Rescue Smokers Race to Win at Hawkinsville Smokin’ the Track

Rescue Smokers Race to Win at Hawkinsville Smokin’ the Track

The heavy rains & muddy conditions forced a shutdown of the harness racing at Hawkinsville Smokin’ the Track.  Most of the Georgia Barbecue Association’s (GBA) teams, however, were tucked in out of the weather under the shelter of the horse arena.  It came down to a photo finish as just two tenths of a point separated the top two entries of the day. Robby Royal & Rescue Smoker won the Grand Championship when his final round Rib entry scored a 599 out of a possible 600 to slip past Brad Sweet & 92 BBQ’s score of 598.8 in Pulled Pork.

Grand Champion - Rescue Smokers

Grand Champion – Rescue Smokers

92 BBQ made finals in both Loin & Pulled Pork and added a 6th place in Ribs to take the Reserve Grand Championship.

Reserve Grand Champion - 92 BBQ

Reserve Grand Champion – 92 BBQ

Rescue Smokers topped the Loin category.  Forget Me Not BBQ & 92 BBQ tallied identical 593.3 scores in finals to tie for 2nd place.  Forget Me Know won on the first tiebreaker – taste – to claim the runner-up spot.  Fourth place went to We Want Que with Real South BBQ taking 5th place. Southern Hogs camin 6th, Rub Shakers Que came in 7th & Johnson Boys BBQ came in 8th place.  In 9th place was Holy Smokes and in 10th place was Kelvin’s BBQ.

Ragin' Smoke BBQ

Ragin’ Smoke BBQ

 

92 BBQ had the best Pulled Pork entry of the day. Bubba Grills took 2nd place. Ragin’ Smoke BBQ made finals for the first time in the GBA & finished in 3rd place.   Smokin’ AJ’s was back after a long layoff & took 4th place.  Holy Smokes came in 5th with Real South BBQ just 0.3 back in 6th and  another 0.3 back was Southern Hogs in 7th place.  Kelvin’s BBQ, Just Blowing Smoke & Johnson Boys BBQ finished 8th thru 10th respectively.

The Grand Championship Ribs of Rescue Smokers took first place honors. Smokin’ AJ’s came in 2dn with Southern Hogs in 3rd place. The 4th place call went to H&J Cooking Team. Kelvin’s BBQ walked for the third time of the day, this time for 5th place.  92 BBQ completed their strong cook with the 6th place call. Ragin’ Smoke BBQ took 7th place; Holy Smokes took 8th & Old Henry’s BBQ claimed 9th place. Just Blowing Smoke rounded out the top 10.

The GBA congratulates Smokin’ the Track contest committee for going above & beyond in harsh conditions and delivered a well run contest.  The GBA next heads to Jackson for Smoking Pork “N” Butts on April 15-16.

Full Results (note:  1st, 2nd & 3rd place scores are from finals rounds. All other scores are from preliminary rounds)

  LOIN     PULLED PORK     RIBS
1 598.7 Rescue Smokers 1 598.8 92 BBQ 1 599 Rescue Smokers
2 593.3 Forget Me Not BBQ 2 593.7 Bubba Grills 2 593.4 Smokin AJ’s
3 593.3 92 BBQ 3 591.2 Ragin Smoke BBQ 3 592 Southern Hogs
4 594.8 We Want Que 4 596.1 Smokin AJ’s 4 595.1 H & J Cooking Team
5 594.5 Real South BBQ 5 594.8 Holy Smokes 5 594.8 Kelvin’s BBQ
6 591.1 Southern Hogs 6 594.5 Real South BBQ 6 590.2 92 BBQ
7 590.8 Rub Shakers Que 7 594.2 Southern Hogs 7 587.91 Ragin Smoke BBQ
8 590.3 Johnson Boys BBQ 8 591.2 Kelvin’s BBQ 8 587.9 Holy Smokes
9 589.8 Holy Smokes 9 590.5 Just Blowin Smoke 9 587.5 Old Henry’s
10 588 Kelvin’s BBQ 10 589.9 Johnson Boys BBQ 10 586.2 Just Blowin Smoke
11 583.2 Dixie Davis Cooks 11 589.6 Rub Shakers Que 11 582.6 Real South BBQ
12 582.3 Just Blowin Smoke 12 586.8 Rescue Smokers 12 582 Bubba Grills
13 580.2 Smokin AJ’s   13 582.3 We Want Que 13 581 Johnson Boys BBQ
14 575.6 H & J Cooking Team 14 581.1 H & J Cooking Team 14 579 Rub Shakers Que
15 572 Ragin Smoke BBQ   15 578 Forget Me Not BBQ 15 570.5 Forget Me Not BBQ
16 571.1 Bubba Grills 16 575.5 Old Henry’s 16 568.4 We Want Que
17 564.4 Old Henry’s 17 570.9 Dixie Davis Cooks 17 564.5 Ocmulgee Smoke
18 559.6 Ocmulgee Smoke   18 569 Ocmulgee Smoke 18 562.6 Dixie Davis Cooks

 

Reserve Champion Scores:

Loin Pulled Ribs Total
1 92 BBQ 599.1 596.4 590.2 1785.7
2 Southern Hogs 591.1 594.2 595.4 1780.7
3 Rescue Smokers 598.2 586.8 595.7 1780.7
4 Kelvin’s BBQ 588.0 591.2 594.8 1774.0
5 Smokin AJ’s 580.2 596.1 596.4 1772.7
6 Holy Smokes 589.8 594.8 587.9 1772.5
7 Real South BBQ 594.5 594.5 582.6 1771.6
8 Johnson Boys BBQ 590.3 589.9 581.0 1761.2
9 Rub Shakers Que 590.8 589.6 579.0 1759.4
10 Just Blowin Smoke 582.3 590.5 586.2 1759.0
11 Ragin Smoke BBQ 572.0 598.2 587.9 1758.1
12 Bubba Grills 571.1 598.8 582.0 1751.9
13 H & J Cooking Team 575.6 581.1 595.1 1751.8
14 Forget Me Not BBQ 599.1 578.0 570.5 1747.6
15 We Want Que 594.8 582.3 568.4 1745.5
16 Old Henry’s 564.4 575.5 587.5 1727.4
17 Dixie Davis Cooks 583.2 570.9 562.6 1716.7
18 Ocmulgee Smoke 559.6 569.0 564.5 1693.1

Lang BBQ Smokers Tops Tough Field at Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash

Lang BBQ Smokers Tops Tough Field at Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash

trophies

Virtually all of the top teams in the Georgia Barbecue Association (GBA) along with several heavy hitters from Florida made their way to Ashburn, GA for the 2016 edition of the Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash.   The 35 teams had to contend with off and on rain throughout the weekend. Still,  the judges had to work really hard as the ‘Que was outstanding.  It was the finals round judges, however, who had the toughest (& best) job of the day; judging the top three entries in each category.

 

The Fire Ant Festival has become known for having among the biggest trophies in all of BBQ.  The chain saw carved awards for Grand, Reserve and 1st place in each category each topped 100 lbs.

When it came time for the last call of the day, only two teams were still in the hunt for the Grand Championship.  Thomas Henry of Budmeisters BBQ had won both the Loin & Pulled Pork categories.  Lang BBQ Smokers, led by Darryl Strickland, was the top team in Ribs.  The final tally gave the edge to Ribs and Lang BBQ Smokers took home the Grand Championship trophy & a $2500 check.

Grand Champion - Lang BBQ Smokers

Grand Champion – Lang BBQ Smokers

Bull Rush BBQ, Pitmaster Bryan Mroczka,  took 4th place in both Loin & Ribs plus 8th in Pulled Pork to accumulate the highest cumulative score in the preliminary rounds and the Reserve Grand Championship.

Reserve Grand Champion - Bull Rush BBQ

Reserve Grand Champion – Bull Rush BBQ

!st Loin - Budmiestes BBQ

1st Loin – Budmiestes BBQ

 

 

Budmeisters topped the field in Loin.  Ashburn’s own Raymond Poore of REAL-Licious Q took 2nd with CaJenn Smokin Que coming in 3rd place. CaJenn, led by Billy Jennings,  had a perfect 600 score in the Loin preliminaries.  Bull Rush BBQ grabbed 4th place followed by Real South BBQ in 6th and Hard Rock Hill BBQ in 7th place. Eighth place went to Killer Swine BBQ in a tiebreaker over Smokin 42 BBQ Tenth place went to Rescue Smokers.

 

 

1st Pulled Pork - Budmeisters BBQ

1st Pulled Pork – Budmeisters BBQ

 

 

In Pulled Pork, it was once again Budmeisters BBQ getting to 1st place call.  Barbecue Crew was runner up with Fixin 2 Pork Q in 3rd place.  Real South BBQ earned the 4th place award.  Smokin 42 BBQ grabbed 5th place; Raging Smoke BBQ grabbed 6th and Bubba Grills took 7th place.   Bull Rush BBQ walked in 8th place.  Dixie Que edged Double D Cooking team by 0.3 of a point for 9th place.

 

 

Lang BBQ Smokers Grand Champion Ribs topped the category with Bubba Grills taking 2nd place and Rescue Smokers taking 3rd.  Bull Rush BBQ got their second call for 4th place.  Just Blowing Smoke won the tiebreaker over Hootie Q for 5th place. Fixin 2 Pork Q walked in 7th place. REAL-Licious Q edged Southern Tailgates for 8th place by .03 of a point. Barbecue Crew rounded out the top 10.

Brisket Challenge - Captain Jack's Freedom BBQ Team

Brisket Challenge – Captain Jack’s Freedom BBQ Team

 

The contest held a special Brisket Challenge with 22 of the teams in the field participating.  Jack Fallin and Captain Jack’s Freedom BBQ Team notched a perfect 600 score to win the Brisket Challenge. They had to be perfect to win, because Lang BBQ Smokers took 2nd place with a score of 599.7.  Bull Rush BBQ added to their big day with a 3rd place finish. Raging Smoke BBQ took 4th place and Poverty Hill Smokers came in 5th place.

 

The GBA was very proud to be back at the Fire Ant Festival & thanks all the fantastic volunteers who worked extremely hard to keep everything flowing smoothly.  The GBA looks forward to being back in Ashburn in 2017.

 

 

Final Standings:  1st, 2nd & 3rd place scores are from finals rounds. All other scores are preliminary round scores.

  LOIN     PULLED PORK     RIBS
1 598.2 Budmeisters BBQ 1 596.9 Budmeisters 1 598.8 Lang BBQ Smokers
2 594.4 Real-Licious Q 2 596.4 Barbeque Crew 2 595.8 Bubba Grills
3 591.8 Cajenn Smokin Que 3 591.9 Fixin2 Pork Q 3 588.7 Rescue Smokers
4 599.4 Bull Rush BBQ 4 598.8 Real South BBQ 4 598.2 Bull Rush BBQ
5 598.8 Real South BBQ 5 597.9 Smokin 42 5 596.11 Just Blowing Smoke
6 598.5 Hard Rock Hill BBQ 6 597 Raging Smoke BBQ 6 596.1 Hootie Q
7 595.8 Bubba Grills 7 595.1 Bubba Grills 7 595.5 Fixin’2 Pork Q
8 595.11 Killer Swine BBQ 8 594.6 Bull Rush BBQ 8 594.6 REAL-Licious Q
9 595.1 Smokin 42 9 593.3 Dixie Que 9 594.3 Southern Tailgates
10 594.5 Rescue Smokers 10 593 Double D Cooking Team 10 593.4 Barbeque Crew
11 594.2 Poverty Hill Smokers 11 591.6 Capt. Jack’s Freedom BBQ 11 592.1 Poverty Hill Smokers
12 593.3 Generations BBQ 12 591.6 Buffalo Tucks Comp. Team 12 591.5 Bite My Butt BBQ
13 589.3 Raging Smoke BBQ   13 590.6 Hootie Q 13 591.5 92 BBQ
14 589 Capt. Jack’s Freedom BBQ 14 589.3 Just Blowing Smoke 14 589.7 Dixie Que
15 587.6 Double D Cooking Team   15 589.2 Forget Me Not BBQ 15 588.6 Killer Swine BBQ
16 587.2 Barbeque Crew 16 588.1 Rescue Smokers 16 588.5 Smokin 42
17 586.6 Ole Sparky’s BBQ 17 587.9 REAL-Licious Q 17 588.3 Real South BBQ
18 586.2 Fixin’2 Pork Q   18 586.7 Generations BBQ 18 586.7 Smoke Show
19 585.9 Southern Hogs 19 586.6 Hard Rock Hill BBQ 19 586.6 Budmeisters BBQ
20 585.6 Southern Tailgates 20 585 Lang BBQ Smokers 20 586.5 Southern Hogs
21 583.6 Just Blowing Smoke 21 584.1 Bite My Butt BBQ 21 586.5 Ole Sparky’s BBQ
22 581.4 Vienna Volunteer Fire Dept. 22 583 Southern Hogs 22 586.4 Buffalo Tucks Comp. Team
23 580.3 Smokaholics 23 582.7 Smoking Outlaws 23 586.2 Raging Smoke BBQ
24 578.1 Smoking Outlaws 24 582 Smokaholics 24 585.4 Cajenn Smokin Que
25 576.4 92 BBQ 25 581.4 Ole Sparky’s BBQ 25 584 Hard Rock Hill BBQ
26 575.8 Hootie Q   26 581.1 Vienna Volunteer Fire Dept.   26 583.3 Smoking Outlaws
27 574.6 Forget Me Not BBQ 27 580.1 BIG Ox Barbecue   27 583.2 Forget Me Not BBQ
28 573.6 All American BBQ 28 579 All American Smokers 28 583 Johnson Boys BBQ
29 571.4 Dixie Que 29 578.7 92 BBQ 29 581.7 All American Smokers
30 571.3 Buffalo Tucks Comp. Team 30 578.4 Southern Tailgates 30 575.4 Capt. Jack’s Freedom BBQ
31 569.1 Lang BBQ Smokers 31 577.5 Johnson Boys BBQ 31 574.2 Vienna Volunteer Fire Dept.
32 568.8 Johnson Boys BBQ 32 577.4 Cajenn Smokin Que 32 573.2 Generations BBQ
33 563.2 Bite My Butt BBQ 33 576.3 Killer Swine BBQ 33 568.2 Smokaholics
34 562.6 BIG Ox Barbecue 34 574.8 Smoke Show 34 567.2 Double D Cooking Team
35 0 Smoke Show 35 572.5 Poverty Hill Smokers 35 560.6 BIG Ox Barbecue

Reserve Scores: Preliminary round scores only

Loin Pulled Ribs Total
1 Bull Rush BBQ 599.4 594.6 598.2 1792.2
2 Bubba Grills 595.8 595.1 599.7 1790.6
3 Real South BBQ 598.8 598.8 588.3 1785.9
4 Budmeisters BBQ 599.4 599.7 586.6 1785.7
5 Rescue Smokers 594.5 588.1 599.7 1782.3
6 REAL-Licious Q 599.7 587.9 594.6 1782.2
7 Smokin 42 595.1 597.9 588.5 1781.5
8 Fixin’2 Pork Q 586.2 599.1 595.5 1780.8
9 Barbeque Crew 587.2 599.7 593.4 1780.3
10 Raging Smoke BBQ 589.3 597.0 586.2 1772.5
11 Hard Rock Hill BBQ 598.5 586.6 584.0 1769.1
12 Just Blowing Smoke 583.6 589.3 596.1 1769.0
13 Cajenn Smokin Que 600.0 577.4 585.4 1762.8
14 Hootie Q 575.8 590.6 596.1 1762.5
15 Killer Swine BBQ 595.1 576.3 588.6 1760.0
16 Poverty Hill Smokers 594.2 572.5 592.1 1758.8
17 Southern Tailgates 585.6 578.4 594.3 1758.3
18 Capt. Jack’s Freedom BBQ 589.0 591.6 575.4 1756.0
19 Southern Hogs 585.9 583.0 586.5 1755.4
20 Ole Sparky’s BBQ 586.6 581.4 586.5 1754.5
21 Dixie Que 571.4 593.3 589.7 1754.4
22 Generations BBQ 593.3 586.7 573.2 1753.2
23 Lang BBQ Smokers 569.1 585.0 599.1 1753.2
24 Buffalo Tucks Comp. Team 571.3 591.6 586.4 1749.3
25 Double D Cooking Team 587.6 593.0 567.2 1747.8
26 Forget Me Not BBQ 574.6 589.2 583.2 1747.0
27 92 BBQ 576.4 578.7 591.5 1746.6
28 Smoking Outlaws 578.1 582.7 583.3 1744.1
29 Bite My Butt BBQ 563.2 584.1 591.5 1738.8
30 Vienna Volunteer Fire Dept. 581.4 581.1 574.2 1736.7
31 All American Smokers 573.6 579.0 581.7 1734.3
32 Smokaholics 580.3 582.0 568.2 1730.5
33 Johnson Boys BBQ 568.8 577.5 583.0 1729.3
34 BIG Ox Barbecue 562.6 580.1 560.6 1703.3
35 Smoke Show 0.0 574.8 586.7 1161.5

 

Swineholio Takes Grand at Walton Co. BBQ Festival

Swineholio Takes Grand at Walton Co. BBQ Festival

A tough field of 30 pitmasters turned out for the 2nd  Walton Co. BBQ Festival.  The scores show that the Que was off the chain & the competition for the final call was close.  It went right down to the wire, but Swineholio, led by John Goff, got the coveted last walk of the day.  Swineholio’s 596.7 score in the Ribs finals was just a half point better the 596.2 final round scores recorded by  Smoking the Good Stuff in Loin and Bubba Grills in Pulled Pork.

Grand Champion - Swineholil

                                                                                   Grand Champion – Swineholio

Robby Royal & Rescue Smokers made if back to back Reserve Championship awards by finaling in both Loin & Pulled Pork along with 12th place in Ribs.

reserve - rescue

The Loin category was unbelievable as BCD, Rescue Smokers & Smoking the Good Stuff all advanced to the final round with perfect 600 scores in the preliminary round.  In the final round, Smoking the Good Stuff won with Rescue Smokers coming in second & BCD taking third.  Just Blowing Smoke & Old Henry’s BBQ were just one tick off a perfection with scores of 599.7.  Just Blowing Smoke won the tiebreaker to claim 4th place. Hootie Q finished 5th; Real South BBQ finished 6th and Swineholio finished 8th. Ninth place went to Forget Me Knot BBQ and 1oth place went to The Porkinator.

 1st loin - smoking the good stuff  600 - rescue smokers  600 - bcd

 

1st pork - bubba grillsFollowing Bubba Grills in Pulled Pork was Real South BBQ as runner up & Rescue Smokers in 3rd place. Hootie Q claimed 4th place with Shark Bite BBQ claiming 5th place.  Just 0.4 of a point separated 6th, 7th & 8th places.  Smoking the Good Stuff edged out 92 BBQ and CaJenn Smokin’ Que respectively.  Smokin’ 42 BBQ & Johnson Boys BBQ rounded out the top 10.

Swineholio’s Grand Championship Ribs topped the field with The Porkinator in 2nd & Southern Hogs in 3rd place. 92 BBQ edged out 4K BBQ & Just Blowing Smoke for  4th place.  Seventh place went to Real South BBQ. In eight place was CaJenn Smokin’ Que. Forget Me Know BBQ walked in 9th place and Porkaholic’s Barbecue finished in 10th.

The Georgia Barbecue Association was pleased once again to be a part of the great event in Walton Co and look forward to returning again next year.  Next up for the GBA is the Fire Ant Festival in Ashburn.

Final Standings:  1st, 2nd & 3rd place scores are final round scores.  All other scores are from preliminary rounds.

  LOIN     PULLED PORK     RIBS
1 596.2 Smoking the Good Stuff 1 596.2 Bubba Grills 1 596.7 Swineholio
2 595.7 Rescue Smokers 2 595.1 Real South BBQ 2 594.9 The Porkinator
3 593.3 BCD 3 592.6 Rescue Smokers 3 593.3 Southern Hogs
4 599.71 Just Blowing Smoke 4 593.9 Hootie Q 4 595.5 92 BBQ
5 599.7 Old Henry’s BBQ 5 592.4 Shark Bite BBQ 5 595.2 4Ks BBQ
6 595.4 Hootie Q 6 591.8 Smoking the Good Stuff 6 595.21 Just Blowing Smoke
7 590.4 Real South BBQ 7 591.5 92 BBQ 7 593.1 Real South BBQ
8 589.7 Swineholio 8 591.4 Cajenn Smokin Que 8 592.8 Cajenn Smokin Que
9 589.1 Forget Me Not BBQ 9 588.1 Smokin’ 42 BBQ 9 591.5 Forget Me Not BBQ
10 587.6 The Porkinator 10 587.2 Johnson Boys BBQ 10 590.5 Porkaholic’s Barbeque
11 587 Shark Bite BBQ 11 586.6 Just Blowing Smoke 11 590.3 Bubba Grills
12 586.9 Rub Shakers Que 12 584.7 Daddy-O’s BBQ 12 590.2 Rescue Smokers
13 586.3 Smokin’ 42 BBQ   13 583.6 Southern Hogs 13 590.2 Johnson Boys BBQ
14 585.9 92 BBQ 14 583.3 The Porkinator 14 587.8 Smoking the Good Stuff
15 583.6 Southern Hogs   15 583.3 Old Henry’s BBQ 15 587.8 Smokin’ 42 BBQ
16 582.3 Bubba Grills 16 583.2 Screaming Eagle BBQ 16 586.6 BCD
17 580 Cussin & Fussin 17 582.6 Forget Me Not BBQ 17 586.6 Daddy-O’s BBQ
18 579.4 4Ks BBQ   18 581.9 Simply “Q” 18 585.4 Rub Shakers Que
19 579.1 Smokin Armadillo 19 581.7 Swineholio 19 584.7 Screaming Eagle BBQ
20 578.8 Cajenn Smokin Que 20 581.1 4Ks BBQ 20 583.3 Hootie Q
21 576.8 Simply “Q” 21 581.1 JT’s Smoking Butts 21 583 Shark Bite BBQ
22 575.8 Maxus Porkamus 22 580.3 George’s Rib Shack 22 579.4 Smokin Armadillo
23 575.4 Walton EMC Team – Shokin Smokers 23 579.3 Rub Shakers Que 23 578.4 JT’s Smoking Butts
24 572.3 Porkaholic’s Barbeque 24 578.3 Smokin Armadillo 24 576 Simply “Q”
25 571.3 Johnson Boys BBQ 25 576.5 Walton EMC Team – Shokin Smokers 25 571.8 Walton EMC Team – Shokin Smokers
26 567.4 Screaming Eagle BBQ   26 576.3 Porkaholic’s Barbeque   26 571.3 George’s Rib Shack
27 564.1 Daddy-O’s BBQ 27 574.2 BCD   27 569.5 Maxus Porkamus
28 560 JT’s Smoking Butts 28 569.9 Cussin & Fussin 28 567.5 Old Henry’s BBQ
29 556.6 George’s Rib Shack 29 564.3 Hitachi Hibachi BBQ Masters 29 563.4 Cussin & Fussin
30 0 Hitachi Hibachi BBQ Masters 30 562 Maxus Porkamus 30 0 Hitachi Hibachi BBQ Masters

 

 Reserve Champions Scores Loin Pulled Ribs Total
1 Rescue Smokers 600.0 595.5 590.2 1785.7
2 Just Blowing Smoke 599.7 586.6 595.2 1781.5
3 Smoking the Good Stuff 600.0 591.8 587.8 1779.6
4 Real South BBQ 590.4 596.1 593.1 1779.6
5 92 BBQ 585.9 591.5 595.5 1772.9
6 Hootie Q 595.4 593.9 583.3 1772.6
7 Bubba Grills 582.3 599.7 590.3 1772.3
8 Swineholio 589.7 581.7 599.1 1770.5
9 The Porkinator 587.6 583.3 598.2 1769.1
10 Southern Hogs 583.6 583.6 599.4 1766.6
11 Forget Me Not BBQ 589.1 582.6 591.5 1763.2
12 Cajenn Smokin Que 578.8 591.4 592.8 1763.0
13 Shark Bite BBQ 587.0 592.4 583.0 1762.4
14 Smokin’ 42 BBQ 586.3 588.1 587.8 1762.2
15 BCD 600.0 574.2 586.6 1760.8
16 4Ks BBQ 579.4 581.1 595.2 1755.7
17 Rub Shakers Que 586.9 579.3 585.4 1751.6
18 Old Henry’s BBQ 599.7 583.3 567.5 1750.5
19 Johnson Boys BBQ 571.3 587.2 590.2 1748.7
20 Porkaholic’s Barbeque 572.3 576.3 590.5 1739.1
21 Smokin Armadillo 579.1 578.3 579.4 1736.8
22 Daddy-O’s BBQ 564.1 584.7 586.6 1735.4
23 Screaming Eagle BBQ 567.4 583.2 584.7 1735.3
24 Simply “Q” 576.8 581.9 576.0 1734.7
25 Walton EMC Team – Shokin Smokers 575.4 576.5 571.8 1723.7
26 JT’s Smoking Butts 560.0 581.1 578.4 1719.5
27 Cussin & Fussin 580.0 569.9 563.4 1713.3
28 George’s Rib Shack 556.6 580.3 571.3 1708.2
29 Maxus Porkamus 575.8 562.0 569.5 1707.3
30 Hitachi Hibachi BBQ Masters 0.0 564.3 0.0 564.3

 

Jack’s Old South Tops Tough Field at Tifton Rhythm & Ribs

Jack’s Old South Tops Tough Field at Tifton Rhythm & Ribs

The City of Tifton really turns out for a weekend of music, fun & food at the Rhythm & Ribs Festival. The City’s new mayor said she ordered up perfect weather for the weekend & she really delivered.   Twenty two GBA teams and 24 backyard teams competed to win cash & the unique “Squeal-bert” trophies.

 

The field was tough as 9 of the top 10 teams in the GBA’s Team of the Year standings were on hand.  In addition, well known pitmasters like Myron Mixon of Jacks Old South & Raymond Poore of REAL-licious Q were competing in their first GBA events of the season.  The competition was tight. In fact, less than a point separated the three finalists for the Grand Championship.  It was Jack’s Old South edging out 92 BBQ & Rub Shakers Que for the last call of the day.

Grand Champion - Jack's Old South

Grand Champion – Jack’s Old South

Consistency across the three categories proved to be the key for Robby Royal of Rescue Smokers in winning the Reserved Grand Championship.  The team tallied a 594.8 in Loin (4th place); a 594.5 in Pulled Pork (4th place) and a 594.6 in Ribs (6th place) to accumulate the highest cumulative score in the preliminary rounds.

Reserve Grand Champion - Rescue Smokers

Reserve Grand Champion – Rescue Smokers

With all these experienced pitmasters on hand, a local team in their first competition made their mark.  Cool Hand Luke’s BBQ, led by Stripling Luke, made finals in both Pulled Pork & Ribs.  The team also scored a perfect 600 with their preliminary round Rib entry.

Cool Hand Luke's BBQ

Cool Hand Luke’s BBQ

1st place Loin - 92 BBQ

1st place Loin – 92 BBQ

 

92 BBQ led the way in the Loin category with Jack’s Old South in second place and Rub Shakers Que in third.  Rescue Smokers claimed 4th place, REAL-licious Q 5th and Smoke Stack Lightning claimed 6th.  In 7th place was Rib Ticklers and 8th place went to Bubba Grills.  Smokin 42 BBQ (9th) & Statesboro Blues BBQ (10th) rounded out the top ten.

 

 

Jack’s Old South won the Pulled Pork category. Bubba Grills was the runner up and Cool Hand Luke’s BBQ came in third.  Rescue Smokers once again walked away with the 4th place trophy. Barbecue Crew took 5th place with REAL-licous Q taking 6th and  Rib Ticklers taking 7th.  Eighth place went to Real South BBQ; 9th went to CaJenn Smokin’ Que and 1oth went to Raging Smoke BBQ.

1st place Ribs - Rub Shakers Que

1st place Ribs – Rub Shakers Que

 

Bill Goddard, pitmaster for Rub Shakers Que topped the field in Ribs.  92 BBQ got the second place call and Cool Hand Luke’s BBQ walked for the second time in 3rd place.  Southern Hogs finished 4th. Holy Smokers edged out Rescue Smokers for 5th place. Johnson Boys BBQ took home 7th place.  Eighth thru 10th places went to Real South BBQ, Statesboro Blues BBQ and H & J Cooking Team respectively.

The GBA moves north for the Walton Co.BBQ Festival on March 11-12.  This will be Double Team of the Year points event.

The Georgia Barbeque Association thanks Tyrone Spearman and his staff of volunteers for putting on an excellent contest and festival.

Full Standings:  1st, 2nd & 3rd places are final round scores. 4th place and down are preliminary round scores.

  LOIN     PULLED PORK     RIBS
1 597.8 92 BBQ 1 599.5 Jack’s Old South 1 597.7 Rub Shakers Que
2 594.7 Jack’s Old South 2 594.8 Bubba Grills 2 594.3 92 BBQ
3 592.7 Rub Shakers Que 3 590.9 Cool Hand Luke’s BBQ 3 592.6 Cool Hand Luke’s BBQ
4 594.8 Rescue Smokers 4 594.51 Rescue Smokers 4 597.9 Southern Hogs
5 594.2 REAL-licious Q 5 594.5 BarBque Crew 5 594.61 Holy Smokers BBQ
6 592.7 Smoke Stack Lightning 6 592.5 REAL-licious Q 6 594.6 Rescue Smokers
7 590.9 Rib Ticklers 7 591.5 Rib Ticklers 7 594.2 Johnson Boys BBQ
8 590.8 Bubba Grills 8 591.1 Real South BBQ 8 591.2 Real South BBQ
9 590.5 Smokin’ 42 BBQ 9 590.9 Cajenn Smokin Que 9 590.8 Statesboro Blues BBQ
10 589.9 Statesboro Blues BBQ 10 589.3 Raging Smoke BBQ 10 590.5 H & J Cooking Team
11 589.6 Cajenn Smokin Que 11 588.5 Captain Jack’s Freedom BBQ Team 11 589.4 BarBque Crew
12 588.7 Holy Smokers BBQ 12 586.9 Smokin’ 42 BBQ 12 588.2 Jack’s Old South
13 586.6 Southern Hogs   13 585 Hungry Hog BBQ 13 587 Cajenn Smokin Que
14 585.3 H & J Cooking Team 14 584.6 Rub Shakers Que 14 586.9 Rib Ticklers
15 583.6 Real South BBQ   15 584.1 Smoke Stack Lightning 15 586.8 Captain Jack’s Freedom BBQ Team
16 582.4 Rib Ranch 16 584 Statesboro Blues BBQ 16 586.4 Smokin’ 42 BBQ
17 582.3 Raging Smoke BBQ 17 583.7 Southern Hogs 17 585.2 Bubba Grills
18 580.9 BarBque Crew   18 583.6 92 BBQ 18 580.5 Rib Ranch
19 573.6 Johnson Boys BBQ 19 582.6 H & J Cooking Team 19 579.1 REAL-licious Q
20 573.1 Captain Jack’s Freedom BBQ Team 20 582.6 Rib Ranch 20 576.7 Raging Smoke BBQ
21 571.7 Hungry Hog BBQ 21 578.7 Johnson Boys BBQ 21 576.5 Hungry Hog BBQ
22 563 Cool Hand Luke’s BBQ 22 566.2 Holy Smokers BBQ 22 566.3 Smoke Stack Lightning

 

 Reserve Grand Champion Scores Loin Pulled Ribs Total
1 Rescue Smokers 594.8 594.5 594.6 1783.9
2 Jack’s Old South 599.4 594.8 588.2 1782.4
3 92 BBQ 598.5 583.6 599.4 1781.5
4 Rub Shakers Que 595.1 584.6 598.5 1778.2
5 Bubba Grills 590.8 599.7 585.2 1775.7
6 Rib Ticklers 590.9 591.5 586.9 1769.3
7 Southern Hogs 586.6 583.7 597.9 1768.2
8 Cajenn Smokin Que 589.6 590.9 587.0 1767.5
9 Real South BBQ 583.6 591.1 591.2 1765.9
10 REAL-licious Q 594.2 592.5 579.1 1765.8
11 BarBque Crew 580.9 594.5 589.4 1764.8
12 Statesboro Blues BBQ 589.9 584.0 590.8 1764.7
13 Smokin’ 42 BBQ 590.5 586.9 586.4 1763.8
14 H & J Cooking Team 585.3 582.6 590.5 1758.4
15 Cool Hand Luke’s BBQ 563.0 594.8 600.0 1757.8
16 Holy Smokers BBQ 588.7 566.2 594.6 1749.5
17 Captain Jack’s Freedom BBQ Team 573.1 588.5 586.8 1748.4
18 Raging Smoke BBQ 582.3 589.3 576.7 1748.3
19 Johnson Boys BBQ 573.6 578.7 594.2 1746.5
20 Rib Ranch 582.4 582.6 580.5 1745.5
21 Smoke Stack Lightning 592.7 584.1 566.3 1743.1
22 Hungry Hog BBQ 571.7 585.0 576.5 1733.2

 

Real South BBQ’s Perfect Ribs Take Grand at Jekyll Island BBQ Beach Bash

Real South BBQ’s Perfect Ribs Take Grand at Jekyll Island BBQ Beach Bash

The Georgia Barbecue Association (GBA) convened on the coast after a couple months down time for the Jekyll Island BBQ Beach Bash. The event, sponsored by the Brunswick Lions Club, is always a favorite of both the GBA cook teams & judges.  This year, the weather gods tried their best to put a damper on the event with cold temps, high winds & off and on rain.  Twenty seven hardy GBA pitmasters and 12 Cooking for Fun pitmasters adapted and overcame the elements to turn in outstanding ‘Que.  In fact, not one but two entries in the contest gained a perfect 600 score from the judges.  The contest was also very balanced no single team gained more than one finals round call.  Nine different teams qualified for the finals round across the three categories.

 

Grand Champion - Real South BBQ

Grand Champion – Real South BBQ

 

Tim Coleman & the Real South BBQ team from Swainsboro tallied one of the perfect 600 scores with their rib entry in the finals round to earn the Grand Championship for the contest.   This was the first Grand Championship for Real South BBQ.

Reserve Grand Champion - Southern Hogs.

Reserve Grand Champion – Southern Hogs.

Southern Hogs, led by Matt Sapp, made finals in ribs and finished 6th in pulled pork and 9th in loin to take home the Reserve Grand Championship.  This was also Southern Hogs first Reserve Championship award.

First Place Loin - Old Henry's BBQ

First Place Loin – Old Henry’s BBQ

 

Clay and Stephanie Beal of Old Henry’s BBQ got the day of “firsts” rolling by claiming thier first category win in loin.  Their 599 score in loin finals was just one point away from a perfect score.  92 BBQ, the 2014-2015 GBA Team of the Year, finished second with Smokin’ 42 BBQ coming in third place. Rescue Smokers claimed 4th place by just 0.2 of a point over CJ’s BBQ.  2 Smokin’ Pfat Boyz took 6th place.  There was a 3 way tie for 7th place.  Doc & Dicie’s BBQ won the tiebreaker.  Forget Me Not BBQ was next in the tiebreaker to take  8th place and Southern Hogs took 9th. Lang’s BBQ Cookers rounded out the top 10.

 

 

First Place Pork - Rescue Smokers

First Place Pork – Rescue Smokers

Robby Royal & Rescue Smokers also came just a single point shy of a perfect score in pulled pork finals. Their 599 score topped the category. Just Pig Out BBQ was the runner up. Daddy O’s BBQ, Brian Bond pitmaster,  recorded a perfect 600 score in the preliminary round and finals entry score gave them 3rd place.  Barbecue Crew finished 4th, Holy Smokes finished 5th and Southern Hogs finished 6th.  Seventh place went to Captain Jack’s & Peachtree while Mojo Smokehouse came in 8th place. CJ’s BBQ won the tie for 9th place over Raging Smoke BBQ.

Real South BBQ’s Grand Championship winning ribs topped the category.  Southern Hogs took 2nd place with Forget Me Not BBQ taking 3rd. Holy Smokes BBQ walked in 4th place. The scorers had to go to the tiebreaker once again to determine 5th place. Smokin’ 42 BBQ edged out Captain Jack’s & Peachtree.  Seventh place went to Barbecue Crew with 8th place going to Lang BBQ Cookers.  Rescue Smokers and Bubba Grills finished 9th & 1oth respectively.

CFF Pork - Wilbur's Smoke Pig

CFF Pork – Wilbur’s Smoke Pig

CFF Ribs - Okefenokee Smokers

CFF Ribs – Okefenokee Smokers

 

In the Cooking For Fun division, Wilbur’s Smoke Pig BBQ won the pulled pork category.  Under Construction BBQ was the runner-up with Odd Brother’s BBQ in 3rd place.  The top spot in ribs went to Okeefonokee Smokers.  Under Construction BBQ again was the runner-up again and Aloha Soul claimed 3rd.

GBA Division Scores: Top 3 scores below are from finals rounds. All other scores are from preliminary rounds.

  LOIN     PULLED PORK     RIBS
1 599 Old Henry’s 1 599 Rescue Smokers 1 600 Real South BBQ
2 594.2 92 BBQ 2 595.6 Just Pig Out BBQ 2 593.2 Southern Hogs
3 591.2 Smokin’ 42 BBQ 3 590.3 Daddy O’s 3 589.8 Forget Me Not BBQ
4 595.7 Rescue Smolers BBQ 4 596.1 Barbeque Crew 4 597 Holy Smokes BBQ
5 595.5 CJ’s BBQ 5 595.1 Holy Smokes BBQ 5 595.1 Smokin’ 42 BBQ
6 592.5 2 Smokin Pfat Boyz 6 594.6 Southern Hog 6 595.1 Captain Jack’s & Peachtree
7 591.22 Docs and Dicies BBQ 7 592.4 Captain Jack’s & Peachtree 7 594.9 Barbeque Crew
8 591.21 Forget Me Not BBQ 8 592.1 Mojo Smokehouse 8 594.5 Lang’s BBQ Cooker
9 591.2 Southern Hog 9 590.31 CJ’s BBQ 9 592.2 92 BBQ
10 590.2 Lang’s BBQ Cooker 10 590.3 Raging Smoke BBQ 10 591.9 Bubba Grills
11 588.2 Raging Smoke BBQ 11 589.9 Bubba Grills 11 591.5 Just Pig Out BBQ
12 586 Just Pig Out BBQ 12 589.1 Real South BBQ 12 587 .J Dub’s Stew and Que
13 583.8 Bubba Grills   13 586.6 Smokin’ 42 BBQ 13 587 Rescue Smokers BBQ
14 581 .J Dub’s Stew and Que 14 583.7 .J Dub’s Stew and Que 14 586.6 Old Henry’s
15 581 Holy Smokes BBQ   15 579.6 92 BBQ 15 584.8 Ole Sparky’s BBQ
16 579.6 Ole Sparky’s BBQ 16 577.3 Lang’s BBQ Cooker 16 584.2 Docs and Dicies BBQ
17 578.7 Daddy O’s BBQ 17 576.8 Old Henry’s 17 579.1 Raging Smoke BBQ
18 578.6 Captain Jack’s & Peachtree   18 576.6 2 Smokin Pfat Boyz 18 579 Four Fathers BBQ Crew
19 577.8 Real South BBQ 19 575.1 Docs and Dicies BBQ 19 576.6 Daddy O’s BBQ
20 574.3 Johnson Boys BBQ 20 574.8 Forget Me Not BBQ 20 575.7 Johnson Boys BBQ
21 571.8 Mojo Smokehouse 21 574.7 Statesboro Blues BBQ 21 572.1 HBBQ
22 571.8 Four Fathers BBQ Crew 22 574.5 Paranoid Pig 22 566 Island Dawgz BBQ
23 571.5 Statesboro Blues BBQ 23 573.1 HBBQ 23 565.7 Paranoid Pig
24 571.3 HBBQ 24 572.3 Ole Sparky’s BBQ 24 563 Statesboro Blues BBQ
25 571.2 Barbeque Crew 25 568.5 Four Fathers BBQ Crew 25 562.9 2 Smokin Pfat Boyz
26 571.2 Paranoid Pig   26 563 Johnson Boys BBQ   26 561.1 CJ’s BBQ
27 559 Island Dawgz BBQ 27 556.1 Island Dawgz BBQ   27 559 Mojo Smokehouse
Reserve Scores Loin Pulled Ribs Total
1 Southern Hog 591.2 594.6 598.5 1784.3
2 Rescue Smokers BBQ 595.7 598.2 587.0 1780.9
3 Smokin’ 42 BBQ 598.5 586.6 595.1 1780.2
4 Just Pig Out BBQ 586.0 599.1 591.5 1776.6
5 Holy Smokes BBQ 581.0 595.1 597.0 1773.1
6 92 BBQ 599.4 579.6 592.2 1771.2
7 Captain Jack’s & Peachtree 578.6 592.4 595.1 1766.1
8 Real South BBQ 577.8 589.1 598.8 1765.7
9 Bubba Grills 583.8 589.9 591.9 1765.6
10 Forget Me Not BBQ 591.2 574.8 597.1 1763.1
11 Old Henry’s 599.7 576.8 586.6 1763.1
12 Barbeque Crew 571.2 596.1 594.9 1762.2
13 Lang’s BBQ Cooker 590.2 577.3 594.5 1762.0
14 Raging Smoke BBQ 588.2 590.3 579.1 1757.6
15 Daddy O’s BBQ 578.7 600.0 576.6 1755.3
16 .J Dub’s Stew and Que 581.0 583.7 587.0 1751.7
17 Docs and Dicies BBQ 591.2 575.1 584.2 1750.5
18 CJ’s BBQ 595.5 590.3 561.1 1746.9
19 Ole Sparky’s BBQ 579.6 572.3 584.8 1736.7
20 2 Smokin Pfat Boyz 592.5 576.6 562.9 1732.0
21 Mojo Smokehouse 571.8 592.1 559.0 1722.9
22 Four Fathers BBQ Crew 571.8 568.5 579.0 1719.3
23 HBBQ 571.3 573.1 572.1 1716.5
24 Johnson Boys BBQ 574.3 563.0 575.7 1713.0
25 Paranoid Pig 571.2 574.5 565.7 1711.4
26 Statesboro Blues BBQ 571.5 574.7 563.0 1709.2
27 Island Dawgz BBQ 559.0 556.1 566.0 1681.1

Cooking For Fun Scores:

  PULLED PORK     RIBS
1 594.9 Wilbur’s’s Smoke Pig BBQ 1 596.1 Okefenokee Smokers
2 594.8 Under Construction BBQ 2 592.6 Under Construction BBQ
3 590.9 Odd Brother’s BBQ 3 591.2 Aloha Soul
4 587.3 Okefenokee Smokers 4 590.2 Wilbur’s’s Smoke Pig BBQ
5 587 Tailgater’s BBQ 5 581.5 Tailgater’s BBQ
6 585.1 Hart Brother’s BBQ 6 579.3 Billy Goat Barb-Que
7 580.7 Buffalo Tucks and Wild Bill’s BBQ 7 576 Watch Me Smoke
8 578.7 Watch Me Smoke 8 573.2 Odd Brother’s BBQ
9 578 Billy Goat Barb-Que 9 571.6 Slump Buster Kookin
10 575.7 Knotted Staff 10 571.2 Knotted Staff
11 569.9 Slump Buster Kookin 11 569.2 Buffalo Tucks and Wild Bill’s BBQ
12 560.8 Aloha Soul 12 557.6 Hart Brother’s BBQ