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”!

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!

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

http://www.ababbq.com/hartwell.php

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

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

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

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! 

 

Goats, Music, & More! Who's Your Naaaanny!

October 9-10, 2009
The Goats, Music, More BBQ Contest has always been a favorite of the DoRagQ Gang since 2007. Richard had much to do with starting & organizing this contest in 2007 & 2008. In 2009 he decided to "retire" from contest organizing & concentrate on competing having a good time. The contest is part of the Goats, Music, & More Festival which celebrates the popularity of "Goats" in the area. They are also known for their outstanding entertainment "Music" the BBQ is part of the "More"! It is your typical "Fall Festival" with food vendors, arts, crafts, & entertainment for the whole family. And the best part is FREE ADMISSION! Nice to see there is still some family entertainment that does not cost an arm a leg. Lewisburg is also Richard's hometown, so we took Casa DoRag down Wednesday & got set up. I was having  a busy week & was not sure what time I would be able to get away on Friday. Lewisburg is about an hours drive from Nashville so I would head down when done for the day. Lewisburg would make the eighth week out of nine that we have been on the contest circuit.  Lewisburg is normally the last contest of the year for DoRagQ. The forecast leading up to the contest was the same as we have seen for the past several weeks...RAIN! Now that we have Casa DoRag the rain does not seem to bother us as much as it once did but it would sure be nice to have clear skies dry ground. Never the less we were looking foreword to cookin some "Q"! We were also looking forward to adding some additional "DoRag Members" for this weekend. CBJ Nancy Strong had asked to cook with the DoRagQ Gang to fulfill her KCBS Master Judge Certification & KCBS Contest Rep "Extraordinaire" Ron "Go Bama" Harwell had some how talked me into letting him cook with us as well! Ron has become a great friend & since he is usually fulfilling his duties as a KCBS Rep we were looking forward to hanging out with him "off duty".


Richard & Gary got things going on Friday & by the time I arrived everything was inspected, prepped, injected, marinated, rubbed, wrapped, & on ice! Nice! That gave me some "socializin time" to see our BBQ Friends such as Mr. Pete of Bean Bandits, The Swifts of Wild Bunch Butt Burners, David of Gettin' Piggy With It, Linda & JC of JC's Pit Crew, Dan & Jen of Long Dawgs, & Brenda & Terry of High on the Hawg to name a few. Before long it was time for the Cook's Meeting. In lew of "Goodie Bags" the Rotary Club was cookin a catfish supper & providing Saturday morning breakfast for all the teams! Nice touch! So after the Cook's meeting concluded we did more socializin waiting on the catfish. Richard was asked to lend his expertise frying the fish. After a short wait we were treated to fried catfish, hush puppies, & hot slaw. What a feast! After dinner it was time to start the "Big Meats" smokin while Gary started makin the boxes. Even with the weather everything was going according to plan! Cool, more time for more socializin! It was a pleasure to sit down with Nancy & get to know her better. I also had a great time "bossin" Ron around. Hey there are no "free rides" with the DoRag Gang. You gotta pull your weight! All kiddin aside, Ron was eager to help we all enjoyed his company as well.

As the night went on, things were "low key" compared to previous years. The entertainment was country music group Shenandoah. They moved in from the main stage to a small covered pavilion that was packed! The weather did not stop the locals from coming out & taking advantage of the "free" entertainment. We all just hung out around the fire pit & took chugs of Apple Pie. Terry & Mary Jo of Shadetree Cooks came over & Victor of GPWI (Gettin Piggy With It) made it down from ATL with his friends. A good time was had by all.  Several had a better time than the rest of us (you know who you are). Before long it was "Quiet Time" & we all turned in for the night.

Saturday morning arrived as did our breakfast. We were also treated to a rousing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner courtesy of Rodney & John of House of Q. Very inspiring! So after we wiped the sleep from our eyes, it was time to get serious about this BBQ thang. Nancy & Ron did a great job helping out where they could. I was looking forward to their opinions on our product. Ron did a impromptu interview with the DoRagQ Gang for an article for the American Bass Anglers in between us butting on the ribs & chicken. By mid morning everything was in full swing. The big meats were up to temperature & the ribs & chicken were coming along fine. As we prepped our boxes for turn in, Nancy commented how she was amazed at the amount of effort we put in to producing a quality product. As I explained, this is true with most teams competing. You have to pay attention to the details. The smallest thing can be the difference in getting a call or not. We have been fortunate to get some great advice from many of those teams & we strive to pay attention to the details & remain as consistent as possible. Sometimes it works & sometimes it don't. I hope Nancy tells her fellow Judges about her experiences.

We managed to get everything boxed & turned in on time. As we usually do, we sat down & discussed our product but this time we had Nancy & Ron's input as well. Both Nancy & Ron commented the chicken was a bit salty, we agreed. They liked the ribs, we thought they we good but not great. They really liked the pork, we did too. Nancy said our brisket was possible the best she has ever had! WOW what a complement. We thought it was good, but not as good as some we have cooked. So after cleaning up & packing Casa DoRag all that was left was to hear the results. So we made our way over to the main stage. Wild Bunch Butt Burners kicked it off by taking the win in chicken, with High on the Hawg coming in 2nd. Seems Nancy & Ron were right as we brought up the rear in 20th place in chicken. In ribs, Jiggy Piggy took the win, with Long Dawgs/Harvest Moon placing 2nd (way to go Jan & Dan)! House of Q, Jc's Pit Crew, & High on the Hawg rounded out the top five. DoRag managed a 9th place. I was really hoping for a good finish in pork as we have been struggling a bit. They called High on the Hawg in 5th, Wild Bunch Butt Burners in 4th, Long Dawgs/Harvest Moon in 3rd, & DoRagQ in 2nd! Holy Shit! That's cool! Congrats to "Legendary" Tony Stone of S & S for taking the win in pork by 2/1000th of a point! In brisket Governor's BBQ took the win, with House of Q, 9 Toes, Butts a Blazin', & Long Dawgs/Harvest Moon, rounding out the top five. The DoRagQ Gang managed to pull off a 10th place finish in brisket. The overall win went to House of Q! Those guys can cook! With Gary & Roxy of Governor's BBQ taking RGC! Rounding out the top ten were Wild Bunch Butt Burners, Long Dawgs/Harvest Moon, Big River BBQ, Jiggy Piggy, S & S, High on the Hawg, General Porktitioners, & DoRagQ! Oh & Jiggy Piggy took the win in Goat over last year's champion Long Dawgs/Harvest Moon! Congratulations to all!

Ok, a top ten overall finish, no complaints here!  We seem to be on the right track with pork. I know what I did to make the chicken too salty.  Ribs & brisket are consistant,  Overall a good effort!  I'm happy!  What I will remember most about this contest is the fun we had getting to know Nancy & Ron.  I want to thank them both for giving us the honor to cook & spend time with them.  They are both very special & have an "open inviatation" to cook with DoRagQ anytime!  Next year I will have the dis-honor of wearing a Alabama DoRag because of a friendly wager that Mr. Harwell & I had.  12-10 ain't bad boys....we'll get 'em next year!  We have a week off & then its off the Lunchburg for "The Jack".  The DoRagQ Gang has been asked by Bobbie & Lee McWright of Music City Pig Pals to assist them!  Very cool!  We will be rootin for them as well as all of our BBQ Friends & Family.  Until then, keep the fat side down & the coals hot!  See ya!

Smokin' on the Square, Gallatin, TN

October 2-3, 2009

2009 would mark our fourth appearance at Smokin' on the Square in Gallatin, TN. Gallatin is located 25 minutes North of Nashville & very close to home. A nice change from the two+hour drives we have been making recently. Gary & I loaded Casa DoRag after work on Thursday & headed to Gallatin to get set up. Being so close I planned on working Friday so Gary & Richard would get things started & I would catch up with them later in the day. Work went rather smoothly & I found my way to Gallatin by late afternoon. As usual Richard & Gary had everything prepped & waiting. Good friends Brenda & Terry of High on the Hawg we parked next to us & the combination team of Pig Smokers in Paradise & Light My Fire (Pigs on Fire) were on the other side of Casa DoRag. It was great to see April & Alan of Pig Smokers as we hadn't seen much of them this year. Several regulars were noticeable absent from Gallatin this year as several were competing at the American Royal in Kansas City & a few were cooking at a new contest in Springfield, KY. We wish them luck & hope they come back next year. We spent the rest of the afternoon socializing with our BBQ Family until it was time for the Cook's Meeting which is held at Grecian's Italian Restaurant across the street from the contest site. The organizer "Greater Gallatin" always has a "Cocktail Hour" with horse-overies (can't spell hors d'oeuvres!) Very nice spread!

After the Cook's Meeting it was time to get bizzy prepping dinner. Our good friends from Wireless Plus/Motorola always come visit on Friday night for pork chops, sausage, smoked potatoes, & salad. It's our way of saying "Thanks" for their support during the year. Also in attendance were our new friends from Kattawa KY, Robin & Shawn Tabor. Robin was judging on Saturday & Shawn was in search of truck parts! It was great hangin out with them & "brainstorming" how to make Kattawa's contest even better in 2010. Gary brought the "Fire Pit" & we all enjoyed a chug of Apple Pie while sitting around the fire & socializin'. Once the "Pie" was gone our company wasn't far behind. Makes you wonder if they just come to "chug"???? Gary headed home (20 minute drive) & Richard & I turned in for the night. Great night, no casualties & we somehow managed to get the pork & brisket in the FE100 in spite of all the socializin'.

After a great night & some shut-eye 4 AM rolled around & it was time to take temps & get the chicken & ribs ready. There is something special about a contest early in the morning. The smell of hickory, the occasional sound of a fire box door closing, the screeching sound of FIRE TRUCKS! Did I mention that we are right next to the Gallatin Fired Department? But hey, I am sure they would rather not be trotting off @ 4AM either. So after Richard had his coffee & I had my mornin' Coors Light we commenced to gettin serious! Gary arrived a short time later & we went over our game plan. After 15 plus contests this year, things are finally falling into place. It's almost like we know what we are doing! Scary! The rest of the morning went smoothly as we managed not to burn anything. We dunked, sliced, pulled, & managed to get everything turned in on time. The consensus was our chicken, ribs, & brisket were in the ballpark. Not great but decent, maybe top 10. Pork again was a big ? We knew it was not "award winning" but were hoping it wouldn't finish DAL (Dead Ass Last). So after a quick rest we began packing up Casa DoRag. I still like the idea of "BBQ Roadies". Let me know if you are interested, great benefits, all the BBQ & Beer you want. All you have to do is unpack, wash dishes, & load up when finished & you too can be part of the DoRagQ Gang! Send your resume, immediate openings!

After loading up it was time to "read 'em & weep". We all headed over to the awards to close the chapter on another "Smokin' on the Square". The Dessert category was announced first. The top two teams both finished with perfect scores! Bobbie & Lee McWright of Music City Pig Pals & David Wilson of Gettin' Piggy With It both finished with a "180" with Gettin Piggy With It taking the tiebreaker! Congrats! In the chicken category, Gary Roberts of Governors BBQ took the win with High on the Hawg in 2nd. Rounding out the top five were Pork of the North, Adams Rib, & Critter Cookers. DoRagQ managed a 6th! Cool! The winner in the rib category was Charcoal Cowboys, with MC Pig Pals, Bigbrig.com, High on the Hawg, & The Algood BBQ Pit Team in 2nd through 5th. DoRagQ snuck in again in 6th. So far we were right on track with our predictions, now for pork. The Algood BBQ Pit Team took the win with High on the Hawg, Smokin Butt Crew, Bigbrig.com, & Pork of the North 2nd through 5th. DoRagQ was 16th! AGHHHHHHHH! In brisket, Team Allegro continued their "Hott-Streak" by taking the win with Smokin Butt Crew in 2nd. The Ash Holes followed in 3rd, with Governors BBQ in 4th. The DoRagQ Gang came in 5th! Wow the calls were all over the board, who was gonna take the win? Past Smokin' on the Square Champions Pork of the North managed to pull off the RGC with Paul Hood of Bigbrig.com taking the overall GC! Way to go! Brenda & Terry of High on the Hawg finished in 3rd with Adams Rib in 4th, & Governors BBQ in 5th. The DoRagQ Gang managed to place just inside the top 10 taking 9th place overall!

Time for reflection.....Did we finish DAL?....No..... Did we get our name called?....Yes.... Did we spend time with our BBQ Family?....Yes.... Did we have a good time?....Yes... Do we play for the Titans?....Hell No..... OK then, call it a successful cook! Gallatin is always one of our favorite contests. Arlie & Greater Gallatin do a fantastic job taking care of us & making sure the event is a success. There is aways a great crowd & lots of vendors & performers. If you are a Team, Judge, or just want to have a nice day with the family at a Fall Festival be sure to make plans to attend next year's Smokin' on the Square. DoRagQ will be there. Come by & visit a spell, take you shoes off, sip some "Pie" we would love to see you there! Until then we gotta get ready for the Goats, Music, & More BBQ Contest next week in Lewisburg, TN. That's always a wild one. I better make another batch of Apple Pie! See ya there!

American Bass Anglers BBQ Cookoff, Florence, AL

September 25-26, 2009

Let me begin by saying "THANKS" to all the DoRagQ Fans & Friends for the kind words we received for winning our first contest last week in Guntersville Alabama. It is an experience that I will not forget. I hope every team has the opportunity to experience the emotions felt in winning a contest. But that was last week. this week is another town, another contest, another victory or disappointment. Either way it goes you can't dwell on it for very long. Just do what you do & hope you don't make anyone sick! Ok enough about that.......

Late September found the DoRagQ Gang heading to Florence Alabama for the third leg of the American Bass Anglers Early Times BBQ Contest. For the 7th weekend in a row we have been cooking or judging. We have experienced both the highs & lows of competitive cooking (scoring wise). Through it all we strived to maintain our consistency. The one thing that was really consistant was the RAIN! Once again we faced another weekend with rain in the forecast. We barely get things dried out & they are wet again! We are thankful for Casa DoRag! At least we can get in out of the weather for a few minutes & stay dry. The rain does not seem to effect our cookers either. The FE100s keep on burnin & smokin like Champs!

As the contest unfolded we began our normal ritual of prepping meat. No surprises everything just as it has been for weeks. Chicken looked good, ribs were meaty, nice butts, & the brisket looked awesome. Time to relax & do some socializin! Making the rounds we ran into many members of our BBQ Family. JoBeaz Blazin Butts & Wings, High on the Hawg, Delta Smoke,Gettin Piggy With It, Team Top Chick, Lotta Bull, House of Q, Smokey Mountain Smokers, & Butts, Bellies, & Buddies just to name a few. It was great seeing everyone & a few we hadn't seen in a while. We also caught up with many of our ABA Friends such as Kevin Rake, Debra Talley, David & Chris Hagood, & Morris Sheehan. It was great catching up with them. Soon it was time for the Cook's Meeting. KCBS Reps Tana Shupe & Ron Harwell lived up to their reputation conducting the meeting & making sure everyone was on the same page. With the "Biz" out of the way it was time for some chow! A Mexican dinner was provided by one of the teams, & I am sorry but I don't remember who they were! It was fantastic & the Margaritas ROCKED! THANKS SO MUCH! I hope to find out who it was so I can thank them properly....maybe a little Apple Pie! After dinner we hung out with John & Rodney of House of Q, Jim of Butts Bellies & Buddies, & David & Pam of Gettin Piggy With It & drank Apple Pie! We even managed to get Kevin Rake & "Mo" himself to take a chug! I knew it was time for bed when the "Disco" music started playing. So it was off to Casa DoRag to get some shut-eye.

We awoke Saturday to the pitter patter of raindrops falling on our roof. Yes Mother Nature decided to mess with us and she wasn't foolin around. I thought we might need a boat to get to turn ins. Somehow we managed to get everything done, boxed, & turned in on time. Then the rain stopped! At least we could pack up without gettin wet! As usual Gary, Richard, & I had a few minutes to reflect on our product and we all thought it was consistent with what we had been turning in the past few contest. I have to admit, the thought a winning brisket for the third week in a row did pass through my mind, not to mention the prospect of winning back-to-back contests! Oh but hold on just a dang minute.........BBQ can be such a cruel mistress! We went from singing Queen's "We Are The Champions" to The Little River Band's "Lonesome Looser"! It was not to be as we did not hear DoRagQ's name called during the entire awards except we asked to "Move our truck"! As I said in the beginning, you can't dwell on the good or the bad too long! I just hope we didn't make anyone sick!

Congrats to Butts, Bellies, & Buddies for taking 1st in chicken, Team Top Chick for top honors in ribs, Jiggy Piggy 1st in pork, & E.M. Azing BBQ taking the win in brisket. The overall win went to E.M. Azing BBQ with Team Top Chick taking RGC! Great finish! Other notables were House of Q in 3rd, Jiggy Piggy in 4th, & Butts, Bellies, & Buddies rounding out the top five. The DoRagQ gang managed a 14th overall with a 14th in chicken, 19th in ribs, 10th in pork, & 12th in brisket. Not our best effort but hey, at least we had a great time! But it did make for a rather long drive home. So as I close this post, I look forward to next week at Smokin' on the Square in Gallatin TN. We will go home, dry out, re-stock, & look forward to seeing our BBQ Family once again.

Best wishes to Jiggy Piggy, Lotta Bull, Swiggin Pig, Team Top Chick, & Wild Bunch Butt Burners as they make their way to Kansas City to compete in the American Royal. Good luck & safe travels.

American Bass Anglers BBQ Cookoff, Guntersville, AL

September 18-19, 2009

WARNING: This is going to be a long read! A lot has happend since last week in Cookeville so grab a beverage, relax, & let me tell you about my week!

The DoRagQ Gang was still flying high after last week's 1st place brisket & 7th place chicken resulting in a 7th overall. But hey you can't dewell on the good or the bad for too long. You gotta start getting ready for the next cook, & that's what we were focusing on early last week. First off I had a lot going on at the JOB! I am involved in a big project & would have software peeps in Tuesday thru Friday. This presented a problem as I was going to have to work on Friday & would not be able to head to Guntersville until they left. My first plan was to take Casa DoRag to Guntersville after work on Thursday. Richard & Gary could then arrive on Friday & start prepping then I would get there when I could. Then I realized that Guntersville is a 2 1/2 hour drive one way! Not good! After some head scratching, Gary volunteered to take Casa DoRag down Thursday afternoon & return that night. He would pick up Richard on the way down & Richard would stay the night & get things started Friday morning. Great idea! Except for the fact that we did not have a truck to pull Casa DoRag with since I needed my truck for work (company vehicle). Bummer! More head scratching......who do I know that has a truck big enough that would loan it to me & let Gary drive it? That's a tall order to fill but after a quick call to close friend Darryl Sage @ Total Preformance Racing Products we had a truck! So Gary headed out Thursday afternoon & picked Richard up on the way to Guntersville. He then helped Richard unload the cookers & headed back to Nashville. Meanwhile, Richard set up the cook site & settled in for the night. I worked & worried all day! When I got home I received an email notifying me that the KCBS has banned parsley as a garnish due to a recall in many states! So i called Gary & gave him the news that we had to find some Greenleaf lettuce in a hurry. Gary calmed me down & said he would take care of that Friday morning. All I had to do was pack my bag, go to work, & pick him up when I got off! Wow what a deal!

I did not sleep much Thursday night due to worring about work, lettuce, & Richard having to prep everything by himself. Don't get me wrong here, Richard is very capable I just felt bad that he was having to take up my slack! Richard assured me he did not mind but I still felt bad. My project at work was going great & it looked like my peeps would be heading out around 2:30 PM! So after their departure, Gary & I headed for Guntersville. It's alot farther than I thought! I wondered if we would ever get there! We finally arrived around 5:30 PM & I began to survey the site. Richard had done a great job getting everything setup. Due to the heavy rains the ABA improvised & made use of some asphalt instead of having us in the grass which would have turned into a mud-bogg! Good call ABA! I checked out the meat that Richard had prepped, finished the chicken, & had a few cold ones while Gary started making the lettuce boxes. We hadn't made a lettuce box in almost two years so he was a bit rusty but quickly got on a roll & had them finished! We then had a chance to visit with a few friends. Voncille & Joe of Smokey Mountian Smokers, Ron of Team Top Chick, Barry & Mike of Swiggin' Pig, Jen & Dan of Long Dawgs, Bobbie & Lee of Music City Pig Pals were just a few of the 19 pro teams competing. Several regulars were in nearby Decatur AL cooking @ Riverfest. Our friends Jan & Bill of Gooby's BBQ invited us for some dinner which consisted of babyback ribs, chicken, beans, & some Peach/Cherry Cobbler that Jan was practicing for the desert category. Sweet! It was delicious! After dinner we just chilled out & enjoyed the cool breeze off of Lake Guntersville. Nice! It had been a long day so we decided to turn in early after a few chugs of Apple Pie! Time to dream of winning a BBQ contest!

Richard & I woke up @ 4 AM to the sound of rain! Bummer! Judging from the forecast, we might as well get use to it. While never heavy it stayed with us all the way through turn-ins. We are very lucky that no winds accompanied it. We somehow managed to keep everything together & get everything cooked, boxed, & turned in without any major incident. As we normally do after turn in we sat down & discussed our product. We all thought chicken was about the normal, maybe a little bit spicy, ribs were ok but we thought we had cooked better ones. We tried a different but proven recepie this week on our pork as we had been in a slump. We all thought it was good but not sure if it would be good enough. Brisket was dead-on. But as you know it's all a crap shoot so we will see what happens when the "The Fat Lady Sings"!

My friend Lenny Morris from Birmingham drove up with his family to check out the DoRagQ Gang. We fed them some "Q" & enjoyed their company. What a nice surprise! Thanks for coming! After some socializing we packed up Casa DoRag & headed over to watch some of the ABA weigh in. If you have never seen this please check it out! The fish are amazing. Very cool to watch. I can see why tournament bass fishing is so popular!

It was finally time to hear the results. David Hagood of the ABA does a great job of doing the awards. They only call out the top five so sometimes its hard to guess where you are unless you get all top five calls. Team Top Chick was the first name to be called taking a 5th in chicken followed by Smokey Moutain Smokers, Warren County Pork Choppers, & Hd's BBQ taking 4th thru 2nd. I could not believe my ears when David said "and first place chicken, DoRagQ"! YEEEEEEHAAAAWWWWW we won chicken! Our first ever win in chicken! As we were getting our plaque & taking pictures David began to call out the top five in ribs starting with fifth place "DoRagQ"! Nice! Two calls! We were followed by Music City Pig Pals, Becky Sue's BBQ, & Team Top Chick taking 4th thru 2nd with Southern Stiles BBQ taking the win! Congrats! We were already grinning from ear to ear when David started the top five in pork. All we were hoping for here was a decent finish. Smelly Butts BBQ took 5th with Becky Sue's BBQ in 4th. Then David called "DoRagQ in 3rd"! Unbelievable! I was floored! Taking 2nd was Smokey Mountian Smokers & Warren County Pork Choppers taking the win! Congrats! Well to say my heart was a thumpin would be an understatment! I could hardly catch my breath when David started the brisket. In 5th would be our good friends Team Allegro followed by Jen & Dan of Long Dawgs/Harvest Moon in 4th. In 3rd was again Warren County Pork Choppers & in 2nd Team Top Chick. At this point I am thinking, ok maybe we are 6th thru 10th, that would be ok. Still a great finish right? Right untill I hear David say "DoRagQ first in brisket"! OMG...... Un-freeking-believable! For the 2nd week in a row we took top honors in brisket! After a quick interview on stage, some picture, & lots of pats on the back as we made our way back to our seats. My heart was really thumping now. I don't remember who it was that came over & said "you got this one" did it really dawn on me that we have a chance to win our first GC. Holy Crap now I am really nervous. David announced the Reserve Grand Champion was Warren County Pork Choppers! What a great finish for them. They are from Bowling Green, KY & I think they are new to the circut. They must cook some good BBQ. We need to get to know them better! Congrats on RGC. Ok, now it really hit me, I remember Lee McWright, Joe Amore, Ron Montgomery, & my good friend Dan Watson all coming over & offering their congradulations! Was this really gonna happen? All I could do was lower my head, close my eyes, & wait for David to say "The Grand Champion of the Guntersville Alabama American Bass Anglers Association BBQ Cookoff is ........DoRagQ!" Those were the longest 15 words in the entire english language. OMG!!!!!!! I had my sunglasses on (on a cloudy day) but behind them were tears. Hell yes I cried, so did Gary & Richard! I was trying to take it slow & enjoy every second cuz your first GC only happens once & I wanted to savor the moment but it all happens so fast! I know David asked me some questions, I don't really know what I said or if those there understood what I said but I hope I thanked all those who have helped the DoRagQ Gang find their way in the world of competitive BBQ. Bobbie & Lee McWright of Music City Pig Pals, Voncille & Joe Amore of Smokey Moutain Smokers, Linda & JC Gibson of JC's Pit Crew, Barry & Mike Johnson of Swiggin Pig, Debbie & Mike Davis of Lotta Bull, Kevin Bevington of HomeBBQ.com, Brenda & Terry Buchannan of High on the Hawg, & Jen & Dan Watson of Long Dawgs/Harvest Moon. You all have given us advice & taught us. Thank you so much! You all have a part of this GC! Thanks to Mark Walker. Your support made it possible for us to compete in the ABA contests. Thanks so much!

There are two people who I would not & could not do this without. My friends Gary Lacky & Richard Finley. I have said it before but you are the "Do" in DoRagQ. Thank you so much for being a huge part of this. I hope you will cook BBQ with me for a long long time! Thanks to Jack "Shotgun Shorty" Rife who taught me how to cook brisket, drink beer, & cuss! I'll be making that trip soon to visit & have a cold one with you in Texas. I love you Gramps!

As I finish this entry, I think back to the first contest we did in 2006. Jeff Edwards & I drank way to much, partied way to long, & did'nt even bring pork or chicken to cook but we didn't finish last & we had a hell of a time. I remember Gary & I sittin under a EZ-Up in Benton KY in 2007 with wet, cold feet. I remember the 100+ heat in the field at the Wilson County Fair in Lebanon. Man what a great time we have had & we have made some great friends along the way! I am not going to apologize for all the thanks I have given here. All those mentioned have not only helped DoRagQ but many others. I hope someday I can help some new (or old) team win their first Grand Champion. I just hope it ain't one that we are cookin! So enough of this mushy crap, we gotta get ready to head to Florence next weekend for the 4th ABA BBQ Cookoff! I hope we don't make anybody sick with our BBQ! See you there! I'll have a DoRag on my head & a beer in my hand!