Southern Style Bar-B-Que cook-offs 9 '07

The South is famous for its Bar-B-Que Cook-offs.   On almost any summer weekend, you can find a cook-off contest being held in at least one of the Southern towns.  As the summer month progress, the competition gets fiercer.  So far, Bruce and I have gone to two Bar-B-Ques … one national, one local.  Each had its own unique flavor (pardon the pun).  So far we have found the food to be okay. (In all fairness, maybe it would have been better if we had come the first day rather than the second).  BUT, the festivities which surround these cook-offs, is more than enough reason for going out of ones way to spend some time at these events.

Our first experience was at the Boone’s  Hall Farm National Bar-B-Que Contest.  This is one of those big national cook-offs like you see on the TV Food Channel Networks.  All the heavy -hitter cooks you see on TV were there. Many make a living selling their “secret recipe sauces” at these events.

Vendors lined up along the river

Vendors at the Boon Hall Barbque cook-off

Many seemed to believe in flag waving as a source of their luck.

The main source of entertainment was some authentic southern jammin'. 

It was held just outside Charleston at Historic Boone’s Farm Plantation.  

 An admission charge covered the cost of a docent led tour the historic plantation manor,

Boon Hall Planation House

and its authentic slave village… pretty interesting  stuff.

Boon Hall Slave Village

Slave Kitchen

Slave House Living quarters

Slave bedroom

Our second shot at one of these contests took place over Labor Day weekend when we attended a local Myrtle Beach Cook-off.   It was held on the sports ground of the old Myrtle Beach Military Base.  Maybe it was just local pride, or maybe it was because there was not an admission charge, but this event attracted a much larger number of both cooks, and apprecianados.   The number of cooks completely surrounded the sports field.

Myrtle Beach Cook-off

Here are some photos of just a few of the colorful cooking set-ups.

The Flag waving took on a local flair at this event.

And of course, those who had won at previous shows were quick to let the judges know it.