Winchester Tennessee, High on the Hog BBQ contest, April 15 and 16, 2011
Team Top Chick
"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents – except at occasional intervals when it was checked by a violent gust of wind…."
What a beginning to a BBQ contest report? That is the way Team Top Chick began the 2011 season, participating in the 24th annual High on the Hog BBQ contest, put on by the Civitan club of Winchester.
This event has long been a favorite of ours for many reasons. First the location is a beautiful city park on the lake. Then consider the contest itself just a part of a huge community event, complete with a carnival, beauty contest, music, and much more, usually attracting large crowds. Finally the unbeatable hospitality the good folks of Winchester show to the BBQ teams.
In fact everything was lovely except the weather. On Friday night much of the South East was hit with deadly tornadoes and damaging winds, while in Winchester the wind blew hard and the rain came down, we were spared the worst of it. Hats off to the EMA folks at the event that kept us informed and stood ready to evacuate us should the need arise.
Bad weather did not keep this contest from being a sell out with 54 of the finest BBQ teams in America including names like Lotta Bull, Butt Rub, Jiggy Piggy, Swiggin Pig and Do-Rag Que in attendance.
Being our first event of the year we were anxious to visit with all of our old friends but the weather was not conducive to our normal socializing.
Everyone was very excited to see we had a new sponsor in Moore's Marinade .
Despite the weather our cook was uneventful and we had confidence in all of our entries.
At the end of the day we were pleased to walk away from awards with Top Ten calls in both brisket and Ribs and a solid 16th place overall finish out of the 54 outstanding teams competing.
We had a great time and won enough money to get home and buy some stuff for the next challenge.
We hope to see you all on the BBQ trail soon.
