When you live at the beach one thing you look forward to is after Labor Day. The traffic starts to dwindle
down, the leaves begin to change, and the weather starts to get that cool air feel. What it means for
Team Shore Smoke is that the Third Annual True Smoke Out is right around the corner. Cars, Trucks,
Cook Trailers, Campers, and RV’s will converge on La Grange, North Carolina for what is already set to be
the biggest and best event put on by True Smoke BBQ yet.
Starting at noon on Thursday October 27 th and running through late night Saturday October 29 th the field
at Hatcher Estates will be packed with some of the country’s best cooks. From the dad who grills in his
backyard to the country’s top competition cooks everyone is invited to join in the fun. Only catch…. just
be a member of the True Smoke BBQ Group on Facebook. That’s it! No, I’m not kidding, that’s it. People
travel from hundreds and some even from thousands of miles away to enjoy this 3-day festival of
cooking and friendship.
Starting in 2019 by David Watkins and Greg Thompson True Smoke BBQ has over 31K members worldwide. People from all over the world log on to the group every day to scroll the page and check out all the amazing cooks for the day. You will see everything from a brisket that you could only dream about to an amazing plate of shrimp alfredo to a bushel of crabs being steamed. “The group is different from every group out there” say many members. The group doesn’t allow bashing of any kind and encourages new cooks to ask questions and learn from the page. “Part of the appeal of this group is that you have high end chefs as well as people who have never even turned the stove on trying to learn from
each other” says David Watkins. The Smoke Out will have a pizza competition on Thursday night to kick off the festivities. Competitions are always free to enter for True Smoke members but what started out as a friendly competition between the admins has blown up into a full-blown competition. What makes this one different is it will be a $5 buy in, and winner takes all so 100% of the entry fees go to the winner. Expect to see some damn good pizzas that night.
Friday morning kicks off the official start of the Smoke Out with the official announcement and National
Anthem sung by Mr. William Hardy. The contests for Friday include pork spareribs, pork butt, whole hog
and the Shore Smoke Seasoning sponsored Wild Game contest. 6:30pm comes quick and the semi-
annual homecoming dinner happens. This year we will be feasting on all the whole hogs after they have
been judged so everyone will be making side dishes and sampling one another’s cooking. Fred Rouse will
be in the House spinning the music and keeping the night rocking.
Saturday kicks off with the Shore Smoke Seasoning sponsored kids’ competition. Other competitions for
the day include a flank steak challenge, appetizer competition sponsored by Ed’s Shape Shack, mixed
drink competition with awards starting at 5pm. Fred Rouse will be back in the house starting at noon
and playing into the evening. Fred sure does know how to keep the party going that’s for sure. Save
room Saturday night because team J-3 will be preparing a WHOLE STEER donated by local NC cattle
farmer Ashley Woolard. Those guys sure know how to cook so everyone is in for a treat.
If you have nothing to do Halloween weekend do yourself a favor and come, see what all the talk is
about with True Smoke BBQ. I can guarantee you won’t want to miss this amazing time with memories
and friendships to be made for a lifetime.
For more information, or if you would like to be a sponsor of True Smoke BBQ, please email rstevenson@shoresmokeseasonings.com
.