Next Battle: Michigan State BBQ Cookoff!

Ever since it's inception(big word of day), myself and two friends have participated in this event. We are not professional cooks. We only do one BBQ contest each year, and this is it. We are not sponsored, nor do we have those big rig BBQ cookers you see on the Food Channel. We do all 10 catagories(dessert,potato,beans,veggie,Open class,sausage,chicken,pork,beef brisket, and ribs). In seven years we have taken our share of ribbons, and placed in the top ten of some catagories. It is alot of work, but we come back every year, with new strategies on how we can improve. We will never win with this level of commitment, but we can drive some of the "Big Dogs" crazy with our ability to jump up and take a ribbon or two! People have asked us if we have a restaurant, as most of the competitors make a living from cooking. Our answer is this: No! Too much work for too little money! Alot of the family owned places in W. Mich have gone out of business, mainly from chain restaurants getting so much better. I still seek out the "little guy" when traveling(or at home!) and patronize them. Let's not lose another neat part of Americana.