(Editor’s Note: The following article was submitted by Big Lake Beyond the Yellow Ribbon.)
The Big Lake Beyond the Yellow Ribbon held it’s fifth annual Ribs for the Ribbon competition on Saturday, September 25 at Lakeside Park.
Smoking a good rib takes just the right amount of seasoning rub and a little heat over a long period of time. BBQ competitors call it low & slow, that’s why they were there on Saturday morning very early. Fires were lit and smokers were warming up while 17 teams put the final touches on their work areas as the sun was rising across Big Lake.
Ribs for the Ribbon is not a Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) sanctioned event, nor is it a Minnesota Barbeque Society Team Of the Year (TOY) competition. Beyond The Yellow Ribbon organizers, however, do follow their guidelines to run the event. A brief meeting at 8 a.m., then each team received up to 12 racks of pork ribs to prepare for judging. Roughly one hour later, each team received eight chicken thighs to prepare for judging as well. Six individual rib bones and six chicken thighs from each team were presented to judges for appearance, taste, and tenderness.
While the public was waiting for the 3:00 public tasting to begin Dean Downs of Dean O’ Mite Entertainment played music and 50/50 raffles were played. Minnesota Senator Mary Kiffmeyer donated homemade honey wheat bread, homemade raspberry jam and local business gift cards. Those were auctioned off live and raised almost $500.
Once the public tasting began and with the help of a few hundred people, over 1,700 rib tickets sold out in a record time of 40 minutes. Three judging categories for the competitors were Ribs, Chicken, and People’s Choice, and each category had 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place trophies and cash prizes. The final prize is the Grand Champion which combines the rib and chicken scores for an overall score. The Grand Champion winner has their name engraved on the trophy which resides in Tootsies Lakeside Pub, an annual sponsor of the event, until the following year.
Winners
Ribs:
1st – Smokin Big;
2nd – Smokin J’s;
3rd – Subtle Smoke.
Chicken:
1st – CJ’s Deal Depot;
2nd – Big Bear BBQ;
3rd – hometown team Chow Town.
People’s Choice:
1st – Notorious Pig;
2nd – Dawgs BBQ;
3rd – Chow Town.
Overall Grand
Champion:
Smokin J’s.
Big Lake Beyond the Yellow Ribbon would like to thank Big Lake City Staff, all the businesses, organization, volunteers, BBQ teams and the public that helped to make this event a success.
