For the third time in as many contests, we set up shop next to our very good friends, Steph, Kyle and Val - better known as the Slabs. On the other side of our camp was Mike Wozniak, the head cook of the very succesfull team Quau. Steph had organized a pot luck dinner for Friday night at t
he Slabs tent and we ate very well thanks to the dishes brought by 10 or 12 other teams. Chris contributed one of my favorites, a cheesy corn bake.A small crowd gathered 'round The Slab's fire pit to keep warm and the night was capped off with a old fashioned jam session and sing along as Kyle strummed his guitar joined by Rich and Bunny of K-Cass BBQ on harmonica and guitar. Nights like this are what make me love BBQ contests.
Temps dipped pretty low over night...not sure how low...I was too cold to go out side of out tent to see. We kept it around 60 or 65 in the Dodge County Smokers compound, with the help of our propane heater and the firebox from the cooker. I can't wait until we can cook in a contest where we don't have to worry about putting up all of our sidewalls on the tent to keep the heat in.
Saturday rolled around and most everything went as planned. We had some friends and family hanging out with us and enjoying the day, which is always nice and the awards were right on time at 3:30 in the afternoon. The volunteers putting on the show in Pleasant Hill ran a tight ship.
We did pretty well. Brisket has been an anchor, pulling us down for over a year. We broke out a new recipe and scored 5th place. Our ribs continue to do well as we took home 7th there. Overall, we were happy with a 6th place finish and it was great to see the Pork Pullin' Plowboys win a Grand Championship in thier first contest of the year.
Up next...Lansing, KS May 2nd & 3rd.
