Jammin' the Pig in '07

Folks:

We came, we saw, we jammed. Hog Wild Bar-B-Q made its second showing at the Plant City Pig Jam in 2007. As in 2006, we worked hard, drank plenty and had a great time. Also as in 2006, the air was chilly and a fire was needed throughout the night. Fortunately the wind was not whipping like it was last year.

This year we expanded our team a little. Myself and John were still the main pitmasters, but we added "The Ladies": Patti, Carol Ann, and Kim - three friends. Melissa, my daughter, was also involved this year. Pete and Michelle, active participants last year, were once again slinging the pork. We lost Larry however, but he had other commitment and car trouble to boot.

I won't go into a play-by-play in this blog like I did last year. In actuality, this year's activities were much the same as last year's; drinking, socializing, cooking barbecue. There were a few notable exceptions which I will mention. I already mentioned the team membership changes. Last year I stayed up all night in the cold tending 2 fires (cooking and warming) while my team (John and Pete) grabbed a little sleep. This year I was able to get a few hours of sleep while my team monitored the fires. But most importantly, this year we changed the ribs. Last year I submitted excellent versions of the standard ribs we cook at Hog Wild. This year we submitted something quite different: "Guava-Rum Ribs". I cannot reveal the recipe, but let it be known that we came in 4th place in ribs in the Amateur Division. That's out of 30 teams! Which brings me to the final notable difference: this year we participated as "Amateurs" whereas last year I signed us up as "Professionals". Why? I filled out the wrong form! But it worked out in the end and made absolutely no difference at all.

I thank my hard-working team with all my heart. Without them I could not have done it. And I thank my patient customers who put up with the Riverview restaurant being closed while we competed in Plant City, and then while I travelled to Alabama for a family Thanksgiving. (BTW, we're back. We're open again. Y'all can start coming by again.)

Here are a few views and commentary of the 2007 Pig Jam.

Here's our humble set up. Nothing flashy. You can see the tent where me and Melissa slept. The Ladies adamantly insisted that I dress up our display for Pig Jam 2008 and they had some definitely good ideas along those lines. Next year's pictures ought to be better.

I cannot remember this character's name (the guy standing, that is). He stopped by our set up and chatted in almost the identical fashion as he did in '06. He's a true character. His normal job is tour guide for the Jack Daniels distillery. But he enters these KCBS BBQ cookoffs as his hobby. Here he is talking to Melissa. You cannot see it in this picture, but he carries a plastic fork in the pocket of his overalls so that he's always at the ready for tasting BBQ.

Here are The Ladies: (l to r) Kim, Patti, and Carol Ann. They provided hours of amusement, work and help. Whats more, Patti provided a huge pot of gumbo which was consumed with glee on Friday night

Here's Pete and Michelle. They showed up a little late, but eager. Unlike last year, Pete had to work and could not get Saturday off. But he and his lovely bride Michelle skedaddled out to Plant City as soon as they could. (What's Carol Ann doing back there?)

My son Geoffrey and his girlfriend Tiffany stopped by for a visit. They didn't cook any barbecue, but they ate a lot of it.

My brush with celebrity. Here I am with Ray Lampe, aka Dr. BBQ. He's won multiple awards, written three books, been on TV many times and is generally regarded as one of the world's foremost authorities on barbecue. Here he displays some chicken he whipped up for him and his team buddies on Friday night. He was a nice guy and later he came by our camp (which was right next door), enjoyed some gumbo and chatted a bit.

Here they are! Fourth place ribs!! Hooowaahhh!! These babies look so good I can almost eat the picture!