Kennesaw Pigs and Peaches

57 Smokehouse embarked on the first KCBS contest of our early BBQ adventures and an adventure it was. Bobby and I headed out of Macon around 11:30 on Friday morning and hit I-75 for what we thought would be a straight shot to Kennesaw Ga. WRONG in typical 57 Smokehouse fashion we had to make the simple complicated, who knew there were more than two lanes of traffic and a million road signs you need to pay attention to in Atlanta. I will say the Lenox Mall off of I-85 is a beautiful place but a long way from where we needed to be but thanks to Glen for getting us back on the right track with one phone call. We arrived about 2 and had to get to work right off the bat finishing up setting camp thank god Glen had gotten there earlier and had most of it done before we got there. I will have to say Kennesaw is a beautiful town and that was a well run contest.The cooks meeting was at 4 and was handled very professionally and they even fed us a spaghetti dinner that was delicious. Let me give you guys an idea of how busy you are at a KCBS event.

FOOD PREP
1st PREP THE BRISKET
2ND PREP THE BOSTON BUTTS
3RD PREP CHICKEN ( 24 PEICES )
4TH PREP RIBS (SPARES SO THEY HAD TO BE CUT DOWN)
5TH PREP THE TURN IN BOXES ( EACH BOX TAKES AROUND 30-45 MINS )

Dont let this fool you that its only five steps this takes along time and we finished up around midnight. I am sure we will get alot faster at these processes the more of these we do but it will still be alot of work. The next morning comes real early around 5a.m. to ready the camp for the turn ins that start at noon. We were cooking on the drums again but also had a couple of Treagers with us this time. First up was the chicken turn ins at noon and in my opinion we put some spectacular product in the box. Second came the ribs and again the product was way above par and turn in for tose was at 12:30. Pulled pork was next to be turned in and we had some of the best pork I have eaten in a long time. I was cooked perfectly and the money muscles were spot on. Brisket was the last turn in at 1:30 and ours was the best brisket I have ever eaten ( we used a Wagu for the first time). There were 74 teams at this contest (50 pro 24 backyard) and some really big names were there so we knew the competetion was gonna be tough and it didnt disappoint. I was very proud of the team this cook even though we were two really important people down.

57 Smokehouse BBQ team for Kennesaw
Glen Musick
Bobby Wright
Chuck Green
Alan Walker

The Results
Chicken-39th ( I THINK WE HAD A VEGAN JUDGE)
Ribs-41st
Pulled Pork-13th
Brisket- 9th
Overall- 25th

In my opinion this was a successful cook for us and finishing middle of the pack was not diappointing. The major thing we learned tihs weekend was to gel as a team and not work as individuals. I feel we have a great chance of making an impact in the BBQ world but it will take time and alot of practice. the major factor we were missing this week was Melanie and Amber, they bring alot to the team and their absence was surely felt.

Well guys the next contest is in two weeks in Ft. Valley so I will be back after the HAMBONE JAM...........ALAN