Bakersfield.com: Kern County news, events, classifieds, shopping, & search

Barbecue's best and baddest square off

BY SUSAN SCAFFIDI, Contributing writer | Wednesday, May 18 2011 04:50 PM

Last Updated Wednesday, May 18 2011 04:51 PM

Bakersfield's Biggest Baddest Barbecue competition makes one want to rewrite "The Christmas Song" -- "Tri-tip roasting on an open fire, spare ribs wafting to your nose."

The annual competition, now in its third year, will run Friday and Saturday at the Kern County Fairgrounds with 40 professional grilling teams scheduled to compete in four categories: chicken, pork ribs, pork shoulder and brisket.

"We had 54 teams last year, making us the biggest KCBS (Kansas City Barbecue Society)-sanctioned event on the West Coast," said Kern chapter president and organizer Mike George. "But we're up against two big events this year."

George said the Bakersfield event is offering $10,000 in prize money -- more than double last year's purse -- but is competing with an event in Stockton and another in Las Vegas, which alone will offer $125,000 in prize money.

"This professional barbecuing is serious stuff," George said. "These teams will come in from all over the country for the one in Las Vegas."

Despite the competition, George said this year's Bakersfield lineup will include many of the teams from last year, including the 2010 Grand Champion David Malone and his team "All Sauced Up" from Valencia; Reserve Champion Matt Dalton and his Left Coast Q team from Banning; and local grillers Chris Papion of Pappy's Down South BBQ and Bill Brown of Bill's Best BBQ, both of whom were top contenders in their categories.

George said the organization will continue accepting late-entry grill teams until the event opens to the public at 5 p.m. on Friday. The entry fee for late-comers is $250.

Proceeds from the event will support the Children's Medical Center at Memorial Hospital and the Mendiburu Magic Foundation.

"We never lose sight that it's a fundraiser for two of our favorite charities," George said.

The Friday evening event is free and open to the public, with entertainment and a chance to see the teams setting up and preparing. Some teams will start cooking Friday evening, especially those participating in a separate tri-tip competition and those cooking brisket, which can take as long as 20 hours to prepare.

Saturday is a ticketed event that includes admission and two 2-ounce samples of any of the items cooked for the competition. George said additional 2-ounce samples of all items are available for $2 each.

Certified judges review the entries according to a strict set of criteria covering taste, tenderness and appearance. The judges will present awards at 4 p.m. Saturday.

George said that Californians have made their own judgment about what is best, preferring chicken and tri-tip to brisket, which is more a favorite in the Midwest and southeastern United States.

"The hardest thing about brisket is it's extremely hard to cook," George said. "You slow cook it, you inject with stuff, you smoke it to death -- everybody does it different.

"And then you pray at the end of 20 hours it comes out good," George said.

Beef brisket comes from the breast section, usually beneath the first five ribs in beef cattle. Because this section supports a substantial percentage of the animal's weight, it contains a lot of connective tissue. Brisket is probably best known in the form of corned beef, which is boiled into submission. A search of barbecue recipes for this stubborn cut of meat shows regional differences in sauce and seasonings, but always the need for slow cooking, anywhere from 10 to 20 hours, if the meat is to be tender enough to eat.

One recipe, published by Texas Brothers Bar-Be-Que from Pottsboro, Texas, suggests prepping the meat with a dry rub of spices (they offer their own, proprietary brand, of course), then smoking the meat at 300 degrees for two hours. After that, wrap the meat in heavy-duty aluminum foil, and marinate the meat in beer brine -- a cup of beer (your choice) and a handful of salt. Slow cook the wrapped meat for between six and eight hours at 275 degrees.