Plant City Pig Jam - Plant City Florida

PLANT CITY, Fla. – October 10, 2011 – Saturday, November 19, top teams from throughout the country will compete at the ninth annual Plant City Pig Jam State BBQ Championship. The event is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Randy L. Larson Softball Four-Plex, 1500 S. Park Rd. in Plant City.

About 70 teams will compete in this Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) sanctioned event, to win big money, ribbons and trophies, and bragging rights.

For the rest of us, it’s a chance to enjoy some of the country’s best barbecue ribs, pork, brisket and chicken. There will also be plenty of opportunity during the event to ask cooks about their pits, the wood they use, how they prepare their meat, and the cooking temperatures they prefer. Guests can also check out some of the barbecue-related items that will be for sale such as rubs and sauces, books and videos, pins and paraphernalia relating to individual teams. Sno-cones, lemonade, beer and other refreshments will also be available.

Kids will be entertained in the children’s play area where there will be a rock climbing wall, moon walk and other activities. And, live telecasts of all football rivalries will be broadcast in the beer tent. Ace Jackson and the Jump Kings Band will perform live music in the afternoon.

There is also a raffle, thanks to The Hay Exchange that donated a Big Green Egg grill package, and a YETI® cooler. Tickets are $10 each and may be purchased at the Plant City Chamber or at any Chamber event. All proceeds benefit the Chamber Foundation's Scholarship Fund.

Admission to Pig Jam is free, and parking is $5 per vehicle.

Pig Jam is hosted by the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce. For more information, contact the Chamber at 813-754-3707, or log on to http://www.plantcity.org/. Follow Pig Jam on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PlantCityPigJam, or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PigJam.

C & K Smoke House BBQ in Parrish Florida

Located in rural Florida between the communities of Ellenton and Parrish on Hwy 301, C & K Smoke House BBQ has been turning out pulled pork, ribs, and chicken since 2003.  It's an unassuming and simple white building, but it's pretty popular with local residents.

From CKSmokeHouseBBQ.com:

"...dry rubbed with an elite blend of flavorful seasonings and spices. The meat is slow-smoked over aged oak wood for the perfect flavoring that makes every meal, a mouth-watering, lip smacking experience...Our restaurant offers old fashion BBQ cuisine, side dishes, in a charming little Smoke House that is clean and friendly with a stunning country view."

My only regret is that I haven't been able to try the food.  I've driven by the restaurant several times, but it's always been before or after lunch time. :-(

A Trip to Quick "Q" B-B-Que

Yesterday we took an afternoon trip to St. Petersburg for a visit to Quick "Q" B-B-Que on Central Avenue.

Here are a few pictures:

 It's an unassuming store front located on Central Ave in St. Petersburg.

Linda ordered the 1/2 rack of ribs.  These untrimmed ribs had plenty of meat and were slathered heavily in sauce.  Next time she'll order the sauce on the side.  It was a little more sauce than she expected.

I had the bbq pork dinner served on a bun and two sides: baked beans and collard greens.

Simple and unassuming. Nothing fancy here. Leave your suits and ties at home.

 They also have a pretty funny video posted on You Tube:

FBA Cooking School

If you've always wanted to attend a bbq cooking school, but couldn't justify spending the money here's the one you've been waiting for.  The Florida Barbeque Association (FBA) Fun Cook is hosting a "No Holds Barred" Cooking School in Clermont, FL. The FBA Fun Cook is scheduled for 9/3 - 9/5 at the Clerbrook Golf & RV Resort.

If you don't want to do the cooking school, I still recommend attending the Fun Cook. Linda and I attended this event a couple of times when we lived nearer Orlando. It's a nice way to get to know your fellow competitors and share bbq war stories and fish tales.

Bubba Ques - Brandon Florida

We made a second trip to Bubba Que's in the Brandon-Valrico area this weekend. The restaurant is located on Hwy 60 near Wal-Mart. The tables provide a choice of 6 different bbq sauces for your bbq entree or sandwich.

The bbq was pretty good, but we especially liked the restaurant's atmosphere and decor. As you might expect, with a name like Bubba's, there's not a lot of fancy fixin's or fancy furniture. They even use Igloo coolers for seating at some tables.

Their website is also uniquely different, although I had trouble accessing the online menu. I also enjoyed the banana pudding for desert.

This is a nice restaurant concept. I think they'll be successful.

First BBQ Contest of 2009 Season

The Florida Barbecue Association is sanctioning the Central Florida BBQ Festival January 9-10, 2009 in Sebring, FL. I might take a drive over on Saturday afternoon and snap a few pictures. With the Swamp Boys winning FBA TOTY and Homebbq.com winning the recent FBA Triple Crown Championship in Perry, FL, the Sebring event is shaping up nicely and should be extremely competitive

Linda and I were there several years ago. For Florida, it was cold enough that we had to keep the propane heater on and the sides of the King Canopy tent up the entire weekend.

If you are going to compete in cold weather and don't have an RV or trailer to cook out of, the King Canopy is a good choice. It's best if you have several people to help you put it up and take it down. Two people can manage it o.k. if needed. Linda and I competed with the King Canopy for a year and a half with little trouble. But, it's a bear to take down when it's raining. At the Lakeland Pig Fest we stood in 6 inches of water while packing up. If it's not below 45 degrees, a Caravan or EZ-up works just as well. And they are much, much easier to take down.

Sunshine State Chili Pod

I received an e-mail this afternoon announcing the Sunshine State Chili Pod. I thought I'd include some contact information here for anyone interested. It's chili contest information, but I consider chili cook-offs close cousins of bbq cook-offs.

Here's some history of the organization from the website:

"The Sunshine State Pod was seeded in 2001 by a vote of the Chili Appreciation Society International (CASI) Great Peppers. We are the sponsoring body for CASI cook-offs within the state of Florida. The pod was started up by Bill Garbutt, Tom Ince, Myrna Ince, and Ken Rodd. The Pod's mission is to promote chili and raise money for charitable organizations thru chili cook-offs."

For information contact Candi at farevelo@bellsouth.net. The website provides more information and pictures about chili cook-offs in Florida with pictures and a membership form.

Link to membership form.