Tuesday, April 03, 2012

"Tater Days" Results!

The DoRagQ Gang just returned from our first competition of 2012.  Benton, Kentucky was the sight of the annual "Tater Days" festival.  Now I know your are wondering WTH is "Tater Days"? Well thanks for asking!  "Tater Days" 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.  There are many local events and the Kiwanis Club also hosts the annual BBQ Competition.  This year there were 41 BBQ Teams from several states competing & the DoRagQ Gang was darn proud to be one of them!  This year occasional DoRagQ Gang members Pam & David Wilson will be joining us on the entire 2012 "Pigs & Pie Tour".  David is in the "Music Biz" and with relocating to "Music City" was thinking of putting BBQ on hold until things settled down.  About that same time "DoRagQ Gang" member Richard Finley accepted an offer to cook BBQ & sample a new BBQ sauce on the market to the public.  "Garland Jack's Secret Six" sauces should be hitting the Nashville area markets soon!  Richard will be in and around the Nashville area sampling "Award Winning Pork" featuring Garland Jack's Sauces!  I will post a schedule soon.  We hope you will pay him and Jeff McPherson a visit when they are in your area.  Richards gig will keep him busy from April to August and the samplings will occur mostly on weekends which meant he would not be able to attend any contest during that time.  During a night to intense consummation of adult beverages I had a vision!  It was somewhat blurry but a vision none the less!  I made a phone call to David and shared my blurry vision with him...then I told him I would pay him to help me...after some shrewd negotiation on David's part we decided to join up and help each other.  So the "New" DoRagQ Gang Rides Again!


Ok enough BS....back to "Tater Days". Forty-one BBQ Teams converged on Benton, KY to compete in for most their first contest of the year.  The weather cooperated and made for a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.  We arrived late evening on Thursday & quickly unloaded.  We were right next to our good friends Sherri & Jackie Price of  "Smoke On This" and we headed out to the local Mexican restaurant for some Margaritas & some Tex-Mex!  Only one problem....no Margaritas!  Seems we were in a dry county!  We enjoyed the food and company none-the-less and headed back to the contest site for the evening where we finished setting up and had a few "adult beverages" cleverly disguised in "red solo cups"! 

After a good nights sleep we began to see more familiar faces such as "Blues Hog BBQ", "Old Man Larry's BBQ Team", "ShadeTree Cooks", "Rub-Won-Out", and "Team Allegro".  It was great seeing all our friends after the winter break.  After inspection we got down to work prepping our meats, getting the smokers positioned, and going over our BBQ Plan!  With the business stuff out of the way be commenced to continuing our sampling of adult beverages until it was finally time to call it a night. 

Saturday morning started out great only to find our brisket was a bit stubborn on getting up to temperature. We fought it right up to turn in time and it still wasn't where it needed to be.  We made the best of it and seemed to get everything else turned in on time.  We felt good about chicken, ribs were a bit salty, still not happy with the brisket, and not sure about the pork.  Regardless of how we felt it was in the hands of the Judges now!

We made our way to the awards and settled in for the news.  "Pappy Q" took the win in chicken with our good friends "Son Seekers" in 2nd.  The Judges must have liked our entry as "DoRagQ"  got a 4th place call with "Rub-Won-Out" taking 5th place.  In the rib category our friends "ShadeTree Cooks" got an 8th place call and surprise surprise, "DoRagQ" placed 3rd!  Weeeeeeeeeeeee!  I will say we were a bit surprised!  Takin the win in ribs was "4 Smokin' Butts"!  "Rub-Won-Out" placed 6th in the pork category with "Bubba Joe's BBQ" taking 1st place.  Some questions were answered about our pork as "DoRagQ" came in 27th (bummer)!  In the brisket category "Smoke on This" got a 8th place call with "Rub-Won-Out" placing 5th and "Team Allegro" taking 4th place.  "Bubba's Tennessee Smokers" took first place.  "DoRagQ" managed to place 17th. Better than I expected!  Overall top 10 went like this: 10th "Son Seekers BBQ", 9th "One2bbq", 8th "Gilly's BBQ", 7th "DoRagQ", 6th "Q2NV", 5th "Rub-Won-Out", 4th "Bubba Joe's BBQ", 3rd "Smokin' T's", 2nd "4 Smokin' Butts", and Grand Champion "Eat Mor Butt BBQ"!  Congrats to all!

Well it could have been worse!  Hell it has been worse!  I think this is the best the DoRagQ Gang has placed at "Tater Days".  We know we could have done better and hopefully we can improve on those things and do better next time.  Regardless we had a great time seeing our BBQ Friends and Family! We look forward to our next event in Gasden, Alabama and hope to be back at "Tater Days" next year!  Hope we see ya soon Peckerwood!

Here is a link to the complete results on the KCBS website!  http://www.kcbs.us/events.php?year=2012&month=3&id=3172

Sunday, April 01, 2012

Click the kink below for complete results.  Full recap coming later this week!
Benton Kiwanis BBQ Kookoff Results

Monday, March 26, 2012

DoRagQ's 2012 "Pigs & Pie" Tour Update!

Hey DoRaggers!  Made a few changes to the "Pigs & Pie" Tour schedule.  We waited to late to make the Whistlestop contest in Huntsville so we are headin down to Ashland Mississippi for the Mississippi Springfest May 4-5.  We also added "Chip & Penny's Annual July 4th Pool Bash" on June 30th!   
 
  The DoRagQ Gang has been bizzy gettin "Casa DoRag" ready to roll out this weekend to "Tater Days" in Benton, KY.  The "Tater Days" contest marks the 5th year anniversary of "DoRagQ".  Tater Days was the first contest that Gary "Nickelback" Lackey & myself competed as DoRagQ! Along the way we have met some really cool peeps & on occasion cooked some purty good BBQ!  I hope the next 5 years is as fun as the last!

DoRag 2006 (yes that is Gatorade)

"Nickelback" @ Tater Days 2006!            
  We are workin with a local printer to design & print some cool DoRagQ "Swag"!  T-Shirts (sleeveless of course) & DoRagQ DoRags are both in the works. We hope to have some to show you soon! 

So good luck & safe travels to all my BBQ Friends & Family who are competing this coming weekend!

Thursday, March 08, 2012

DoRagQ's "Pigs & Pie Tour 2012"

March 30-31    Benton KY Kiwanis Barbeque Kook-Off
Benton, KY
April 13-14      Smoke on the Falls Noccalula BBQ Fest
Gadsden, AL
April 20-21      25th High on the Hog Festival
Winchester, TN
May 4-5          Mississippi Springfest 
                       Ashland, MS
May 18-19      Cotton Pickin' BBQ Cook-Off
Hartselle, AL
May 25-26      Lewisburg Rotary Club BBQ Cook-Off
Lewisburg, TN
June 1-2          Variety Children's Charity Barbecue Bash
Memphis, TN
June 8-9          Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Huntsville, AL
June 22-23      Queen City BBQ Cookoff
Clarksville,TN                                               
June 30             Chip & Penny's Annual 4th of July Bash
July 27-28        Foothills Country Fair Backyard BBQ Bash
Cleveland, TN
August 10-11   Smokin in McMinnville
McMinnville, TN
August 24-25   Music City Festival & BBQ Championship
Nashville, TN
Sept 7-8          Cookeville Cookoff
Cookeville, TN
Sept 14-15      18th Annual Decatur Jaycees Riverfest
Decatur, AL
Sept 21-22       TBA
October 5-6     Jim Beam BBQ Classic
Springfield, KY
October 12-13   TBA
October 19-20  Big Buffalo Crossing BBQ Cook-Off
 Munfordville, KY
October 26-27  Visiting Friends @ The Jack Daniel World 
 Championship Lynchburg, TN
Nov 16-17        The National BBQ Cup
 Cumming, GA

 

Thursday, February 16, 2012

DoRagQ Update!

After a long period of no activity I have decided to re-commit myself to posting regularly to "The Life & Times of a BBQ Man".  While I thought no-one read my alcohol induced ramblings apparently there are a few that find  them humorous and entertaining.  I actually received several emails asking me "WTF happend"?  So over the next few weeks I will try to catch you up on "WTF" is goin on with the "DoRagQ Gang".  I hope you will tune in & check it out! 

"Bro's Cajun Cuisine" Review

February 16, 2012
Had lunch at one of my favorite places in Nashville today,  Bro's!  Not much on atmosphere but if you want some good cookin then it's your place!  I ordered the Gumbo which had both chicken & Andouille sausage over rice.  The "rue" was dark and full of flavor.  The chicken was tender and the Andouille has a slight amount of heat!  Very good, very filling!  I also had a 1 lb, side of Crawfish.  Tons of flavor!  I wanted to stay and order more and make an afternoon of it but you know....gotta bet back to the Grind!  As always it was full at lunch time.  The layout is crazy and as I said the decor is bare minimum.  Darrell Breaux is always there with a quick joke and a smile.  The service is sometimes slow but today it was quick (except for the Crawfish)...but they arrived shortly behind the Gumbo.  I left with a full stomach and an empty pocketbook!  It's a bit pricy for lunch but well worth it IMHO!  I can't wait to return.  Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

"Monkey Wrench" Review (Louisville, KY)

February 15, 2012
Paid "Monkey Wrench" a visit on a recent trip to the "Ville".  Stopped in because it looked like a cool place to hang out.  Beer was cold, music was at conversation level, bartender friendly, & the food was good (I had the Wings).  Love the "Dive-Bar" decor & atmosphere.  Had to call it an early night due to finishing up some work.  When we were leaving the "Band" was setting up.  I will defiantly pay "Monkey Wrench" another visit!

Thursday, February 02, 2012

"The Pharmacy" Review

February 2, 2012
Checked out the Pharmacy today.  It was packed but we were seated after only a short wait.  The staff was very friendly & took our drink order quickly.  For the beer connoisseur there seems to be a good selection.  I ordered a Shiner which was delivered with a small cold but not frosty mug.  The menu was easy to read & understand.  I ordered The Pharmacy Burger (hold the onions) & sweet potato fries.  While waiting we check out the surroundings.  I saw the Biergarden area which looked like a great place to hang with friends.  There were picnic style tables outside which during warmer & drier weather looks like fun.  My burger arrived in a basket & looked quite impressive.  the bun was large & fit the burger perfectly.  I could tell the beef was hand formed and was not some mass produced frozen patty passing itself off as hand made.  i like to cut my burgers in half....(I guess I am weird) and  I could see the burger  was properly cooked to about medium.  The burger was juicy, tender, and flavorful.  Just the way I like my burgers.  The Sweet potato fries were  good & crisp.  Not soggy as some sweet fries tend to be.  Overall it was a pleasurable experience at a reasonable price.  i can see the charm of the area & look forward to checking it out again during better weather.  All in all I would recommend Pharmacy to friends & family as a place you can go with the kids or with your Peeps & have a good time.  I can't wait to try some of their specialty sodas.

Monday, August 08, 2011

DoRagQ Update!

Once again I have fallen behind on posting our contest results!  I guess I have too many hobbies.  Between BBQ, Motorcycles, Music, & yard work there is not much time left to do anything but work!  But I am so thankful to have a job & enjoy what I do.  Of course I could enjoy not working also as long as the $ kept coming in!  I keep playing the lottery...hey some one's gotta win! 

"Run For The Ribs" Louisville. KY
May 5-7, 2011

Ok...we were preparing to head north to Louisville back in May when I posted last.  We had a great time at the "Run For The Ribs" contest during Derby Week.  The field was packed with "BBQ Stars" & we were just hoping for a decent finish.  It was good to see our BBQ friends Warren County Pork Choppers, Moonswiners, Lotta Bull, Shigs In Pit, Smoke On This, Son Seekers, Quau, & cancersuckschicago.com.  We also met some new friends....Squealers Award Winning BBQ from Indianapolis was right next to us & we shared a few adult beverages with Jim & Jeff!  Great guys! 

Friday prep went off like normal with the high point of the evening was grilling Oysters with Donny of WCPC!  Donny got the idea when we were in "Nola" back in February & they were awesome!  They went great with the Bloody Marys that our friends "Shigs In Pit" fixed for us.  We were fit to be tied for sure! 

Saturday was normal for the most part at least until I made a "rookie" mistake of cutting the brisket with the grain making it tough as leather. I was crushed!  We had a beautiful brisket & I just ruined it!  We made the decision to turn in a box with burnt ends & pulled brisket.....no slices....that's what I said.....no frickin slices in the box!  It was damage control at this point!  Needless to say we were not very confident on our way to awards.  We figured we would just lick our wounds & root for our friends!

As the chicken winners were announced we were surprised to hear our name called for 8th place but surprise quickly turned to reality when we received no calls for ribs & pork.  So as they called the top 5 for brisket I joked to Richard...."we're gonna get called for brisket"  we both laughed...then we hollered when they called "2nd place brisket....DoRagQ"!!!!!  WOOT WOOT! No frickin way!  Everyone could tell were were genuinely surprised.  I had already told our friends what I had done so they were all giving me hell! 

"No Slice" Brisket


We were still chuckling as they called out the top ten overall.  At this point I was really not expecting any more surprises.  Our friends "Son Seekers" came in 10th, with "Shigs In Pit" in 9th.  "Smoke On This" was called 8th, & in 7th place was DoRagQ!  No way!!!!!!!!!  Cancersuckschicago.com was 6th, Quau 5th, Uncle Chets BBQ 4th, Bourbon Barrel BBQ 3rd, Brutus and Company Reserve Grand Champion, & Moonswiners took the Grand Champion!  We just finished 7th place & three of the top six were former "Jack Daniels World Champions"!  And we did it without a slice of brisket in our box!  Holy Crapola Batman!

Well the ride home was certainly a cheerful one!  While I don't plan to make a habit of turning in burnt ends & pulled brisket I did confirm that even a blind squirrel can get a nut once in a while.  A good time was had by all & I have a few stories to tell along the way.  We are looking forward to "Derby Week" next year & plan to return.  Hope to see you there! 
















Monday, July 04, 2011

Updated 2011 Tour Schedule

July 8-9 - Birmingham, AL - Blues, Brews and Barbecue

August 5-6 - Birmingham, AL - Sam's Club BBQ Competition (Qualifier)

August 12-13 - McMinnville, TN - Smokin in McMinnville

August 26-27 - Nashville, TN - Music City BBQ Festival

September 2-3 - Bardstown, KY - Bourbon City BBQ Festival

September 9-10 - Cookeville, TN - Cookeville Cookoff

September 16-17 - Decatur, AL - Riverfest

September 23-24 - Owensboro, KY - Grillin & Chillin

Fall Schedule To Be Determined.  Will update in early August.


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!