Meat Overload: National BBQ Battle 2008

"I feel drunk."



Usually a statement like that follows the mass consumption of alcohol. But there was none consumed yesterday. No, this was drunk by way of pork. Wonderful, slow cooked, smoky pork.



Apples and I headed down to the National Capital BBQ Battle yesterday and celebrated all things hog.

The entrance fee was $10, but once inside there were plenty of samples to be had, and plenty of amazing BBQ to be eaten.

Among the vendors showing off their pulled pork and ribs, were local chains like Famous Dave's, Old Glory, and Red Hot & Blue, as well as big name national winners from as far away as Florida.



We started off splitting a bratwurst from the Johnsonville uber-grill, which was pretty much what I expected. Cheap and full of brat-y goodness.

After that we loaded up on potato salad (Apple's favorite) and cole slaw, and proceeded to both wait about 30 minutes in separate lines for the real star of the show, pig - and lots of it.

The two biggest booths (if you could call them that), with the most trophies were from Florida. Skin & Bones BBQ (from Arcadia, FL) and Smokin' Rednecks (from St. Petersburg, FL) had equal lines, but not exactly equal products.

While I'm sure Smokin' Rednecks smokes a good hog, its pork was cold and unimpressive.



Skin & Bones on the other hand had great, fresh pulled pork and some of the best greens and corn you could ever eat by the pound.

The National BBQ Battle isn't something you walk away from easily. It's something that stays with you (in fact, I can still feel it today), and makes you wish at times you ate strictly kosher, but this is an event that simply can't be missed, even if you might not have to eat again until next year.