The Adventures of Bushwhack Jack

Blue Ridge BBQ Festival

Tryon, NC

Friday, June 11th, 2010

After work, Amy and I drove up to Tryon, NC to check out the Blue Ridge BBQ Festival


My buddies Steve and Jeff would be competing it this  year's competition.  Friday would be their practice run for the real competition on Saturday.  Therefore, they needed some volunteers to come out and sample their work.

Steve and Jeff BBQ team name is Piglet Enemy

We hung out at Piglet Enemy base camp.  The atmosphere was very similar to many of our Mancation Camping trips, with plenty of FABs consumed.  The only difference is that instead of being the only ones who bring BBQ smokers to a campground, there were about 80 other BBQ teams all with BBQ smokers.  The smell in the air was awesome (assuming you like the smell of BBQ)

Steve and Jeff

Checking the Temperature of the Butt

After probing the Butt, we were informed that there was about an hour to go before the Butt sampling would begin.  So Amy and I decided to go and check out some of the other parts of the Festival.  We knew our buddy Johnny Corn was planning to show up to check out some of the live bands.

One the walk over the to stage area, Amy spotted a nice Black Eyed Susan that I had to stop and take a photo of.

Black Eyed Susan

We had no problem finding the band, but no sign of Johnny Corn.  Turns out he was in line buying beer!

Geoff Achison was performing tonight.  I had never heard of him before, but I thought he was pretty good.

Geoff Achison

My wife Amy and I enjoying the music

Johnny and his wife (center)  /  Johnny's Daughter (Right) and some friends

While the band was excellent, we were getting very hungry and with the smell of BBQ in the air, it was time to head back to Piglet Enemy base camp!

Steve and Jeff

So I drank a few more of Steve and Jeff's FABs

(I'll pay you back at Poker Night!)

And soon the Pork Butt was unveiled!

BBQ Pork Butt shortly before being Pulled

I have to say that Steve and Jeff make the best BBQ Pulled Pork I have ever tasted.  It has kind of ruined me, because now anytime I try BBQ Pork somewhere else, I am always disappointed.  I'll be looking forward to finding out how they fare in Saturday's competition.  We also sampled some of their BBQ chicken, which was excellent, but not as good as their Butt!

Unfortunately, it was well after 10:00pm and we still had the 30 minute drive home, so we had to leave before the Ribs and Brisket were ready.  But we did manage to leave with full stomachs, and a couple of large ZipLocs filled with BBQ Chicken and Pork!  It was a very enjoyable Friday Evening!

This is Jeff and Steve's schedule for Saturday.

The 12:00 is midnight and the 4:30 is AM

Slow cooked BBQ takes a lot of dedication and effort!