Judging the BBQ Roundup

All rise for the honorable (snort) Judge Dorman. And somebody get him a moist towelette. He's an absolute mess.

So I judged the Cedar Rapids BBQ Roundup ribs and pulled pork contests, as advertised. Here are the official results:

BEST PORK RIBS:

FIRST PLACE: Porky N Beans, Port St. Lucie, FL

SECOND PLACE: Famous Dave's BBQ, Bloomington, MN

THIRD PLACE: Cowboys Barbeque & Rib Co., Weatherford, TX

 BEST PULLED PORK:

FIRST PLACE: Porky N Beans, Port St. Lucie, FL

SECOND PLACE: Famous Dave's BBQ, Bloomington, MN

THIRD PLACE: Big Boned BBQ Co., Charleston, SC

PEOPLE'S CHOICE: Carolina Rib King, Spartanburg, SC

The judges: Mike Staub – University of Iowa Community Credit Union; Joe Winters – KCRG; Scott Olson – Cedar Rapids City Council; Chef Jack Craft – HyVee Johnson Avenue; Betty Beisker – VenuWorks of Ames; and yours truly.

We gathered in a small conference room at the YMCA, a bone's throw from the roundup. On the table were many napkins and plastic utensils and plates, with saltines and pineapple chunks and cups of water to cleanse our judicious palates.Ribs were judged Friday and pulled pork on Saturday. The eight entries arrived in foam containers, four at a time in two shifts. We had no idea which outfit made each entry. The boxes had only numbers or letters. We judged the entries on taste, tenderness and appearance.

A couple of things surprised me.

For one thing, I was struck by the mediocrity of a some of the rib entries. I can imagine the stylistic limitations of making lots of BBQ for lots of people, but I expected better. For a while, as we plowed through, I worried about picking a winner.

But then we got the ribs from Porky N Beans, far and away the best entry, in my humble view, with a nice thick pink layer of smokiness, perfectly tender, and with a sauce that was tasty and not overpowering. Very nice, Floridians. (Most of the ribs were slathered in sauce, and I would have liked to try them without it. I think it's easier to judge pit skills sauce-free.)

The pulled pork entries were generally better, with three or four that were pretty good. Again, I thought Porky N Beans was the best.

I was also surprised that my second pick for ribs turned out to be from Famous Dave's. Who'd a thought it, the big old chain still has skills. Although I've had ribs at Famous Dave's, and I don't recall them being as good as the ones entered in the contest. Perhaps there are ribs for the masses and ribs for the judges. I'll have to pay closer attention next time I stop by Dave's.

As for the local vs. big boys debate, I can't really see why some local vendors shouldn't get a shot at the event. Quantity might be an issue, but I can't see how quality would be. VenuWorks, which runs the show, should definitely consider adding some local flavor.

But what I'd really like to see is a larger BBQ contest open to all comers, big, medium, small, even upstart amateurs. I think it could turn into a big event, and as I argued before, help launch some local legends.