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Pit Crew BBQ savors victory
Winner qualifies for American Royal
| Mark Petterson Managing Editor BURLINGTON—Kelley Park was a smoker’s heaven Friday evening and Saturday during the WildBlue Bar-Be- Que. Twenty-one teams prepared chicken, pork, ribs and brisket in the Kansas City Barbecue Society-sanctioned event. Pit Crew BBQ improved on last year’s reserve champion finish by winning the coveted $500 grand champion prize and a plaque. “This is our fifth year to compete in contests. Last year we took five reserves. We were always a bridesmaid and this is our first grand,” Kevin Henery exclaimed. “It is great. It is pretty incredible.” The Overbrook team, consisting of Kevin Henery, his wife Melody, and his brother David, edged out Smokers Wild, last year’s grand champion, by four points. Pit Crew BBQ claimed second place finishes in ribs and brisket and third place finishes in pork and chicken to add another $350 to their winnings. |
“My personal favorite is brisket,” Kevin Henery said. “We usually do good with it.” Henery said he learned last week the WildBlue Bar-Be-Que would be a state championship event. “That means I get to go to the American Royal on the invitational side this year,” he said. “We were 19th overall out of 476 teams in the open class last year. This year I will get to compete against less than 100 teams in the invitational.” “We competed in about 10 contests last year,” Henery said. “Because of gas prices, this is only our third contest this year.” Pit Crew BBQ had a top 10 finish in a Topeka contest earlier this year. Henery enjoys competing in barbecue contests. “It’s fun,” he said. “It started as a backyard |
deal. My brother and my boys encouraged me to do a contest, and we have been hooked ever since.” Expect to see Pit Crew BBQ back next year to defend their championship. “This is a nice contest. It is a nice location. A lot of contests are on the pavement and it is so hot this time of the year. It is just nice to have some shade and a nice quiet setting to do it in,” Henery said. This is the second year a barbecue cook-off has been held the weekend prior to the Coffey County Fair. Last year’s inaugural event celebrated the 125th year of the fair. Staff at Lyon-Coffey Electric volunteered to coordinate this year’s event, which became sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, the world’s largest organization of barbecue and grilling enthusiasts with more than 200 sanctioned- contests held across the United States annually. |
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| The event received a boost by receiving a state championship designation. The winner qualifies for an invitation to three major contests, the American Royal Barbecue in Kansas City, Mo., the Jack Daniels Barbecue in Tennessee, and Memphis in May. The Burlington event grew from 15 teams last year to 21 this year; two were local teams. Judging from comments offered by contestants, the event will grow even more next year. “We like the small contests,” said Steve Thompson, Merriam, who with his twin brother Stuart make up the team “Old Dead Burnt Meat.” This was their first year in the Burlington contest. They walked away with first place in brisket and fourth place in pork. |
This was also the first year at Burlington for “Smokin’ in the Pits,” an Emporia team made up of Mike Barnett and Dennis Arb. “We read about the event in the KCBS newsletter,” Barnett said. “This is a nice contest; it could be huge.” The team placed third in brisket. “I’ll be back,” commented Bernie Toso of Bad Ol’ Bern’s BBQ, Emporia. “This is a great place to have a contest … and it’s not far from home.” Toso won first place for best beans and second place for best sauce. Eighteen judges visited campsites Friday evening to taste sauce, beans and dessert. Judges also tasted hamburger in the novice Backyard BBQ. Twenty-one judges were needed Saturday to judge pork, brisket, chicken and ribs. They included local residents and 13 certified judges. They used a point system to rate entries for appearance, tenderness, texture and taste. |
“I was real pleased with things this year,” commented Dennis Polson, Coffey County Fair Board secretary and a certified KCBS judge. “The cool weather made a big difference.” Ardie Lauxman, who helped coordinate the event for Lyon- Coffey Electric, was pleased with the barbecue. “We received positive feedback from the teams who returned their questionnaire.” Contestants offered suggestions to make next year’s barbecue even better. “They liked the expo and wanted to see it developed into a festival-like atmosphere ... and possibly have a community barbecue,” Lauxman said. “It was a good time,” Lauxman said. “We don’t want to make this an overly big event, but we definitely have room for growth.” |
