Event (PICTURES ADDED) 11th Annual South Florida Gathering - December 2-4, 2022

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Hey Everyone!
We've decided to host the 11th annual gathering the weekend of December 2-4, 2022 this year! The normal weekend in November that we usually booked has filled up.

The gathering will be at Highland Hammock State Park in Sebring, FL. Feel free to come, go and camp as much as you want. Our main day is Saturday the 3rd where we generally cook, eat, drink and play games all day! No planned meals on this day as we normally just cook and eat all day. Some people come the entire weekend and some just come for saturday. There are hotels that can be booked nearby as well.

We'll discuss having a friendly rib competition and other competitions that we've done in the past shortly. As always, check back to this post on Page 1 for updates, i'll be updating this post as details and campsites are booked.

If you book a site, please let us know where and i'll add that to here. If you look at the map on the booking site we generally around Site 80-83 and we'll have a gathering site where we set up tents for meals, games and much more

Attendees and Site
78 fxsales1959 fxsales1959
79 Discus39 Discus39
80 floridasteve floridasteve
81 dougmays dougmays
82 orlandosmoking orlandosmoking
83 orlandosmoking orlandosmoking
86 orlandosmoking orlandosmoking
87 orlandosmoking orlandosmoking
88 (Main Gathering Site) JckDanls 07 JckDanls 07
89 JckDanls 07 JckDanls 07

Activities
Snack Stick Making?
Cold Smoking Cheese?

Competition(s)
Friendly Rib Cook Off
  • No KCBS or FBA judging, no categories...just "favorite rib".
  • Judges might be internal (friends and family) or neighboring campers
  • Any Pork or Beef Rib will do
  • We'll set a turn-in time but we can be flexible
Cocktail Comp? We did this once in the past, just throwing the idea out there

Supplies needed
  • Paper Plates
  • Plasticware ( dougmays dougmays )
  • Napkins and/or paper towels
  • Vacuum sealers
  • Vac seal bags
  • ziplocks
  • Firewood (for nightly bonfire)
  • Extra Ice
 

Attachments

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It look like we won't be able to make it thanks to Ian. You all have fun. Maybe next year.
 
I'll shoot Don ( orlandosmoking orlandosmoking ) a text to get on his computer machine haha.

So throughout the year we've thrown out alot of idea and i wanted to button down what we want to do and not
- Rib Comp - Yes (Saturday ~5pm)
- Chicken Comp?
- Cocktail Comp?
- Sausage Making?
- Jerky Making?
- Cheese Cold Smoking?
- Gift Exchange ($20 or less)?

...did i miss anything? I'm down for as much or as little as people want to do. I would say that in the past when we have too much going on, it feels more like work then fun, in my opinion.

If everyone can chime in and let the group know what you want to do about the above items so we can make a plan

Rib comp is good. I will have my smoker set up for cold smoked cheese if anyone wants to bring their own cheese to smoke. Chix comp would be good as well. i have never made sausage, open to learning how. gift exchange always makes for a fun time.
Moonshine will be provided to those you would like to sample !!

Doug/Brad. I'm bringing my large smoker that will be available to everyone. if it helps you not trailering yours mine will be available for the weekend.
 
I'll shoot Don ( orlandosmoking orlandosmoking ) a text to get on his computer machine haha.

So throughout the year we've thrown out alot of idea and i wanted to button down what we want to do and not
- Rib Comp - Yes (Saturday ~5pm)
- Chicken Comp?
- Cocktail Comp?
- Sausage Making?
- Jerky Making?
- Cheese Cold Smoking?
- Gift Exchange ($20 or less)?

...did i miss anything? I'm down for as much or as little as people want to do. I would say that in the past when we have too much going on, it feels more like work then fun, in my opinion.

If everyone can chime in and let the group know what you want to do about the above items so we can make a plan
sine we're the newbs just going to go with the flow. This is as close to a vacation as we get this year ( if 3 days in the woods is a vacation.) It is also our inaugural trip with our "new to us" toyhauler/travel trailer. Thursday is travel and set up camp day with a 3 hour drive. The only fire will be smash burgers on the blackstone. Friday morning I'm fixin on lighting coals at sun up and throwing on the 2nd cut briskets I've collected by then to make a batch of burnt ends to share.
They may or may not be done in time for supper Friday. Saturday morning is rib day. We'vbe got 6 slabs of Baby backs (at time of writing). I don't know how presentation is supposed to be for a friendly competition, so it might be a mess of cut ribs in a big tin fole pan. (no lettuce base for style). If we were at home we'd have a stock pot of collard greens with ham hocks. Depending on the collecting and packing chaos Mama might make a pot and throw them in gallon freezer bags. we will need a "fire" to throw them in a stock pot and reheat.
We will be bringing the MB560 gravity-feed, a 17" blackstone griddle and a tailgate propane Char-broil grill that probably won't get used. We'll also have few pounds of my bacon .We have to strike camp Sunday morning and head south, as I have to unpack all this shit and pack my truck for a broadcast tech show I have in Orlando Monday thru Thursday.
Probably too much information here, but that's the way I roll.
We will have copius mounts of Capt. Morgan nd other libations as well. I will also throw in a pile of quart suck bags if any body needs to seal stuff.
I'm not a big fan of gift exchanges as the fellowship and food will be sufficient.
See you then if all goes well.
John and Linda Site 78
 
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It look like we won't be able to make it thanks to Ian. You all have fun. Maybe next year.

Sorry to hear that fltsfshr fltsfshr .. I was lookin forward to meeting y'all... I've enjoyed some of your cooks .. Hope you get things squared away quickly ...

We'll get there Thurs. afternoon.. (have a beer and a shot) Get set up (have a beer and a shot) ... Usually just do a few steaks on the grill (switch to JD with shots of clear. I have some as well)... I will have my usual haul of blocks of wood for the fire ... Gonna do a Maple/bourbon ham for Fri. evening... A couple slabs of ribs (Sonny's) for Sat... Speaking of ribs...

I don't know how presentation is supposed to be for a friendly competition, so it might be a mess of cut ribs in a big tin fole pan

PERFECT... We just give one rib to the judges (which we'll choose from attendee's or unsuspecting campers)..

As for making snack sticks and/or sausage... floridasteve floridasteve offered to tow my Tractor smoker over... If he does I will also bring the smokehouse and equipment and some seasonings... We can do some of Pops breakfast sausage for breakfast (This is where Carol came in) ... Don't really want to do a shitload... Some where around 4/5 Butts... If so, we have to get it mixed up early Fri. for time to cure and stuff ...
 
Looks like The Mouse will let me go this year! My "Boss" said if we can get the BIL to watch the animals she will attend too!

Anything new I need to plan on?
 
Looks like The Mouse will let me go this year! My "Boss" said if we can get the BIL to watch the animals she will attend too!

Anything new I need to plan on?

Hey Jeramy... Glad to see you back... No, nothing new... Just remember that you have to enter the Pro Division for the Comp. :emoji_wink: ... I have my chocolate covered ribs on order there at Sonny's BBQ on the corner ...

Talk to Doug yesterday and he said you were interested in learning the sausage game... I will be bringing the Smokehouse and all the equipment/seasonings/casings ... Just need help doing the labor part of it... I would like to get started Fri. morning (will need the Butts then) with the grinding and mixing... Give some time under cure before stuffing and cooking (6-8 hrs a batch) ...
I will say that all my seasonings are for snack sticks... If we want to make something like Italian or kielbasa or the likes ( I have natural sheep and hog casings for this as well) .. We would need to come up with seasonings for them... Preferably all ready mixed/made up with the amount to put per pound of meat... If somebody wants to tackle that and bring it... Good thing about these kind of sausages (fresh)... they do not have to be run through the smokehouse ...

I also have small sheep casings that we can make brown and serve breakfast links... We will use Pops seasoning for that

That's it for now... Anybody have any questions ??
 
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Hey Jeramy... Glad to see you back... No, nothing new... Just remember that you have to enter the Pro Division for the Comp. :emoji_wink: ... I have my chocolate covered ribs on order there at Sonny's BBQ on the corner ...

Talk to Doug yesterday and he said you were interested in learning the sausage game... I will be bringing the Smokehouse and all the equipment/seasonings/casings ... Just need help doing the labor part of it... I would like to get started Fri. morning (will need the Butts then) with the grinding and mixing... Give some time under cure before stuffing and cooking (6-8 hrs a batch) ...
I will say that all my seasonings are for snack sticks... If we want to make something like Italian or kielbasa or the likes ( I have natural sheep and hog casings for this as well) .. We would need to come up with seasonings for them... Preferably all ready mixed/made up with the amount to put per pound of meat... If somebody wants to tackle that and bring it... Good thing about these kind of sausages (fresh)... they do not have to be run through the smokehouse ...

I also have small sheep casings that we can make brown and serve breakfast links... We will use Pops seasoning for that

That's it for now... Anybody have any questions ??
I look forward to getting educated! We will not be there until the afternoon. I can bring some pork already cubed if that helps. I have some sausage items, will need to sort through them to see what I got.

What I really need to talk about is the smoke house and the controller. We can talk there.

I was planning on bringing ribs, but was not sure if the ones I got from Publix would be too High Brow for this group or not, but we can always try to be like Fancy People for a day! 🤷‍♂️🤣😂🤣
 
Looks like The Mouse will let me go this year! My "Boss" said if we can get the BIL to watch the animals she will attend too!

Anything new I need to plan on?
Great! Been to long since I've see you and the rest of the old gang. I'll be rolling in sometime Thursday.
 
Hey Jeramy... Glad to see you back... No, nothing new... Just remember that you have to enter the Pro Division for the Comp. :emoji_wink: ... I have my chocolate covered ribs on order there at Sonny's BBQ on the corner ...

Talk to Doug yesterday and he said you were interested in learning the sausage game... I will be bringing the Smokehouse and all the equipment/seasonings/casings ... Just need help doing the labor part of it... I would like to get started Fri. morning (will need the Butts then) with the grinding and mixing... Give some time under cure before stuffing and cooking (6-8 hrs a batch) ...
I will say that all my seasonings are for snack sticks... If we want to make something like Italian or kielbasa or the likes ( I have natural sheep and hog casings for this as well) .. We would need to come up with seasonings for them... Preferably all ready mixed/made up with the amount to put per pound of meat... If somebody wants to tackle that and bring it... Good thing about these kind of sausages (fresh)... they do not have to be run through the smokehouse ...

I also have small sheep casings that we can make brown and serve breakfast links... We will use Pops seasoning for that

That's it for now... Anybody have any questions ??
I wasn't planning on it, but I could easily bring my grinder and stuffer.
 
Don is alive!!! Hi Don! hehe

Everything seems to be shaping up great! I have a TON of plasticware I would like to get used up so i'll bring that.

As for judging/presentation....it's literally just "write down the number of your favorite rib and 2nd favorite rib". Then we tally it up and name the 1st and 2nd place winners. Nothing too fancy (unlike Jeramy's fancy ribs :emoji_laughing: )

I'll probably be arriving around 11am-Noon Friday, earlier if i can get all packed up and not boozed up Thur night LOL

Remember also if you have any "tailgate" style games you'd like to play/bring...like cornhole, ring toss, horseshoes, etc....that's always a good time.

I dont think i saw any other questions needing answering so i'll leave it here for now. I'm going to talk to a friend that works for Sysco if they sell any large blocks of cheese.
 
Plates? I'm going to both member stores this week.

After breakfast, wife and I will dump you to bike the area and possibly take the tram.

Can never have enough...

I still have trash bags from previous events...

Tables... I'm going to be short on tables this year... I only have one 8' and one 6'... So if anybody has an extra one/two and has room, we'll need em...

floridasteve floridasteve , If you want to bring your stuffer we can double up and/or let somebody new get some hands on experience ...

Who is this orlandosmoking orlandosmoking ??
 
Happy Tuesday!

Jeramy - the butts looks goooooood!

I'm short on tables as well, i have one 6'er and i might go buy another. I'm bringing my large a-frame tent for the gathering site and a popup for my site.

Since we appear to have a boat-load of smokers and I have to head down to FTL for work Sunday after, i'm going to go ahead and leave my smokers at home to help with packing and travel. I'll take Discus39 Discus39 and the others offers to borrow space in their smokers.

Since i'll be arriving around lunch time Friday, I wont be there in time to donate a butt or 2 for the snack sticks but i can venmo/paypal/cash someone. I'm down to get my hands dirty if the work is still going when i arrive.
 
There's supposed to be a Suzuki quad king where the MB gravity is.
Getting a little wiggy about cooking without my pantry just steps away....
check list....... check...
directions to publix, check..

IMG-4129.jpg
 
Looks like Judy & I will be stopping by Sat. Afternoon for a couple of hours to see some old friends & meet some new ones. If there is anything that we can bring, just ask.
Al
 
I have 2 spare tables i will bring. Doug/Brad your welcome to use some space on my grill but I can't guarantee the outcome of your meat. Lol
We should be arriving around lunch time on Friday.
 
Sssoòooo are we doing a cocktail comp????

My much better half will be with me and she needs something to do other than baby sit my dumb *ss!
 
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