I got the bug to cook competition barbecue about 15 years ago. I got invited to attend a local contest held in Marion Square in downtown Charleston, SC. I was running restaurants at the time and my HVAC guy was going to be cooking with a team on Friday night. What I didn’t know was I had been invited to one of the premier contest fundraisers in South Carolina.The event was called the Prestigious Palmetto Pig Pickin’ or PPPP for short. In those days it was held in February, usually on Presidents Day weekend. It was a Memphis in May sanctioned event and featured some of the best cookers on the circuit at that time. We had a blast at that contest, talking with cooking teams, eating food and enjoying some really good music. I was awed by the equipment and enamored by the tasks at hand. Teams were cooking whole hogs, whole shoulders and ribs for the contest. We were being treated to a wide variety of foods at the Friday night Anything Butt Pork contest. I had no idea what was involved, but we were having a “large time”. I caught the bug right then and there. I could do this. I could cook whole hogs and win prizes.
A couple of years later, after some cooking lessons, we sent in our first application and” Pigs on the Wing” was born. The contest had moved off of the square and was relocated to Brittle Bank Park. The new venue was bigger and easier to access. A few years later the location changed again to the Ladson Fairgrounds. The Fairgrounds would provide much better infrastructure for the cooking teams and plenty of facilities for the Sertoma Club. The contest continued to be the South Carolina State Championship for barbecue and is recognized as the biggest and best contest in the state.
We stayed involved with this contest for 10 years. We considered it our home event. Every year we would throw a big party and invite all of our friends to the Pig Pickin’. Over the years the Sertoma Club changed the dates to the first weekend in March. This was a welcome change. Foul weather had been a trademark of this contest. Weather patterns in the South East are volatile during the early spring. We were fortunate enough to win the contest in 2006, our 9th year. We defended our title in ’07 and retired the date from our schedule, and changed our team name. It had been a great run.
In 2008 we made a commitment to try to qualify for the Kansas City Royal, and gain an invite to the Jack Daniels Invitational. To do this teams have to cook in Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned events. The Sertoma Club was bringing a qualifying event to the Ladson Fairgrounds. So, even though we had retired the date, we found ourselves at the Fairgrounds cooking the KCBS contest. Once again the weather was a factor, but we did well in the contest.
In 2009 the Club decided to move the contest to Edisto Island, SC. We were unquestionably retired. The KCBS contest was not going to be associated this year. We were considering judging the event. Jim Tolley and Thommy Brush had been very good to us over the years and we wanted to be involved at some level.
Mike Fields from the Mikes Catering Team approached me about cooking a category with his team. After some arm twisting and a bit of a service trade with the Carolina Pit Masters, Mary and I decided to join the crew at Mike’s for another run. Mike would cook the whole hog, I would do the shoulders and we would pull together as a crew and cook ribs. So on March 20, 2009 we packed up the truck with the necessary gear and headed for Edisto Island.
Mike’s Catering is a great team. The team is a melding of talents. Mike’s son James and wife Cindy join Tanya and Donnie Clayton to make one of the best crews on the circuit. The contest is a challenge with three categories and on site judging. The teams Any Thing Goes entry for Friday night was a Seafood Bisque that was being carefully tended by a fellow I know only as Kenny. Kenny is a staple with the Mike’s Catering Crew. He is a well seasoned cook and he knows how to make a mean Bisque.
Friday night was a good time. Meats were prepped and the cooking started. I would be using a small Alveron cooker for the shoulders. All of the cookers settled nicely and the meats were on time. I made several walks around the field visiting old friends. The night was uneventful, we flipped the hog at the appointed time and settled in for some sleep.
Saturday morning is always busy at this event. Turn in times start at 9am and there are on site judges to contend with. We started building boxes about 8am and continued to prepare for onsite judging until around 1pm when the last of the rib judges left our area. It was fast and furious for a while but we managed to put great boxes together and Mike did an outstanding job with the on site judges. The afternoon was spent enjoying the contest.
At 4:30pm it was time to go to awards. Mikes Catering won a 2nd place Anything Butt Pork for the Seafood Bisque and 1st place whole hog. Fatback and the flying pigs won the contest. Congratulations to all who entered and placed.
After an afternoon of celebrating a huge win in the whole hog event, we decided not to operate vehicles so Mary and I made arrangements to say in Edisto for the night. The post contest party with the Alveron Crew was hilarious. Alveron had done very well too. We are all great friends, so John Haney bought pizza and we proceeded to celebrate multiple victories.
Sunday was breakdown and load out. All tasks went smoothly. Mary and I said our good byes and headed for Summerville around noon. This contest continues to be a well run, well organized event. Although we have retired our team, we always look forward to helping out wherever we can. It’s already on the calendar for next year.
For information on this contest to to: http://www.pigpickn.com/
