que n in cumming

Cumming FairgroundsNovember 16th & 17th

The LargestBarbecue Competition

in the Southeast is in Your Backyard!

Que’n in Cumming2nd Annual

2 | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | forsythnews.com FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2012

By Crystal [email protected]

Get your taste buds ready for some of the best barbecue in the world as the National BBQ Cup: Que’n in Cumming returns for a second year Friday and Saturday.

The event, which is sanc-tioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, debuted in 2011 to much success, with more than 12,000 people attending and some 90 profes-sional teams and about 30 ama-teur teams competing.

Organizer and Forsy th County res ident Randal l Bowman said he’s proud to bring the event back this year. It gets under way at 5 p.m. Friday, with live music begin-

ning at 7:45 p.m. Performers will include Jody

Abernathy and Mark Mundy of Across the Wide, Wendell Cox of the Travis Tritt Band and Mac Powell of Third Day.

Festivities continue from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.

Professional barbecue teams from “all over the country” will compete for a number of cash prizes in divisions of chicken, ribs, shoulder and beef brisket.

“We’ll have about 100 pro teams … we’ve got teams from M a i n e , Vi rg i n i a , I ow a , Oklahoma,” Bowman said. “Last year, we had 23 states show up and right now we’re at 27 for this year.”

There will also be judges from various states.

“We’ve actually got judges

now that are fighting to come and they’re flying in from all over,” he said. “We’ve got judg-es flying in from as far away as Washington state.”

In professional barbecue competitions, one judge per team, plus an additional one per every six teams, is required, according to Bowman.

“So we’re looking at almost 200 judges here,” he said.

Some of the teams will also participate in people’s choice t as t ing even ts , a l though Bowman said there often are some misconceptions about barbecue competitions from the public.

“One of our things, and this is with every food competition, is that people are under the impression that you can just

come in and eat from every sin-gle person,” he said. “A lot of that really is the health depart-ment. We’re not allowed for just any John Doe to come in here and set up and start hand-ing out food.”

However, he said there will be two opportunities for the public to try some champion-ship barbecue.

The first is a new tasting event that has been added on opening night.

“Friday we’re … doing a people’s choice [event], which we didn’t do last year,” Bowman said.

“Unfortunately, last year it was so unbearably cold that night that we decided to do something to keep people mov-ing and give them something warm. So we’re giving them chicken wings and Brunswick stew as the people’s choice vot-

ing on Friday.” There will also be a pork

people’s choice tasting from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, as there was last year, but Bowman said there are some changes this year.

On both Friday and Saturday, he said, people can buy five sampling tickets for $5. They can then walk around to the dif-ferent team booths that are par-ticipating in the people’s choice contests to get their samples.

That’s different than last year’s event, when spectators were asked to go inside the fairground’s red barn to get all their samples.

“It’ll be all over the place this year so people will be able to walk all over the grounds and have more interactions with the teams,” he said.

About this sectionThe 2012 National BBQ Cup: Que’n in Cumming promises food, fun and fellowship Friday and Saturday at the Cumming Fairgrounds. Join the Forsyth County News as we take you behind the scenes and help you prepare for the big event.

• Changes made to people’s choice awards, Page 3

• City ranks high for ‘loyal’ barbecue culture, Page 4

• Event expected to make large economic impact here, Page 5

• Scenes from the event that started it all, Page 6

• All about the Kansas City Barbecue Society, Page 7

• Third Day’s Mac Powell, others to perform, Page 10

• Last year’s champ dishes on passion for grilling, Page 11

• More than just food, Page 11

• Local competitors go pro, Page 13

• What it takes to judge, Page 14

• Make your own, Page 15

Competition returns to fairgroundsTeams from dozens of states will cook off

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Visitors to the second annual National BBQ Cup: Que’n in Cumming may notice a few changes from last year’s event.

Lead organizer Randall Bowman, who called the competition “his baby,” said the main differences will be in the peo-ple’s choice tasting contests.

According to Bowman, some people were disappointed last year because peo-ple’s choice lasted just a few hours on Saturday and everyone was asked to go inside the Cumming Fairground’s red barn to participate.

The single location and bigger-than-expected crowds led to a long line. As a result, many people didn’t get to partici-pate.

“Last year, we tried to do it the fairest

and blindest judging way that I could come up with,” Bowman said. “But the problem is … you go through and there are 40 samples to try.

“By the time you’ve gone through the first dozen or so, you’ve eaten a pound of food, and by No. 38 it doesn’t taste like anything anymore anyway.

“So this year we’ve tried to eliminate some of those problems.”

This year, Bowman said, spectators will be able to buy sampling tickets at 5 for $5.

People’s choice process revampedTickets, many booths should ease backup

New to the Que:

File photo

Visitors line up for the people’s choice event at the 2011 National BBQ Cup. The people’s choice aspect has been tweaked for this year’s festival.

‘Last year, we tried to do it the fairest and blindest judging way that I could come up with.’

Randall BowmanEvent organizer

See CHOICE | 4


Besides teams participating in the people’s choice events, Bowman said spectators can also buy food from about 20 different food vendors that will be in attendance.

“We’ve tried to add a lot more local vendors this year too,” he said.

There will also be a number of family-friendly games and activ-ities.

All proceeds from the two-

day event will benefit the Bald Ridge Lodge and the Forsyth C o u n t y C o m m u n i t y Connection, although Bowman noted that other charitable groups such as Supporting Adoption and Foster Families Together and area Rotary clubs will also be selling items to raise funds.

“My goal is to really … have something here that we can all be proud of and something that all the merchants can be prosper-ous with, the community can take part in and we can all help those nonprofits that benefit from it,” Bowman said.

FROM 2

ReturnsThey will then be able to

walk around to booths of teams who are participating in the people’s choice com-petition and get the sam-ples from the respective booths.

“This way people can get more interaction with the teams … and that’s really what people are there for anyway,” he said. “They want to be able to talk about

how they cook pork at home and compare recipes and techniques.”

Bowman said about 50 of the more than 100 profes-sional teams will take part in the people’s choice events.

Also new this year will be a tasting event on Friday night featuring Brunswick

stew and chicken wings. All participating teams

both Friday and Saturday will have “giant blue flags” flying at their booths, so visitors can easily note where to go for tasting sam-ples.

“We’re trying to make things as easy as possible this year,” Bowman said.

By Crystal Ledford [email protected]

Cumming has been named one of the top 10 cities for barbecue by a Web site that explores America’s best plac-es to live and visit.

E a r l i e r t h i s y e a r , Livability.com released its l is t of Top 10 Best BBQ Cit ies , which focused on lesser-known barbecue desti-nations, avoiding hot spots such as Memphis, Austin and Kansas City.

Cumming, which ranked 10th, was chosen because of “its incredible ratio of bar-becue restaurants to resi-dents” of about 1 to 1,000, based on U.S. Census num-bers.

The c i ty a lso garnered some attention because of the National BBQ Cup: Que’n in Cumming, which was held f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e i n November 2011 and returns to the Cumming Fairgrounds Friday and Saturday.

A c c o r d i n g t o a n ew s

release, editors purposely avoided well-known stops, ins tead concent ra t ing on small to mid-sized cities with “a large and loyal local bar-becue fan base.”

John Hood, a spokesman

for the Web site, said in a statement that they attempt to “uncover those hidden gems in c i t i e s and he lp them shine.”

“So when a list of BBQ cit-ies was proposed, i t was

decided that we wouldn’t take the easy route of listing the usual suspects,” he said.

“Instead we’d go mining for those gems that the rest of the country might not yet have discovered.”

The National BBQ Cup: Que’n in Cumming, a Kansas C i t y B a r b e q u e S o c i e t y -sanctioned event, drew about 90 professional barbecue teams from across the coun-try, as well as hundreds of spectators last fall.

Organizer Randall Bowman has h igh hopes fo r th i s week’s event . As for the online ranking, Bowman was “ecstatic.”

“I think it’s wonderful,” he said. “When I got the [list-ing], I was excited to see we were in the top 10.

“I wish we were a little higher, but it’s nice to be on the list at all.”

Other cities in the top 10 included: Gainesville, Fla.; Fayetteville, Ark.; Bethesda, Md.; Springfield, Mo.; Tyler, Texas; Hattiesburg, Miss.; Greenville, S.C.; Tuscaloosa, Ala.; and Lexington, N.C.

City noted for ‘loyal’ barbecue cultureOn the NetTo view the livability.com Top 10 Best BBQ Cities list, visit http://livability.com/top-10/top-10-best-bbq-cities.

List cites ratio, national cup

FROM 3

ChoiceAt a glancePeople’s choice events at the 2012 National BBQ Cup: Que’n in Cumming will run from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. Participants can buy as many sampling tickets as they like.

File photo

Cumming’s abundance of barbecue restaurants helped it grab a spot in the top 10 cities for barbecue, according to Livability.com.



The National BBQ Cup: Que’n in Cumming has made a big impression on more than just barbecue lovers.

Large-scale events such as the com-petition, which this weekend will draw more than 100 teams from across the country, can carry a sizable economic impact.

“The communities [that hold these competitions] benefit because the average competitor spends about $300 or $400 in each community they go to, so it’s astronomical when it comes down to it,” said Que’n in Cumming organizer Randall Bowman.

Besides the competitors, this year’s gathering will feature more than 200 judges, who also hail from all over the nation.

“I just talked to the Holiday Inn [Express in Cumming] and apparently they’re sold out already,” Bowman said last week.

Besides hotel rooms, competitors and judges may need a range of local items while in town.

“This brings a lot of spotlight to our community and really helps every merchant in town because we’ve all got to buy gas or grab dinner on the way out of town, or you know you for-got to pick up little Johnny’s notebook for school or whatever it might be,” Bowman said.

The 2011 Que’n in Cumming even helped local barbecue restaurants, he added, noting that many owners men-tioned higher than normal sales after it.

“Even those people that didn’t come to the event, they heard barbecue or they saw barbecue and got it on their minds, and that’s the kind of side effect that happens from events like this,” he said.

“It gets the buzz going.”

Gathering gets ‘buzz going’Cumming savorseconomic impact

‘This brings a lot of spotlight to our community and really helps every merchant in town because we’ve all got to buy gas or grab dinner on the way out of town ...’


Billy Carroll cheers during the awards cere-mony at last year’s National BBQ Cup: Que’n in Cumming. The event will draw hundreds of competitors and judges from across the nation, leaving a positive impact on the local economy.

File photo


Scenes from last year’s Que’n in Cumming

Brandon Davis, above, prepares a plate of food for a custom-er. Left, fair-grounds administrator Dave Horton applauds the winners dur-ing last year’s competition.

File photos

Brian Ruth, “master of the chainsaw,” left, presents one of his carved creations during the 2011 National BBQ Cup: Que’n in Cumming at the Cumming Fairgrounds. This year’s event runs Friday and Saturday.

Luc Nicolaides, right, performs a knife demonstration for Perry Polinelli. Right, one of the grills on display resembles the University of Georgia mascot, Uga. Several of

the trophies await their

winners.

By Jennifer [email protected]

In 1985, a handful of grilling enthu-siasts were competing for a case of beer and bragging rights.

The conversation shifted to creating an organization for fellow grillers and before long the Kansas City Barbecue Society was born. About 20 people joined.

Today, the society — which strives to celebrate, teach, preserve and pro-mote barbecue — boasts more than 15,000 members and sanctions more than 300 events annually. Among them is the National BBQ Cup: Que’n in Cumming th i s weekend a t the Cumming Fairgrounds.

“It really has gotten big in the last four to five years and some of that has been the expansion of the cable TV networks making th is more mainstream,” said Randall Bowman, organizer of the local competition and a society member for seven years.

“But even as community events … you can go nine months a year every weekend to an arts and crafts fair somewhere. It’s the same vendors, it’s the same setup …

“But these food-style events tend to be more interactive, where there’s more for people to do and I think that’s really what’s grabbed a hold of this.”

The society began its own newslet-ter, the Bullsheet, which eventually grew to a tabloid. Members’ recipes were used to create barbecue cook-book “The Passion of BBQ.”

The society created the Hall of Flame giving awards for various bar-becue accomplishments.

During his time in the society, Bowman has seen the growth of the grilling sport, but also what it has accomplished for local communities.

Not everyone can afford a vehicle to race in NASCAR, he said. Not every-one can become a world renowned musician. But for those with a grill, tongs and a dream, the barbecue soci-ety provides a network of friends and competitors to grow as a chef while competing.

“There were just demands for this, and this is one of those things that mom and dad and the two kids can get together and do,” Bowman said, using his own family as an example.

“And I think it’s amazing for this community. Last year, our people’s choice line was 800 or 900 people long. I’ve done [many] events and I’ve never seen that … it just tells us about our community, that they want to be a part of it and that we’re here to sup-port them.”

On the NetFor more on the Kansas City Barbecue Society, go online at www.kcbs.us.


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Third Day frontman Mac Powell is headlining the musical acts for National BBQ Cup: Que’n in Cum-ming’s opening night at the Cumming Fairgrounds.

Powell, who lives in Marietta, will perform hits from the Grammy-winning band’s repertoire, as well as tunes from his solo career as a country musician.

Powell, who grew up in Clanton, Ala., moved to Georgia in high school and soon s ta r ted Thi rd Day, a Christian band influenced by the music of Southern rock from the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd and popular artists such as U2.

The band has soared in its genre, earning four Grammy Awards, 24 GMA Dove Awards and a 2009 induc-tion into the Georgia Music Hall of Fa m e , a l o n g s i d e t h e l i ke s o f Collective Soul.

Que’n in Cumming organizer Randall Bowman said Powell is “a huge barbecue fantatic” and wanted to be a part of the event, which raises money for area nonprofits.

“We’re excited,” Bowman said. “I can’t think of any better artist to choose from,” Bowman said. “Country music hasn’t had a Southern rock ‘n’ roll type artist in quite a while and that’s what Mac Powell is … the album that he’s just put out for coun-try is amazing.”

Third Day is still going strong, as it recently released a 12th studio album, “Miracle,” which means Powell has a

full plate as he continues with the band while balancing his solo career.

His self-titled solo album was also recently released as a throwback to his early musical inspirations of old-school country tunes.

Third Day bandmate Tai Anderson had only positive things to say on the group’s website about Powell’s deci-sion to venture out on his own.

“He has faithfully served the Lord and uses his talents to write some real-ly inspiring songs for you guys and for me,” Anderson said. “I hope that Mac has great success with this ven-ture. People will hear his incredible voice who have never heard it before.”

And it’s a great voice, said Bowman, who admitted he had never been much into Christian contemporary music.

“So I went home and listened to him and I thought, this guy’s incredible,” Bowman said. “They’re really expect-ing him to be one of the next big things … it’s like Travis Tritt in the peak of his career.”

Music lineup

Friday• 7:45 p.m. — Jody Abernathy and Mark Mundy from Across the Wide with special guest Wendell Cox from the Travis Tritt Band• 8:45 p.m. — Mac Powell of Third Day

Saturday• 1 p.m. —The Cazanovas Blues Band• 3 p.m. — Across the Wide

Mac Powell to perform Friday nightThird Day founder highlights solo album

For the Forsyth County News

‘Country music hasn’t had a Southern rock ‘n’ roll type artist in quite a while and that’s what Mac Powell is ...’



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By Alyssa [email protected]

Families may come for the food, but they can stay for the fun.

The National BBQ Cup: Que’n in Cumming will also fill up the fair-grounds with children’s activities, arts and crafts vendors and other types of food.

Randall Bowman, event organizer, said the two-day cup was formed with the idea of being about more than savory barbecue.

“The concept really behind the whole thing is a family festival,” Bowman said. “We’re trying to build this where mom, dad and the kids can come out and spend the whole day.”

The kids’ zone will include bounce houses, rock climbing walls, a trackless train, bungee jump and other activities.

Desserts like snow cones, kettle corn and even fried brownies will be for sale.

Festival-goers will also have a variety of shopping opportunities from vendors, both local and from far away.

The cup will even include a sports viewing area, so college football fans can catch their favorite teams.

Forsyth County News Staff writer Alyssa LaRenzie recently visited with William “Bubba” Latimer, owner of Bub-Ba-Q, which took the top prize in the 2011 National BBQ Cup: Que’n in Cumming.

The defending champion will return to the Cumming Fairgrounds this weekend to compete and sell his award-winning barbecue with his cooking team.

Latimer got home Monday from a trip to Nevada, during which he participated in the World Food Championships, cashing in his qualifying entry from last year’s local cup.

The Canton resident started the original Bub-Ba-Q restau-rant in Jasper in December 2005 and opened a second location in Woodstock in June

2009.He’s been taking part in

barbecue competitions since May 2006 and has won sever-al titles.

Q: How did it go at the World Food Championships?

A: We had a great cook. We just unfortunately made some adjustments on our ribs as far as time to cook and we never quite got our ribs done as far as where they needed to be, which kept us from winning the thing. That was the first time they’ve had that event. There were 81 teams. … It was a whole big production that they had out there, and we were very fortunate to have been invited to come out and cook at it. We had a great

time. We had a sixth-place pork finish, a seventh-place brisket finish and unfortunate-ly a 57th-place rib finish, which if we’d been 36th-place or better, we would have won. That’s just how it goes.

Q: So your ticket to that event was through the National BBQ Cup here last year, so that was a first-time event that got you into the first-time event?

A: Yeah, I never even thought of it that way, but that’s exactly how it went.

Q: Let’s go back to last year’s event. What was it that you think put you over the edge and got you the win here?

I’m about as deep as you can get into barbecue and competi-tive barbecue and all of that. I really love being out there and doing what I do on the road and here in the restaurants.

That event that was up in Cumming last year was really a special event to me. Randall [Bowman] and I have really gotten to be good friends over the last couple years, and he is just such a wonderful man. I’m very fortunate to have gotten to know him and be friends with somebody like him.

That event, he’s worked so hard on that event and putting it together and wants to make it such a great thing.

When I go and compete, I would rather be among the best cooks around. … It really brings that competitive edge out.

So coming out to the event last year, being close to home is always nice and you want to do well there, but knowing that literally, for the most part, the best cooks in the county are out there, it really kept us on our game. …

Knowing that it was Randall’s event, and I wanted to do well there, we really got focused on the event last year. I would have been happy with a top 10 call, but winning the thing, it struck home with me and it meant a lot for us to win his event last year.

Being the inaugural event, with all the work, all the cooks, just everything about it, it was real special.

‘Que’ & A with defending champ

Other attractions will abound all day at fest

File photo

Doug Franks sprinkles powdered sugar on fried brownies at the 2011 National BBQ Cup.

See CHAMP | 12

Q: Tell me why you’re coming back this year and what it’s like to defend your title.

I guess going back this year I have a big target on my back. I think that peo-ple who didn’t make the event last year found out what a great event it was, and so there’s going to be more teams that are showing up this year.

The level of play is going to be that much harder. Always going back and trying to defend your title is hard to do in general, but knowing the level of play that is going to be there really makes it that much tougher.

At the same token, this year we’re also going to vend the contest. … Aside from just being focused on the event itself, we have the logistics of selling to the public on this one. It’s going to be a big challenge to be able to come out and put everything together this weekend. …

We’ve been fortunate to have a good run this year. I think it would probably mean more to me winning it back to back than just the inaugural win because it’s that much harder to do.

If we’re in the top 10, I’ll be happy with that. All these people that go out and do these things, we all put forth a lot of time, effort and money to do it. We kind of have this big extended bar-becue family out there.

As much as I want to go and win, and that’s one of the main purposes of me going out to an event, if we don’t do well out there, that’s how the weekend goes. I’m happy for whoever the winner is because I know they’re putting forth the same effort.

Q: What is your strategy this year?

My strategy this year is just to keep doing what I do. I’m very consistent in what I do. I don’t want to say it’s robot-ic, but I have a routine of how I do things, what I do and my flavor profiles that I deal with. I won’t change anything up that I’m doing. I’ll go and do what has gotten me to where I am now.

Q: Tell me how you got into com-petition barbecue.

I had another company. I dealt with

food service for about 20 years, and dur-ing that I always thought I’d open up a restaurant.

Literally what had happened is a place we had dealt with, they moved up the road and we helped open them up in a new location.

Next thing I know, I’m asking about the building, going to the health depart-ment and landlord. Two hours later, I went home and told my wife, who was pregnant at the time, ‘Hey guess what?’

We opened up our restaurant in Jasper. I didn’t keep up with competitive barbe-cue … It literally was one of these things where I said ‘If I don’t do this, I’m going to regret it for the rest of my life.’

We were very fortunate to build up a nice business right off the bat. And about a year and a half later, somebody asked me about competitive barbecue. I got to talking with some people who did it, and I did my first contest in May of 2006. I won the first two events I did.

So hook, line and sinker, I guess six years later or so where we’re … Wow, we got into it. When I did the first two, I

realized it was something I really enjoyed and I wanted to be a big part of …

Just being around it was something that I truly loved and enjoyed. I found it was something we could be successful with and that I had a knack for.

It’s really grown from being a guy that liked to cook at home and have a good time, to saying, ‘What the heck, let’s open a restaurant and see what happens’ to being this monster that it is now.

I’m traveling 30,000-40,000 miles a year, running around cooking across the country and spending in the tens of thousands of dollars to do what we do, but it’s just been great.

We’ve been very fortunate and blessed to have success with it. I love what I do. I really can’t complain. I guess you could say I’m living the dream.

Q: What is it that you love about it so much?

As far as just the barbecue and the competition stuff, there’s the camarade-rie. One of the things is that barbecue is one of these simple grassroots things

that everybody can relate to. It doesn’t matter what walk of life

you’re from or living, it truly is some-thing that everyone can gather ’round and enjoy. Whether it’s at this contest thing or something you do at home, bar-becue as a food gets to be very personal with a lot of people and everybody has their own favorite barbecue joint that they go to.

The total aspect of everything from the people that are involved with it to cooking the food, there’s just this sense that comes from within of achievement and making people happy and just being a part of it. It’s almost hard to explain. It’s not just about cooking the food and making money here at my restaurants, there’s just this total package that comes with it.

Aside from all these awards and acco-lades that I’ve gotten, the best ones I get are from our patrons that come in our restaurants and you know that they truly enjoy what we’ve done from them. That’s truly the best reward and accom-plishment that we can have.

— Alyssa LaRenzie


FROM 11

Champ

William “Bubba” Latimer, left, was crowned grand cham-pion of the inaugural National BBQ Cup: Que’n in Cumming. He stands with wife Shannon and daugh-ter Lauren, as well as competition organizer Randall Bowman.


Stop by our booth right next to the

Exhibit Hallenter to win a free &


Shan Mize and grill partner James Mundy could be the poster children for what the National BBQ Cup: Que’n in Cumming’s backyard com-petition is all about.

The two fr iends from Forsyth County always enjoyed working the grill at family functions and friendly get-togethers.

“We kind of s tar ted out as a hobby,” Mize said. “Now James and I are in the process of trying to get commercially bottled.”

The duo showcased their grill skills during the 2011 Que’n in Cumming, placing fourth overall. And in the individual competitions, they took first for both ribs and sauce.

From that point, there’s only one place to go, said Randall Bowman, organizer of the local event.

“The unwritten rule is that once you win a backyard event, you need to go cook pro,” Bowman said. “Our grand champion from last year is back this year cooking as a pro.”

Mize and Mundy are following that tradition this year, cooking in the professional competition.

I t ’s even ts such as Que’n in Cumming that help give the two exposure, both as grillers and sauce makers, as they start marketing their Pop ‘n’ Chubby’s brand.

“You get a little bit more exposure with these kinds of events,” Mize said. “And when you’re winning awards, that gives you better recogni-tion when you’re getting on stage.

“Especially when it’s in your com-munity, when people in the communi-ty see what you’re doing.”

They are the success story the backyard competition is all about, Bowman said. And such stories usu-ally start with a couple of guys.

“It’s more geared toward your com-munity. It’s the guy who cooks barbe-cue in his backyard,” Bowman said. “It’s always surprising. You’ll see every end of the spectrum.

“You’ll see good, you’ll see bad, you’ll see funny. But the biggest thing is that people have fun.”

There is a monetary prize for back-yard winners, but Bowman said it’s more about recognition within and for the local community.

From backyard to the big time

Shan Mize, left, and James Mundy prepare ribs during the Big Pig Jig event in 2010, their first com-petition togeth-er. The two friends will compete in the professional category at this weekend’s Que’n in Cumming.


Local grillers hone skills at event

‘You get a little bit more exposure with these kinds of events. And when you’re winning awards, that gives you better recognition when you’re getting on stage.’

Shan MizeQue’n in Cumming competitor


By Alyssa [email protected]

The judges for the National BBQ Cup: Que’n in Cumming may not know whether they’ve eaten the win-ning entry, but they know a winner when they see and taste one.

Chris Stanko of Forsyth County said he won’t know which teams he’s judging as he sits down to eat barbe-cue for about 90 minutes on Saturday.

“It really is fair in that way,” Stanko said. “You never know who chicken box 725 is, for instance.”

What he does know is how to score what he’s eating.

All the event judges in the profes-sional division have been certified by the Kansas City Barbeque Society after completing a class that teaches them the standards.

Judges will issue a score from 1 to 9 for the appearance, taste and tex-ture of the barbecue, Stanko said.

At this high level of competition, the judges will get down to “small nuances” in how the meat is cooked, he said.

For example, he described what he’ll be looking for in judging ribs.

“What you want is to take a bite and have a little bit of pull,” Stanko said. “If it slides off the bone, it’s not a perfect score.”

In total, he expects to eat about a pound of chicken, ribs, pork and bris-ket — each of the four categories.

About 140 society-certified judges w i l l app ly t he se s t anda rds on Saturday, said judging coordinator John Hale.

Taste is the most difficult category to judge to the standard, which Hale said explores how flavor profiles go together.

“I think we’d be lying if we said there was no personal preference,” he said. “But just as a judge charges the jury to follow the law and judge by

what’s presented to them, that’s exactly what our judges are charged with.”

Hale sought to select the best judg-es for the contest out of more than 300 who applied. Experience is a big factor in picking those who will

judge the major event.More than 40 “master judges,” or

those who have judged at least 30 events, will participate Saturday.

The cup will even have a few judg-es with a PhB, which Hale said is an “honorary doctorate” from the soci-ety.

A judge must have worked more than 200 events and completed a the-sis to earn the title, he said.

Keep ing the judg ing runn ing smoothly and properly is the key to a successful event, Hale said.

“The only way you’re going to get teams to come back is if they think they’ve got a fair shot and good qual-ity judges,” he said.

Most judges are sociable and enjoy the atmosphere and camaraderie of the barbecue community, Hale said, but they come from diverse back-grounds.

“Am I going to see 38 old guys in overalls? Probably not,” he said. “You see a random cross-section of rural, suburban, urban folks. It rang-

es. And we have as many women as we have men.”

All the judges have a love of the ’cue.

Stanko will take part in this year’s cup with his two sons and father, all of whom are certified judges. The family activity was fostered through a tradition of cooking, beginning with his grandfather making his kielbasie outside when Stanko was a boy.

His father was the first to become a judge, and he came up from his home in Florida to judge the Cumming event last year.

The o ther men of the fami ly watched and knew they wanted to be a part of the fun.

“The next month, we went and got our certification,” Stanko said. “We went with him and just walked around and were blown away by the cook teams, the techniques and all of the t ime these guys put in . We thought what a great way to taste world class barbecue.”

There’s a science to the judgingEntries held tostrict standards


From left, Joe, Stephen, Christian and Chris Stanko will serve as judges during this weekend’s barbecue competition. Chris Stanko said a lot goes into judging each of the four categories.

‘... just as a judge charges the jury to follow the law and judge by what’s pre-sented to them, that’s exactly what our judges are charged with.’

John HaleJudging coordinator

File photo


While most aficionados will contend there is a serious art to great barbecue, and there will be much of that on display this weekend during the National BBQ Cup: Que’n in Cumming, my argu-ment is anybody can do it as long as you follow some basic instructions and tips.

Ask any expert, and they will tell you that great barbecue begins with a great rub.

Add a great mop and some smoke, and you will make your mouth and tummy very happy.

If you think a rub is something you get at a spa, and a mop is something your kitchen floor needs, read on.

A rub is a blend of various spices, pep-pers and often herbs. You literally “rub” the meat with the spice mix.

Once the meat is rubbed and cooking, true barbecue is basted with a mop.

The mop keeps meat moist as it cooks and, of course, continues to add flavor.

Another important component to barbe-cue is smoke.

Most of us are familiar with hickory or mesquite, but many other woods are becoming increasingly available.

Classic pulled pork barbecueFor the rub:• 2 tablespoons paprika (use a combina-

tion of smoked and sweet)• 2 tablespoons brown sugar• 2 teaspoons chili powder• 2 teaspoons ground cumin• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic (or garlic

powder)• 2 teaspoons onion powder• 1 teaspoon garlic salt• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pep-

per• 1 teaspoon kosher salt• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (more to taste)

Combine all ingredients, mixing thor-oughly. Store in an air-tight container for up to four months.

• 1 boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), 5-7 pounds

• Hickory, mesquite, or other wood chips

or chunks (soaked in water for at least 30 minutes)

For the mop:• 2 cups apple cider• 1/4 cup minced shallots• 1 tablespoon minced

Jalapeno pepper, seeds removed

• 1/3 cup ketchup• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar• 1/2 teaspoon salt• 1/4 teaspoon pepper• Dash cinnamon

In small saucepan, combine apple cider, shallots and jalapeno.

Bring to a boil, and continue boiling until reduced to about a cup. This will take about 15 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients and cook another five minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

To make barbecue:Rub the entire roast with plenty of the

rub. If possible, store roast in plastic bag in the refrigerator overnight or at least for a few hours.

Allow roast to stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before grilling.

Soak wood chips in water for at least 30 minutes. Place soaked wood chips in heavy duty foil on grill rack, off to the side.

Grill the roast over medium, indirect heat. In other words, do not grill directly over the hot coals. Baste the roast with mop about every half hour.

Grill for about eight hours, or until the internal temperature of the roast is about 190 degrees. The meat should be very ten-der. Remove from grill and cover loosely with foil. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Thinly slice, chop, or “pull” the pork into shreds. Fingers can do this job well.

Serve with soft hamburger buns, and a favorite barbecue sauce. And provide plen-ty of paper towels.

Contact Forsyth County News columnist Adlen Robinson at contact@ adlenrobinson.com.

ADLEN ROBINSONColumnist

After watching pros, try it for yourself

The City of

CummingInvites You to Experience Even More of our Fair City!

And While You're in Town

Here are just a few great ideas:• Go for an indoor

swim at the Cumming Aquatic Center!

• Enjoy an evening of culture and refinement at the Cumming Playhouse!

• Stop and shop for early Christmas gifts at one of our numerous shopping centers throughout the city!

cummingaquaticcenter.com

cummingplayhouse.com

cityofcumming.net

John D. Pugh Councilman

Lewis Ledbetter Councilman

H. Ford GravittMayor

Quincy Holton Councilman

Ralph Perry Councilman

Rupert Sexton Councilman

que n in cumming

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