ButtBlast 2018

I didn’t get a ton of pics, and think I've already posted what I have, so just a couple of thoughts/memories on this weekend.  

I see a lot of folks thanking me and Matt and Gary, and I'm sure the other guys appreciate that as much as I do, but the truth is that this is a lot of fun to put on.  And we're not the stars of the show.  A lot of work goes into this and the vast majority of it is done by the people who show up with their own food and cook for everyone.  So thanks to all of the cooks, first of all!  And thank you to all who turned out for the event on Saturday to come and try the food and help us eat as much of it as we could!

Some highlights for me:

1) Realizing somewhere on I-40 I'd left basil at home, and texting @caliking to see if he could pick me some up.  Then @caliking showing up with two full-grown basil plants.  Classic.

2) Running into @henapple Friday afternoon.  He'd actually told us he couldn't make it, so we had no idea he'd be there.  Best surprise I've had in a long time.  

3) @nolaegghead asking if he could borrow my pizza turner.  Sure I said, not even bothering to ask him what he needed it for.  Well he proceeded to stir his big batch of boiling crawfish with it, then return it to me with it bent at about 45 degrees.  "You're a mechanical engineer, you can bend it back" he said.  Later on I spotted him stealing my Roccbox peel to help funnel the crawfish into place.  That guy - gotta keep an eye on him.  

4) Making the very drunk call somewhere around 9pm Friday night to use the rest of my pizza dough.  I think those last couple of pies actually came out better than the others.  There's a lesson there for the future I guess. 

5) Messing with @bgebrent throughout the weekend.  Multiple Duke and UK magnets were exchanged and re-arranged continuously.  Finding my Yeti cup with the D and E taped over them. 

6) @DMW's breakfast sandwiches with scrapple, eggs, and cheese.  Damn those were good.  Just what I needed, along with the bloody Marys from @northGAcock to recover from the night before.  

7) My parents showing up and me introducing them to some of the regulars.  By the way, my Dad told me that it was pretty cool that everyone there seemed to really like me, so thank you all for being such skilled liars.   

@YukonRon met them and was carrying a big bag of bourbon slushies.  Did I want one? - he asked me in front of my parents.  Of course I said.  While I held the cup out, Ron poured the equivalent of an entire first one onto my arm and hand, missing the cup by a good half foot, before finally filling the cup.  In his defense, it's possible he'd had a few on his own by that point, as well as some other incapacitating substances.  It was absolutely hilarious.  

8) Nola telling my mother that I'd gotten really good at telling jokes that started with "Your mom..." Classic.  

9) @CTMike delivering a piece of the hog's cheek to me and a few others.  Damn that was perfect.  The rest of it was just as good.  Heard more than a few people comment on just how good that hog was.  

10) @bgebrent brisket Sat night.  He absolutely nailed it.  Then there was @YukonRon's beef tenderloin sliders, @Eggcelsior's pit beef, Nichole's pecan pie, Nola's crawfish, and finally @caliking's fritters.  It was all amazing.  Someone commented that the best food in all of NC was probably right there at Ron's camper that night.  I'm hard-pressed to disagree.  

11) Nola and Dwayne effing around with the fire Saturday night. At one point Nola threw an entire jug of oil, plastic and all, with almost no warning into the fire.  I've never seen a bunch of drunk people move so fast.  

12) @caliking chugging bourbon slushy mix straight from the bag, while @Killit_and_Grillit held the bag.  Then everyone chanting "Ahh-sheesh!  Ahh-sheesh!"  Only at a ButtBlast will you find a bunch of drunk white people cheering on an Indian guy as he chugs a frozen bourbon slushy near a camp fire in the middle of a state park in NC late on a Saturday night.  


Truly a Blast worth remembering.  Thanks again folks!  

I was given a bucket loaded with pieces from bats that are currently being processed for the All Star Games by Louisville Slugger.
I was hoping to have them for Butt Blast 3, but the timing did not work out. So I have them now.
People here in Louisville use them to muddle the mint in the sugar for Mint Juleps, typically served non stop during the April to May Derby Party.
You can use them to muddle whatever you want. But it is a cool tool, with a pretty neat story behind it.
Contact me with your address if you want any, and I will send them to you as soon as I can. I am traveling this week, so it will likely be when I return.
Here is a picture of the pieces.