted Pork Tenderloin Pinwheels, Smoked Salmon with honey Wasabi glaze, & Banana Puddin. And for the after dinner cordial, Apple Pie! Whooooooo doggie! That was sum good grub! Oh I almost forgot Pam make about a thousand Jello-Shots! OMG….remember the strategy discussion….Don’t get drunk! HA! I had more alcohol in me that Lindsey Lohan on prom night! Oh & I almost forgot…..My good friend from back in the day Robbie “The Rocket” Rush & his wife Anne were driving up from Jackson, MS to visit. Robbie & I toured the Southeast in the ’70s racing motocross. We hadn’t seen each other in 32 years! Holy shit! I was so excited to see him. They were due to arrive around 9-10 PM. I had to sober up!
Robbie & Anne arrived & I gotta tell you it was a special moment. See I moved around a lot before settling down in Nashville & I don’t have much contact with anyone from “back in the day”. I have never been to a class reunion (except for Cell-Block A) & haven’t been back to Jackson for a visit in years. So seeing Robbie was almost over-whelming! He had not changed a bit! Just as I remembered him. It was really cool to see my friend after all these years. We talked & reminisced about the old daze & old friends, & caught up on what we have been doin for the last 32 frickin years! And yes we had a few beerz & some Apple Pie! So much for strategy! By this time Richard was sleepin with the fishes in Casa DoRag. Robbie & Anne headed to a nearby hotel & I had a few more Jello-Shotz courtesy of Pam! What a great night!

As the sun began to rise Saturday morning I was surprisingly rested & alert. The BBQ Gods had spared me. It was time to repay them by giving all I had left. So after a couple of beers for breakfast it was time to put on the game face. Brisket was at temperature & resting in the Cambro. Pork temp was slowly rising & it was time to start ribs. I checked my boxes & made a few adjustments. Got our prep area ready & started chicken as it was getting closer to “Game-Time”. Robbie & Anne showed up around 11 AM & I gave them the low-down. Robbie was going to be our “runner” since Nickelback was back home. We had our traditional 10 AM shot of Early Times @ 11:15 AM & it was time to do what we do! Box assembly overall went off pretty good although I was not happy with my rib box. Chicken, Ribs, & Pork all were consistent with our normal flavor profile. Richard & I agreed that our brisket was not our best. Maybe a little dry. Robbie & Anne thought everything was fan-frickin-tastic! It’s amazing what friends will tell you for free food! LOL….. Robbie managed to get all the boxes turned in without incident despite a little practical joke by David of “Getting” Piggy With It”. Payback is a bitch my friend! So now all we had to do is clean up & wait for awards @ 5 PM.
With all the leftovers vacuum-sealed & iced down for Robbie & Anne to take back to MS we headed over to the stage are for awards. Along the way wishing our BBQ Friends “good luck”. We were hoping just to get our name called & finish respectable in this elite field of cookers. We started out with a big goose egg with a “no call“ for our Dan Edwardo Margarita! Bummer #1! Then it was on to the main categories starting with chicken. Island Grillers took the win with Pellet Envy, Bar-B-Q 101, Music City Pig Pals, & River City Rub rounding out the top five. Other notables were Swiggin Pig 7th, 10 Bones 8th, Jacks Old South 9th, & Jo Beaz Blazin Butts rounding out the top 10th. No call for DoRagQ….Bummer #2! On to ribs, with Bar-B-Q 101 takin the win, with Pellet Envy 2nd, K&K Kookers 3rd, Jo Beaz Blazin Butts 4th, & Wasted & Basted 5th. Other notables were The Long Dawgs 6th & Learn2Q.com 9th. No call for DoRagQ….Bummer #3! Takin the win in pork was our good friends Long Dawgs with Porkin Da Pig takin 2nd, The Good, The Bad, & the Swine 3rd, Music City Pig Pals 4th, & Sweet Swine O’Mine 5th, Pellet Envy 6th, Learn2Q.com 7th, & Smokin’ Triggers 9th. Again, no call for DoRagQ….Bummer #4! Great! All the things we thought were good did not get a frickin call! Now all is that damn dry sorry piece of spam we called brisket! We might as well start packin! But hey, we gotta cheer on our friends right? So in brisket it was Smokin’ Triggers 7th, Pellet Envy 6th, Pigs-R-Us 5th, Smelly Butts BBQ 4th, K&K Kookers 3rd, & our good friend Barry of Swiggin Pig (AKA Swinging Pig) takin 2nd. And the winner of the brisket category is……WTF….DORAGQ…..you have got to be frickin kiddin me! OMG……..Richard looked at me & said “did they say DoRagQ?” I had to think for a moment but everyone was clapping & slappin me on the back so either I was on fire or we won frickin brisket! What a surprise! LOL….. So we commenced to gettin our award & check with a very surprised look on our face. We were still in shock as they called out the top ten overall. Jacks Old South took 10th, Jo Beaz Blazin Butts took 9th (WTG JoBeaz), City Hogs 8th, River City Rub 7th, Music City Pig Pals 6th (Congrats Bobbie & Lee), Bar-B-Q 101 in 5th, K&K Kookers 4th, The Long Dawgs 3rd (Yeah Dan & Jen), & taking RGC Swiggin Pig (WTG Barry) & the Grand Champion, Pellet Envy, congrats Rod! But no top ten for DoRagQ…..Bummer #5……But we did manage a 12th Overall which is pretty damn good in my book! We were 12th in chicken, 27th in ribs, 48th in pork (WTF?) & I will say it again….1st in BRISKET! Ok, I’m calm now…..I can’t explain the feeling when people like Johnny Trigg & Rod Gray shake your hand & offer congratulations. What a great feeling. Yeah I wish our pork & ribs had scored better but hey….I will take our finish in this crowd any day! The Long Dawgs were right, this is my kind of contest! Lots of fun, food, music, & friends! Book me for next year.
Regardless of our finish it was great seeing Anne & Robbie & getting to spend time with them. Contests come & go but friends & family are there thru thick & thin. It was cool that Robbie helped run our boxes & be a part of DoRagQ. We are gonna have to get him a DoRag to keep in Casa DoRag for any future appearances. Robbie, you & Anne are welcomed anytime. I hope we see you again soon! To the rest of our BBQ Friends & Family, we had a blast & we hope you did too. As we left the contest on Sunday, I had to drive over to Graceland to leave Elvis a slice of the 1st Place Brisket, but the guard said “Sorry, Elvis has left the building”! Elvis may be gone but he still lives through his music & fans. I think he would like hanging out with the DoRagQ Gang. Maybe he could sing “A Hunk of First Place Brisket”!

Keep Troy Black of “Learn2Q.com” & his family in your thoughts & prayers. Troy was taken to the hospital less than a week after the Memphis contest & underwent surgery for several heart blockages. Troy…here’s wishing you a speedy recovery my friend!

DoRagQ will be competing in the American Bass Anglers Association Early Times Whisky BBQ Cookoff in Pell City Alabama on June 18th-19th. Come by for a visit! Who knows maybe Elvis will be in da house!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Monday, May 10, 2010

American Bass Anglers BBQ Cook-Off, Anderson, South Carolina

If you follow my Blog "The Life & Times of a BBQ Man" then you know that I post stories about our experiences cooking the KCBS Competition Barbecue Circut.  I had planned to write about our most recent contest the "American Bass Anglers BBQ Cook Off" by Early Times Whisky held in Anderson, South Carolina on May 1st.  To tell you the truth I can't seem to get motivated to write anything.  You see something happend to the place that I can home Nashville, TN.  An event so epic & tragic that even my passion for BBQ can't help me get past.  So many have been affected by "The Flood of 2010" that what difference does it really matter how we finished, how we cooked, or how much fun we had?  How can anything so meaningless measure up to such a devistating disaster that touched most everyone in and around Middle Tennessee on the weekend on May 1st?  The answer is....nothing!  Nothing in my life can even come close to what happend to thousands of Tennesseans.  We were lucky.  The DoRagQ Gang made it home early on sunday morning before any of the flooding began, before any of the interstates became rivers, before any of the rivers & creeks over-ran their banks.  We managed to sneek back to Nashville without even getting a drop of rain!  WTF!  Call it luck, call it fate, call it whatever you want.  We are just thankful that we made it back safe and our friends and famlies were all safe as well.  That is better than winning any BBQ contest in my book.  So we will take a few weeks off the BBQ circut to re-group, re-charge our batteries, and re-arrange our priorities.  Life does go on.......but we should all stop and give thanks for the life we are granted and blessed with. I know I have.  

I would like to say "Thanks" to all of you that called and emailed me inquiring of our safety.  Your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated.  The DoRagQ Gang will next appear in at the Variety Children's Charity BBQ Bash in Memphis, TN on June 4th-5th.  Come by and hang with the DoRagQ Gang in the "Jungle Room"!  Thank you very much! 

Saturday, April 24, 2010

High on the Hog!


After spending the whole week in Cleveland attending OnBase training I flew into Nashville @ 4:30 PM on Friday (April 16th). Richard & Jeff (DoRag Apprentice) had already taken Casa DoRag to the contest site early Friday morning & gotten set up. Gary (aka No GPS) finally joined them after a tour of North Alabama around mid morning. Together with Jeff's help they managed to get meat inspected, injected, & back in the cooler. Richard represented DoRagQ on my behalf at the Cook’s Meeting. I arrived around 6:30 PM & began a brutal interrogation of the DoRagQ Gang to bring me up to speed on what I had missed. To my surprise everything was in order & on schedule! They even had supper on the cooker! Cool, I may have to fly in late for every contest!

After I had a few minutes (& a few beers) to get over my “jet-lag” it was time to begin “socializing”! Our neighbors @ High on the Hog for the past three years were good friends Buck & Lou of “High on the Hawg” the BBQ Team not to be confused with “High on the Hog” the BBQ Contest. We hadn’t seen them since back in February in Birmingham so we commenced to catchin up. Scenic City Smokers were set up next to HOTH. It was great to see Wade & Crew again. As we made our way around the contest site we ran into Debbie & Mike Davis of Lotta Bull, Bad Byron of Buttrub.com, & Theresa & Walt of Smokin Scotsmen. It was quickly apparent to me that the level of competition at this year’s HOTH was second to no other. DoRag runnin buddies Long Dawgs, Team Top Chick, Warren County Pork Choppers, Team Allegro, Swiggin Pig, & Big & Twig were also in attendance & we stopped & visited with them all! I know I have said this before but we are truly like one big family (dysfunctional at times) but we are really glad to see each other. Several of the teams were participating in the ancillary categories. This year the “Anything Butt” was steak & Wampler was also sponsoring the sausage category. As they made their turn-ins we headed back to Casa DoRag for some supper. Joining us were Caryn & Brutha Bob Hatcher & their daughter Campbell, Karen & Mark of BBQ TV, Tana Shupe, Ron Harwell, & of course Buck & Lou of HOTH. Richard prepared wonderful smoked pork tenderloin & a potato & onion casserole. Brutha Bob made some kick-ass slaw & potato salad. For desert we had a healthy chug of “Apple Pie”. It don’t get much better than that! Good food, good friends, Tim’s Ford Lake, & BBQ! What you talking ‘bout Willis?

Richard & Jeff turned in for the night as “G” & me threw back a few “adult libations” while enjoying the sounds of the carnival rides & a nice glowing fire. Gary’s knee is healing nicely & he is almost back to 100%. Rob Marlow of Ulika joined us for some conversation. As I was just getting my 2nd wind I noticed the time! Midnight! Holy Crap-O Batman! It’s time to head for the Bat-Cave & hang from the ceiling! So after one more chug (ok three more) it was off to “sawin some logs”. The night seemed to drag on at a snail’s pace. Maybe cuz I had gotten accustomed to the elegant “Holiday Inn Suite” back in Cleveland but I just couldn’t seem to fall asleep. Another chug or two seemed to help & it wasn’t long before I was dreaming of winning the JACK! I was just about to collect my trophy when BAM! Jeff was climbing down the ladder from the over-head bunk but there was no ladder! Watch out, that first step is a doosie! Ok wide awake again…… Somehow I managed for fall back asleep just in time to hear the alarm. Nice….

As the sun slowly rose the smell of hickory filled the air. The carnival rides were silent & all was peaceful…. until the local fishing tournament launched from the boat ramp located right next to Casa DoRag! It sounded like the Royal Navy in pursuit of a German U-Boat! Oh well it was time to get bizzy cookin BBQ anyway. The brisket & pork butts were just about to temperature as we did final prep on the ribs & chicken. Our chicken & pork results from our last contest in Benton KY were less than desirable so we had made a few tweaks in hopes of a better product. The key here is to keep the adjustments small. Don’t make wholesale changes at a contest. Do that at home when you practice. Take it from one that knows!

After breakfast & our 10:30 Early Times Shot, it was time to put our DoRags on & get serious about getting the product in the boxes & safely turned in. For the most part we have this down to a science. The hardest thing for me is waiting for Gary & Richard to tell me what they think when they taste the product. Richard just mumbles & Gary always says “Not our best”! Ok DoRaggers give me some feedback I can understand & work with. I am sure Jeff was about to bust out laughing as the “Three Stooges wearing DoRags” decided which rack of ribs to go with! The first rack was heavy with heat I was in a panic fearing the other racks would taste the same. After all, I used the same rubs & amounts on each rack so they must taste the same right? Wrong Young Weed-hopper! Each rack is different. Here is a tip for competition ribs: try to determine your best tasting rack & use only ribs from that rack to put in the box. Also be careful not to eat all the frickin ribs before you have enough to go in the box! Yes I am speaking from experience again! Somehow we managed to get the product in the boxes & get them turned in safely & on time without any casualties. A major accomplishment in its own right. All we could do now is to wait for the results.

After judging was complete, several of our judging friends came by for a visit. Most said they had “outstanding” food. Several commented the pork was really good. We could only hope that our’s was among those they were speaking of. Dennis Ricks, Richard Preston, & Fred & Maxine Kilgore all dropped by to visit & to wish us luck. As we normally do, Richard, Gary, & I sat down & reflected on our turn-ins. For chicken we all thought it was the best we had produced this year. Defiantly a step in the right direction with our tweaks. As for ribs, we all thought they were good & had great flavor. We had some mixed signals when it came to pork. We cook two butts & take samples from both to determine which has the best flavor. Richard normally makes that call & we commenced to fixin our box only to hear Nickelback exclaim “WOW”! The problem was he was tasting from the butt that we had not turned in! Fan-fricken-tastic! We still had a few minutes so we broke our rule & added some from the second butt to the box. I must admit the box looked awesome. I only hoped it tasted as good as it looked. Then we discussed our most consistent product which is brisket. We were coming off a win at our last contest in brisket & I had hoped that we could duplicate that effort at HOTH. We all agreed while it had good flavor, it was not comparable to Benton’s brisket. Oh well, not much you can do about it now. Maybe the luck of the table’s would smile down on us. All we could do now is clean up, pack up, & wait for the awards.

Awards began with the ancillaries & it was great to hear Swiggin’ Pigs name called out for first place in the Steak (anything butt) category. General Porktitioners took top honors in the Sausage category while DoRag friends Team Top Chick took first in desert! In the chicken category it was Fowl Butt BBQ (10th), Lotta Bull (9th), Music City Pig (8th) Pals, Team Bobby-Q (7th), Southern HawgsBBQ (6th), The EGGseQuative Council (5th), Ulika (4th), Big River BBQ (3rd), & good friends Long Dawgs (2nd)! At this point I was thinking we hopefully placed in the top 20! Wrong again Captain Krunch! DoRagQ got the call for First Fricken Place! Holy Crap-Ola! I could not believe it! In a field of 47 great cookers, we took 1st place chicken! As the rib calls began Team Top Chick got the 10th place call. We were still makin our way back to our seats when DoRagQ got a 9th place call in ribs. OMG…….WTF?........Sweet…..two calls at HOTH! The calls continued with Buttrub.com (8th), High on the Hawg (7th), Smokin Scotsman (6th), Lotta Bull (5th), General Porktitioners (4th), The EGGseQuative Council (3rd), Bareknuckles BBQ (2nd), & Big & Twig takin first place! Nice! In pork it was Team Top Chick (10th), Warren County Pork Choppers (9th), ZZ-Que (8th), Steel Smokin’ BBQ (7th), Monty Pigthon (6th), Bareknuckles BBQ (5th), Music City Pig Pals (4th), Back Door Smokers (3rd), Long Dawgs (2nd), The EGGseQuative Council taking the win! The DoRagQ Gang managed a 16th in pork. An improvement from our first two outings this year. In the final category of the day brisket, it was Bareknuckles BBQ (10th), Southern Stiles BBQ (9th), Rub Won Out (8th), Long Dawgs (7th), The Golden Hogs (6th), High on the Hawg (5th), Swiggin’ Pig (4th), Buttrub.com (3rd), Steel Smokin’ BBQ (2nd), & Team Top Chick taking the win! Again a 16th place showing for DoRagQ. We said it wasn’t as good as Benton’s & we were right! As they began to call out the overall, I figured we may be in the top 10 somewhere around 8th or 9th. Taking 10th was Rob Marlow’s Ulika, in 9th was Swiggin’ Pig, 8th was Music City Pig Pals, 7th was Buck & Lou of High on the Hawg, 6th was Lotta Bull, ok I was starting to worry now that maybe our no calls in pork & brisket were worse than I had thought! Bareknuckles came in 5th, & Team Top Chick took 4th. DoRagQ snuck in 3rd, Long Dawgs took RGC & The EGGseQuative Council took the Grand Champion! Wait, did they say DoRagQ was 3rd! Yes they did! WOW! Needless to say we were stoked with a 3rd overall in such a strong field. And what a job by Dan & Jen of Long Dawgs taking RGC! Congrats also to The EGGseQuative Council taking the GC & all the teams that got calls in such a tuff field.

So as we complete another year at Winchester’s High on the Hog contest we can hold our head high. Our tweaks seemed to take us in the right direction. We improved in most categories with the exception of brisket. I am not too worried about that. Brisket has been one of our most consistent over that past two years. I am very happy with our chicken. The DoRagQ Gang really stepped up to the plate this week. Richard & Jeff did a great job getting Casa DoRag to the cook site & set up. Gary picked up garnish & collectively they prepped meat & had things right on schedule when I arrived. They were most defiantly the “Do” in “DoRagQ” this week. It is a pleasure to have them as on our team & as friends. Congrats to Dan & Jen of Long Dawgs. You guys are due for a GC. I hope I am there when it happens. And thanks to the High on the Hog organizers. Again you guys set the bar for a well run event. I love the “goodie buckets”! We look forward the next year. As I drove home I reflected on my week. I managed to pass my software certification, was a guest on the BBQ Central Radio show, visited the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, ate at Michael Symon’s Bar Symon & spent time with the Ops Manager & the Head Chef with good friends Robert & Nikki, & came in 3rd overall our of 47 at a BBQ contest. I guess you could say that I am truly living “High on the Hog”!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

The Jersey Shore on Lower Broadway?


I can remember in the early '80s watching the latest "Hair Band" to hit the MTV play list.  A band fronted by it's namesake sounding alot like every other band of that era.  They had a catchy song "Runaway" which featured good vocals, harmony's, & a staccato keyboard hook.  They really didn't stand out but then who could with the likes of A Flock of Seagulls & Twisted Sister!  Jersey band Bon Jovi looked & sounded like a dozen others on MTV.  I lost track & interest in Bon Jovi until 1986 when they released their third album "Slippery when Wet" which caught my attention & apparently the attention of millions of CD buying fans.  The rest as they say "is rock & roll history"! 

Bon Jovi's April 21st visit to Nashville would be my first chance to see & hear them in person.  It was time to see for myself what these guys were all about.  I gotta tell you I was impressed.  Not only was JBJ's voice as good as it has ever been, then band was tight & precise.  The stage show while "high-tech" complete with rotating LCD screens but did not take the audience's focus away from the music.  JBJ's stage presence captivated the crowd with tightly choreographed movements but not over the top.  I got the impression that he really "liked" singing their hits for the millionth time.  The band churned out 23 songs & the crowd responded to every on of them.  I will admit there were a few that I was not familiar with but I must say I liked them all.  Especially the one's which featured the screaming guitar playing of Richie Sambora.  Hey you gotta like a guy that was married to one of the hottest chicks on the planet (Heather Locklear)!  Richie is often overlooked when you talk about great guitar players.  His love of the guitar is apparent in his mannerisms & respect for the 6 & 12 string.  He played a variety of  guitars, Les Paul, Telecaster, Martin, Ovation, & some I could not make out. He played them all with the same passion & emotion.  He also did a great job on vocals taking the lead on "Lay Your Hands on Me" & various other backing vocals & harmonies.  Tico Torres made playing the drums look effortlessly.  I don't think he even broke a sweat.  Make no mistake about it, Tico's drums contribute just as much as Richie's guitar does to the Bon Jovi sound.  Rounding out the band was David Bryan on keyboards,  Bobby Bandiera on guitar, & Hugh McDonald on bass.  There was also a chick playing the Fiddle but I don't know who she was.  As I said, JBJ's vocals were "spot on" but so was his guitar work  Banging mostly on a Martin acoustic JBJ is no stranger to the guitar.  His rhythm guitar filled the voids & made for a nice full sound. 

One thing JBJ knows how to do is connect with his audience.  I'm not talking about running around from one end of the stage to the other, although he was active, his eye contact, pearly white smile, & emotional investment let you know he was there to sing for you!  He also gave thanks several times to the fans for supporting them & even thanked them for attending the concert on a work night!  It was refreshing to hear an artist that actually knew what night of the week it was much less thank us for paying to see them.  Very classy guy & band.
 
Here is the set list:
Blood on Blood
We Weren't Born to Follow (New to me but I really liked it & so did the crowd)
You Give Love a Bad Name (The place went crazy)
Whole Lot of Leavin'
Born to Be My Baby (This tune still rocks)
Lost Highway
When We Were Beautiful
Superman Tonight (great song, excellent vocals)
We Got It Goin' On (fun tune)
Bad Medicine w/ Roadhouse Blues [The Doors cover] / Shout! [Isley Brothers cover]  (Awesome)
It's My Life (I forgot how good this song was)
Lay Your Hands on Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals] (Richie did well on this, he has a great voice)
Hallelujah [Leonard Cohen cover]
I'll Be There For You
Something for the Pain [acoustic]
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night [acoustic] (nice tune)
Keep the Faith (lots of energy...it rocked! Nice guitar work Richie)
Work for the Working Man (good tune)
Who Says You Can't Go Home (I kept waiting on Sugarland to join in!)
Love's the Only Rule
ENCORE:
Runaway (as good as the first time I heard it)
Wanted Dead or Alive (superb guitar work & vocals)
Livin' on a Prayer (one of my favs)

All in all a great evening of entertainment. Bon Jovi gives 110% & the audience give 120 % back! I enjoyed the evening & have a stronger appreciation for what Bon Jovi has accomplished throughout their career. I even bought a fricken T-Shirt! Sadly they had no DoRags! I think they are missing out on a great marketing opportunity. My only dissapointment was they did not play my favorite Bon Jovi tune "Dry County"! But one thing is for sure, the boyz from Jersey can rock & roll with the best of them! Thanks Bon Jovi for Rockin Lower Broadway!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

DoRagQ's Next Event: American Bass Anglers BBQ Cookoff Lake Hartwell South Carolina




Saturday May 1, 2010
Anderson, SC (Civic Center)
Host: Anderson Convention & Visitors Bureau
Host Hotel: Home-town Suites
151 Civic Center Blvd.
Anderson, SC 29625
864-226-1112

Sunday, April 04, 2010

Benton Kentucky Tater Days

Tater Day is a large festival in Benton, Kentucky held on the first Monday in April. It was started in 1843 as a celebration of spring, and a time when all of the townsfolk would get together and trade in sweet potato slips, used to grow the plants. For several years a BBQ contest has been held the weekend before the Tater Parade. In 2007 this contest was our first official contest as DoRagQ. It was also the first contest I did with Gary "Nickelback" Lackey. In 2008 & 2009 we competed in Clarksville but for 2010 Clarksville moved their date so Tater Days was once again on our schedule.


Friday came around & I was not sure if we were going to make it or not! Problems at work had kept me occupied for most of the wee hours of the morning & sleep was the first thing on my mind! It all seemed to work out & after only a few hours of shut-eye we were on our way to Benton. Gary & Richard joined me & made the 2-hour drive seem like 120 minutes.... and soon we were pullin into the contest site. We had heard the contest was full with 38 teams which was great considering last year there were only 13 entries. We arrived right behind our good friends of Shade Tree Cooks. Already set up were J Mack Cookers, Son Seekers, & a few others. We found our spot & commenced to getting setup.

During setup the "Meat Inspector" paid us a visit & gave us his seal of approval so it was time to prep. David & Pam Wilson of Gettin Piggy With It would be driving in from "Elvis Town" to hang out with the DoRagQ Gang. David & I are working on a project together & since they were not cooking this contest we invited them to come & hang out. They arrived as we were starting to prep. As many times as we have done this routine it is still easy to mess up if you don't focus. We seemed to have an issue with one of our ingredients that threw our rhythm off a bit. Some quick thinking & a borrowed kitchen appliance & we were back on track.

With meat prepped & GTG (good to go) we headed to find some grub. Tater Days is like a big midway & Flea Market combined. You can get anything fried (Twinkies, snickers bars, taters, corndogs, GIANT corndogs) & find all kinds of stuff to purchase. We managed to walk past the vending trailers & found a local Diner/BBQ joint. We avoided the BBQ which is their specialty & opted for burgers which are not their specialty. Suddenly a friend Ding-Dong was sounding pretty good! So we headed back to the contest site to do some socializin!

During our Tater Days culinary tour several more teams arrived! It was good to see Podge (MoonSwiners) & Scottie (Cancer Sucks BBQ), Team Allegro, Smelly Butts, Music City Pig Pals, Blues Hog BBQ, Ole Man Larry! We would have to be on our game to compete with these heave hitters! J Mack is fresh off a big win in Mobile & Cancer Sucks & MoonSwiners were World Champions in 2006 & 2007 respectively! Even though I was a bit "star-struck" by these great teams, I knew that we have as good a chance as any of them. That's what is cool (or not) about competition BBQ. On any given day anyone can win! All you can hope for is to do your best & let the taters fall where they may! After a few hugs & catching up it was time for the Cook's Meeting. Ron & Mary Cato who were the KCBS Reps gave us the low-down. Organizer Ed Jones was kind enough to give one of our sponsors Early Times Whisky a shout out! Of course I had to bribe him with some ET SWAG for the "Goodie Bags". But he, we love representin ET! Good Time with Early Times!

After the meeting adjourned it was time to prepare for DoRag's Friday Night Feast! Richard was preparing our usual pork loin, BBQ-baked taters (bought locally), & hot sausage. Several of our Kentucky friends would be droppin by & hanging with the DoRag Gang. The Tabors, Robin, Shawn, & Justin brought some delicious slaw & a fab Carrot Cake! Donny & Tracy Bray of Warren County Pork Choppers joined us & brought more pork & taters. Lisa Apedaile & friends & the Hatchers, Caryn, Bob, & C bell arrived & before you knew it the DoRagQ Gang was in full "Party Mode". Of course after dinner it was time for "Pie"! We had plain, peach, & apple! Aunt Bee would have been proud or at least Buzzed! Mighty fine mighty fine! Once all had left we made a late night stop at WC Pork Choppers to meet Donny's Brother-In-Law Jeff who is also a music freak like me. I had to make myself head back to Casa DoRag if I was goin to get some rest. After all we are here to compete in a contest. You have to be "on-point" to finish well in any contest now days. Concentration & stamina or lack of can make or break you at a contest. So off I headed to get a few hours of shut-eye.

We had been expecting rain during the night but as we woke up at 4 AM it hadn’t arrived yet but by 5 AM the wind picked up & a steady rain began. Pork & brisket were on track as we made final prep on ribs & chicken. Everything was still going as planned! Then suddenly out of nowhere the sky turned blue, the wind died down, & the sun began to shine! I was not sure if we could cook in these conditions! We are so accustomed to cooking in the pouring rain how would we adapt! Except for a few muddy spots & some standing water here & there you could not have asked for a better day! The rest of the cook went off without any major issues. We are still a little rusty & struggling with some flavor profiles. Nothing more cooking won't cure. We had our traditional "Early Times Shot" & managed to get everything in the box & turned it on time! Yippee!

Once we finish turn-ins we sit down for a few minutes & share our thoughts about our product. We always say "not our best .....". I thought the chicken was too spicy & a bit dry. Ribs were just ok.....nothing to write home about. Pork had good flavor & looked great. I was most excited about our brisket. I had heard about Ragu Brisket from the BBQ Pitmaster show on TLC. Ragu seemed a bit out of place in BBQ but he I'll try anything once. So I had injected our brisket with Ragu Sauce. If it didn't work out I could always just add some pasta & have brisket spaghetti!

It was finally time to hear the results! Rick’s Pit Stop took the win in chicken with Kentucky Koolers, De’Boners, Ole Man Larry’s BBQ, Big JT’s Smokin BBQ in 2nd thru 5th. A shout out to our friends Music City Pig Pals (7th), Smokin’ Hose Grillin Team (8th), & Team Allegro (9th). No call for DoRagQ….bummer! In ribs Rollin’ Rumps took 1st with Verner’s Barnyard BBQ, Cancer Sucks BBQ, K&K Kookers, & Shade Tree Cooks coming in 2nd thru 5th. Great job by Son Seekers BBQ (6th), J Mack Cookers (7th), & Smelly Butts (9th). Again no call for DoRag….bummer! In pork it was J Mack Cookers takin top honors with MoonSwiners, K&K Kookers, Blues Hog BBQ, & Steel Smokin BBQ in 2nd thru 5th. Congrats to Team Allegro (7th), WC Pork Choppers (8th), & Cancer Sucks BBQ (10th)….Again no call for DoRag……DAMN! In brisket Cancer Sucks BBQ was 2nd with Smelly Butts, Florida Skin & Bones, & MC Pig Pals 3rd thru 5th. Oh I forgot to mention who took 1st……HELL YES! DoRagQ that’s who! We took first frickin place! No spaghetti tonight! A shout out to Ole Man Larry (6th), Son Seekers (9th) & Redneck Grillers (10th). Congrats to Cancer Sucks BBQ for taking the overall Grand Champion with K&K Kookers Reserve GC. J Mack a strong 3rd, Rick’s Pit Stop, Florida Skin & Bones, Team Allergro, Rollin’ Rumps, Smelly Butts, & Shade Tree Cooks 4th thru 9th. Thanks to that Ragu brisket we managed to squeeze in the top ten with a 10th place finish overall. The 23rd place chicken, 14th place ribs, & 23rd place pork needed a strong score from brisket to save the day.

Ok, plenty of room for improvement. If this was easy everybody would be winning right? We gotta re-think some things. I am not ready to make wholesale changes but we have to make some tweaks here & there. We had great weather, saw some BBQ friends & family, & had a frickin great time cooking BBQ! Livin the dream!

Gotta thank our sponsors, Wireless Plus & Early Times Whisky. Thanks for your support. As always, thanks to Gary “Nickelback” Lackey & Richard “New-Do” Finley for being the Do in DoRagQ! You guys make it fun. Glad you are willin to put up with me for another year.  Also thanks to David & Pam Wilson for hangin out with us all weekend.  You guys are a blast!  Next up, High on the Hog in Winchester! One of my favorite contests. Hope you can make it out. Drop by & visit if you do. We love company! Until then “if your lookin, you ain’t cookin…shut the damn smoker”.

P.S. I got to thinkin if the Ragu worked so well on the brisket maybe I should try Ragu on the chicken, ribs, & pork. I’ll get back to ya on that....later Gator!

American Bass Anglers Early Times Whisky BBQ Contest Results Gainsville, GA

March 13, 2010
I just realized that I did not post our results from Gainsville. Please click the link below to view the results of the ABA Early Times Whisky BBQ Contest in Gainsville, GA.  A full recap will be posted soon. 

  http://www.kcbs.us/events.php?year=2010&month=3&id=2211

Monday, March 29, 2010

DoRagQ 2010 Supporters

DoRagQ is proud to announce the return of our friends at Wireless Plus as a 2010 supporter!  Wireless Plus has been with us since 2006 when we entered the Gallatin contest as the Wireless Plus BBQ Team.  I have known Wireless Plus owner's Joe Davis & Mark Walker for over 20 years & have watched thier business grow into the preimere Motorola dealership in the Mid-South.  They service & sell Motorola Communications equipment targeting businesses & government organizations.  Joe & Mark also can be found hangin with the DoRagQ Gang at many local contests.  Please let them know if you have a need for their products & services.  Check them out at http://www.wirelessplusinc.com/.

Also joining DoRagQ for 2010 is Early Times Whisky!  In 2009 DoRagQ competed in the American Bass Anglers Association BBQ Cook-Off Series finishing 3rd overall & winning Grand Champion at the Guntersville, AL contest in September.  Early Times Whisky is a supporter of the ABA & took a likin' to the DoRagQ Gang.  In February 2010 DoRagQ was presented as the Early Times Whisky BBQ Pros at a special ABA event held in conjunction with the Bassmasters Classic in Birmingham, AL.  We are very excited to represent the Early Times brand.  ET has a great history & a international following.  We look forward to representing ET throughout the 2010 KCBS competition season.  Early Times and Good Times with DoRagQ!  

Please contact us if you are intrested in becoming a supporter of DoRagQ! 
We need all the damn help we can get!

DoRagQ 2010 World Tour

March 13, 2010 Gainesville, GA

April 3, 2010 Benton, KY

April 17, 2010 Winchester, TN

May 2, 2010 Anderson, SC

May 15, 2010 Sevierville, TN

June 5, 2010 Memphis, TN

June 19, 2010 Pell City, AL

June 26, 2010 Lawrenceburg, TN

July 10, 2010 Clarksville, TN

August 14, 2010 McMinnville, TN

August 22, 2010 Kuttawa, KY

August 28, 2010 Nashville, TN

September 4, 2010 College Grove, TN

September 11, 2010 Cookeville, TN

September 18, 2010Greenfield, IN

September 25, 2010 Owensboro, KY

October 2, 2010 Kansas City, MO (Tenative)

October 9, 2010 Lewisburg, TN

October 16, 2010 Mobile, AL

October 23, 2010 The JACK (We hope)

October 30, 2010 Talladega, AL

November 6, 2010 Guntersville, AL


Sunday, February 28, 2010

Eric Clapton & Roger Daltry Rocked Nashville!


Eric Clapton made his return to Music City as he rocked the Sommet Center with opening act Roger Daltry of the Who.  My good friends Mark Walker, Chip Hooper, & Chuck Hooper accompanied me on a "boys night out" as we headed down to Rippy's for a pre concert beverage & a bite to eat.  While Rippy's is average when it comes to BBQ it is a great place to start the evening & the Hog Sampler which consists of ribs, smoked pork tenderloin, hot wings, sausage, onion rings, pickle spears, & cheese blocks provides the needed nourishment for the evening.  So after 2 hours of eating & pounding down Brewskis it was time! 

I somehow resisted the urge to stand in long lines & fork over $35 for the commemorative tee-shirt.  I have drawers full of those, but I was more than ready to shell out for a DoRag but to my disapointment, they did not have one!  I really think they are missing a great marketing opportunity.  I am sure the DoRag would be one of their biggest sellers!  (Sorry for the ramble)  We arrived at our seats which were on the second level stage right.  Not bad seats but when you are there to see a Guitarist who is right handed you can't really see all of the action.  Of course as soon as we sat down, it was time for MORE BEER!

While I appreciate the Who & have a lot of their music I can't say I am a huge fan so I was not really excited to see Roger Daltry.  Stevie Winwood & even Jeff Beck had been on the tour with EC but for this leg of the tour Roger was the opening act.  Any respectable rock fan has to appreciate the legacy of the Who so I decided to sit back & see what he can do.  RD opened with the Who's "I Can See For Miles".  The band was tight with Daltry on the microphone.  Flanked by 2 guitarists, bass, keyboard, and drums Daltry did grab a guitar for one of the songs.  Sorry I can't remember the set list but there were a few that stuck out like "Squeeze Box" & Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire"!  Daltry spoke several times between songs & told the story that when asked which of all his concerts was the most memorable he replied "they were all the same until last years solo performance at the Ryman"!  I think I like this Guy!  You could tell that he understood what the Ryman stands for.  During one song Daltry with microphone in hand twirled it like a rope to the beat of the music.  You could tell he was just getting into it & was just getting warmed up. In all, a very enjoyable 45 minute set!  BTW Roger will turn 66 March 1st!  Happy birthday Roger!



During the break the Boys went for more beer!  Imagine that!  I stayed behind & got to know Cindi & Keith Throckmorton from Rockvale, TN who were sitting next to me.  Seems we have some common interests, music, beer, & bikes!  For Lawyers, they were kool peeps & we may made plans to ride together later this year! 
The lights blinked, the crowd roared, & EC appeared on stage! Backed by two keyboards, bass, & drums, EC had the guitar duties all to himself.  But then he is Clapton, why would he need any help!  The band was crisp, the sound was sharp, not too loud, but loud enough!  I will post the set list as soon as I can verify my memory.  I was hoping since EC's good friend Robert Plant was in town that he might be a surprise guest but there was no RP sighting tonight however accomplished singer, songwriter, musician, & Nashville resident Vince Gill joined Clapton during the acoustic portion of the show.  Vince did only gutiar work no vocals as they sat during the set.  Vince seemed to hold his own but I got the impression that Vince was humbled to share the stage with such a legend.  The acoustic set was spot on as well with "Layla" highlighting the performance.  I enjoy this version but I would love to hear the original (less Duane Allman of course). The crowd was defiantly appreciative of Clapton's guitar genius as they roared during & after his effortless solos.  I tell you this man in my opinion is the best guitarist of all time.  I know many have valid arguments but to me, Clapton is the MAN!

The show closed out with one encore, Robert Johnson's "Crossroads".  How fitting as EC's passion these days is funding the Crossroads Centre which is a non-profit, International Centre of Excellence for the treatment of alcohol and other drug addictions located in Antigua & founded by Clapton.  No doubt his passion fuels from his past struggles with alcohol & drug addiction.  I am so glad he made it through those struggles. 

In summary, true Clapton followers were treated to a great performance by a legend.  His guitar work & vocals were strong, crisp, & on point.  He made if look effortlessly. He is not much on the dialog side, he lets his guitar carry on the conversation with the audience & they fully understand what he is saying.  I am privlegd to have seen one of my idols a hand full of times over the years & I hope to see him again.  Thanks Eric!