Train Day BBQ Rib-Cookoff was Smoking

By Staff, 05/6/17 3:37 PM

HOPE–Friendly rivalry is a good thing and nothing spells rivalry like a cook off with all the chefs and their teams, mostly family members, sitting around for hours watching one another set-up and start fires. They laugh, joke, tease one another, and taste. All the cook teams know one another from past events  and all argue they are going to “win”.

Some tell you with a wink they are the best and have been cheated by the judges before. Some, like John Marshall of Fannie’s BBQ (pictured) is the type who tells you the fellow in the next booth,  Ron Brown (pictured), is the better cook. Ron agreed with a chuckle that “Well, that might be true. But John does alright”.

Trinity Rogers, Pat Kirby, Chasity, Poni Harris, and Alex of Backyard BBQ (pictured) were sure they had the most votes and were a very organized team, selling rib plates for $7.

A few teams may actually care about winning (and BBQ is about teams), but it is hard to tell. It is not football season yet, but tailgaters pick sides and that is just how it is. Mainly, they all want to cook well and share food with others on a nice Spring day.

Ribs are, perhaps, the hardest of all meats to smoke well next to an old razorback, but all these folks are absolute pros. Country raised, no pretensions, just spice them right and cook them right. Your way.

All said and done, we all win, because good BBQ is just that: good.