Swamp Boys!
If you enjoy BBQ and you live in or near Central Florida, consider yourself blessed. There are lots of BBQ events in our area. The Florida BBQ Association (FBA) and Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) host contests throughout the year for you. You can find out about them from the websites I’ve linked. If you’ve never been to one they can be a little overwhelming – in a good way. Let me try to help.
Don’t stress parking. With the 2 big events I’m discussing here, parking is free and on site:
Lakeland Pig Fest this weekend at Lakeland Linder Airport has plenty of parking onsite. Use this address 4175 Medulla Rd, Lakeland, Lakeland.
Smoke OFF the Water is in Winter Haven, in 2 weeks, Feb. 7-8. Use this address: 3195 Dundee Rd, Winter Haven.
It is important to understand that these events are organized and put on by volunteers, and they are raising money for local charities. If you’re asked to pay for parking or to pay to get in, know that it is benefiting a local charity. And helping those in need is a good thing. Entry is typically $10 or less, with children free.
Now you’re inside the gate, and the wonderful smells of bbq smoke, and succulent meats are filling the air. Your stomach rumbles and you’re ready to eat. The first thing you’ll need to do is buy some of the designated money/currency for the event. Since they are fundraisers, most make you pay for everything you buy in “_______ – Bucks”. The blank could be PIG, BBQ, or anything else. For now, we’ll call them BBQ Bucks. Find the area where they are being sold and buy some. It is $1 for 1 BBQ Buck. Vendors are not allowed to take your cash money, they must take BBQ Bucks. The vendors turn in their BBQ Bucks at the end of the event and get paid $0.80 on the dollar. This is one way the charities make money from the event. BBQ Bucks are non-refundable so keep that in mind.
Swamp Boys Win Governor’s Trophy at Pig Fest!
With your bucks in hand, it’s time to start sampling the foods now. You will have dozens of choices on where you can spend your BBQ Bucks. Know that some vendors will be much, much better than others. Some pitmasters love to show off their accomplishments with trophies and/or banners on display. Unfortunately not all vendors are 100% honest with their advertising. Just because the signs are 75′ up in the air, doesn’t mean their food is great. So who do you go to? Ask around. Ask the other teams who aren’t selling their food where they would go eat, and who they would avoid. They know, and they will be honest with you. Life’s too short for bad BBQ. Educate yourself on where to spend your BBQ Bucks.
Besides great food, there may also be live music, craft vendors, car shows, cornhole tournaments, cooking demos, auctions, 50/50 raffles, and who knows what else. BBQ events usually offer All-American fun stuff to do and see. Make sure you get around to see everything. BBQ events give the host towns a chance to shine and celebrate their local community.
If you have the time, stick around until 5pm Saturday and watch the BBQ awards show at the main stage. For most teams, this is the reason they are at the contest. Teams can spend anywhere from $900 – $2000 and up to enter a single contest. Most are on-sight for a minimum of 24 hours and up to 60 hours. A contest is a major investment of time and money. The teams turn in chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket at predetermined times. Tables of certified judges score the entries in a double blind format, so they don’t know whose food they are judging. The highest scores for each category win money and trophies. The team with the highest total score of all categories among the teams wins Grand Champion (GC). The second highest score wins Reserve Grand Champion (RGC). Doing well in one category is nice, but being consistent in every category and winning GC is the ultimate. This usually qualifies you for the big national invitational contests and is quite an accomplishment. It’s a long standing tradition in the FBA that the winner buys pizza for the other teams Saturday evening. The Saturday night get together is the best part of the weekend for a lot of the teams.
I hope this will help you enjoy the next BBQ event you visit. The vendors, teams and certainly the organizers and charities are happy and thankful you’ve come out to help support the community. And the fact that we get to enjoy BBQ, America’s original cuisine, makes it awesome.
-Rub Bagby
Pitmaster, Swamp Boys BBQ