Three Rivers Festival It was bittersweet at the Three Rivers Festival in Haselhurst, Georiga this past weekend, as it was the 9th and final festival to be hosted by Jim Sewell, in the small southern town. Organizer Jim Sewell held back tears as he dropped the news on 23 Georgia Barbecue Association cook teams during Friday evening’s cooks’ meeting. “I really struggled with this decision specifically because of the many fine people I have met by putting on this contest,” lamented Jim. ” I will always be grateful to those who supported our contest over the years.” Doug and I are very sad about the demise of the Three Rivers Festival. Our…
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Mediocore Meat at Canton BBQ & Brews
Judges said we had mediocore meat at Canton’s BBQ & Brews barbecue competition. The weekend started off great! Traditionally, BBQ & Brews gives away a gift basket to the team who turns in their competition application first. For the THIRD TIME – IT WAS US! Filled with t-shirts, hats, pig regalia and Reformation Beer – we appreciated being recognized. We are always excited about participating in these north Georgia events, so we get our applications in, as soon as we see them appear on the GBA schedule. Dale Wilson, owner of Pirate 50 Custom Artwork and Trophies (and creator of some of the best GBA trophies) surprised BBQ & Brews’…
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Using Your Leftover Pulled Pork
Being a professional barbecue competition team, you have plenty of neighbors and friends eagerly awaiting your return from a competition, to see if you had any leftover pulled pork or any other meat. They politely inquire, “how did you do this weekend?” Followed up with, “did you have leftovers?” Typically, we have several family members or friends who visit us during a competition, which we will gladly share leftovers, once all turn in boxes are complete. Sometimes, we end up taking some home and freezing it for future meals. Using our Food Saver is the best way to store leftover pork. This model comes with various size bags. The quart…
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Loin Test Cook Pays Off at BBQ & Brews Cartersville
As some of you MAY know, Doug and I did a PORK LOIN test cook, at our house; well, it paid off at our first competition since the test cook – 4 PLACE IN PORK LOIN! What do I mean by test cook? We strategically applied four different flavor profiles to four different pork loins. We used standard 5 lb. pork loins, which the Georgia Barbecue Association requires. The flavor profiles included various rubs, sauces, and injections. Upon gathering about a dozen friends and family (NONE of which are certified barbecue judges)- we gave them a crash course in GBA judging rules. We set up our garage as a mock…
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Barbecue at the Fire Ant Festival 2018
It was not the weekend we were hoping for at the Fire Ant Barbecue Festival 2018. Unable to get a call for our barbecue pork, loin, or ribs, we finished 24 out of 42 teams competing. This was our first competition with our new Stump Smoker. The new gravity-fed smoker worked great and kept a consistent temperature for over 14 hours straight. However, our timing was a bit off. We felt our loin was the most tender entry we have ever submitted; even scoring as the best on the table by one judge, and second-best by two other judges; however, it could not compete with Rescue Smokers first place loin. …
