Porkin' Ain't Easy Competition Barbeque Team

Mike, Chip, Jack and David were glad that the BBQ season had finally begun, and that they would soon be to their BBQ site.  This was Porkin' Ain't Easy's first competiton without their Team coordinator Wendy attending, as she was out of town; though they thought they had everything taken care of, they knew her oganizational efforts would be missed.

As soon as they got there, they were pleased to see that their site was directly across the street from the Band Stand, where top-quality blues would be played.  Once the tent was set up, the contest volunteers (the Red Shirts) would stop by every hour-ish, just to see if everything was OK, did the teams need anything; this contest was great in the fact that you never had to go far without a Red Shirt being in sight, and they were in constant communication with the decision makers.  Congrats to the Coordinators of this event, as everything was very efficient, and well-organized.

The desert team was short-handed with Karen and Wendy's absence, but two new team members Ruth and Caroline stepped up to the plate to assist Beth in their acivities for the "Anything But" category; these ladies cooked two dutch ovens full of Apple/Pear Cobbler that melted in your mouth with a great flavor.  Many of the folks who just wanted a taste, would end up askin', "OK, where are the bowls," and fix a heapin' helpin' of the warm cobbler.

Friday night consisted of Chip making a large pot of his award winnin' chili, just to feed friends and colleagues who wanted an evening of blues and friends.  There was a decent turn out as neighbors and folks from work enjoyed the evening.  The team got to know some of the folk from the neighboring sites Worley's BBQ, Kan U BBQ, and Y We Q; as always, it was great to see folks from previous competitions such as team members from Two Bros & a Brit BBQ and BBQ ASAP.  This is what makes barbeque fun; the friendships gained competition after competition, and giving that extra holler when someone from the other team gets called to the stage for an award . . . someone who had just stopped by at 3 in the morning to see how you were doin' . . .

The team knew that with this being strict KCBS judging, that they would not fare as well score-wise as they do in non-KCBS judged events, and the results did not surprise them.  As said before, our recipe is dry southern, and compares to what you would find at Memphis in May; however, they did get an award, which is always nice.  So without further adeau, the results are as follows:

Overall Ranking - 18th at a score of 585.7150 (622.8570 was 1st Place)

Anything But Category - 11th at a score of 145.1432 (167.4288 was 1st Place)

Chicken Category - 14th at a score of 145.7144 (159.4286 was in 1st Place)

Pork Rib Category - 20th at a score of 142.2862 (165.7142 was 1st Place)

Pork Butt Category - 19th at a score of 144.0002 (169.7142 was 1st Place)

Brisket Category - 7th and a Ribbon at a score of 153.7142 (162.8574 was 1st Place)