On August 24 and 25, Sloss Furnaces will host the third annual Stokin’ the Fire BBQ Festival, featuring professional and amateur cooking competitions plus live music by acts such as Alejandro Escovedo and Southern Culture on the Skids. The professional competition is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) and will include cooking teams from around the country.

Unfortunately, this event is similar to others of its kind, such as Memphis in May, in the fact that most of the competitors do not sell their barbecue to the general public. Instead most devote all of their efforts to impressing the judges (and winning a portion of the $20,000 in prizes). However, three of the professional championship teams will be selling their wares: Governor’s BBQ from Nashville; Arlieque from Mt. Juliet, Tennessee; and Willy T’s from Hildebran, North Carolina.

Troy Black is a former Southern Living magazine editorial staff member who is now a full-time competitor on the barbecue circuit. A KCBS board member, Black has been competing professionally for two years. “The payouts . . . have gotten really good. . . . We’re starting to see full-time barbecue competitors out there.” Black is sponsored by Southern Living and travels with a 40-foot trailer that includes two smokers, a kitchen, and living quarters. At Sloss, Black will give cooking demonstrations, and offer samples, at the Southern Living site at noon and 3 p.m.

 

 

Mary Head, marketing director at Sloss Furnaces, rhapsodizes about the artful cooking techniques of the pro competitors. “Not to say that Jim ‘n’ Nick’s and Dreamland and everything isn’t wonderful, it is,” she said. “[But] they’re cooking for the masses. I mean, the pros sit with their ribs all night long, starting, like, on Thursday night, you know? So it’s a totally different kind of level of barbecue than you would get at a restaurant.”

Head explains that entry dishes are never passed from hand to hand; rather they are placed onto a table before a judge will pick it up. “The main reason is to avoid jostling a box, because if you hand it to a KCBS judge and they drop it or something . . . You turn it in, set it down, and from there it’s in our hands. It’s fun to watch these guys that have been baby-sitting their ribs all night long. They’ll often put the ribs in a box and then turn them around 15 times so they’ll look pretty.”

“Competition barbecue is nothing like restaurant barbecue,” explains Carolyn Wells, executive director of the KCBS. “No restaurateur could stay in business giving as much TLC as you have to for competition barbecue. Right now, we seem to be in a sweet cycle. Almost everybody will use a dry rub on things, and then they will glaze it at the end.”

James Blumentritt, general manager of Tria Market in Homewood, finished eighth in the amateur competition in 2005. “We had a great time. Had a lot of fun out there cooking that day,” says Blumentritt. “But I discovered that there were certain things that I think appeal more to judges than other things. My experience was that they tend to like a lot of sweeter style sauces on things. . . . If I were going to do it again, I would definitely put more sauce and a sweeter sauce on my ribs.”

Those who wish to enter next year’s amateur competition should be forewarned: Though professional KCBS judges rate the pros, local “celebrities” are drafted to judge the Back Yard competition. When pressed for names, Head would say only, “We hope we can get some city councilors and some, uhh, Jefferson County folks.” (So, before you consider slaving over a hot grill for a day, remember that your fate may be in the hands of a bunch of news readers from a local television affiliate—or a Birmingham city councilor.)

KCBS rules and regulations are used in judging both the professional and the amateur—or Back Yard—division. Tenderness and texture, appearance, and taste are the three criteria for judging, says Wells. Surprisingly, taste makes up only half the score. Appearance is slightly less then a quarter of the scoring, while tenderness and texture make up a little more than a quarter of the points accumulated.

The Grand Champion prize is $3,000 cash, while Reserve Champion wins $2,500 as the runner-up. Category winners (pork, chicken, brisket, and ribs) receive $1,500 for first and $700 for second place. Back Yard payouts are $250 for first place and $150 for second. &

The festival will be held at Sloss Furnaces on Friday, August 24, from 4 to 11 p.m., and Saturday, August 25, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Admission is $15 for a weekend pass or $10 per day ($5 per day for children 5 to 12; children under 5 are admitted free). Details: 324-1911 or visit www.slossfurnaces.com.

Band line-up

Friday, August 24

Band of Moose 5:00

The Sudden Rays 6:15

Eliot Morris 7:30

Alejandro Escovedo 9:00

Saturday, August 25

Beyond Me 11:30

Erin Mitchell Band 12:30

Newgrass Troubadors 1:30

Hightide Blues 2:30

Warm In the Wake 3:45

Moses Mayfield 6:00

Jason Isbell 7:00

Southern Culture on the Skids 9:00