Page 10 - Barbecue News June 2020 Issue

bbq journeys
“Normal Routines”
We have not had any steak cookoffs, bbq competitions, or ancillary contests in a long time. No Cabo mar- garita contests, taco contests, or baked bean contests. No bloody mary contests or Jell-o eating contests ei- ther. No pork belly cookoffs. No battles at bbq junction. No anything spam contests. It's been too long without eating something Tona Pendray, The Steak Princess, or Judy Jones has cooked. What I wouldn't give to have a Janet Hillis breakfast with all my bbq family!
Dana “big papa” Hillis
BBQ From Florida
lighthousepointe@ hotmail.com
I hope as a little more time passes that we get back to our "normal" routines. Where we all can all get back to cooking, competing, and having fun. Skinny has not spilled a drink on me in forever. I have not hugged Patty Maloy in way too long. Hearing a Matt"Hot Wachula" adventure has not happened in a long time. Rub "Swamp Boy" Bagby has not tried to sleep in my truck or trailer in a long time either. I miss the adventures of Nice Racks and my old buddy Jack Daniel. I miss Papa Clark and the boring nights of Dorsey Odell and the Team Unknown clan. I have not seen where the fish are biting in way too long. Cooking with Thomas Sadaka and my Trisha has to happen again soon. Mrs. Patty "Skinnys BBQ" has not cooked us air fries in an eternity.
When is the last time you had a world-famous pink drink? How about a good morning shot of Tim Maloy's fireball? Fireball is far better when its Tim's. How long has it been since you had Uncle Wendy's most awesome desert in the world? It has definitely been way too long since I had a Wooley Bully "Big Boy" drink. Having Kell Phelps give away awards at a contest is something I genuinely miss, especially when I happened to get one! We should celebrate when the time comes to get back to normal with a big ole "Best of the Best” reunion. Some Bubba Chuck eggrolls and a breakfast fatty would be nice to have again. I would love to watch Papa Chuck and Cadin have another water balloon fight. Sliding down the Bubba slide at the Suwannee River Park should be on every- one's bucket list.
I miss drinking Foster's beer with my old buddy Forest Dilmore. I miss hanging out with my buddies, the Wolfe Brothers. Wendy al- ways sends me diet Mountain Dew, while Rick always has some flavorful beverages nearby. Tony is always charming, happy, and
fun to be around. I miss seeing all my friends and judges that usu- ally stop by to share smiles and stories. I have not seen Chad Ward walking on his tippy toes since Vegas. I have not been fussed at by Sheila Jones because Frank and I were acting up. I miss Donna Ray a lot. And her Jell-o shots. How about Winter Haven and the great music. Frank Cosmos and a bit of Crown Royal? I want to go back to a contest where Ronnie Cates gives away a lot of money, trucks, and cars. Those events get you fired up to win a million dollars for cooking BBQ!
Who remembers Oink to Tail and the best cheesecake I ever had? Kevin Bevington cooking the best pork loin I ever ate? Uncle Kenny making the best pizza I ever ate at a contest. His wife also made the best chocolate cake I have ever eaten. Damon Wooley could throw his scrap ribs on a grill and I could eat every last one of them. Brad Kay could put out a spread of food on an old Lang cooker and feed the entire Army. I miss judging desert contests. Cooking with kids is better than anything else you can do in the cooking world. If we are doing anything in the BBQ world and Lon- nie Smith is there, life doesn't get any better.
I am hoping our country is back on the right track by the first of August as we are planning our 6th annual Hillis–Mayfield dinner on the ground during our family reunion at my cousin's home in McMinnville, Tennessee. If we are still social distancing, I guess we will line up tables 6 feet apart that will stretch all the way through the pasture to Aunt Joyce's house. I think we will have nearly 200 people this year and will cook more food than ever before. The big corn hole tournament and music by the Black Betty Boys band are just a couple highlights every year. It's hard to believe as famous as the Black Betty Boys have become that they still attend our party!
At the time I am writing this, I am cooking some food to feed our first responders. We've had some terrible fires where several peo- ple have suffered a lot of damage and loss. We prayed for some rain and got some to help out, but several families we know have been affected by Mother Nature. We are going to feed whoever we can to help them feel better for just a second.
We are getting ready to have a family rib throw down with a bunch of my boys and me. This event will be fun as some of these young bucks think they have come far enough with there cooking skills to challenge the old man. Keep an eye on Facebook cause the trash- talking is gonna be good. I taught these boys all their tricks, but I did not teach them all my tricks! We will be posting pictures and results!
Love y'all and stay safe thru all this. If everyone does what we need to do, we will come through this. God Bless you all and feed some- one some BBQ- it makes them happy!
Dana"Big Papa" Hillis
BarbecueNews.com - 10
JUNE 2020