Last Saturday, we took a trip to Historic Brattonsville to watch hog butchering as it was done in the late 1700's to early 1800's. The volunteers were dressed in clothing of the period. Historic Brattonsville is a 775-acre Revolutionary War living history site. This place is pretty large( More then 30 historic structures sit on 775 acres and chronicle the development of the region through the 1840s. We did not view the other structures, mainly just hung out around the butchering site. Here are some of the photos of the cooking, ladies carding yarn, making lye soap and inside the houses.
Did a practice burn in the new smoker, with meat in it this time. I think we're gonna like this cooker, just need to practice, practice, practice. Cooked for the church staff Christmas Dinner. Briskets, baked potato, green beans, yeast rolls and salted caramel cheesecake for dessert. Music by Gabriel Bello No. 1 Billboard & SESAC award winning smooth jazz saxophonist, vocalist and keyboardist.      Here is the new addition to our cooking fleet......Backwoods Competitor. drove over to Knoxville and picked it up. Going to be firing it up on Friday for a catering dinner for the church.   
We finished up the year on a good note. Our last contest was Hog Happin' in Shelby.
The contest moved back to the fairgrounds this year. Man, was the weather awful, probably the worst weather I can remember for Shelby. While it has rained before and been cold, I don't recall it being quite like this year. It started raining Friday night about 7:00, rained all night until early morning, then started again. Sat morning was rain with 15-20 mph winds and cold. There was snow just to the west and south of us. We've never done a contest in snow, and I'm glad this one wasn't. All the vendors and everyone had to be moved inside, well except the car show. Normally there is a good public crowd, but the weather kept the crowd low. When the rain cleared out about 12:30 the day was beautiful. Despite the weather, we had great fellowship, food and fun Friday night at the pot luck dinner gathering of the teams. Lots of good eats......Brunswick stew, gumbo, smoked turkey, pinto beans, collards, mac& cheese, baked beans, ham and desserts. We managed a 1st place in ribs and finished 8th overall. Looking forward to next year!  Another BBQ Throwdown in the books. This year was a little different, new folks at the helm. Friday lunch was good as usual, with the exception of no roasted potatoes this year. We had an extra team member with us this which was a big help.
We had a good rain on Friday night, but sat was very nice. Still trying to implement some new processes and just not got our rhythm down. This is the first year for this contest we did not place. Another change at the contest, no choice of cheesecakes. All teams got a dutch apple cake, which is no where near as good as the original. Hope things go back to normal next year.  We don't normally compete in back to back contests. But we did this week. Competed in the Beans & Butts contest in Hickory. They have held this contest for a few years but this was their first year as a KCBS contest.
The weather was good. We met some new friends, with a first time team beside us, competing in the backyard division. Helped them with the onsite anything butt Friday night. Provided tablecloth, dishes and glasses for their entry. Gave a quick class in garnishing their entries for Sat. They managed to place 1st in chicken and finished reserve in the backyard division. We finished with a 7th place brisket, 8th place ribs and 10th overall. Not a bad weekend other than the yellow jacket sting I suffered. 
Finished up another contest this weekend in Salisbury NC. Didn't get any calls this weekend. Tenderness scores were off, not sure why. Didn't receive any comments from judges, so not sure if the judges thought it was over or under cooked. Implemented a couple of new things this time, so may need a little more practice to get them honed in.
Great contest as always, great weather, fellowship and fun! A very touching memorial for Don Tilley and the purple heart recipients. We will be doing a back to back cook this month. We will be in Hickory this coming weekend. | Author
Candy is a team member, certified judge, table captain and IT person for the team. She joined the team in 1999 and assists the head cook. 
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