Minneola Oct 28-30

My wife and I will be there... Stop by and say hi.

I am going to be there.

Craig
FireHouseBBQ.US

Bob,
Stop by any time. Most teams like HomeBBQ and Craig are under a lot of stress during turn in. Could it be that cooking against "Bill & the Dixie Chicks" has that effect? One never knows.
Bill
Bill & the Dixie Chicks

Shucks,now that we know all you big league guys are going and taking all the money-maybe FireHouseBBQ will just slip in and judge it.

Shake a few hands,have a beverage,and try to pick up a few tips.

Where is Minneola?

West of Orlando and just north of Clermont.

thanks, Dog ,

Tom, I get the feeling that you don't get stressed. You guys sre going to cook?
Bill

Naw,we'll come by and sponge off your hospitality and play with "killer".

If Mary allows us,we'll judge and try to pick up your "secrets".

John& Craig will be just getting back from the Jack,and Barbara has a national math conference all week.

We have the Key Largo KCBS qualifier ,the next weekend.

We can't do" back to backs",like you experienced guys.

Say hi to Nina,

Tom

Why are John & Craig going to the Jack? they cooking?

I may be there, with Stuart in tow...

Craig is going to test the squeezin's and I am going to help run the contest. I will be there on Wed. morning through the end of the contest. Make sure you say hi.

BTW, since Barbara will be out of town that week, we have been trying to convince Tom to come along. Give him an extra push Russ.

Well Tom could cook. The Jack rules now say that you had to cook with winning team at the contest that they qualified at to get into the Jack. Tom and Barbara did cook with Bobby and Lee that weekend we were vending.. So if they let the old man cook with them then I guess it would all be legal.

But he might eat all their cookies.

Craig

ya never know.

John if you're going to run the contest, need any judges

I'll work on Tom and Stuart too.

If so, you guys might let me know if you need any supplies.

Oh yeah, the DVD I promised, guess I can hand deliver now.

Russ

Unfortunately, they don't allow me to get anywhere neat the judge picking process. I actually help with all of the setup, the parking of teams, delivery of ice, etc. Basically a glorified grunt. But I enjoy it.

BTW, a good portion of the judges are celebrities, media types, vondors, etc. But regular KCBS judges are mixed in with the judging panel also. From what I understand, the picking of judges gets done by JD's public relations group. If I ever learn the secret to getting in, I will let you know.

Well, I've done the Royal and I've done MIM...Guess I'll have to do what I did to get into those.

20 years of training put to good use

Is there a printed list somewhere of the festivals or cook offs?If they would be that would be interesting for on-lookers, I am thinking I might talk my husband into entertaining me while in Florida by driving to one or two...I need something I can print out in case I cant get cable/telephone hooked up for my laptop.

Kathy,

You can see many of the Florida contests at www.flbbq.org. This site will show you all of the FBA (Florida Barbeque Assoc.) sanctioned contests.

For KCBS contests, go to www.kcbs.us. For a compilation of contests, go www.nationalbarbecuenews.com.

Hope to see you at one.

Thanks John,
I hope to get myself to one or more of them.

I will look on those sites and print to take with me.
I love going to Florida and finding all my Yankee foods plus Floribbean things.

Kathy,

I gave you one bad link. It should www.barbecuenews.com

Thanks, I found it! I was watching the Dennis Stewart tv show.

kathye,
if you can make it to minneola please drop by. it is a fun contest and is really supported by the city. on friday nite the kids come around trick or treating and even though it is the fba's state championships it is very laid back thanks to mary the organizer. if you do come please stop by. the rig is ez to find. big ole white thing with 2 red greyhounds in silloette (heck i can't spel gud)
jack

okay Jack I will look for the greyhounds. I will be my most persuasive..whiney..to convince Larry /

Larry,
You absolutely must bring Kathy to Minneola!
She will be so appreciative!
Peggy
p.s. how's that, Kathy?
I can't wait to see Kevin and Clara and Bill and Nina again!

thanks Peggy,
A personal invitation always helps.I think he will enjoy it too.

I'll be there. Competing for the first time (ribs and chicken) and doing a little vending.

See you all there.

Rootsman
CK Jerk Shack

rootsman,
trade ya 3 millers for 1 red stripe.
peg says dude enter all 4 categories just as ez.
if you run into any problems just ask. we will help and if we dont know how will find the good guys to ask like bill and the dixie chicks and kick the tires and man there3 are so many that helped us last year you just can't believe it!!!
make sure to tell mary this is your 1st time she will send you so much help it is unreal.
can't wait to meet you and hope the cane goes way south (cuba would be nice)
jack

Thanks Jack! Looking forward to meeting you and Peggy too.

Having never cooked a brisket or whole shoulder before, I'll pass on those categories for now and learn what I can from you pros. I usually stick with the quicker cooking versions like beef short ribs and pork country style ribs.

Peace!

Hi folks. My wife and I pulled into Ft Pierce today at 6:00pm. Just in time to unload the truck and wait for Wilma. Should hit nearby us by 5:00am I think. RaiderBill... any chance you can make Minneola Sat?? We will be there to see all these good folks (around their turnin schedules that is) along with Kathy & Larry. Hope Kathy made the trip ok.

Good luck to all.....

Bob

Glad to see you made it in.

We bailed out went to Lake City,until it clears Brevard County.

well, We made it in okay.But we bailed too and are in Spring Hill until we hear if the trailer blew away.We talked to a friend who stayed and is still in the shelter as we speak.It is raining so hard you can't see.
Also my husband got his first speeding ticket on the way over to the west coast in a speed trap on state 50 for 180.00 which he blames on the hurricane too.
But hopefully we will be in Minneola.
Cadillac, I was going to call you but didn't want to bother ya.Hope you are in a safe place.The trailer just wasn't safe enough.

I'd like to stop by on Friday night and say hey to you guys. It would be nice to put a face to the names. Do you need a team wrist band to get in on friday night? Also is the going rate to 'BS' one or two six packs?

Anyone know how many teams are cooking there yet. Might want to cook it instead of judge it. They need 25 teams to make it a qualifier.

Craig

Does anyone know for sure ,if it actually is a qualifier-if they get 25 teams?

peggy
just got off the phone with mary. she called since we didn't know how hard orlando area got hit. the event is still on and the sites will be about as damp as last year and that wasn't bad. as far as the number of teams go peggy didn't ask but by my score sheet from last year they had 28 teams.
all i hope is that myron mixon and davey and jacks old south is there. them and bill and the dixie chicks are who i use as my personal gauge. but to be honest i would love to see 100 teams there just because minneola supports the event so well.
jack

Well... we went to the event. We met up with Kathy & her husband there. Went and visited with Jack & Peggy. Ate some very good smoked meats. Sampled rootsman's jerk. He was right about that hot sauce! Met Bill & his wife although we didnt get to talk much, we tasted their pulled pork. Saw the folks at homebbq but time didnt permit me talkin to them. All in all a great day with very good food. We had to leave before judging and are curious on the results. Thanks for all the hospitality shown especially from Jack & Peggy.

Bob

bob,
it was great to meet you and kathy and the pleasure was all ours. thanks for the input on the brisket and glad you liked it.
by the way did your daughter share the to go brisket box i gave her or did you make her walk to leesburg??
jack

Bob, It was great to meet you. I thought all of you were one family, but Jack says Kathy and her husband were also part of the entourage! Sorry I didn't get all that straight. You were sure a fun bunch to be around!

Rootsman, That callaloo you sent home with us was great. We had black eyed peas and rice with it. I fixed it the way you told me. If any of you ever get a chance to try Rootsman's food, you should dive in. I'm already craving the pork you let us sample!

Had a great time. The FEC cooked wonderfully. We just didn't please the judges very well, but will keep on trying. I think Jack's ribs were the best I'd ever eaten anywhere.

Peggy

Well my first competition was a lot of fun. I came 18th in chicken and 8th in ribs and sold sufficient food to cover all my cost.

I was fairly happy (as happy as one can be without winning)with the results considering jerk is out of the ordinary with most judges in terms of appearance and taste. Jerk can be perceived as overdone based on the darkening effects of jerk. I'd probably score much higher with a real mild jerk.

One customer came up and bought an order of jerk pork from me. Upon tasting he went "WOW, this is awesome, how much more am I able to buy to take home."

Jack, Peggy, John, Bob, Mary, Dan, Tom, et al, it was great meeting you all. Bob, that habenero sauce on the side is real hot; I warned you. Jack, glad you like the callaloo (Jamaican greens for the information of others).
Eat jerk. Be happy, Mon!
Placed 18th in chicken and 8th in ribs