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The breeze must have been blowing in the right direction Saturday morning as West City Mayor Charles Cockrum traveled past the Browning Township Building.
"I could smell barbecue smoke as I passed the building," Cockrum said, referring to the Best Dam BBQ Cookoff, held as part of the July 4 festivities. "That's about three miles up the road."
Thirty-one teams filled the parking lot of the Rend Lake Dam & Visitor Center, all vying for best of the best in the chicken, pork ribs, pork and beef brisket categories.
Cockrum said things ran fairly smooth, considering it was a first for the Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned event.
"We had trouble with the generator first thing Saturday morning," he said.
The event was hosted by the Benton-West City Area Chamber of Commerce. Chamber Member Paul Scott said he obtained a generator at cost, saving the organization about $4,000.
Bubba Morgan, a member of Bubba Joe's BBQ team of Pinckneyville, said a group started backyard barbecues before venturing to the level of competition.
"Joe Bird, Gene Hagene and I have been cooking together for nine years," he said.
When asked about the secret to their success, Morgan joked, "We have had no success, and therefore, have no secret to our success."
Dennis Keck, a member of 4 Smokin' Butts of Millstadt, said he started the fire at 4 a.m. for Saturday afternoon's judging.
"We have been cooking together for several years," Keck said. "We won first place in the ribs category in another competition."
Apparently, judges considered 4 Smokin' Butts entries close to the top in all four categories, as they took home the reserve champion trophy.
Smokin T's of Mt. Vernon was declared the overall team winner, with members carting off the Grand Champion gold.
Benton contestant Mike Thomas of Smell That Smoke had plenty of time to prepare breakfast for crewmembers.
"We started the fire at 4 a.m.," he said. "The Boston butt and brisket went on first, and the ribs and chicken a little later."
Thomas tempted residents with barbecue morsels from his West City-based printing business. He calls his regular customers telling them when he fires up the grill, which gets mouths watering.
He did a practice grilling during the week to prepare for the weekend's event.
The breeze must have been blowing in the right direction Saturday morning as West City Mayor Charles Cockrum traveled past the Browning Township Building.
"I could smell barbecue smoke as I passed the building," Cockrum said, referring to the Best Dam BBQ Cookoff, held as part of the July 4 festivities. "That's about three miles up the road."
Thirty-one teams filled the parking lot of the Rend Lake Dam & Visitor Center, all vying for best of the best in the chicken, pork ribs, pork and beef brisket categories.
Cockrum said things ran fairly smooth, considering it was a first for the Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned event.
"We had trouble with the generator first thing Saturday morning," he said.
The event was hosted by the Benton-West City Area Chamber of Commerce. Chamber Member Paul Scott said he obtained a generator at cost, saving the organization about $4,000.
Bubba Morgan, a member of Bubba Joe's BBQ team of Pinckneyville, said a group started backyard barbecues before venturing to the level of competition.
"Joe Bird, Gene Hagene and I have been cooking together for nine years," he said.
When asked about the secret to their success, Morgan joked, "We have had no success, and therefore, have no secret to our success."
Dennis Keck, a member of 4 Smokin' Butts of Millstadt, said he started the fire at 4 a.m. for Saturday afternoon's judging.
"We have been cooking together for several years," Keck said. "We won first place in the ribs category in another competition."
Apparently, judges considered 4 Smokin' Butts entries close to the top in all four categories, as they took home the reserve champion trophy.
Smokin T's of Mt. Vernon was declared the overall team winner, with members carting off the Grand Champion gold.
Benton contestant Mike Thomas of Smell That Smoke had plenty of time to prepare breakfast for crewmembers.
"We started the fire at 4 a.m.," he said. "The Boston butt and brisket went on first, and the ribs and chicken a little later."
Thomas tempted residents with barbecue morsels from his West City-based printing business. He calls his regular customers telling them when he fires up the grill, which gets mouths watering.
He did a practice grilling during the week to prepare for the weekend's event.
"I smoked pork loin on Wednesday and then took some to different places for people to sample, so it would be fresh on my mind as to how long it would take to cook," he said.
Phil Knapper, sports editor of The Benton Evening News, found the meat pleasing to the palate, saying it was some of the best he had ever eaten.
Smell That Smoke placed ninth in the chicken category and 17th in ribs.
Thomas said he is pleased that so many people enjoy what he and his teammates prepare. He also prepares barbecue for the annual 4-H Fair being held this month.
The husband-and-wife team of James and Diana Dewsbury competed for the first time as Smoked Lizard.
"We started everything about 11 o'clock Friday night," he said. "I have entered about a dozen or so competitions, but this is the first for Diana and me. We were just married a month ago. Our buddies Katrina and Scooby are the taste-testers who wait for the scraps."
Judges seemed to agree with the canines' opinions, as Smoked Lizard finished 27th in the chicken category, 28th overall and 30th in ribs.
Matt Meyer of Que in the Lou was confident that his team's ribs would receive the win, but judges had other ideas. The team of Meyer, Dean Neuman and Mario Mazzola went home empty handed.
Lester Clayton traveled from Dexter, Mo., to judge the competition. He said judges volunteer their time and must take a course in order to become a certified KCBS judge.
"This is my eighth event this year and my first year as a judge," he said.
Rubbing his stomach as he and his wife carried away a container filled with barbecue, Clayton said he didn't care if he saw, smelled or tasted barbecue for a week.
"I will judge 10 events this year and really enjoy it," he said.
His wife said the couple recently returned home from judging a competition in Mountain View, Ark. She said the two loved to travel.
Cockrum said he was glad the weather cooperated for the outdoor weekend events.
"Everything went fairly smooth, considering it was our first year," he said. "We already have plans to make next year's Best Dam BBQ Cookoff even bigger and better.
"We also had a couple of local judges: West City Village Board members Roger Mabry and Dale Watkins, served as honorary judges," Cockrum said. "They enjoyed it so much they are signing up to take the certification course."
He said the event was well attended. "All in all, it was a lot of eatin'," Cockrum said.
Local residents did take home a champion trophy, as Cary Aaron and Chris Kays were declared winners in the washer-pitching tournament.
Children had plenty to see and do during the two-day event, including blow-up entertainment and other activities, as well as Sunday night's fireworks display.
Saturday's entertainment line-up included local bands Team Up, A Stellar Goodbye and Exit 71.
"Brandtlee Brown also entertained the crowd with the Evolution of Dance, which was pretty good," he said. "We could not have done this without the help of our sponsors, including this year's corporate sponsor, Pheasant Hollow Winery."
