C2 •TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2011
NORTH IOWA UP IN SMOKE BBQ BASH • GLOBE GAZETTE
Bash is all about the cooks 70 teams registered to compete in this year’s event at East Park By RICHARD JOHNSON richard.johnson@globegazette.com
MASON CITY — It’s all about the cooks at the Globe Gazette’s Up In Smoke BBQ Bash. “I love seeing all my cooks. They are just some of the best people in the world,” event coordinator Ruth Miller said. “We have good people in the community, who are nice to the cooks. And we believe in taking care of our cooks.” “We do anything and everything we can for the competitors,” Globe Gazette publisher Howard Query said. “I really look forward to meeting these folks, discussing their passion. It’s really exciting to hear their stories.” Chefs from 70 teams will compete in the eighthannual Bash, Friday, July 22, and Saturday, July 23, in East Park. They’ll compete for more than $14,000 in prize money during the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS)-sanctioned Iowa State BBQ Championship contest by making their best beef brisket, pork ribs, pork shoulders and chicken. There are cash awards from first through 10th places. The winners earn $3,000. Confirmed entrants include Swine Assassins of Mason City, ranked fourth in the KCBS/Sam’Club Team of the Year Points Chase as of July 8. Others in the top 10 that have competed in Mason City: Quau of Brimfield, Ill.; Pellet Envy of Kansas
Schedule * Look for a complete schedule of events in today’s Globe Gazette *** FRIDAY, JULY 22 5 p.m. — Beer Garden, Food Court and Kids’ Playground open; music by Endless Summer. 5:30 p.m. — Hy-Vee Chili Cookoff & Chili-Tasting 7:30 p.m. — Music by Bob Dorr & The Blue Band. 9 p.m. — Kids’ playground closes. 10 p.m. — Food Court closes. 11 p.m. — Beer Garden closes. *** SATURDAY, JULY 23 11 a.m. — Beer garden, Food court and kids’ playground open. 11:30 a.m. — KCBS competition judging begins. 2 p.m. — Music by The Chocolate Crackers. 4 p.m. — Awards Ceremony. 4:30 p.m. — More music by The Chocolate Crackers. 6 p.m. — Beer garden, Food court and kids’ playground close.
have 70 teams registered,” Miller said. “That makes us one of the largest contests north of Kansas City. It’ll be a very full park — and a very exciting contest.” Barbecue judges are coming from as far off as Oklahoma, Indiana, Missouri and the Dakotas, as well as Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. “We love our judges as well as our cooks,” Miller said. Up In Smoke also features contests for the best margarita, Bloody Mary and dessert, and Anything Butt, in which competitors grill anything but those competitive meats. The public can find great barbecue and other food and drink from a host of vendors — including several locals — and sample chili during Friday evening’s Chili Cook-Off contest. Friday’s entertainment includes ’60s music by the veteran Charles Citybased Endless Summer,
Globe Gazette file photo
The 2010 Up In Smoke BBQ Bash drew a big crowd. and blues, soul, rockabilly, rhythm and blues by Bob Dorr & The Blue Band from Cedar Falls. Band leader Dorr is a member of the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame and the Iowa Rock ’n’ Roll Music Association Hall
of Fame. The Clarksville-based Chocolate Crackers will play rock, classic rock and country music Saturday afternoon. Miller credits city workers with much of Up In Smoke’s success over
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City, Mo.; and the Smokin’ Triggers of Alvarado, Texas, led by Johnny Trigg, aka the “Godfather of Barbecue.” Quau was ranked second and Pellet Envy ninth overall in the Points Chase. “We are really excited to
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the years. “The city is wonderful to work with,” she said. On the web: See www.upinsmoke-bbqbash .com or the North Iowa Up In Smoke BBQ Championship site on Facebook for more information.
GLOBE GAZETTE • NORTH IOWA UP IN SMOKE BBQ BASH
TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2011 • C3
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BRITT — We caught up with Brad Connor even as he was preparing ribs to be sold during Clear Lake’s annual Bicycle, Blues and BBQ Festival. The Britt man is in the midst of a hectic year of competitive barbecuing and launching his new catering business, Big Brad’s BBQ. Connor, 43, will compete with his Half Baked BBQ Crew team and sell his barbecue at the eighthannual Up In Smoke BBQ Bash in Mason City’s East Park, and next month’s Hog Wild! Wild! Wild! event at the Wild Rose Casino & Resort in Emmetsburg. He also vends at the Thursdays on Main events in Clear Lake, and will be at the Hancock County Fair, Britt Hobo Days and the Britt Draft Horse Show. “It hasn’t got to me yet,” he said. “It’s not too bad, with the new trailer we got. My dad (Ron Connor) is helping me out a lot. He’s been doing a lot of the legwork. I just come in and take all the glory. He said he was getting bored being retired, so I gave him something to do there.” The Half Baked BBQ Crew has competed since the second Up In Smoke event, in 2005. It includes Brad, his wife, Karen, Ron Connor, Dave Lampe and his wife, Sondra, of Britt, and Mike Ellenbolt of Lincoln, Neb. They’ve won the chili competition each of the past two years, and placed third in pork ribs in the 2009 Up In Smoke. “The chili starts out sweet, kind of sneaks up behind you, and bites you in the butt,” Brad Connor said. “That crowd at Up In Smoke is not your college kid age, so we keep it kind of mild. They don’t like to feel it in the morning like the young kids do.” Connor, by day an employee in
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Brad Connor of Britt applys seasoning to his chicken at the 2009 Up In Smoke BBQ Bash in Mason City. the agronomy department at North Central Co-op in Kanawha, said he was increasingly asked to cook for people and events. Hence, the new venture. “I figured I might as well go legitimate and start paying taxes,” he said. “We got licensed and got a
new trailer. We decided, if we’re going to do it, let’s just do it.” He’ll probably sell ribs and pulled pork during Up In Smoke. “Hopefully it’s pretty good,” Connor said. “Mason City likes its barbecue, and they come there hungry.”
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C4 • TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2011
NORTH IOWA UP IN SMOKE BBQ BASH • GLOBE GAZETTE
Mason City team ranked third in nation By RICHARD JOHNSON
time, and having the judges like it. MASON CITY — Com“It’s been a fun year,” he petitive barbecue judges said. “We’re pretty much nationwide have voted in doing everything we’ve favor of Swine Assassins been doing.” barbecue. The Assassins will conThe Mason City team, tinue its big season at the in its second full season of eighth-annual Up In competition, had two Smoke BBQ Bash — where first-place and two secthey’ll compete and sell that popular food. ond-place finishes as of You’ll be able to buy June 30. ribs, pulled pork sandSwine Assassins was wiches, pulled pork ranked third in the nachos and side dishes at national Sam’s its booth in East Park. Club/KCBS Team of the “We’re vending because Year points chase after we’ve had a lot of requests winning the Iowa State to try our food,” team BBQ Championship in Marshalltown for the sec- member Scott Nelson ond-straight year, on June said. “It’s one way to get exposure and let people 24. try our product.” “We had some good Nelson, his wife, Katy, luck,” team member Kris and Paulson and his wife, Paulson said. “It comes Brandi, will help vend Fridown to cooking your day during the Bash. food the same way every richard.johnson@globegazette.com
RICHARD JOHNSON/The Globe Gazette
Kris Paulson (left) and Scott Nelson, members of the Swine Assassins barbecue team from Mason City, are pictured with some of the many trophies and ribbons the team has won in its first 1½ years of competition. They will compete — and sell their ribs, pulled-pork sandwiches, pulled-pork nachos and side dishes — at the eighth-annual Up In Smoke BBQ Bash, Friday and Saturday, July 22-23 in East Park. Helpers will take over Saturday as the team leaders focus on another grand championship.
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thinking you can win.” See more team information at www.swineassassinsbbq.com.
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C6 • TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2011
NORTH IOWA UP IN SMOKE BBQ BASH • GLOBE GAZETTE
Local newcomers are ready to compete By DEB NICKLAY deb.nicklay@globegazette.com
Doug Ortmayer hasn’t competed very much with his smoker — but he knows a whole lot about barbecuing, just the same. “I’ve been a master judge for many years,” he said. “My son, Hunter, who is 17, has judged about 12 contests so far.” Ortmayer is taking his knowledge and putting it to use behind a cook’s apron instead of a judge’s shirt: He and his family have formed the Big Chain BBQ Gang. They will be one of several first-time teams firing up the competition at the North Iowa Up In Smoke BBQ Bash. Barbecuers, he said, “are the nicest people you ever want to meet” and could not resist trying his own hand at the art after years of watching others create palate-pleasers. Ortmayer, who works at NetConX in Mason City, drew in his wife, Sandra, to fill out the team. “Hunter and I enjoy the cooking; Sandra does the box prep (preparation for food presentation),” he said. He said the team has a particular interest in preparing brisket. Friends have lent their support. Ortmayer knows members of the Swine Assassins team and has cooked with them, he said. “They’re been really good to us. We’ll see how we do ... it should be a good time.” Dave “Radar” Milton of Osage “always liked to grill” and decided to take that interest a step further. “We entered the (Mitchell County) fair bar-
Submitted photo
Dave “Radar” Milton and his wife, Marsha, who make up the team "Pink Ring BBQ,"one of the newcomers to the North Iowa Up In Smoke BBQ Bash. becue contest and we ended up winning it,” he said. “We had a blast. We found ourselves sitting down and just visiting with a lot of people — something we really hadn’t done in years. We loved it. It just blossomed after that.” His wife, Marsha, is the other member of the Pink Ring BBQ — a name that has more than one meaning. “Marsha is a cancer survivor” which led to the adoption of the color pink. The “ring,” refers to the desired ring of pink that appears on meat smoked properly. Milton enjoys barbecuing brisket and ribs. He doesn’t expect he will come out in championship columns during the Bash — and that is fine with him. “It’s all about the experience,” he said. “This is just something on my bucket list. Truth is, I can make championship brisket one day” and, well, not so great the next.
He doesn’t quite believe a reporter who tells him that doesn’t necessarily make him a newbie. He laughed. “We’ll see.” Ryan Evers of Mason City and six of his buddies will compete for the first time ever at the Bash — or anywhere else. “We’ve been going to the Bash for years and we always say, ‘Maybe next year we should do this,’ ” Evers said. “Here were are, four or five years later, and we said, ‘Let’s do it.’ ” Other team members of the Meat Sweats team include Tracy Kading, Gary Reynolds, Justin Bailey, Jon Benson, Dave Clark and Bill Kingston. Evers said all members are weekend cooks; a variety of grills and smokers will show up at the park. The same will hold true for spices, rubs and sauces. “Actually,” he added, “we’ll probably be wearing more spices and sauce stains than anyone else.” Each member seems to have a special interest.
DEB NICKLAY/The Globe Gazette
The Meat Sweats BBQ team, from left to right, Bill Kingston, Justin Bailey, Tracy Kading, Ryan Evers, Dave Clark and Gary Reynolds. Not pictured: Jon Benson.
Submitted photo
Hunter, Doug and Sandra Ortmayer of Charles City, who make up Big Chain BBQ. Evers is a fan of preparing ribs, brisket and pork shoulder. This is the year for the team to watch and learn,
he said. “If we win something, we win something, if we don’t, we will have had a good time,” Evers said.
“It’s an opportunity to get together. We’re about having a good time. We’re about food, family and fun.”
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C10 • TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2011
NORTH IOWA UP IN SMOKE BBQ BASH • GLOBE GAZETTE
Up in Smoke teams earn prizes on TLC’s ‘Pitmasters’ show By MARY PIEPER mary.pieper@globegazette.com
One of the teams competing in this year’s BBQ Bash won the top prize on TLC’s “BBQ Pitmasters” last year, and another won third place.
Shad and Angie Kirton, of Grimes (A Boy & His BBQ), owners of Smokey D’s BBQ in Des Moines, won $100,000 as the firstplace winner during the second season finale of the TV show, while Moe Cason,
of Des Moines (Ponderosa BBQ), placed third. Both earned $5,000 by winning their semifinal round. Teams send demo tapes
to TLC to audition for the show. The Kirtons and Cason were among the 20 teams selected to compete on the
show. advanced to the finals. About 400 teams submitWhen the winners were ted tapes, according to Shad. announced “it was pretty Winners from a series of crazy,” Shad said, noting televised semifinal rounds See PITMASTERS, C11
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C6 • TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2011
NORTH IOWA UP IN SMOKE BBQ BASH • GLOBE GAZETTE
Local newcomers are ready to compete By DEB NICKLAY deb.nicklay@globegazette.com
Doug Ortmayer hasn’t competed very much with his smoker — but he knows a whole lot about barbecuing, just the same. “I’ve been a master judge for many years,” he said. “My son, Hunter, who is 17, has judged about 12 contests so far.” Ortmayer is taking his knowledge and putting it to use behind a cook’s apron instead of a judge’s shirt: He and his family have formed the Big Chain BBQ Gang. They will be one of several first-time teams firing up the competition at the North Iowa Up In Smoke BBQ Bash. Barbecuers, he said, “are the nicest people you ever want to meet” and could not resist trying his own hand at the art after years of watching others create palate-pleasers. Ortmayer, who works at NetConX in Mason City, drew in his wife, Sandra, to fill out the team. “Hunter and I enjoy the cooking; Sandra does the box prep (preparation for food presentation),” he said. He said the team has a particular interest in preparing brisket. Friends have lent their support. Ortmayer knows members of the Swine Assassins team and has cooked with them, he said. “They’re been really good to us. We’ll see how we do ... it should be a good time.” Dave “Radar” Milton of Osage “always liked to grill” and decided to take that interest a step further. “We entered the (Mitchell County) fair bar-
Submitted photo
Dave “Radar” Milton and his wife, Marsha, who make up the team "Pink Ring BBQ,"one of the newcomers to the North Iowa Up In Smoke BBQ Bash. becue contest and we ended up winning it,” he said. “We had a blast. We found ourselves sitting down and just visiting with a lot of people — something we really hadn’t done in years. We loved it. It just blossomed after that.” His wife, Marsha, is the other member of the Pink Ring BBQ — a name that has more than one meaning. “Marsha is a cancer survivor” which led to the adoption of the color pink. The “ring,” refers to the desired ring of pink that appears on meat smoked properly. Milton enjoys barbecuing brisket and ribs. He doesn’t expect he will come out in championship columns during the Bash — and that is fine with him. “It’s all about the experience,” he said. “This is just something on my bucket list. Truth is, I can make championship brisket one day” and, well, not so great the next.
He doesn’t quite believe a reporter who tells him that doesn’t necessarily make him a newbie. He laughed. “We’ll see.” Ryan Evers of Mason City and six of his buddies will compete for the first time ever at the Bash — or anywhere else. “We’ve been going to the Bash for years and we always say, ‘Maybe next year we should do this,’ ” Evers said. “Here were are, four or five years later, and we said, ‘Let’s do it.’ ” Other team members of the Meat Sweats team include Tracy Kading, Gary Reynolds, Justin Bailey, Jon Benson, Dave Clark and Bill Kingston. Evers said all members are weekend cooks; a variety of grills and smokers will show up at the park. The same will hold true for spices, rubs and sauces. “Actually,” he added, “we’ll probably be wearing more spices and sauce stains than anyone else.” Each member seems to have a special interest.
GLOBE GAZETTE • NORTH IOWA UP IN SMOKE BBQ BASH
TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2011 • C11
PITMASTERS: Teams cooked from noon to 1:30 a.m. From C10 he didn’t expect to win. The show was taped in the Los Angeles area in July 2010, and broadcast in August and September. For each round, the teams began cooking at noon and ended at 1:30 a.m., with the TV crew taping the entire procedure. The next day, they would do sit-down interviews for the show. Shad said he was in the interview chair four hours each time. The judging process also was taped. “There was a lot of stuff that never made it to TV,” Shad said. He said he was “just plain scared” because the teams didn’t know ahead of time what they would be asked to cook. In the semifinal round the Kirtons competed in,
the contestants were asked to prepare a turducken — a deboned chicken stuffed inside a deboned duck, with is in turn stuffed inside a deboned turkey — something the couple had never done before. While the turducken was cooking, the contestants were asked to prepare frogs’ legs — another first for the Kirtons. For the final round, contestants had to prepare a whole hog on a cinder block pit. “It’s a little more challenging to control the heat, but it was a lot of fun,” Shad said. The Kirtons hadn’t cooked many whole hogs before, but they had done it often enough that they could “fake it really well,” he said.
During the round where Cason qualified for the finals, he had to cook pork butt. He is currently 16th in the country in this category. “I cook a mean pork butt,” he said. One of the challenges he had to do while the pork butt was cooking was preparing catfish. The other was making coleslaw to go with the pork butt. For the catfish, he adapted a recipe normally used for swordfish or barracuda. He served it with crab meat on a wooden plank. For “BBQ Pitmasters,” contestants never know if they are going to be asked to cook something familiar, such as pork butt, or something like armadillo or a whole goat. “You have to be prepared for anything,” Cason said.
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The Meat Sweats BBQ team, from left to right, Bill Kingston, Justin Bailey, Tracy Kading, Ryan Evers, Dave Clark and Gary Reynolds. Not pictured: Jon Benson.
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Submitted photo
Hunter, Doug and Sandra Ortmayer of Charles City, who make up Big Chain BBQ. Evers is a fan of preparing ribs, brisket and pork shoulder. This is the year for the team to watch and learn,
he said. “If we win something, we win something, if we don’t, we will have had a good time,” Evers said.
“It’s an opportunity to get together. We’re about having a good time. We’re about food, family and fun.”
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C12 • TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2011
NORTH IOWA UP IN SMOKE BBQ BASH • GLOBE GAZETTE
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To barbecue is to cook slowly What does it mean to barbecue? To slow cook meat at a low temperature for a long time over wood or charcoal.
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build small, smoky, fires and place the meat on racks over the fires. The smoke would keep the insects at bay and help in the preserving of the Why did the practice of meat. barbecuing meat become common? Which meat is best for Barbeque is the evolu- barbecue, pork or beef? tion of preserving meat. Depends on who you ask. Spanish explorers upon The mostly Southern discovering the new states choose pork as the world found the indigeprimary meat source. As nous peoples preserving the process began to meat in the sun. The chief evolve, European pigs and problem with doing this cattle were transplanted is that the meats spoil and to the new world and pork become infested with was the choice of meat in bugs. To drive the bugs the South due to the abilaway the natives would See BARBECUE, C13
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C4 • TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2011
NORTH IOWA UP IN SMOKE BBQ BASH • GLOBE GAZETTE
ity of pigs to thrive with little care. In the Western states beef is their choice of meat. This originated with the cattle drives. The men (cowboys) had to be fed and the boss didn’t want to feed them the good meat. So other disposable cuts were used to feed them with the main selection being brisket, a very tough, stringy piece of meat. The cowboys learned that if you left this brisket to cook for a long period of time it
Helpers will take over Saturday as the team leaders focus on another grand championship.
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The Assasins finished second in the chili competition and fourth in chicken during last year’s
What’s the quickest way to insult a certified barbecue chef? Imply that they use a gas grill. Cooking steaks, hot dogs, hamburgers and other food stuff on a grill is called grilling, not barbecuing.
• Marinate meats for grilling. Marinating meat before you grill can actually reduce your cooking time because the marinade is designed to tenderize the meat, not to mention the flavorful marinades you can purchase or make yourself to give your meat a kick. If you marinate before you grill, try to let the meat marinate at least two to four hours for the best flavor and tenderizing results.
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RICHARD JOHNSON/The Globe Gazette
Kris Paulson (left) and Scott Nelson, members of the Swine Assassins barbecue team from Mason City, are pictured with some of the many trophies and ribbons the team has won in its first 1½ years of competition. They will compete — and sell their ribs, pulled-pork sandwiches, pulled-pork nachos and side dishes — at the eighth-annual Up In Smoke BBQ Bash, Friday and Saturday, July 22-23 in East Park.
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• Skewer meat and vegetables for grilling. When using skewers to grill meat and vegetables, it is important to cut the meat into similar-sized pieces to ensure even cooking on the grill. When grilling meat and vegetables on the same skewer, ensure the meat is smaller than the vegetables and well tenderized before grilling so that the vegetables, which will cook faster than the meat, don’t burn before the See BARBECUE, C14
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BARBECUE: Beef is choice of meat in the Western states
Mason City team ranked third in nation time, and having the richard.johnson@globegazette.com judges like it. MASON CITY — Com“It’s been a fun year,” he petitive barbecue judges said. “We’re pretty much nationwide have voted in doing everything we’ve favor of Swine Assassins been doing.” barbecue. The Assassins will conThe Mason City team, tinue its big season at the in its second full season of eighth-annual Up In competition, had two Smoke BBQ Bash — where first-place and two secthey’ll compete and sell that popular food. ond-place finishes as of You’ll be able to buy June 30. ribs, pulled pork sandSwine Assassins was wiches, pulled pork ranked third in the nachos and side dishes at national Sam’s its booth in East Park. Club/KCBS Team of the “We’re vending because Year points chase after we’ve had a lot of requests winning the Iowa State to try our food,” team BBQ Championship in Marshalltown for the sec- member Scott Nelson ond-straight year, on June said. “It’s one way to get exposure and let people 24. try our product.” “We had some good Nelson, his wife, Katy, luck,” team member Kris and Paulson and his wife, Paulson said. “It comes Brandi, will help vend Fridown to cooking your day during the Bash. food the same way every
GLOBE GAZETTE • NORTH IOWA UP IN SMOKE BBQ BASH
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BARBECUE: Let meat warm to room temperature From C13 meat is done. It’s also important to ensure the pieces are big enough not to fall through the grill. • Hold off on the sauce before grilling. Sauces are great for flavoring meat when grilling, but if you put them on too early they will burn or brown quickly, making a mess of the grill and not really adding much flavor to the meat. Hold your sauces until the grilled meat is almost done, then add them at the end for the best flavor.
bles will take the least amount of time to grill, so they should be saved for the end, especially if using a charcoal or wood grill, because the fire will be lower and less likely to burn the vegetables. Start with your meat items that take the longest to cook, then add the rest of the items to the grill, taking into consideration the time it takes for each item to cook.
Common mistakes
Separate your meat and veggies before grilling. Chicken has to cook on Here are a few common the grill at a higher tembarbecuing mistakes you perature than steaks do want to avoid: but it should also cook faster if properly defrost• Not enough time: Be ed before grilling. Vegeta- sure to allow plenty of
time for the meat to cook to perfection. Plan ahead so you have everything you need — meat, wood, charcoal, etc. • Putting cold meat into the barbecue: Take the meat out of the refrigerator and let it warm to room temperature for 30-45 minutes. • “Playing” with the barbecue: Make small adjustments to the barbecue as needed to maintain temperature, etc. But, don’t open the door and adjust the vents every few minutes. Let the barbecue do its job. — Sources: www.barbeque-grill.com, www.about.com, www.associatedcontent.c om.
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BRITT — We caught up with Brad Connor even as he was preparing ribs to be sold during Clear Lake’s annual Bicycle, Blues and BBQ Festival. The Britt man is in the midst of a hectic year of competitive barbecuing and launching his new catering business, Big Brad’s BBQ. Connor, 43, will compete with his Half Baked BBQ Crew team and sell his barbecue at the eighthannual Up In Smoke BBQ Bash in Mason City’s East Park, and next month’s Hog Wild! Wild! Wild! event at the Wild Rose Casino & Resort in Emmetsburg. He also vends at the Thursdays on Main events in Clear Lake, and will be at the Hancock County Fair, Britt Hobo Days and the Britt Draft Horse Show. “It hasn’t got to me yet,” he said. “It’s not too bad, with the new trailer we got. My dad (Ron Connor) is helping me out a lot. He’s been doing a lot of the legwork. I just come in and take all the glory. He said he was getting bored being retired, so I gave him something to do there.” The Half Baked BBQ Crew has competed since the second Up In Smoke event, in 2005. It includes Brad, his wife, Karen, Ron Connor, Dave Lampe and his wife, Sondra, of Britt, and Mike Ellenbolt of Lincoln, Neb. They’ve won the chili competition each of the past two years, and placed third in pork ribs in the 2009 Up In Smoke. “The chili starts out sweet, kind of sneaks up behind you, and bites you in the butt,” Brad Connor said. “That crowd at Up In Smoke is not your college kid age, so we keep it kind of mild. They don’t like to feel it in the morning like the young kids do.” Connor, by day an employee in
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Brad Connor of Britt applys seasoning to his chicken at the 2009 Up In Smoke BBQ Bash in Mason City. the agronomy department at North Central Co-op in Kanawha, said he was increasingly asked to cook for people and events. Hence, the new venture. “I figured I might as well go legitimate and start paying taxes,” he said. “We got licensed and got a
new trailer. We decided, if we’re going to do it, let’s just do it.” He’ll probably sell ribs and pulled pork during Up In Smoke. “Hopefully it’s pretty good,” Connor said. “Mason City likes its barbecue, and they come there hungry.”
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C2 •TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2011
NORTH IOWA UP IN SMOKE BBQ BASH • GLOBE GAZETTE
Bash is all about the cooks 70 teams registered to compete in this year’s event at East Park By RICHARD JOHNSON richard.johnson@globegazette.com
MASON CITY — It’s all about the cooks at the Globe Gazette’s Up In Smoke BBQ Bash. “I love seeing all my cooks. They are just some of the best people in the world,” event coordinator Ruth Miller said. “We have good people in the community, who are nice to the cooks. And we believe in taking care of our cooks.” “We do anything and everything we can for the competitors,” Globe Gazette publisher Howard Query said. “I really look forward to meeting these folks, discussing their passion. It’s really exciting to hear their stories.” Chefs from 70 teams will compete in the eighthannual Bash, Friday, July 22, and Saturday, July 23, in East Park. They’ll compete for more than $14,000 in prize money during the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS)-sanctioned Iowa State BBQ Championship contest by making their best beef brisket, pork ribs, pork shoulders and chicken. There are cash awards from first through 10th places. The winners earn $3,000. Confirmed entrants include Swine Assassins of Mason City, ranked fourth in the KCBS/Sam’Club Team of the Year Points Chase as of July 8. Others in the top 10 that have competed in Mason City: Quau of Brimfield, Ill.; Pellet Envy of Kansas
Schedule * Look for a complete schedule of events in today’s Globe Gazette *** FRIDAY, JULY 22 5 p.m. — Beer Garden, Food Court and Kids’ Playground open; music by Endless Summer. 5:30 p.m. — Hy-Vee Chili Cookoff & Chili-Tasting 7:30 p.m. — Music by Bob Dorr & The Blue Band. 9 p.m. — Kids’ playground closes. 10 p.m. — Food Court closes. 11 p.m. — Beer Garden closes. *** SATURDAY, JULY 23 11 a.m. — Beer garden, Food court and kids’ playground open. 11:30 a.m. — KCBS competition judging begins. 2 p.m. — Music by The Chocolate Crackers. 4 p.m. — Awards Ceremony. 4:30 p.m. — More music by The Chocolate Crackers. 6 p.m. — Beer garden, Food court and kids’ playground close.
have 70 teams registered,” Miller said. “That makes us one of the largest contests north of Kansas City. It’ll be a very full park — and a very exciting contest.” Barbecue judges are coming from as far off as Oklahoma, Indiana, Missouri and the Dakotas, as well as Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. “We love our judges as well as our cooks,” Miller said. Up In Smoke also features contests for the best margarita, Bloody Mary and dessert, and Anything Butt, in which competitors grill anything but those competitive meats. The public can find great barbecue and other food and drink from a host of vendors — including several locals — and sample chili during Friday evening’s Chili Cook-Off contest. Friday’s entertainment includes ’60s music by the veteran Charles Citybased Endless Summer,
Globe Gazette file photo
GLOBE GAZETTE • NORTH IOWA UP IN SMOKE BBQ BASH
2011 Up in Smoke BBQ Bash competitors • 4 Mile Smokin' Crew, Pleasant Hill • A Boy & His BBQ, Grimes • Barb Wire BBQ, Corning • Beach Bums BBQ, Cylinder • Big Chain BBQ Gang, Charles City • Big T's Q Cru, Ames • Bonz-N-Brew BBQ, Ankeny • Boyle's KC BBQ, Kansas City, Mo. • Bubba-Q's, Ottumw • Burnt Butt BBQ, Mason City • Burnt Out Smokers, Shakopee • City Slickers BBQ, Plymouth • Dig In Cookers, Ankeny • Double H BBQ, Mason City • Downhome Cooking &
The 2010 Up In Smoke BBQ Bash drew a big crowd. and blues, soul, rockabilly, rhythm and blues by Bob Dorr & The Blue Band from Cedar Falls. Band leader Dorr is a member of the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame and the Iowa Rock ’n’ Roll Music Association Hall
of Fame. The Clarksville-based Chocolate Crackers will play rock, classic rock and country music Saturday afternoon. Miller credits city workers with much of Up In Smoke’s success over
the years. “The city is wonderful to work with,” she said. On the web: See www.upinsmoke-bbqbash .com or the North Iowa Up In Smoke BBQ Championship site on Facebook for more information.
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City, Mo.; and the Smokin’ Triggers of Alvarado, Texas, led by Johnny Trigg, aka the “Godfather of Barbecue.” Quau was ranked second and Pellet Envy ninth overall in the Points Chase. “We are really excited to
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BBQ Co., Ames • Dry 2 da bone, Hampton • E&D's BBQ, Carlisle • Farmboy BBQ, St. Ansgar • FFE BBQ, Mason City • Grills Gone Wild, Algona IA • Half Baked BBQ Crew, Britt • Hardwood BBQ, Prescott • Heat and Meat, Savage Minn. • Hogs Breath BBQ, Cylinder • Iowa Outlaws BBQ, Des Moines • Iowa Smokey D's BBQ, Des Moines • Iowa State Grill Team, Huxley • JT's Smokewagon BBQ, Slater, Minn. • Little Pig Town, Owasso, Okla.
• Lucky's Q, Denver • McFrankenboo Barbeque, O’Fallon, Mo. • Meadow Valley BBQ, Ames • Monkeys’ Uncles BBQ, Plymouth, Minn. • Old Boy's BBQ, Maplewood, Minn. • Pair O Dachs BBQ & Brews, West Des Moines • Phat Jack's, Lincoln Neb. • Piggy Blues Crew, Austin, Minn. • Pink Ring BBQ, Osage • pitmasterIQ.com, O'Fallon, Mo. • Ponderosa BBQ, Des Moines • Porchy's BBQ, Grafton • Razor Back BBQ, St. Ansgar • Rib Crib PigMen, Tulsa, Okla. • Ribs 4 U, Spring Hill, Kan.
• River City Bad to the Bone, Mason City • Rock River BBQ, Shannon, Ill. • Root River Bottom Smokers, Chatfield Minn. • Rub-N-Racks BBQ, Urbandale • Shiggin & Grinnin, Delano, Minn. • Skeeters, Humboldt • Smoke on Wheels, Kansas City, Kan. • Smoked & Confused, Mason City • Smoker on Wheels, LaPorte City • Smokey D's Wannabee's, Ankeny • Smokin' Bros. BBQ, Albert Lea, Minn. • Smokin Pelletheads, Roseville, Minn. • Spitfire, Fargo • Steve O's Barbie Q, White Bear Lake, Minn.
• Swine Assassins, Mason City • T.A. Que, Des Moines • Team Enoserv, Tulsa Okla. • The Bones Brothers, (Anoka) Stacy, Minn. • The Meat Sweats, Mason City • The Q Crew, Waldorf, Minn. • Tippycanoe BBQ Crew, St. Ansgar • Vinny's BBQ, Gilmore City • We Be Porken, Albert Lea, Minn. • Wicked Pig, Norwalk • Woodward Barbeque, Woodward • Woody's Smoke Shack, Urbandale • Zs Smokin Bones, Maple Grove, Minn.
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