Wow what a weekend! The GBA would like to tip its hat to Tori Gravlee and the Donalsonville DDA for hosting the Firehouse BBQ Festival this past weekend in Donalsonville GA. We had 15 Pro Teams who split over $10,000 in prize money! HUGE THANKD YOU to all of the amazing GBQ Judges that made the track down South for some great BBQ. Congratulations to Posse BBQ on winning the Grand Championship with their Ribs. We would like to give Keith Bowen and the Fry Crew a shout out for frying up some of the best Catfish ever, Great Hush Puppies, and French fries. Also huge shout out to Lisa Oliver O’Neal who 1coordinated the sides for the Fish Fry.
RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION – SHARK BITE BBQ
Shark Bite BBQ won the Reserve Grand Championship with an amazing cook taking Top 5 in all three categories with double finals.
PORK LOIN CATEGORY
K&E Little Smokers scored their first ever professional category win with their 1st Place Loin. Pig-eee-licious took 2nd place Loin with Flying Pig Bar-B-Que taking 3rd place Loin.
1ST PLACE LOIN – K&E Little Smokers2nd Place Loin3rd Place Loin
Pork Category
Congratulations to Shark Bite BBQ on their Pork category win! K&E Little Smokers took 2nd place pork with Magnum P.I.G. taking 3rd place pork.
1st PLACE PORK – SHARK BITE BBQ2nd Place Pork3rd Place Pork
RIB CATEGORY
Congrats to Posse BBQ on their 1st Place Rib! Big Butts BBQ with 2nd place rib and Shark Bite BBQ on 3rd place ribs.
1st PLACE RIBS – POSSE BBQ2nd Place Ribs3rd Place Ribs
319Q – GRAND CHAMPIONCAMDEN CISNEROS – BURGER CHAMPION
Rain and mud didn’t deter 29 teams from fighting it out at the first Double Points event this year – the TiftonRhythm & Ribs BBQ Festival held in Tifton, GA on March 01. Tifton puts on one of the best festivals in Georgia, and hosts both a professional and backyard event. For those who have never attended, keep an eye on the GBA events page and be sure not to miss this one next year! 319Q walked last as our GBA Grand Champion, winning on their Finals Loin Entry. Rollin Pit BBQ was our Reserve Grand Champion, finishing 10th in Loin and 3rd in both Pork and Ribs, his first ever Double Finals & RGC.
Rollin Pit BBQ – RESERVE GRAND CHAMPIONKids Burger Challenge – Camden Cisneros 1st Place, Luke Thompson 2nd Place, Sawyer Bennett 3rd Place
The GBA held their first ever Kid’s Cookoff on Friday night. 6 teams turned in hamburgers they prepared and plated themselves. The judges had a tough job, as every entry was fantastic. When all the scoring had been tabulated only one point separated the Tope 3 entries. Camden Cisneros was crowned with the Best Burger, followed by Luke Thompson in 2nd Place and Sawyer Bennett in 3rd Place. We’re very proud of these future pitmasters, and wish all of them luck in their next challenge!
In the GBA sanctioned Cookoff, the judges were presented with 29 entries in each category, from some of the best cooks Georgia has to offer. Only the top 3 entries in each category make it to finals, and here’s how the judges ranked them:
PORK LOIN CATEGORY
319Q Won Loin, followed by Magnum P.I.G. 2nd Place, and B-Rads BBQ 3rd Place.
PORK CATEGORY
Bite My Butt BBQ Won Pork, with Shark Bite BBQ 2nd Place, and Rollin Pit coming in 3rd Place.
RIB CATEGORY
Posse BBQ Won Ribs, Heavy Metal Hogz 2nd Place, and Rollin Pit in at 3rd Place.
Tifton Rhythm & Ribs Results
Reserve Grand Results
As expected, there were some shakeups in TOTY points after our first Double Points event: 319Q shot up to the top of the Overall Points category with 90 points. Flyin Pig dropped one spot to second, and is tied with Rollin Pit at 64 points. Bite My Butt settled in at 4th, with B-Rads jumping into 5th.
319Q remains in the top Loin spot with 30 points, and Magnum P.I.G. moved into 2nd, 2 points ahead of B-Rads BBQ.
Shark Bite BBQ is now our top Pork team just ahead of Bite My Butt BBQ. Rollin Pit BBQ is in 3rd.
Posse BBQ is the top Rib team, followed by Heavy Metal Hogz and Rollin Pit.
The GBA travels next to Donalsonville, GA on March 16 for the Firehouse BBQ Festival. This is a great event with music, vendors – and don’t forget the fish fry on Friday night! After that we’ll hit one of the best events in Georgia – The FireAnt Festival in Ashburn, GA on March 23. Streets full of vendors, a carnival, music, and one of the best fireworks shows you’ll see! Next up is Smoking on Blackshear held on the shores of beautiful Lake Blackshear. This event is April 20, and is held at the Georgia War Veterans campground. Music, vendors, and an absolutely beautiful venue – don’t miss this one!
THE GBA WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR TOTY SPONSORS FOR 2024:
Dexter Meats – Locally owned and customer service driven, Dexter Meat Company is ready to provide fresh quality meats. https://www.facebook.com/dextermeatco/
Bubba Grills – You can’t go to a bbq event without seeing a bunch of Bubba Grills. Their direct-fired, reverse flow cookers produce consistent results that often have their pitmasters walking the stage. See https://www.bubbagrills.net for more information.
Fireant Festival BBQ Bash – Look no further than Ashburn, GA on March 22 – 23, 2024 for one of the best festivals Georgia has to offer. Hundreds of Vendors, a carnival, Kids Burger Challenge, a sanctioned GBA event, and the best fireworks display this side of Atlanta! https://www.fireantfestival.com
Heath Riles BBQ – If you’re looking to up your bbq flavor game head over to https://www.HeathRilesBBQ.com. Heath has spent years perfecting his rubs, sauces, and injections, and the results speak for themselves.
Sunflower Apparel & Promotions – If you’re in the market for new team shirts, hats, or logo design, check out http://www.sunflowerapparel.com
The Georgia BBQ Association headed over to Vienna, GA for the 2024 Dilly Dally in Dooly. Starting off the 2024 GBA season with 43 amazing teams! We had beautiful weather and at a historic venue, with Great Organizers, GBA Teams, GBA Judges, and GBA Reps. Rhonda Lamb and the Dilly Dally Crew did a fabulous job! The GBA Teams made life tough for the judges there, and when all the judging was done, Flyin Pig BBQ won the Grand Championship with his 1st Place in Ribs.
EZQ – Reserve Grand Champion
EZQ wins the Reserve Grand Champion being the most consistent team behind Flyin Pig BBQ.
PORK LOIN CATEGORY
319Q won the Loin Category, Rum Runners in their first GBA event took 2nd Place Loin also having a perfect 600 in the preliminary round, and Bite My Butt took 3rd Place Loin.
PORK CATEGORY
Reed Nut Smokers won the Pork category in their very first GBA event, Big Daddy’s Meat House took 2nd Place Pork, and Rum Runners took 3rd Place Pork.
RIB CATEGORY
Flyin Pig BBQ won the Rib Category, Rescue Smokers took 2nd Place, and Scott’s Smoke Shack BBQ took 3rd Place Ribs with a Perfect
CATEGORY FINALS
DILLY DALLY in DOOLY RESULTS
RESERVE GRAND RESULTS
UPCOMING CONTESTS
The 2024 GBA Season is already on fire with the first competition in the books. Our next stop March 1-2, 2024 is the Tifton Rhythm & Ribs BBQ Festival with $11,700 in prize money and is the first “Double Points Contest” of the season! If you haven’t signed up, you need to contact Angela Elder immediately at (229) 848-9899 mobile or (229) 386-0216 office.
The GBA will be hosting the first ever GBA Kids Cook-Off Challenge at Rhythm and Ribs on Friday March 1, 2024. Registration is FREE and open to any kid regardless of GBA Membership.
March 15-16, 2024 is the Firehouse BBQ Festival in Donalsonville, GA with $10,000 in prize money! If you plan on competing in the contest, please go ahead and give the organizer Tori Gravlee a quick call so she can get an accurate team estimation. Cell: (229) 416-5929 Office: (229) 524-2118
March 22-23, 2024 is the Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash in Ashburn, GA with $12,000 in prize money! Get your applications in as soon as possible, it’s sure to be a great weekend!
Congratulations to all who walked last night at the Georgia Barbecue Association 2023 Team of the Year Banquet. It was a wonderful evening celebrating accomplishments and fellowship. Thank you all for making the GBA the organization that it is today! Huge thank you to Linda Hawkins and the Lake Blackshear Resort for the amazing food and venue. The banquet was the largest ever with around 168 in attendance, great social hour, amazing dinner, 2024 Georgia BBQ Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, 2023 GBA Team of the Year Awards, and Dancing the Night Away with Tres Hombres!
POSSEE BBQ – 2023 GBA TEAM of the YEAR
RESCUE SMOKERS – 2nd Place TOTY
Off the Chain – 3rd Place TOTY
Shark Bite BBQ – 4th Place TOTY
319Q – 5th Place TOTY
Pig-eee-licious – 6th Place TOTY
Magnum P.I.G. – 7th Place TOTY
Real-licious Q – 8th Place TOTY
Big Butts BBQ – 9th Place TOTY
Flying Pig BBQ – 10th Place TOTY
Loin Team of the Year
1st Place Loin Team of the Year – POSSEE BBQ
2nd Place Loin TOTY – Off the Chain BBQ
3rd Place Loin TOTY – 319Q
Pork Team of the Year
1st Place Pork Team of the Year – Off the Chain BBQ
2nd Place Pork TOTY – Rescue Smokers
3rd Place Pork TOTY – Possee BBQ
Rib Team of the Year
1st Place Rib Team of the Year – RESCUE SMOKERS
2nd Place Rib TOTY – Possee BBQ
3rd Place Rib TOTY – 319Q
Congrats to Daniel Alix on his 2023 Judge of the Year Recognition!
Congratulations to the 2023 Judge of the Year Nominees! The GBA would not be where it is without the dedication of each and every judge, we greatly appreciate the role you play at each and every event!
2023 Judge of the Year Nominees – Ewa Belcastro, Chantell Gibbons, Ritamarie Arzillo, Lois Sebastian, Warren Abrams, Mark Coley, Robert Fisher, Lonnie Lewis
2024 Georgia Barbecue Hall of Fame Inaugural Inductees
Danny Meadows, GBA Founders(Alen/Loraine Khoury), Robby Royal, Myron Mixon, Phelp’s Family(National BBQ News) and Sheriff John W. Callaway (Deceased), joined by Georgia BBQ HOF Executive Director Greg Sebastian
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!