by Dana ‘Big Papa’ Hillis

This is going to be a busy year in the FBA. The first contest of the year was a big success.

A fellow by the name of Roger “Ziggy” Dick wanted his Rotary group to put on a contest to spread the word about good BBQ in Collier County, and the guys did a great job bringing in 41 professional teams, along with a good crowd to make this a very successful first-year event. The public got to enjoy the “People’s Choice” event, where each person gets to taste a whole bunch of samples and vote for the winner.

Gino Aull with All-Out BBQ was this year’s winner and walked away with bragging rights and a really cool trophy made by one of the local schools. Florida Boys BBQ team has been cooking as long as any team in professional BBQ and walked away with Grand Champion honors in a tough crowd of competitors.

Jady and Wendell have these judges figured out and are going to be tough to beat this year. Big Bad Wolf BBQ, some of the coolest guys you will ever meet in professional BBQ, continue to prove they can compete with the “big boys” with another great finish – taking Reserve Grand honors.

The Smokin’ Cracker team, always around the top, took home 3rd, while the “old pro” Swamp Boys placed 4th, and Git R Smoked finished in 5th. Big Papa’s took 1st in chicken, Florida Boys was 1st in ribs and Git R Smoked was 1st in pork and brisket.

The Rotary Club worked hard on this great contest, and everyone should come back, because they have plans to make it bigger and better next year. The following weekend, Cowboys Restaurant and Mr. Big Daddy Q (Jim McCoin) put on a cool contest at the fairgrounds in Fort Pierce, including PBR bull riding, John Anderson in concert and the Budweiser Clydesdales.

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Recipes 

Big Papa’s Brunswick Stew

Ingredients:

• 2, 16 oz. cans crushed tomatoes

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 1 green pepper, chopped

• 1 lb. shredded pork, beef or chicken (or all)

• 2 cans whole kernel corn

• 1 can creamed corn

• 1 can green lima beans

• 1/2 cup Big Papa’s BBQ sauce (recipe available at BarBQutie.com)

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. pepper

• 1 Tbs. sugar

• 2 Tbs. hot sauce

• Pinch of garlic

• Beef or Chicken stock

Cooking Instructions: Mix all ingredients together.

The easy way is to cook in the crock pot for about 5 to 6 hours or on top of the stove for about 2 hours or to desired thickness.

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Big Daddy always does things in a big way, and the trophies were even big. Forrest’s Fine Foods won big, blowing away the competition by over 10 points and taking home a nice, big winner’s cup trophy along with a Traeger Grill provided by East Coast Lumber.

Team Unknown seems to always finish at the top and took home Reserve Grand. Smokin’ Cracker was a 3rd place finisher again, with Git R Smoked in 4th and a new team, Southern Flatwoods BBQ, in 5th. Southern Flatwoods BBQ took 1st in chicken, Forrest’s Fine Foods was 1st in ribs and brisket and Smokin’ Cracker was 1st in pork.

Dorsey Odell, from the Team Unknown family, played for the whole bunch and drew more people than the John Anderson concert. Dorsey played the new FBA song that has become a national hit on YouTube and the whole BBQ scene. You have to come see Dorsey pick and play while he is still one of us, ‘cause Hollywood and Nashville will steal him soon. (RH!)

There is a full schedule of BBQ contests coming up, and there will be one in your backyard. Look up the FBA schedule at www.flbbq.org and come join us. I guarantee you will have some good laughs and some good food. I meet people all the time who say they love to BBQ and would like to try a competition. Trust me, it’s easy. This is a great group of people and you can be part of it.

Thanks to all the folks who have stopped by to see me at the recent contests, and please keep coming by.