Franklin Food and Spirits Festival

This last weekend, my good friend Pat Martin of Martins BBQ Joint in Nolensville, asked me if I would like to help him cook a whole hog for the Franklin Food and Spirits Festival. The festival organizers built him a pit at the Carnton Plantation just for this event. I knew that we would have a great time and so naturally I said yes.

I was on my way back from a business trip in Memphis on Wednesday so in order to save Pat some time, I picked up the Hog at Hayes Meats in Lexington, TN. It was a 220 lb hog. Thursday we went out to the Plantation and got the Hog on. I believe that it went on about 7 PM. The guys from Jim and Nick's were there. They had put the festival together and Dave Story was helping to cook the hog as well. Folks came and went most of the night but we were there until about 3 AM when we let Bo take over. The pit was built so tight that it only had to be fired about 3 times during the whole cook. Pretty impressive.....

Pat and Dave Story came back early Friday morning and kept it going all day. I had to work so I didn't get back out there until around 5:00. We served the hog along with 2 others cooked by Legendary Pit Master Ed Mitchell out of the Carolina's and the crowd seemed to love it. I think that the dinner was a big hit. Pat did a great job.

On Saturday, I took the family to the festival and we hung out all day. It was a great weekend and I got to meet some great folks. I think that this festival will continue to grow and become a major showcase for Southern food.....BBQ in particular.

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