Pit masters display skill at Wine, Brew & BBQ

This may be the season for barbecue at family picnics, county fairs and special events, but in Hill City last weekend, it was “over the top” barbecue as pit masters from all over the region came to test their skill at creating the best of the best at Wine, Brew & BBQ. Those who came to taste the meat at the sanctioned Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) event, now in its 11th year, were not disappointed as they stood in line to sample the mouth-watering fare.

Competition kicked off on Friday when 10 young people each tried their hand at grilling meat on a Big Green Egg provided by Aspen Ridge Lawn and Landscape. Top honors in the age 10 and under division went to Carter Alexander, B-S BBQ Rebels, and in the age 11-15 category, Tucker Knapp, Chicken Roast, took the number one spot.

“I have been doing this now for five or six years and it is a lot of fun,” said Knapp.

Pat and Emily Rowe of Hill City along with friends Tony and Erin Ferragamo enjoyed the event on Friday evening. Emily and Erin were celebrating their 50th birthdays together.

When asked if they expected something like this in a small South Dakota town, Tony quipped, “We don’t have anything like this in our area in California.”

On Saturday, there were 10 amateur competitors in the Backyard BBQ Ribfest. Several local judges were given the task of tasting a rib from each of the participants and judging it based on taste, appearance and tenderness. After the ribs were judged, the public had its turn to rev up its tastebuds, and for $20 individuals were given a rib from each of the contestants. High School basketball players served up the ribs to a line of people that didn’t let up for at least an hour. Deemed the Grand Champion was Brian Rupert, with his tongue-in-cheek name, “Barbecuing Global Consortium Worldwide Inc.”

In the Master’s Division, official KCBS teams competed in four categories of barbecue including chicken, pork ribs, pork and brisket. Top prize for chicken went to Machete Boys BBQ, and the best pork ribs were judged to be the BOHICA BBQ.  In the pork category, Mr. Dude’s BBQ and Machete Boys both had a perfect score, 180, essentially tying for first. First place in brisket was BnB BBQ. In addition to the barbecue, competitors entered their dessert of choice, and top honors went to La-Ta Que. The judges for the KCBS competition came from several states, taking seriously their charge to determine the tastiest, most tender and appealing food items. 

“It is so much fun to meet people from other parts of the country, all interested in barbecue. It’s like a brotherhood,” said Rose Lankford, a judge from Longmont, Colo.

Brett Osborne, Brady, Tammy and Tierney Anderson of Smokin Butts Catering have come to Hill City before and enjoy the competition and the area. They compete in about 10 events between May and October.

“We are good friends with Bob (Stanfiel) and Moni (Matush) so we like coming to the area,” said Osborne.

The individuals attending the Wine, Brew & BBQ were able to sample and weigh in on the barbecued meat from the Masters group. When the people cast their votes, the team that took the prize was Happy Burnt Endings.

All of the prize winners had to wait until 4 p.m. Saturday when the crowd gathered at the big tent near the Hill City Center to hear the results of the competition. Stanfiel, one of the initial organizers along with the local Masons 11 years ago, was on stage to announce the winners. Miss South Dakota Miranda O’Bryan had the honor of presenting the awards.

In addition to the prize winners already mentioned, the biggest and best overall Grand Champion award went to BOHICA BBQ scoring 709.68 points, with Machete Boys BBQ right behind them as Reserve Champion with a score of 706.24. A perfect score is 720, so these champions showed a good performance in all categories.

“I was watching the show Barbecue Pitmasters on television a few years ago and said, ‘I can compete with these guys.’ So, I did,” said Dave Ellis of the Minneapolis-area Machete Boys.

Last year he attained the Grand Champion award and this year in Hill City he was Reserve Champion. 

There were other food and drink options during the course of the two-day event. The Masons had its own booth where people could buy barbecued meat made in advance by Stanfiel. Sick and Twisted offered up a wide variety of regional craft beers, and lemonade and caramel corn were also available.

Straight Up with Matt Smith from KOTA broadcast from the Wine, Brew & BBQ on Friday from 4-6 p.m. interviewing some of the key players in the weekend activities. Mason Harold Ireland, Emily Schultz, event coordinator along with the Masons, Rob Livingston, owner of Sick and Twisted and some of the participants in the barbecue competition were all live on KOTA radio.

While they enjoyed great food, there were several musical offerings both Saturday and Sunday. Country western, acoustic, rock and even barbershop quartet music made its way to the stage. Schultz said it added to the fun to have the musical groups create a special atmosphere.

This event is one of two major fundraisers for the Masons, and according to Ireland, this one takes a lot of time and effort. The ckyb also sponsors the Polar Bear Chili Cook-off in the winter.

“We have had a lot of community help for this barbecue event. The sororities help sell tokens for sampling meat, and the girls volleyball team and the boys basketball team help out as well. We are able give them a portion of the money we take in,” said Ireland.

He said some of the proceeds go to the Boys and Girls Club of the Black Hills as well as the Child ID program, high school scholarships and the Bikes for Books initiative. One girl and one boy from the summer reading program at the library each receive a bike and a helmet.

“We also sponsor the Delta Dental vehicle that comes to the school each year. They do about $30,000 worth of dental work during the time they are here,” said Ireland.

For two days, barbecue was king in Hill City tantalizing all the senses for those who attended the Wine, Brew & BBQ. According to Schultz, it was a great weekend in town, a family event that everyone could enjoy and at the same time provided funds to the Masons to use for their work in the community.