Competition so good, it smokes
When it comes to barbecue, it's a knock-down, drag-out fight.
By TOM MARSHALL, Times Staff Writer
Published October 22, 2007
BROOKSVILLE
To the uninitiated, it was just a casual barbecue cookoff - a nice, smoky way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
Don't you believe it.
Take away the fiery coals, Grandma's secret recipe and the sweet aroma of slow-basted meat at Tom Varn Park, and the second-annual Blazin' Butts 'N Brisket barbecue competition was nothing other than a knock-down, drag-out cooking fight.
The rivalry was so thick you could cut it with a plastic knife.
"They were intimidated!" chuckled a well-stuffed member of the only local team in the amateur division, from Cortez Community Bank. Their archrivals, CenterState Bank, never showed.
Cortez president Don Page said his tellers, vice presidents and assorted banker-types were nearly done in by the competition.
"We ate so much of our own food, I won't be able to sample another rib for maybe an hour," he admitted.
Across the way, Frank McDowell of Spring Hill, the county's code enforcement director, cast a satisfied eye at the long line of customers in front of Bear's Monster Grill, and kept on cooking.
"Bear" is his nickname, but the "monster" part is well-earned too; the grill is so big he needs a winch just to crack it open.
Nearby, a group of Tampa attorneys running the "Habeas Porkus" grill said they were prepared to employ their lawyering skills if the judges didn't vote for their meat.
"There actually is an appeal process," said Mark Sodhi, a litigator with the firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson, referring to the laws governing Florida Barbecue Association events. "You have until midnight tonight."
But amid the 28 Florida entrants, it was hard to beat a pair of Texas cookers for native pride.
Chuck Hallam of San Antonio and his teammate, Sid Shumake of Austin, were working a construction job in Ocala when they heard about the barbecue contest, and decided they had a lesson to teach about the proper way to cook a steer. Hint: You need mesquite wood.
Surrounded by Lone Star flags Saturday, Shumake gave a final turn to a side of brisket. He refused to give or sell a single bite, until the judges tasted the best morsels.
"Come back in about 30 minutes and we'll get you some," promised Hallam.
Soon enough, two brisket-bearing cooks in 10-gallon hats strode purposefully through the crowd to the judges' tent. From the way those Texans walked, you could tell it would be good eatin'.
Tom Marshall can be reached at tmarshall@sptimes.com or (352) 848-1431.
CONTEST WINNERS
Blazin' butts 'n brisket cookoff
Backyard Division
Chicken: Bulldog Bar BQ, Haines City
Ribs: LL Productions, Parrish
Grand champion: Bulldog Bar BQ, Haines City
Pro Division
Chicken: Big Papa's Country Kitchen, Lake Placid
Ribs: Uncle Kenny's BBQ, Winter Haven
Pork: Mount Dora Bar-B-Cue Co., Mount Dora
Brisket: Swamp Boys BBQ, Winter Haven
Grand champion: Swamp Boys BBQ, Winter Haven
Reserve grand champion: Mount Dora Bar-B-Cue Co., Mount Dora