The GBA Board of Directors is excited to announce the nominees for the 2023 Georgia BBQ Association Judge of the Year. It takes every GBA Member to have an amazing organization in which to cook, judges, teams, contest reps, and organizers! Unbeknownst to our judges this past season, the GBA Board began having lead reps of each contest nominate one judge from each contest for the GBA Judge of the Year. They have all demonstrated the best of the Georgia Barbecue Association and all nominees will be recognized and celebrated at the 2023 GBA Banquet with one of them will being Honored as the 2023 Judge of the Year. This award will be part of our GBA Banquet from this year forward. Please join us in congratulating the 2023 GBA Judge of the Year Nominees listed below in alphabetical order:
Warren Abrams, Daniel Alix, Ritamarie Arzillo, Ewa Belcastro, Mark Coley, Robert Fisher, Chantel Gibbons, Lonnie Lewis, and Lois Sebastian
THANK YOU to every judges that took time out of their weekends this past season to come out and judge BBQ, you are GREATLY APPRECIATED!
The 2023 GBA Baquet is scheduled for February 10, 2024 and will be held at the Lake Blackshear Resort and Golf Club. The cost is $25.00 per person – please invite your family and friends. We will have dinner and our annual GBA awards. There will be a cash bar. We just wanted to make everyone aware of the date so all GBA members can go ahead and make plans to attend. We’re cooking up some fun events to take place around this year’s banquet, including the 2023 GBA TOTY Awards, our GBA Judge of the Year Award, it will also feature the induction of the first class of honorees into the Georgia Barbecue Hall of Fame. We will have a live band again, great food, all will make for an amazing weekend!
Linda Hawkins has set Special Rates for the GBA Banquet Weekend: Lake Blackshear Camp Sites $45 per night and Cabins $189 per night. Please call 229-276-1004 to make your reservations, mention that you are with the GBA Banquet. Several Glamping Yurts are also available, but must be booked through https://www.timberlineglamping.com/
The GBA headed north to our last contest of the year – the Red, White, and Blue BBQ at the American Legion Post 45 in Canton, GA. 15 teams battled it out for the final points to be awarded in the 2023 season, and there was plenty of shakeups in the making. Hats off to the great group at the American Legion for making this a very special event, and for taking such good care of the GBA. We had an amazing group of GBA Reps and GBA Judges on scene to judge some amazing Q. POSSE BBQ and MAGNUM P.I.G both showed out with Triple Finals!!!!Posse BBQ left all doubt behind taking GRAND CHAMPION & Winning all 3 GBA categories.
MAGNUM P.I.G. – RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION
Magnum P.I.G. also finialed in all 3 categories and walked away with the Reserve Grand Championship.
1st Loin – POSSE BBQ
2nd Loin – Magnum P.I.G.
3rd loin – 319Q
Posse BBQ took the top Loin spot, followed by Magnum P.I.G. in 2nd. 319Q returns after a couple of weeks off to claim 3rd loin.
1st Pork – POSSE BBQ
2nd Pork – MAGNUM P.I.G
3rd Pork Loll Y Pops Q
Posse BBQ hit 1st again in the Pork category, again followed by Magnum P.I.G.Lolly, & Pops Smokin-Que took the 3rd pork spot.
1st Ribs – POSSE BBQ & 600 in Preliminary Round
2nd Ribs Scott’s Smoke Shack
3rd Ribs MAGNUM P.I.G.
Posse BBQ completed the trifecta in Ribs, taking first, and earing the only perfect “600” of the day. Scotts Smoke Shack BBQ landed in 2nd place, followed by Magnum P.I.G. in third.
Loin, Pork, & Ribs Results
TEAM OF THE YEAR
Now on to our final Team of the Year Update for the 2023 Season, three teams came to Canton with only 3 points separating them! Posse BBQ hammered home their TOTY Overall 1st place finish by amassing 45 points with Triple Finals, 3-1st Place Finishes, and Grand Champion at this event! Rescue Smokers jumped into 2nd Place Overall, 3 points ahead of Off the Chain in 3rd. Shark Bite BBQ held onto 4th, and 319Q moved into 5th.
Possee BBQ took over the top Loin spot, pushing Off the Chain down to 2nd. 319Q moved back into 3rd, followed by Pig-eee-licious in 4th and Rescue Smokers in 5th.
Off the Chain is the top Pork team of 2023, with Rescue Smokers in 2nd and Posse BBQ in third. Shark Bite BBQ is 4th pork and Pig-eee-licious lands in 5th.
Rescue Smokers claimed the top prize in Ribs this year, with Possee BBQ holding onto 2nd. 319Q again moved back into 3rd Rib, just ahead of Real-Licious in 4th, and Scotts Smoke Shack BBQ in 5th.
Our next event will be in the 2024 season starting off with the Dilly Dally in Dooly in February, then Rhythm and Ribs Festival in Tifton, Firehouse BBQ in Donalsonville, and the Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash in Ashburn, GA for a busy month of March! We will also have a new judges class scheduled for early 2024.
2023 GBA BANQUET – February 10, 2024
Don’t forget the GBA Banquet, which will be held on Saturday, Feb 10, 2024. 2023 GBA Team of the Year Awards will take place along with some special awards to be enounced soon! We’re cooking up some fun events to take place around this year’s banquet, and it will also feature the induction of the first class of honorees into the Georgia Barbecue Hall of Fame. We’re again going to Lake Blackshear Resort, so make plans now to reserve your campsite or hotel room.
The Georgia BBQ Association headed over to Albany, GA for the 2023 Modern Gas Rib Showdown. We had beautiful weather and an amazing venue, with great organizers, GBA Teams, GBA Judges, and GBA Reps. The GBA Teams made life tough for the judges there, and when all the judging was done Rescue Smokers Won the Grand Championship with their Pork Entry scoring a 599.7 in Finals.
POSSE BBQ – RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION
Posse BBQ was the most consistent team with double finals winning the Reserve Grand Championship with two 1st Places & a 4th Place.
PORK LOIN CATEGORY
Posse BBQ won the Loin Category, Off the Chain took 2nd Place also having the days only 600 in the preliminary round, and Pig-eee-licious 3rd Place.
1st Place Pork Loin – Posse BBQ
2nd Place Pork Loin & “600” – Off the Chain
3rd Place Pork Loin – Pig-eee-licious
PORK CATEGORY
Rescue Smokers won the Pork category, Big Butts BBQ took 2nd Place, and Kaddie Q took 3rd Place with their first ever finals.
1st Place Pork – Rescue Smokers
2nd Place Pork – Big Butts BBQ
3rd Place Pork – Kaddie Q
RIB CATEGORY
Posse BBQ won the Rib Category, Hot Ash QBBQ took 2nd Place, and Kimbrell Q took 3rd Place in their very first GBA competition.
1st Place Ribs – Posse BBQ
2nd Place Ribs – Hot Ash BBQ
3rd Place Ribs – Kimbrell Q
Top 10 Results for the GBA Rib Showdown and Reserve Scoring.
The Modern Gas Rib Showdown also had their own local Rib Challenge and it was Crazy Reds BBQ taking 1st Place, Smokey Bottom 2nd Place, and Georgia Boy Smokers 3rd Place.
The GBA headed over to Donalsonville, GA for the 2023 Firehouse BBQ cookoff. 12 of the best teams in the GBA made life tough for the judges there, and when all the counting was done Off the Chain took the Grand Championship! Huge thank you to all of the GBA Judges making the drive down South to help make this competition happen!
Pig-eee-licious Reserve Grand Champion
The most consistent team for the day was Pig-eee-licious winning the Reserve Grand Champion with Double Finals and the days only 600.
Hot Ash Q 1st Loin
Bite By Butt BBQ 2nd Loin
Pig-eee-licious 3rd Place Loin
Hot Ash Q had the best Loin entry of the day, followed by Bite my Butt BBQ and Pig-eee-licious.
Pig-eee-licious 1st Place Pork
Shark Bite BBQ 2nd Place Pork
Bit My Butt BBQ 3rd Place Pork
Pig-eee-licious won the Pork category – and had a perfect 600 in preliminaries! Shark Bite BBQ took second while Big Butts BBQ settled in 3rd.
Off the Chain BBQ 1st Ribs
Rescue Smokers 2nd Ribs
Posse BBQ 3rd Ribs
Off the Chain was the top Rib team, besting Rescue Smokers (2nd) and Posse BBQ in 3rd.
Tori Gravlee
Fish Fry Team
Huge Thank You to Tori Gravlee for an amazing weekend, along with local Pitmaster Keith Bowen On Friday night we had an amazing Fish Fry with teams, judges, and reps bringing a wide variety of sides and deserts. It was a fun time with BBQ FAMILY. This contest also showed what the GBA is all about on Saturday with multiple teams doing what was need to help fellow competitors, “GBA FAMILY”. Those that were there know what it’s all about, there is NOTHING LIKE OUR GBA FAMILY! Looking forward to the 2024 Donalsonville Firehouse BBQ Festival next March.
Now on to Team of the Year!
Off the Chain regained the overall spot in the Team of the Year Points race, 6 points ahead of both Posse BBQ and Rescue Smokers, who are tied for 2nd place. Shark Bite BBQ remains in 4th, and Real-Licious held onto 5th.
Off the Chain kept their top spot in Loin, but Posse BBQ closed the gap to 3 points in 2nd place, and 319Q remains in 3rd.
Off the Chain holds on to the Pork Category, comfortably ahead of Rescue Smokers in 2nd. Shark Bite BBQ closed the gap, moving to within 3 points of 2nd place.
Rescue Smokers is still the top rib team. Real-Licious jumped over 319Q to claim 2nd by 2 points.
We’ve only got two more events and some of these close races will come down to these last contests. The Modern Gas Ribs Showdown is held on Oct 21 in Albany, GA and should be a great event. It’s held at Chehaw park, and there looks to be quite a lot going on. This event has both a Professional and a IAW event, so cooks of any skill level are welcome to sign up and test your skills. The Red, White, and Blue BBQ in Canton, GA will finish out our season on Oct 28. Canton is quickly becoming one of the favorite events of the year, with their tribute to our armed forces and veterans front and center.
