Everyone had a fantastic time at the Byron BBQ Fest at North Peach Park in Byron, GA on Saturday September 30th. It was an “In Association With the GBA” event that had a field of 20 solid cook-teams. The majority of the Pitmasters were either first time competitors or had less than 5 cooks under their belts. Everyone was very excited to be competing and meeting other people that shared their BBQ passion.
This first-time event was sponsored by the Byron Welcome Center, Convention & Visitors Bureau. Selina Hall of the Byron Welcome Center, Convention and Visitors. We didn’t have any of the typical first-time event issues. We know a well run event when we are in one. Selina’s experience and expertise setting up, managing and executing events was extraordinary!
Ed Veseley ran the back table like the Pro he is. Brian Bond fought through printer problems as our Scorer. Rebecca Hoyt spread the GBA love all over everyone who came to the Turn-In Table. I really enjoyed how all the new teams fell right in to the GBA family vibe like they had been cooking with us for years.
The GBA Judges enjoyed the product that they judged I didn’t hear a single on of them make any remarks about being disappointed with the quality of the turn-ins. Overall the quality of the product was very good!
1st B-Rad’s BBQ
2nd Three Brothers BBQ
3rd Rollin Pit BBQ
TOP 3 CHICKEN RESULTS
1st Late for Supper Barbecue
2nd Posse BBQ
3rd Three Brothers BBQ
TOP 3 PORK RESULTS
1st Free Smokes BBQ
2nd Rollin Pit BBQ
3rd Posse BBQ
TOP 3 RIB RESULTS
RANKINGS IN ALL 3 CATEGORIES
HUGE CONRATS to ROLLIN PIT BBQ for their Combined 1st PLACE OVERALLFINISH
26 GBA teams descended on Griffin GA for a full weekend of BBQ – the 2023 Doc Holliday BBQ Championship, the 2023 Georgia State Brisket Championship, and 2023 GBA State Championship. This is truly a one-of-a-kind event – it’s the only one where you can see recreations of the famous Shootout at the OK Corral – and has some of the most sought after trophies on the GBA circuit.
Southern Hogs walked last for their first ever GBA Grand Championship, which also crowned them as the 2023 GBA Georgia State Champion.
319 Q Reserve Grand Champion
319Q was the most consistent team of the day, continuing their successful season and being named as the Reserve Grand Champion.
319Q took top honors in the Loin Category. Big Butts BBQ was second, followed by Real-Licious Q in third – who was also awarded a perfect 600 score for their preliminary Loin entry!
Southern Hogs won the Pork category, with Bubba Grills in 2nd and Shark Bite BBQ in 3rd.
Rescue Smokers was once again top Rib team, while 319Q placed 2nd and Flyin Pig Bar-B-Que landed in 3rd.
Off the Chain was named the 2023 Georgia State Brisket Champion, 2nd was Flyin Pig Bar-B-Que, and 3rd Real-Licious Q.
2023 Tony Thurston Award
The Doc Holliday BBQ Championship Organizers team also created a special award to honor the memory of Tony Thurston and his commitment to the Doc Holliday BBQ Championships. Tony was always present, always ready to help out, a man who stood for what competition barbecue and the Georgia Barbecue Association was all about. The 2023 Tony Thurston Award went to the Rescue Smokers BBQ Team!
Bite My Butt won the People’s Choice award. This is voted on by the festival patrons, and it’s often the only chance those patrons get to taste competition barbecue! A HUGE thank you to all the teams that take the extra time to participate in the People’s Choice category at these events. It’s a big draw and helps to keep these events coming back every year!
Now on to Team of the Year! In the Team of the Year points race, Rescue Smokers took over the top spot for overall Team of the Year, pushing Off the Chain down to 2nd by a single point over Posse BBQ. Shark Bite BBQ and Real-Licious Q traded spots to make up 4th and 5th places for Overall.
Off the Chain kept their top spot in Loin, but Posse BBQ closed the gap to 4 points in 2nd place. 319Q moved into 3rd.Off the Chain stays on top of the Pork category, with Rescue Smokers still hanging onto 2nd and Shark Bite BBQ in 3rd
Rescue Smokers holds on to first in the Rib category, and 319Q jumped over Real-Licious Q by a single point to take second.
Huge Congrats to Shark Bite BBQ on a great year as the 2022 Doc Holliday Grand Champion & GBA State Champion!
The next GBA event is the Byron BBQ Fest on Sept 30. This is an In Association With event, but it’s a great way to keep those competition skills shard. After that we’ll be in Donalsonville GA on Oct 14 for the Firehouse BBQ Cookoff, then the Modern Gas Ribs Showdown in Albany, GA on Oct 21. The Albany 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.
The GBA has officially announced the candidates for President and Vice President. We’ll be holding elections June 1st through June 15th in our Member Forum so be sure you’ve registered prior to the start of elections.
The GBA returned for the first competition of 2019 at Dilly Dally in Dooly on February 22, 2019. Fifty professional teams gathered on the historic grounds of the Big Pig Jig to battle for trophies, bragging rights, and over $10,000 in prize money. As an added bonus, longtime pitmaster Darryl Strickland was married in front of his BBQ family in a ceremony held right before the awards.
Off the Chain claimed the Grand Championship for their loin entry. Rescue Smokers won Reserve Grand Champion by finishing 5th in loin, 6th in pork, and 1st place in ribs.
As an example of just how competitive the GBA has become, all three loin finalists finished the preliminary round with the highest possible score of 600. After the finals round, Off the Chain was declared the loin winner, followed by EZQ and Smoke Show.
Big Butts BBQ finished first in pulled pork. The Pit Crew came in second in their first ever GBA competition. Meanwhile, Southern Hogs/Dexter Meat Company retuned to competition for the first time this season with third place in pulled pork.
The ribs category was won by Rescue Smokers. In their first BBQ competition ever, Big Daddy’s Meat House finished second in ribs, followed by newlywed Lang BBQ Smokers in third.
Finally, Smoke Show won the ancillary brisket contest, with Smokin’ the Good Stuff coming in second and Uncle Toads finishing third.
The full results for each category and Pro reserve scores can be found at the following links:
The inaugural Brickyard BBQ Bash was held in Americus, Georgia on December 15, 2018. Thirty-one professional teams and a GBA record fifteen Cooking for Fun teams gathered for the final GBA event of 2018 at the KOA campground in Americus. Although rain was a factor until sunrise on Saturday morning, everyone was in great spirits for the event thanks to the hospitality of the host and organizers.
Smoke ‘Em Low walked away with their first Grand Championship with their pork entry. Off the Chain won their second Reserve Grand Championship of the season by finishing 2nd in loin, 2nd in pork, and 9th in loin.
Bite My Butt finished first in the Pro loin category, followed by Off the Chain and Weekend Warriors. Off the Chain received the only 600 of the event for their preliminary loin entry.
Smoke ‘Em Low took the Pro pork entry, with Off the Chain in second and Flint River Cookers in third place.
The Pro rib category was won by Uncle Toad’s BBQ. Rescue Smokers came in second place, with B’s BBQ taking third.
In the Cooking for Fun division, The Fire Hut Brew & Que won the chicken category in their first ever BBQ competition. Big Ed’s BBQ finished second and Smokin Sprays came in third in chicken.
CFF Pork was won by Pigliscious BBQ, followed by Rack ‘n’ Butts and Big Ed’s BBQ.
Richland BBQ Company won CFF ribs, with Big Ed’s in second and Smokin Sprays in third.
Big Ed’s was awarded a special gift basket provided by the Atlanta BBQ store for the highest combined scores across all three cooking for fun categories.
The full results for each category and Pro reserve scores can be found at the following links:
