Michael Boyd and the Porkspankers have competed and won multiple BBQ championship titles for pork ribs, shoulder, beef, chili and wings.
By Latawnya Dia, FSA Public Affairs Specialist
Michael Boyd is more than an FSA loan specialist in Tennessee. He is also a barbeque specialist in what many consider to be the barbeque capital of the world — Memphis, Tenn.
Boyd is the head cook and team captain of the Porkspankers championship BBQ team and has been involved in barbequing his whole life.
“My family has been big into barbequing since I remember. You can’t live in Memphis and not have some part in barbequing Either you’re doing it or tasting it. Either way it’s a big part of what we do in these parts of the country,” said Boyd.
Boyd attended his first Memphis barbeque contest as a spectator in May 1997. That’s when he knew he had to be more than just a spectator. He and his nephew joined a team called the Pure Pleasure Porkers and stayed until 2001. The next year, while sitting around at a family barbeque on the farm, they decided to start their own team called the Porkspankers. Of this 10-member team, seven are family members.
The Porkspankers recently finished ninth place in the ribs category, beating out 51 other competitors in the Smokin Aces BBQ competition in Tunica, Miss. The team also won a trophy and $200 first place finish in the wings category and took a $50 fifth place finish in the beef tenderloin category with baby arugula and feta cheese stuffed tenderloin.
Boyd’s team has won 13 awards since in 10-years of competition, including three in the Memphis in May World Championship Barbeque Cooking Contest, one of the largest competitions in Memphis where close to 100,000 people come to watch about 300 teams compete. They also have won two first place competitions for poultry and beans in 2005 and 2006, and one third place competition for ribs in 2007.
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