Lakeland Pigfest

While I generally avoid Lakeland at all costs, I was drawn there on Saturday for the Pigfest. A collection of vendors and competitors, alike in ingredients (mostly pulled pork, chicken, and brisket) and all looking to win competitions, and your Pigbucks.

Many of these teams are professionals in the food industry. Some are offshoots of restaurants. Some are caterers. Some are just backyard crews that happen to build BBQ rigs for themselves and compete. No matter who they are or where they come from (and some come from all over the U.S.), they are all here to pay homage to barbecue.

As I made my way down the main aisle, I ran into a lot of names I recognized when I used to be involved in the barbecue industry. Amongst them was Chris Tate of Smokin’ Taters.

Fellow grill fabricator and all around good guy, Chris has been working to make BBQ his side business for the last few years. From what I’ve observed, he’s grown in leaps and bounds, both in his build quality and his food. The rib sampler from him was amongst the best I’d had on Saturday and his ability to sculpt old propane tanks into grills shows he’s just as good at turning junk into competition equipment as he is in turning raw meat into competition food.

Chris makes the competition a family affair, as his young son won an award for the young cooks competition.

Next stop in my obesity tour-de-force was Skin and Bones BBQ. Not only did these guys have absolutely amazing ribs, but they were very friendly in telling me their story and how they got involved in BBQ. This fortified my view of the BBQ industry, that it’s really built around families and friends who love the food first and winning a close second.

One of the characters I ran into along the way, as well as one of the most gracious human beings I’ve ever met, was Gary from Smokin’ Rednecks.

This guy truly has a life I can only hope for. After years following Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings around the country in their bands, he decided to start his barbecue business. These days, he competes and serves in over 45 shows/year. His sauce is also ordered, 100 cases at a time, by the New York Fire Department. “I like my BBQ the way I make it. It might not win every award, but I already have all the awards I need. I make BBQ the people like… and that’s how I’m going to continue making it.” He continued to describe his method making brisket, which is the way I personally make brisket. “When it quits being fun, I’ll quit doing it.” he assures me.

His staff was equally fun, and his food was fantastic. No matter what else I saw at the Pigfest, Gary and his team at Smokin’ Rednecks will always stick out in my mind.

As I continued down the way, I ran into more fierce competition and more interesting grill/smoker designs.

As we continued around the way, we found a variety of characters, both of the mascot and the “not-so-dressed-up” variety.

Also, I received an education about the various regional varities of BBQ, including the “Real North Carolina Eastern Style BBQ”, which is a vinegar-based bbq that melt right off the bone:

If you want to see more pictures of pigfest, here’s my online album:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/denisbaldwin/sets/72157613233266540/

All in all, was a nice event. For those interested in going to a BBQ event with a good cause, next weekend in Winterhaven you’ll find Smoke on the Water that will benefit the Citrus Center Boys and Girls Club.

Uncategorized pigfest