Ask the Sandpoint, Idaho, man how he and his wife Lynette have managed to run off with four straight grand championships at the Montana State BBQ Competition, and something seems to get stuck in his throat. Perhaps it's a rib.
“The secret?” he repeats. “The secret is winning.”
But together, as team Grub Rustlers BBQ, they've won Kansas City-style barbecue contests all over the place, including four of the last six at this particular event.
But the way these two folks were talking Friday at the annual Stevensville Creamery Picnic, where the contest is held, their time on top may be about up.
“We're the underdogs this year,” said Lynette Glidden. “We're destined to get our butts kicked this year.”
There's plenty of competition, that's for sure.
Thirteen other barbecue teams from Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Utah were preparing their smokers and grills Friday to cook up the best barbecued pork shoulders, pork ribs, chicken and beef brisket they could overnight. Final judging for the National Barbecue Association-sanctioned competition and its $1,500 grand prize is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m., with the winners in various categories announced at 5 p.m.
One of those looking to come away with his first sanctioned championship is a Salt Lake City man who only refers to himself as T. As owner of the Q4U Hickory Smoked Barbecue Restaurant, T and his wife Becky have spent the last 14 years serving up steaming plates of barbecued meat to the masses in Salt Lake.
T is a true believer in the art of barbecue.
“I opened my restaurant because I love barbecue, and because I love to spread the gospel of barbecue,” he said. The couple's team name is Utah Smoke.
Under Kansas City rules, the teams must barbecue only the four aforementioned dishes: barbecued pork shoulders, pork ribs, chicken and beef brisket.
The 12 judges who will decide the winners base their marks on texture, taste and presentation under strict guidelines.
So strict, in fact, that the barbecue-off is overseen by a head judge, who carefully inspects each site to make sure that the contestants' meat is not prepared beforehand, and that all the procedures are being followed.
“I'm here to make sure that this is fairly run, so everybody has a shot at the prize money,” said Mark Majhor, who drove to Stevensville from Beaverton, Ore., and is a Pacific Northwest Barbecue Association official judge.
As a man who's worked the Northwest barbecue circuit for a long time, Majhor said the food is not just great, but the best you're likely to taste anywhere.
“I'm ruined for regular barbecue, because this is the best food,” he said. “You can't get this in restaurants.”
Toby Holmer, who lives only a couple of blocks from where the competition is taking place, considers himself a novice but is looking for his first win. Barbecuing is an art that can take a lifetime to master.
“There are guys who've been doing this for 30 years who still say they don't have it,” he said. “I'm still a novice, but I'm a competitive novice. Every dog has his day, though.”
So, it seems, does every pig, chicken and cow.
Preview
The 96th annual Stevensville Creamery Picnic continues at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Lewis and Clark Park, two blocks west of Main Street in Stevensville. Admission is free.
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